Rakiya A. B. Babamaaji
Vice-Chair of Africa Science and Technology Advisory Group (AfSTAG)
Dr. Rakiya A. B. Babamaaji is an Assistant Director/Head, Natural Resources Management Division, Strategic Space Applications Department, National Space Research and Development Agency, Nigeria. Dr. Rakiya holds a PhD in Geosciences and Civil Engineering from University of Missouri, USA, MSc in Environmental Resources Management from Lagos State University, Nigeria and MSc in Space Management from International Space University (ISU), Strasbourg, France. B.Tech. in Geology from Federal University of Technology Yola, Nigeria. Her PhD dissertation/research is on Lake Chad Basin hydrological analysis sponsored by NASRDA/UMKC/NSF/NASA. She is a member of the Team that drafted the Action Plan for the Restoration of the Lake Chad and also one of the team members that conducted Regional Risk and Vulnerability Assessment of Lake Chad Basin (Chad and Cameroun) sponsored by Early Warning Directorate, ECOWAS. A Member of Project Implementation Team (PIT) for Geo-referenced Infrastructure and Demographic Data for Development (GRID3) Nigeria. Presently, Dr. Rakiya is the Vice Chairman Africa Union Science and Technology Advisory Group on Disaster Risk Reduction (Af-STAG DRR) and member of the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction Global Risk Assessment Framework (UNDRR-GRAF) Steering Group. Finally, an Assistant Professor, Institute of Space Science Engineering, African University of Science and Technology Abuja.
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Joanna Batstone
Director, Monash Data Futures Institute
Joanna is the inaugural Director of the Monash Data Futures Institute and is an international leading authority on AI and data science. Following an international search, Prof Batstone joins Monash from IBM, where she was Vice President, Innovation, IBM Corporate Strategy. Joanna will be responsible for bringing together data science and AI capabilities from across the University. Prof Batstone’s role will also continue to establish a digital ecosystem which fosters collaborative interdisciplinary research and promotes lasting industry engagements. An exceptional thought leader in the development and application of AI and data analytics, Joanna is passionate about the benefits of AI in driving lasting and transformative change for social good.
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 Serena Ceola
Senior Assistant Professor, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Italy
Dr. Serena Ceola is a Senior Assistant Professor at Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna (Italy). She obtained her Master Degree in Environmental Engineering in 2009 at the University of Padova (Italy). Then she moved to Lausanne (Switzerland) and got a PhD in Environment at the Doctoral School in Civil and Environmental Engineering at EPFL in November 2013. In 2013, she moved to Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna (Italy) as Postdoctoral Researcher, and since September 2019, she became a Senior Assistant Professor. Overall, her research interests deal with hydrological processes related to ecological and human activities both on a local and on a basin-scale perspective. Her research interests include: river flow dynamics, analysis of remote sensing data for water resources sustainability and water-related risks, flood risk assessment, analysis of anthropogenic and hydrologic interactions.
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Brendan Crowell
Research Scientist, Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, University of Washington
Dr. Brendan Crowell is a research scientist with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington, USA and is also an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at UW. He received his Ph.D. in Geophysics from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and his B.S. and M.S. from Georgia Institute of Technology, in Physics and Earth Sciences, respectively. The focus of his work is primarily on using high-rate GNSS observations for rapid modeling of deformation events and for strong-motion seismology. He is currently in charge of implementing GNSS-based algorithms into the USGS ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system and at NOAA’s Tsunami Warning Centers. He has served as a subject matter expert for UNESCO/IOC and the World Bank for early warning technologies and tsunami hazards.
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 Carlos Gaitan
Co-founder and CTO of Benchmark Labs
Dr. Gaitan is the Co-founder and CTO of Benchmark Labs. He did his doctoral studies at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) working with William Hsieh in machine learning applications in the environmental sciences. He also holds a Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering and a Master degree in Hydrosystems from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Bogota, Colombia). He is an elected member of the American Meteorological Society’s (AMS) Artificial Intelligence Committee. He previously worked at early stage start-ups in the environmental science space, including VP of Weather Forecasting and Head of Data Science at Arable Labs, and as Research Scientist for the South Central Climate Science Center at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) in Princeton, New Jersey.
