2022 APRU Multi-Hazards Summer Lecture Series

2022 APRU Multi-Hazards summer lecture series consist of 2 sessions: 1) Interdisciplinary disaster risk reduction research and actions in Japan and 2) Disaster risk management initiatives in various sectors and fields.

The first session on July 29 features the latest research and activities on disaster risk reduction based on Japanese experiences. The August 5 session presents critical issues and case studies in the field of education and training for disaster risk reduction, humanitarian response, science and technology, and public health.

Date & Time

Session 1- Interdisciplinary disaster risk reduction research and actions in Japan 

  • Americas
    July 28 (Thu) at 4 pm (Honolulu) / 7 pm (Los Angeles) / 9 pm (Mexico City)
  • Asia and the Pacific
    July 29 (Fri) at  9 am (Bangkok) / 10 am (Hong Kong & Manila) / 11 am (Tokyo) / 12 pm (Sydney)

Session 2- Disaster risk management initiatives in various sectors and fields 

  • Americas
    August 4 (Thu) at 4 pm (Honolulu) / 7 pm (Los Angeles) / 9 pm (Mexico City)
  • Asia and the Pacific
    August 5 (Fri) at 9 am (Bangkok) / 10 am (Hong Kong/Manila) / 11 am (Tokyo) / 12 pm (Sydney)

Duration: 2 hours

Resources
Speakers
Dr. Christopher Tremewan (Session 1)
Secretary General, APRU

Dr Christopher Tremewan was elected as APRU’s 4th Secretary General and took up the role from June 2011.

Before heading the APRU International Secretariat, he was the Vice-President/ Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) of the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social anthropology from the University of Auckland, a master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in political science (on Southeast Asian politics) from the University of Canterbury.

He was elected a senior associate member of St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, in September 1991 from where he published the book The Political Economy of Social Control in Singapore (Macmillan and St Martin’s Press, 1994, reprinted 1996). He was a visiting fellow at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 2003 and a visiting professor at Peking University in 2007 – 2008.

In 1995 he became the founding director of the New Zealand Asia Institute, which he led until 1999. Previously, he held positions as a senior consultant, executive secretary, and research director for international development organizations based in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.
A specialist on social regulation in Southeast Asia, his research has recently focused on the internationalisation of higher education.

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Prof. Fumihiko Imamura (Session 1)
Director, International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University

Prof. Fumihiko Imamura is the director of the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University, Japan and prof. of Tsunami Engineering. After serving as an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Engineering, he was Assoc. Prof. at Disaster Control Research Center in 2014. He specializes in tsunami engineering and natural disaster science, and has been conducting numerous studies/researches on the development of tsunami warning systems and disaster mitigation measures in the Pacific, aiming to reduce tsunami damage. Representative of TIME Tsunami Numerical Technology Transfer International Project TIME. Members of the Central Disaster Prevention Council Special Investigation Committee, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction Initiative Conference Review Committee, etc. Representative Director of the Promotion Organization of the 3.11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Major awards include NHK Broadcasting Culture Award (2014), Commendation by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Science and Technology Promotion Division, 2015), Prime Minister Commendation for Disaster Management Merit (2016).

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Prof. John Morris (Session 1)
Visiting Professor, IRIDeS, Tohoku University

John Morris holds a Doctorate in Japanese History from Tohoku University, and specialises in the history of the Tōhoku (Northeastern) Region of Japan. He is a founding member and member of the board of directors of Miyagi Shiryō Network, a volunteer organization founded in 2003 to salvage historical heritage at risk after natural disasters. He lives near the coast of Miyagi Prefecture, and together with his partner, KAMIYAMA Machiko, then a professor of clinical psychology at Yamagata University, experienced having 1/3 of their city destroyed by the multiple disaster of 11th March 2011. After the disaster, they cooperated with an international NGO and local governmental boards of education in developing and promoting psychosocial support programmes throughout the disaster area, particularly for school children. Since 2016, they have worked together in conducting a psychological evaluation of the effectiveness of preserving private local historical heritage as a form of psychosocial support for tsunami survivors. After retiring from active university teaching, they are both visiting professors in Disaster Humanities and Social Science Division; John in the Disaster Culture and Archive Studies Lab, and Machiko in the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Heritage Lab.

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Dr. Kanako Iuchi (Session 1)
Associate Professor, IRIDeS, Tohoku University

Active in both practice and research, Dr. Kanako Iuchi has worked in the field of international development planning and disaster risk management for more than 20 years, specializing in disaster management planning, urban and regional planning, and community development. Currently at the International Research Center for Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University as an associate professor, Dr. Iuchi focuses on disaster research and advocating better rebuilding after disasters. Prior to joining IRIDeS Iuchi worked as an Urban Specialist at the World Bank. Dr. Iuchi has also worked as an international development planner and researcher with bi- and multi-lateral organizations; national, regional, and local governments; and communities in more than ten countries across East and South Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe.

Her recent work has primarily centered on planning and researching post-disaster rebuilding after large-scale disasters in urban and coastal areas, including Aceh, Yogyakarta and Palu, Indonesia, Tohoku, Japan, New York City, USA, Tacloban, Philippines, and Kathmandu, Nepal. Dr. Iuchi hold a BS from Tsukuba University, an MRP from Cornell University, and a PhD from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in urban and regional planning.

