The Director of Durham University’s Institute on Hazard, Risk, and Resilience (IHRR) and Wilson Chair of Hazard and Risk Prof. Bruce D. Malamud, PhD, arrived for a research, capacity building, and linkages visit last 16 September 2024 at the UP Resilience Institute (UPRI). In the last few years, Dr. Malamud has been actively collaborating with UPRI Executive Director Dr. Mahar Lagmay and UPRI Chief Science Research Specialist Richard Ybañez on multi-hazard research in the Philippines, including joint organizing of the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society-European Geosciences Joint Conference on Natural Hazards in 2018. Now, there is an opportunity to work closely as institutions as the IHRR and UPRI both employ multidisciplinary and multisectoral approaches in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), sharing aligned goals in fostering safety and resilience.
In his recent visit to the University of the Philippines in September 2024, Dr. Malamud took initial steps to formalize a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between UP and Durham University (DU). This agreement will help expand resource sharing and enhance the research capabilities of both resilience institutes and their respective universities.
Dr. Malamud’s research focuses on the interrelationships between multiple hazards, as well as individual hazard studies related to landslides, earthquakes, floods, and wildfires. Key subthemes include anthropogenic processes, invasive species, and time-series analyses. His work also encompasses mathematical modeling, visualization, complexity, data validation against models, and effective science communication.
His previous roles include serving as President of the Natural Hazards Division of the European Geosciences Union from 2007 to 2011 as well as chairing the Programme Committee for the EGU General Assembly in 2010 and 2011. He co-chaired the AOGS–EGU Conference Series on New Dimensions for Natural Hazards in Asia from 2018 to 2022 and is currently an Executive Editor of Natural Hazards & Earth System Sciences, with over 100 peer-reviewed publications that have garnered more than 12,000 citations.
Beyond his primary goal of establishing an MOU, Prof. Malamud’s visit also focused on building new connections and advancing his advocacy for education. In close collaboration with the UPRI and various UP institutions, he participated in forums, engaged in exploratory meetings with DRR organizations, and led a workshop for high school teachers. These initiatives offer a glimpse into the potential for expanded collaboration between the two resilience institutes.
Below are UPRI and Dr. Malamud’s various linkages visits during his visit.
- Meeting the UP President (originally posted on the University of the Philippines Facebook page)
Dr. Malamud met with UP President Angelo Jimenez on Sept. 25 to discuss prospective partnerships that could lead to expanded research collaborations, exchange programs, and joint initiatives between UPRI and IHRR.
With a potential memorandum between UP and DU suggested by Dr. Lagmay, the partnership would offer expanded opportunities at an institutional level in terms of resources and research capabilities. Pres. Jimenez said the university is looking to expand global partnerships and programs.
- UP Manila DRRM-H Center to Explore VR and Research Collaborations
The UPRI Education Division, led by Director Ruben Gamala and Chief Richard Ybañez, along with IHRR Director Bruce D. Malamud, visited the UP Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Health (DRRM-H) Center on 28 September 2024.
Dr. Carlos Primero Gundran, Head of the UPM DRRM-H Center, and his team warmly welcomed the delegation. During the visit, the UPM DRRM-H Center showcased its virtual reality (VR) facilities, and the discussion centred on using VR in local disaster risk reduction and management training. Dr. Malamud also shared his experience and past initiatives involving VR technology in other countries.
In addition to VR technology, the discussion focused on the impacts of hazards on health systems, notably how patient management systems can be improved to adapt to the surge in patients during crises or disasters. Dr. Malamud also shared initiatives from the IHRR that are proposed to address these challenges, highlighting their efforts to enhance health system resilience in the United Kingdom.
This visit marks an important step toward potential partnerships between the institutions. They share the goal of advancing research and utilizing cutting-edge technology to strengthen disaster risk reduction and resilience in the country.
- Courtesy Visit to Philippine Nuclear Research Institute
UPRI and IHRR also paid a visit to the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) Director Carlo A. Arcilla, PhD who has been a long time research and academic partner of both Prof. Malamud and the UPRI during its Project NOAH days. Discussions revolved around hazards and disaster risk in the Philippines, particularly around the controversial Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and on the Philippines’ energy infrastructure. Dr. Malamud shared the DU IHRR’s interest in examining potential crises or shocks to the energy sector in the United Kingdom and expressed interest in supporting similar research in the Philippines between the UPRI, IHRR, PNRI, and other stakeholders.
- A DU IHRR – UPRI partnership supported by the British Council Philippines
The UPRI – DU IHRR delegation, represented by UPRI Executive Director Dr. Mahar Lagmay, UPRI Education Chief SRS Richard Ybañez, and IHRR Director Dr. Bruce Malamud, met with the British Council in the Philippines, led by the BC’s Head of Education Pierre Pecson, to discuss the ongoing partnership of the UPRI and IHRR. Topics discussed included Transnational Education between in the Philippines bound for the United Kingdom, mechanisms of support for aspiring graduate students, continuing professional development and capacity building exercises, and opportunities for collaboration between the three institutions. With the UPRI and IHRR moving towards formalizing their partnership, the British Council in the Philippines is seen as a key stakeholder and supporter in that partnership and a driver for improving academic cooperation between the two countries.
- Knowledge Exchange between the IHRR and UPRI
Prof. Malamud also sat down with some divisions of UPRI to discuss specific programs and best practices on themes and topics that both institutes share.
One of these is the UP NOAH Center’s Hazards Assessment Team (HAT) which models and maps various geohazards using computer-based methodologies. Prof. Malamud lent his decades of experience working with a wide variety of single hazards, as well as multi-hazards interrelationships, to the discussion on HAT’s modeling techniques and parameters.
Prof. Malamud also sat down with the UPRI’s Education Division to discuss its programs and projects, with keen interest being on the Basics of Resilience Massive Open Online Course developed with the UP Open University and how this can be included in potential collaborations with the IHRR and other interested stakeholders moving forward. Another project that both parties wish to develop further to benefit more teachers is the High School Teachers’ Workshop, co-developed with the National Institute for Science and Mathemetics Education Development, which hed its first workshop last 28 September. Its success, documented in another article, has inspired the partners involved to scale up in the future to benefit more secondary level educators.
The UPRI and DU IHRR also conducted various talks and workshops with various stakeholders. Check out the articles on these events in the coming days:
- 2024 NIGS Lecture Series: Hazard Interrelationships and Dynamic Risk Scenarios (September 19, 2024)
- Quantitative & Qualitative Data Visualization (September 20, 2024)
- Natural Hazards Demonstrations & Activities for Secondary School Teaching (September 28, 2024)
- Publishing Workshop: The Peer-Review Process & Suggestions from an Editor’s Perspective (September 30, 2024)