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 Alec van Herwijnen
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Dr. Alec van Herwijnen, physicist and meteorologist, is leader of the research group ‘Avalanche Formation’ at the WSL Institute of Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos, Switzerland. His research focuses on processes involved in snow avalanche formation through a combination of laboratory and field measurements with numerical modeling with the goal to improve snow slope stability evaluation and avalanche forecasting. A strong focus of his research group is also on developing decision making tools and guidelines to support avalanche forecasting and transferring scientific knowledge to practitioners and the general public
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 Bilel Jamoussi
Chief of Study Group Department, TSB, ITU
Tunisian born, Dr. Bilel Jamoussi is Chief of the Study Groups Department of ITU Standardization Bureau in Geneva Switzerland. Since 2010, he has been leading the bureau’s standards making activities into a new era characterized by rapid convergence and the need for increased collaboration with vertical sectors and partnership between developed and developing countries. Prior to 2010, Jamoussi worked for a Telecommunication equipment and solutions provider for 15 years in Canada and then in the United States where he held several leadership positions and was granted 22 US patents in diverse areas including packet, optical, wireless, and quality of service. He holds a BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Computer Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, USA. He is fluent in Arabic, French, and English and speaks some Spanish and German.
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 Hans (Hyungsoo) Kim
Korea Telecom
Hans (Hyungsoo) Kim has worked at KT (Korea Telecom) R&D part from 1993. He had successfully led outstanding projects in relation to B-ISDN (Broadband-Integrated Digital Network), NGN (Next Generation Network), IP QoS (Quality of Service), Green ICT, Smart Grid, 5G and AI. Now he is responsible for leading the Quantum Technologies, as a Director of Quantum Infra Innovation Division in KT. Dr. Kim has a Ph.D. in electronics engineering from Kon-Kuk University. In addition to his role in KT, Dr. Kim has participated ITU-T based international standards activities, since 1997. Now he is working as a vice-chairman for ITU-T Study Group 13 and Chairman of Working Party 1/SG13.
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Monique Kuglitsch
Innovation Manager at Fraunhofer HHI and Chair of ITU/WMO Focus Group on AI for Natural Disaster Management, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute
Dr. Monique Kuglitsch is the Innovation Manager at Fraunhofer HHI and Chair of the newly established ITU/WMO Focus Group on AI for Natural Disaster Management. She previously managed operations for the ITU/WHO Focus Group on AI for Health. In her past role at the American Meteorological Society, M. Kuglitsch was the Lead Technical Editor for several journals (including the Journal of Hydrometeorology and Journal of Physical Oceanography) and the Senior International Outreach/Communications Specialist. As a researcher, M. Kuglitsch has investigated past climate change, extreme weather events, and regional climate model projections. M. Kuglitsch has experience in fluvial and limnological field work, geochemical laboratory methods, applied mathematics and statistics, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate risk/impacts research.
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Jürg Luterbacher
Vice-Chair of the ITU-T Focus Group on “Artificial Intelligence for Natural Disaster Management” (FG-AI4NDM) I Director of Science and Innovation and the Chief Scientist of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Prof. Jürg Luterbacher is the Director of Science and Innovation and the Chief Scientist of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). He has demonstrated leadership and excellence in a broad spectrum of climate science and contributed significantly to the holistic Climate-Earth System approach. He is a pioneer in paleoclimate science of Europe and Asia. He was a lead author of the 5th IPCC Assessment Report chapter 5 “Information from Paleoclimate Archives”. Prof. Luterbacher is a recipient of the Senior Visiting Scientist Award of the Chinese Academy of Science, the Scientific Research Expert of the Academy of Athens and the Medal for outstanding scientific contribution in teaching (University of Brno, Czech Republic). Prof. Luterbacher is an elected member of the Academy of Sciences and Literature / Mainz, Germany. He is also Co-Chair of the ITU-T Focus Group on “Artificial Intelligence for Natural Disaster Management” (FG-AI4NDM)
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 Barbarita Lara Martinez
CEO & Co- founder, Emercom
Barbarita is a Chilean inventor and tech entrepreneur focused on social innovation and STEAM education. Founder and CEO at EMERCOM, developing the disaster resilience technology project S!E (Emergency Information System). In the last few years, she has consolidated as a role model for young women through her work and participation at multiple initiatives to support STEAM education, woman empowerment and tech entrepreneurship where she shares her experience, knowledge and motivates others to pursue meaningful innovations and make possible what seems impossible. Her work and capacity for technological innovation and contribution to the community has been noted and recognized by prestigious institutions both at home and worldwide, granting her numerous awards such as "Chilean Innovator and Inventor of the year", "World Summit Award Winner 2018”, “Chile’s 100 woman leaders of 2018”, Gifted Citizen 2017 and the first chilean ever to be featured as one of MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 Global.