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Dr. Anawat Suppasri (Session 1)
Associate Professor, IRIDeS, Tohoku University

Dr. Anawat Suppasri obtained a PhD in Tsunami Engineering from Tohoku University in 2010 and became an Associate Professor at the International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University in 2012. After the 2011 Tohoku tsunami, he took many experts and non-experts from both Japan and overseas to the tsunami affected areas and transferred new Japanese knowledge on disaster mitigation. At present, his research focuses on tsunami numerical simulation, tsunami fragility analysis, tsunami evacuation and disaster mitigation education. His researches received several awards including the former Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone in 2018 and the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) The Young Scientists’ Award in 2022.

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Dr. Alberto Mo Morales (Session 2)
Chief of Applied Research and Information Sharing Branch, Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance

Dr. Morales serves as the Applied Research and Information Sharing (ARIS) Branch Chief at the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM), United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). There he manages applied research, academic outreach, regional engagements, and information sharing programs focused on Disaster Management (DM) capacity building for 36 partner nations in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
He co-chairs the Regional Consultative Group’s (RCG) Information Sharing Working Group for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and facilitates the Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and Climate Change Working Groups, hosted by Brown University, Harvard University, the U.S. Naval War College, and UNOCHA. Dr. Morales is also a member of the Pacific Resilience Partnership Academic Taskforce, USINDPACOM’s Science & Technology Advisor Board, the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, and the International Visitor Leadership Program (Department of State).
Dr. Morales holds a Doctorate in Organizational Change and Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California. He is a Fellow of the Pacific Leadership Academy and Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies as well as a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Dr. Morales served 24 years in the United States Armed Forces.

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Prof. Gretchen Kalonji (Session 2)
Dean of Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR), Sichuan University –The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Gretchen Kalonji focusses on strategies for international collaborations on science and technology for sustainable development. She builds on her experiences as a faculty member in world-class universities, including at MIT, the University of Washington, and the University of California. From 2005 to 2010 she served as Director of International Strategy Development for the 10 Campus University of California system. From 2010 to 2014, she served as the Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO. In her current role as Dean of the Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR), Sichuan University – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kalonji focuses on interdisciplinary and international collaborations on disaster risk reduction and response.

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Dr. Natt Leelawat (Session 2)
Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University

Dr. Natt Leelawat is an Assistant Professor in Industrial Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. He is an Assistant Dean of Chula Engineering; Director of the Risk and Disaster Management Program; and Head of the Disaster and Risk Management Information Systems (DRMIS) Research Unit of Chulalongkorn University. He was an Assistant Professor at Tohoku University and a System Analyst at the Bank of Thailand. He completed his Doctoral and Master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology and his B.Sc. (1st Class Honours) degree in Information Technology from SIIT, Thammasat University. He was awarded the SakIntania’s Young Lecturer Award in 2018; and the Best Paper Awards from the 6th SUSTAIN 2015, the 2nd ICA-SYMP 2021, and the 40th IE-NETWORK 2022, respectively. He is a member of the Association for Information Systems, the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI), IEEE (Senior Member), AOGS (Regional Advisory Committee), etc.

For more info: http://natt.leelawat.com

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Dr. Yanling Lee (Session 2)
Secretary General, APEC Emergency Preparedness Capacity Building Center

Dr. Yanling Lee (Sophia) Ph.D. in the Architecture, Civil Engineering and Industrial Management Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan and MBA (Master in Business Administration) from Coventry University, UK. She is an Assistant Research Fellow leading the international collaboration at the Cabinet think tank of disaster management, National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR), in Taiwan since 2005 and serving as the Chinese Taipei official focal point of contact under APEC Emergency Preparedness Working Group (EPWG) as well as the Secretary General of APEC Emergency Preparedness Capacity Building Center (EPCC).

She has a wealth of experience in policy making and capacity building through engaging public-private partnership to better prepare for and respond to natural disasters among APEC economies in cross-cutting issues. Prior to the above-mentioned experience, she was a coordinator both in Investment Promotion and Development and R & D Section; Coordination and Service Office for Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Center of Committee of Economic Planning and Development, Executive Yuan since 1998 responsible for Asia-Pacific Regional Financial Center and Government Restructure Affairs; a Media Research Analyst in Leo Burnett Advertising and a System Engineer as well as a Money Market Dealer at the Bank of Nova Scotia.

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Dr. Takako Izumi (Moderator)
Associate Professor, IRIDeS, Tohoku University & Director of APRU Multi-Hazards Program

Dr. Takako Izumi is an associate professor at the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University, Japan since 2013. She also serves as Program Director of the Multi Hazards Program under the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), which comprises 55 universities and academic institutes in the Pacific Rim. Her research interests include international and regional frameworks/strategies for disaster risk reduction (DRR), international humanitarian assistance, and DRR initiatives at the local and community levels.

Prior to joining academia, she has more than 15-year experience as a practitioner in humanitarian assistance, disaster response, recovery, risk reduction as well as various development issues with an international NGO and UN agencies such as UN Habitat, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), UN Office for the Recovery Coordinator for Aceh and Nias (UNORC), and UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (Current UNDRR).

She has been appointed as a member of the UNDRR’s Asia-Pacific Science Technology and Academia Advisory Group (ASTAAG) since May 2015. She holds Ph.D. in Global Environmental Study from Kyoto University, Japan.

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Contact
Us

Contact Dr. TakakoIzumi & Ms Sachiko Kumagai at IRIDeS, Tohoku University

Email: [email protected]

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