What’s on

On this page: Upcoming public events | Media features | Our blog 

Upcoming public events

Past events

• 15th Annual UCL RDR Conference - Where is the ‘Human’ in Humanitarianism?
• RDR Monthly Event: Inaugural Lecture - Professor Mohammad Shamsudduha
• RDR Monthly Event: Gender, Disaster, and the Sendai Framework: A Decade of Progress?
• RDR Monthly Event: Financing Climate Change and Disaster Resilience Strategies in the Asia Pacific
• RDR Monthly Event: Leadership in Resilience: Thriving in Your Early Career
• RDR Monthly Event: The Road to COP29 in Baku: Tackling the Climate Crisis
• 14th Annual UCL RDR Conference – Futures of Risk: Causes, Consequences, Change
• UKADR 2024 Conference: Collaborative research to make a difference

View all events » 

UCL RDR in the media

Experts from the UCL Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction are frequently called upon for commentary and insights during and after major disasters.

Media features and public engagement

• Prof Mohammad Shamsudduha comments in Nature on ‘Redefining flood hazard and addressing emerging risks in an era of extremes’
• Profs Joanna Faure Walker and Ilan Kelman have provided commentary for news outlets about the causes and consequences of the Myanmar Earthquake
  • The Times (Ilan Kelman)
  • The Journal (Ilan Kelman)
  • Euronews Romania (Ilan Kelman)
  • Reuters (Joanna Faure Walker)
  • The Business Standard (Joanna Faure Walker)
  • The Independent (Joanna Faure Walker)
• Dr Megnaa Mehtta on land loss in Ghoramara
  Ghoramara’s residents are being ignored, and the fate of the island is being relegated to one that will sink as a result of sea-level rise.
• Prof Joanna Faure Walker was part of a panel at the House of Commons for an event on the 2nd anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Türkiye
  Hosted by Ceftus - Centre for Turkey Studies and Devlopment
• Comments from Prof Joanna Faure Walker featured by BBC on the Santorini ‘seismic crisis’
• Prof Joanna Faure Walker featured on ‘Get it in 10’ podcast aimed at geography school pupils
  In this episode, Prof Faure Walker discusses the 2023 Turkey-Syrian earthquake and building codes
• Prof David Alexander on the administrative response to the Dana storm
  Prof David Alexander spoke with El País about the critical failures in administrative response during the Dana storm in Valencia. He emphasised the need for rigorous and systematic emergency planning to prevent future tragedies.
• Prof Ilan Kelman on the risks involved with private spacewalking in AP News
• Prof Ilan Kelman on the impact of heat waves on power grids in Southern and Eastern Europe
• Dr Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson’s research on trafficking risks for unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK 
  The Guardian exclusively covered Dr Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson’s research with UCL and ECPAT UK colleagues.
• Dr Yulia Ioffe on Belarus’s suspected role in the transfers of children
  Dr Yulia Ioffe was interviewed by Reuters as part of an article on Ukraine investigating the role of Belarus in transfers of children.
• Dr Sarah Dryhurst on how music can influence climate change action
  Dr Sarah Dryhurst was quoted in an LA Times article and featured in an associated podcast about the Tempo: Music for Climate Action research project, which looks at whether music can influence climate change action.
• Prof Ilan Kelman on whether we can reduce lives lost from extreme weather 
  Prof Ilan Kelman appeared on the BBC World Service programme ‘The Climate Question’ discussing how the number of lives lost due to extreme weather can be reduced.
• Prof Joanna Faure Walker on how to respond and reconstruct when disaster strikes 
  Prof Joanna Faure Walker appeared on Euronews as part of a panel discussing disaster reconstruction with a focus on the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.
• Dr Mohammad Shamsudduha on how irrigation systems in Bangladesh may help to avoid flooding 
  Dr Mohammad Shamsudduha was quoted in a New Scientist article about how farmers’ irrigation systems are helping to avoid flooding in Bangladesh. The piece referenced research conducted by Shams and published in Science.
• Dr Gianluca Pescaroli on how banks are preparing for winter power shortages 
  Dr Gianluca Pescaroli was featured in a Reuters analysis of how European banks and financial institutions are preparing for potential winter power shortages.
  23 September 2022 – He also appeared in a feature on Bloomberg UK about how banks are using their lockdown plans to prepare for power blackouts.