Irasema Alcántara-Ayala

Irasema Alcántara-Ayala (born 1970) is a Professor of Natural hazards and Risk at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.[1] She combines natural science with social sciences, and in particular studies the occurrences of landslides, natural hazards and vulnerability. She was awarded the 2016 European Geosciences Union Sergey Soloviev Medal.

Irasema Alcántara-Ayala
Born1970 (age 49–50)
Alma materNational Autonomous University of Mexico
King's College London
AwardsEGU Sergey Soloviev Medal
Scientific career
FieldsDisasters
Hazards[1]
InstitutionsNational Autonomous University of Mexico
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ThesisModelling mass movement risk under semi-arid mountainous conditions : the Alpujarride complex, Spain. (1997)

Early life and education

Alcántara-Ayala was born in Mexico City.[2] She studied geography at National Autonomous University of Mexico and earned her bachelor's degree in 1993.[2] Based on her performance during her undergraduate studies, she was awarded the Gabino Barreda medal. She was a graduate student at King's College London, where she worked on geomorphology and was awarded a PhD in 1997.[3][2][4]

Research and career

In 1998 Alcántara-Ayala joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral research fellow, where she worked in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.[5] In 2000 Alcántara-Ayala joined National Autonomous University of Mexico as an Assistant Professor. She was promoted to Professor and the youngest woman to be made Director of the Institute of Geography in 2008.[6] Her work focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean.[7] She works with the Mexico National Centre for Disasters Prevention and the Natural Hazards Centre.[8] Alcántara-Ayala established the Network of Social Studies on the Prevention of Disasters in Latin America.[9] She assessed the hazard presented by rainfall-induced landslides, using aerial photographs, field observations and slope instability analysis.[10] She combines this field work with social science studies, including social vulnerability analysis.[7] She has emphasised the need for geomorphologists to be involved with the assessment of risk and management of natural disasters in the developing world.[11] In general, Alcántara-Ayala believes that naural disasters are socially constructed, that there is a nexus between risk, the environment and development and that risks can be managed at a local level.[12] She introduced the Forensic Investigations of Disaster project, which investigates the causes and drivers of risk creation.[13] Alcántara-Ayala has also proposed strengthening the National Civil Protection System in Mexico.[14]

Academic service

Alcántara-Ayala is Vice President of the International Association of Geomorphologists.[15] She has previously served as Vice President of the International Geographical Union.[2] She serves on the leadership council of the Mountain Research Initiative.[16] She is a member of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World.[17] Her first book, Geomorphological Hazards and Disaster Prevention, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2010.[18] She is a Young Affiliate of The World Academy of Sciences.[19]

Awards and honours

Her awards and honours include;

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gollark: I'm the Minister of Walruses and Code Standards, and also a consul.

References
  1. Irasema Alcántara-Ayala publications indexed by Google Scholar
  2. "Alcántara-Ayala, Irasema". TWAS. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  3. Alcantara-Ayala, Irasema (1997). Modelling mass movement risk under semi-arid mountainous conditions : the Alpujarride complex, Spain. jisc.ac.uk (PhD thesis). King's College London (University of London). OCLC 1027287560. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.267249.
  4. "Irasema Alcántara-Ayala | Katerva". katerva.net. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  5. "Ciencias sociales" (PDF). Coniunctus. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  6. "Irasema Alcantara-Ayala, International Geographical Union: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  7. "Exciting News: The 2016 Sergey Soloviev Medal is awarded to IRDR Science Committee Vice-Chair Irasema ALCÁNTARA-AYALA". IRDR. 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  8. "Natural Hazards Center || Irasema Alcántara-Ayala". hazards.colorado.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  9. Alcántara‐Ayala, Irasema (2019). "Time in a bottle: challenges to disaster studies in Latin America and the Caribbean". Disasters. 43 (S1): S18–S27. doi:10.1111/disa.12325. ISSN 1467-7717.
  10. Alcantara-Ayala, I (2004). "Hazard assessment of rainfall-induced landsliding in mexico". Geomorphology. Hazards of Mass Movements. 61 (1): 19–40. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2003.11.004. ISSN 0169-555X.
  11. Alcántara-Ayala, Irasema (2002). "Geomorphology, natural hazards, vulnerability and prevention of natural disasters in developing countries". Geomorphology. Geomorphology in the Public Eye: Political Issues, Education, and the Public. 47 (2): 107–124. doi:10.1016/S0169-555X(02)00083-1. ISSN 0169-555X.
  12. Alcántara‐Ayala, Irasema (2019). "Time in a bottle: challenges to disaster studies in Latin America and the Caribbean". Disasters. 43 (S1): S18–S27. doi:10.1111/disa.12325. ISSN 1467-7717.
  13. "Forensic Investigations of Disaster (FORIN): towards the understanding of root causes of disasters | PreventionWeb.net". www.preventionweb.net. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  14. "El tema que pese a su importancia no ha sido tocado por los candidatos". López-Dóriga Digital (in Spanish). 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  15. "Irasema ALCÁNTARA-AYALA". IAG - International Association of Geomorphologists. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  16. artd, Super User. "Irasema Alcántara-Ayala". MRI. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  17. "Alcántara-Ayala Irasema | OWSD". owsd.net. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  18. Geomorphological hazards and disaster prevention | Geomorphology and physical geography. cambridge.org. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511807527.020. ISBN 9781107414785. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  19. "Journal of Mountain Science(JMS) - IMHE". jms.imde.ac.cn. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  20. "Twas-Rolac". www.twas-rolac.org. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  21. "Dr. Irasema Alcantara". www.ianas.org. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  22. "Irasema Alcántara-Ayala". European Geosciences Union (EGU). Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  23. AIEDMX (2016-05-31), 31/05/16 Irasema Alcantara, Irasema Alcántara, primera mujer en recibir la medalla Sergey Soloviev, retrieved 2019-06-30
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