Professor Bruce D. Malamud joins the IHRR as Executive Director

Prof. Malamud will join Durham from King’s College London. He will take up his IHRR post from 1 March 2023, along with his appointment as the Wilson Chair in Hazard and Risk.  Bruce will be affiliated with the Department of Geography.

Bruce’s research focuses on multi-hazard interrelationships along with single hazard research in landslides, earthquakes, floods and wildfires. Research subthemes include anthropogenic processes, invasive species, time-series analyses, mathematical models, visualization, complexity, confronting models with data, and communicating science.

Bruce received a BA in Physics from Reed College in 1986, following which he spent two years in the US Peace Corps as a high-school teacher of chemistry/physics in Niger, West Africa. He then completed a PhD in geophysics/stratigraphy at Cornell University, awarded in 1998. After his PhD, he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship (1998–1999) where he studied natural hazards in Argentina.

Since 2000, he has been on the academic staff in the Department of Geography at King’s College London, where he is presently a Professor of Natural and Environmental Hazards. His current and past regions for his research include Africa (Kenya, Malawi, Zambia), South America (Argentina, Peru), Central America (Guatemala), North America (USA), Asia (India, Philippines), and Europe (UK, Portugal, Italy). Bruce is executive editor of Natural Hazards & Earth System Sciences and was President of the Natural Hazards Division of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) from 2007–11.

Bruce said “I’m very honoured to be taking up the IHRR executive directorship and the Wilson Chair in Hazard and Risk. Over the last two decades, the IHRR and Durham University have developed a strong record in practical approaches, research and education to understanding hazard, risk and resilience. I look forward to joining and being a part of this community, particularly working across Durham University departments and institutes, and externally, to help develop suitable interdisciplinary projects and research.”

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Prof. Colin Bain, said ‘We are delighted to have attracted a scholar of the calibre of Prof. Bruce Malamud to be the next Executive Director of the IHRR and Wilson Chair. We look forward to welcoming Bruce to Durham and supporting him and his Co-Directors in raising further the impact and international profile of the IHRR. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the out-going Executive Director, Prof. Julian Williams, for his leadership of the IHRR over the past three years.”

You can find out more about Bruce at his King’s profile here, his UKRI research grants here, and his publication’s here.