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 Alberto Montanari
President, European Geosciences Union (EGU) and Professor of Hydrology and Water Engineering, University of Bologna
Alberto Montanari is full professor of Hydraulic Works and Hydrology at the University of Bologna (Italy), where is the Head of the Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Material Engineering. His primary scientific interests are rainfall-runoff modeling, water resources management and modeling and mitigation of natural hazards. He is president of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). Alberto Montanari has a significant track record of community service. From 2005 to 2017 he served as Associate Editor of Hydrology and Earth Systems Sciences and Water Resources Research. He also was Associate Editor of the Hydrological Sciences Journal from 2010 to 2013. From 2013 to 2017 he acted as Editor in Chief of Water Resources Research. From 2007 to 2011 he was president of the Hydrological Sciences Division of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). From 2009 to 2017 he chaired the Union Awards and Medals Committee of EGU. From 2013 to 2017 he was president of the International Commission on Water Resources Systems of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS). From 2013 to 2015 he was Chair of the Scientific Decade 2013 -2022 “Panta Rhei” of IAHS. In 2017 Alberto Montanari he was awarded the Union Service Award by EGU and was elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). In 2018 he was awarded the Henry Darcy Medal by EGU and the Kaula Award by AGU for excellent editorial activity. In 2019 he was awareded the Dooge Medal by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences.
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Jannes Münchmeyer
PhD Researcher, GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam
Jannes Münchmeyer is a PhD researcher in the seismology section at GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam. He develops machine learning techniques to quickly assess earthquakes, aiming for both improved earthquake early warning and deeper understanding of earthquake physics. Before joining GFZ Potsdam, he did his masters degree in mathematics at Humboldt-University Berlin. In prior research projects he evaluated methods for gene regulatory network inference and developed systems for biomedical text mining
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 Steven Stichter
Director, Resilient America Program, National Academies of Science (NAS), United States
Steven Stichter is the Director of the Resilient America program at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. He has been engaged with resilience, natural hazard mitigation, and vulnerability reduction issues and initiatives for over two decades. Previously, he co-founded and led Kinetic Analysis Corporation, which provides multi-model natural hazard impact forecasting and risk assessment for catastrophic events globally. At Kinetic Analysis, he supported the launch and operation of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), a groundbreaking regional risk insurance initiative for the Caribbean and Central America. At the Organization of American States (OAS), he led numerous multi-year projects related to the mitigation of impacts from natural hazards in the Caribbean.
Steven holds a degree in Regional Planning and has experience in natural hazards mitigation, coastal management and international development, and applying hazard modeling and geographic information systems (GIS) technology to these fields.
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 Muralee Thummarukudy
Operations Manager, Crisis Management Branch, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Dr. Muralee Thummarukudy is currently the Operations Manager at the Crisis Management Branch of United Nations Environment Programme. Muralee holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He is an Alumnus of the International Leadership Academy (United Nations University) and also attended University of California, Berkley for the Beaher’s Environmental Leadership Progrmame. Between 1995-2003, Muralee was corporate advisor to Shell operated oil companies in Brunei and Oman. Since Joining the UN Environment in 2003, Muralee has been involved in dealing with crises responses in all major disasters and conflicts in this century. Muralee has dealt with the environmental issues associated with conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Liberia, Sudan and occupied Palestinian territories. Muralee has also dealt with environmental issues caused by tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, oil spill and explosion of ammunition dumps around the world. With more than twenty-five years of international experience in the field of Environmental Management in Crises situations, Muralee is one of world’s leading authorities on this topic and frequently lectures in universities around the world on the topic.
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Yanchuan Wang
Vice chair of ITU-T SG2 and ITU-T FG-AI4NDM & China Telecom
Yanchuan WANG, from China Telecom, Vice chair of ITU-T SG2 and ITU-T FG-AI4NDM. She has been engaged in network operation and maintenance of China Telecommunications Corporation for more than 20 years, being responsible for the planning and construction of IT/OSS projects, and has also led the formulation of more than ten ITU-T standards.
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 Elena Xoplaki
Senior Scientist I Acting Head of the Climatology, Climate Dynamics and Climate Change Research Group, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
Elena Xoplaki is Senior Scientist, currently Acting Head of the Climatology, Climate Dynamics and Climate Change Research Group at Justus Liebig University Giessen in Germany. She is an expert on climate variability and change in the past, present and future with spatial focus on the greater Mediterranean region. She conducts multi- and interdisciplinary research and promotes collaboration between natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences on an international level. She is working with climate observational data, climate models and climate proxies. Her two new projects focus on extreme events and impacts on the food sector. She is a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences.
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