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Prof John Twigg
Honorary Professor
Dept of Civil, Environ &Geomatic Eng
Faculty of Engineering Science
- Joined UCL
- 1st Oct 2016
Research summary
My research interest is disaster risk reduction
(DRR), which can be understood as the development and application of policies,
strategies and practices to minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks
throughout society.
My work crosses the disciplinary
boundaries between engineering, planning, geography, sociology and psychology.
I have studied and written on a range of topics: community resilience and
community-based DRR; vulnerability and risk assessment methodologies; socio-economic
vulnerability to natural disasters; policy and institutional aspects of
disaster management; early warning systems; and project planning and
evaluation. My most recent research has focused on disability and
disasters and I am becoming increasingly interested in the theory and practice
of urban resilience.
The application of academic
research to improve operational practice is of particular concern to me. I have
undertaken consultancy work for a number of international agencies working on
DRR, especially in the NGO sector, and maintain close links with many of these.
Teaching summary
I designed and teach the
following modules on disasters and resilience for MSc and MRes students at UCL:
Disaster Risk Management (CIVL G023; MSc in Earthquake Engineering with
Disaster Management); Natural Hazards, Social Vulnerability and Disaster
Management (GEOG G030; MSc in Environment, Science and Society); Urban
Resilience (CIVL G073; MRes/EngD in Urban Sustainability and Resilience).
Students attending these courses have backgrounds in engineering, earth
sciences, geography and other disciplines.
I also give lectures to
other graduate courses in the Department for Civil, Environmental and Geomatic
Engineering, Development Planning Unit and Centre for Crime Science (all at
UCL), Oxford Brookes University and Northumbria University.
I have supervised PhD and
EngD students working on a wide range of disaster-related topics, including:
volcano early warning systems, local governance of disaster management;
resilience of health infrastructure; urban resilience planning; local-level
management of urban flood risk.
Education
- University of Cambridge
- Doctorate, Doctor of Philosophy | 1983
- University of Cambridge
- First Degree, Bachelor of Arts | 1979
- University of Cambridge
- First Degree, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) | 1979
Biography
I have been a Senior
Research Associate in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic
Engineering at UCL since 2009. I am also a Co-Director of the department’s
Centre for Urban Sustainability and Resilience.
From 1998-2009 I was an
independent consultant and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of
Earth Sciences (Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Centre). I have undertaken
consultancies for a number of international agencies including the United
Nations Strategy for Disaster Reduction, United Nations Development Programme,
UK Department for International Development, British Red Cross, Oxfam, CARE,
ActionAid, Practical Action and ProVention Consortium.
From1990-97 I worked for
the international development NGO Practical Action (formerly Intermediate
Technology). That was preceded by work in the UK government civil service
and post-doctoral research at Cambridge University (where I also took my
bachelor’s and PhD degrees).
I have been external
examiner for disaster studies/management MA/MSc courses at Oxford Brookes
University, Northumbria University and Coventry University and have examined
PhD theses from several universities in the UK and overseas.
I am a member of the editorial
boards of two journals (Disasters, and Journal of Applied Volcanology) and sat
on the Committee of the European Sociological Association’s Research Network on
Disasters, Conflict and Social Crisis.