Meet the Team
Carmine Galasso, PhD
Professor of Catastrophe Risk Engineering
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Completed Degree: PhD Earthquake Engineering and Risk, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy, 2011
Research Interests: Catastrophe Risk Modeling; Engineering Seismology; Structural Reliability; Disaster Risk Reduction
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Roberto Merino Vela, PhD
Senior Research Fellow (UKRI Postdoctoral Fellowships Guarantee)
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​Completed Degree: PhD Earthquake Engineering, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS Pavia, Italy, 2022
Topic: Improving Seismic Resilience of Critical Facilities by Enhanced Assessment of Non-structural Elements
Pouria Kourehpaz, PhD
Research Fellow in Multi-hazard Risk & Resilience Engineering
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​Completed Degree: PhD Civil Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2024
Topics: Post-disaster Building Portfolio Recovery Analysis under Multi-hazard Scenarios; Regional Risk Modeling
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Diego Valdivieso Cascante, PhD
Research Fellow in Multi-hazard Risk & Resilience Engineering
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Completed Degree: PhD Civil Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile, & University of Colorado Boulder, USA, 2024
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Topic: Mitigating Environmental Disruptive Events Using People-Centric Predictive Digital Technologies to Improve Disaster and Climate Resilience
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Giulia Brutti
PhD Student
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​Completed Degree: MSc Social Research Methods, London School of Economics, UK, 2022
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Topic: Modeling Resettlement Decisions in Filipino Rural Communities Exposed to Flooding - Co-supervised by Gemma Cremen and Carmine Galasso
Nicole Paul
PhD Candidate
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Completed Degree: MSc Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, USA, 2015
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Topic: Disaster-induced Population Displacement Risk - Co-supervised by Carmine Galasso and Jack Baker (Stanford University)
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Chenbo Wang
PhD Candidate
​Completed Degree: MSc Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, USA, 2021
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Topic: Modeling, Quantifying, and Managing Tomorrow's Risks from Natural Hazards - Co-supervised by Gemma Cremen and Carmine Galasso
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Francesco Cascone
PhD Student
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Completed Degree: MSc Building Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy, 2018
Topic: Advancing Circular Economy in Construction through Innovative Holistic Strategies for the Reuse of Structural Steel - Co-supervised by Carmine Galasso and Katherine Cashell
Kenneth Otárola Madrigal
PhD Candidate (IUSS Pavia)
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Completed Degree: MSc Civil Engineering for Mitigation of Risk from Natural Hazards, IUSS Pavia, Italy, 2020
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Topic: Accounting for Ground-motion Duration in Building-portfolio Loss Assessment; Multi-hazard Structural Vulnerability - Co-supervised by Carmine Galasso and Roberto Gentile​
Carlos Mesta Cornetero
PhD Candidate (IUSS Pavia)
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Completed Degree: MSc Civil Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Peru, 2017
Topic: Multi-hazard Risks in Tomorrow's Cities - Co-supervised by Carmine Galasso and Gemma Cremen
Jia-Yi Ding
Visiting PhD Student (Southeast University, China)
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Completed Degree: MSc Mechanics and Engineering Science, Hohai University, China, 2018
Topic: Resilience Assessment of Building Portfolios under Earthquakes and Extreme Climate - Co-supervised by De-Cheng Feng, Pouria Kourehpaz, and Carmine Galasso
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Gabriele Nicola Napoli
Visiting PhD Student (Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Italy)
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Completed Degree: MSc Geological Sciences and Technologies, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy
Topic: Multi-hazard Risk - Co-supervised by Maria Polese, Diego di Martire, and Carmine Galasso
Fabrizio Ascione
Visiting PhD Student (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy)
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Completed Degree: MSc Building Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy, 2023
Topic: Time-dependent Reliability Analysis for Structural Steel Reuse - Co-supervised by Elena Mele and Carmine Galasso
We are always pleased to hear from people interested in joining our team to conduct research in any of the areas mentioned here. Please note that we only consider applications from highly-qualified students with a specialized MSc degree. Get in touch via email only if you have a first-class honours (or equivalent) and have secured or actively sought a competitive scholarship. Competitions for funding opportunities may exist through internal and external schemes for exceptional applicants.
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Group Photos
Prof Abbie Liel (University of Colorado Boulder, USA) and Prof Seth Guikema (University of Michigan, USA) visiting our research lab
November 2022
Prof Abbie Liel (University of Colorado Boulder, USA) and Prof Seth Guikema (University of Michigan, USA) visiting our research lab