Meet the Team
Carmine Galasso, PhD
Professor of Catastrophe Risk Engineering
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Completed Degree: PhD Earthquake Engineering and Risk, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy, 2011
Research Interest: Catastrophe Risk Modelling; Engineering Seismology; Structural Reliability; Disaster Risk Reduction
Chenbo Wang, PhD
Research Fellow in Multi-hazard Risk & Resilience Engineering
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Completed Degree: PhD Disaster Risk Modelling, University College London, UK, 2026
Topics: Post-disaster Building Portfolio Recovery Analysis under Multi-hazard Scenarios; Regional Risk Modelling
Xinyue Wang, PhD
Research Fellow in Multi-Hazard Risk & Resilience Modelling
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​Completed Degree: PhD Structural Engineering, Lehigh University, USA, 2025
Topics: Robust decision-making under deep uncertainty; Risk Analysis of Renewable Energy Systems
Preetish Kakoty, PhD
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow
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Completed Degree: PhD Earthquake Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2024
Topic: Resilience Enhancement through Multi-Hazard Recovery Analysis of Earthquake and Flood-Affected Infrastructure
Roberto Merino Vela, PhD
UKRI Guarantee Postdoctoral Research Fellow
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​Completed Degree: PhD Earthquake Engineering, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS Pavia, Italy, 2022
Topic: Improving Seismic Resilience of Critical Facilities by Enhanced Assessment of Non-structural Elements
Karim Aljawhari, PhD
Associate Lecturer (Teaching) in Sustainable Structural Engineering
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Completed Degree: PhD Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, Italy, 2024
Research Interests: Physical Vulnerability Modelling of Structures​​
Oscar Higuera Roa
PhD Student (starting Fall 2025; UCL Research Excellence Scholarship)
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​Completed Degree: MSc Natural Resources Management and Development, Technische Hochschule Köln, Germany, 2022
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Topic: Integrated Urban Resilience Framework: Monitoring Change, Anticipating Systemic Risks, and Advancing Scenario-Based Adaptive Management
To be appointed
PhD Student (starting Fall 2025; UCL EPSRC Landscape Award with Howden Re)
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Completed Degree: TBA
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Topic: Time‑Dependent Seismic Risk Assessment: Fault Interaction, Clustering, and Damage Accumulation - Co-supervised by Carmine Galasso, Myrto Papaspiliou (Howden Re, UK) and Brendon Bradley (University of Canterbury, New Zealand)
Onur Ülkü
PhD Student (UCL-CEGE's Chadwick Scholarship with WTW Research Network)​
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​Completed Degree: MSc Earthquake Engineering, Bogazici University, Turkiye, 2024
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Topic: AI and ML for Enhanced Earthquake and Flood Catastrophe Risk Modelling - Co-supervised by Carmine Galasso, Arash Nassirpour (WTW, UK) and Maria Polese (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy)
Francesco Cascone
PhD Candidate (Maurice Franses Memorial Scholarship)
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Completed Degree: MSc Building Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy, 2018
Topic: Advancing Circular Economy in Construction through Innovative Holistic Strategies for the Reuse of Structural Steel - Co-supervised by Carmine Galasso and Katherine Cashell
Giulia Brutti
PhD Candidate (UCL-CEGE's Chadwick Scholarship)
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​Completed Degree: MSc Social Research Methods, London School of Economics, UK, 2022
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Topic: Developing a Disaster Risk and Resilience Analysis Framework to Model Climate Mobility - Co-supervised by Gemma Cremen and Carmine Galasso
Cristina Cordova Arias
PhD Student (UCL-CEGE's Chadwick Scholarship)
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Completed Degree: MSc Disaster Risk Management, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Peru, 2018
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Topic: Post-Disaster Business Recovery Modelling - Co-supervised by Gemma Cremen and Carmine Galasso
Rhea Srivastava
PhD Student (UCL-CEGE's Chadwick Scholarship)
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Completed Degree: MS. Urban Management & Development, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2020
Topic: Investigating Transformative Resilience in Complex Urban Systems - Co-supervised by Manu Sasidharan and Carmine Galasso
Sho Okazaki
PhD Student (UCL-CEGE's Chadwick Scholarship)
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​Completed Degree: MEng Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Japan, 2025
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Topic: Risk-based Management of Interdependent Railway Infrastructure Systems using Heterogeneous Data Integrations and Knowledge Graphs - Co-supervised by Manu Sasidharan and Carmine Galasso
Kayla McInnis
PhD Student (Network Rail Charles Blacker Vignoles Scholarship)
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Completed Degree: MSc Geographic Data Science, University of Liverpool, UK, 2025
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Topic: Building resilience of the UK railway network against multiple stressors - Co-supervised by Manu Sasidharan and Carmine Galasso
Ataklti G. Gebrekidan
Visiting PhD Student
(Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, Italy)
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Completed Degree: MSc Civil Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering), Mekelle University, Ethiopia, 2018
Topic: Sustainable and Equitable Seismic Retrofitting Strategies for RC Bridge Portfolios - Co-supervised by Ricardo Monteiro (IUSS Pavia, Italy), Nicola Scattarreggia (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy), Preetish Kakoty, and Carmine Galasso
Pouria Kourehpaz, PhD
Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Multi-hazard Risk & Resilience Engineering
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Completed Degree: PhD Civil Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2024
Topics: Post-disaster Building Portfolio Recovery Analysis under Multi-hazard Scenarios; Regional Risk Modelling
Diego Valdivieso, PhD
Honorary Lecturer in Multi-hazard Risk & Resilience Engineering
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Completed Degree: PhD Civil Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile, & University of Colorado Boulder, USA, 2024
Topic: Multi-hazard Performance-based Structural Engineering; Design and Structural Analysis of Timber Buildings
Vladimir Ramos
Research Assistant in Catastrophe Risk Modelling
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Completed Degree: MSc Earthquake Engineering with Disaster Management, University College London, UK, 2025
Topic: Dynamic Seismic Risk Assessment, Mitigation, and Cost–Benefit Analysis in Carabayllo, Lima (Peru): Informally Developed Hillsides
We are always pleased to hear from individuals interested in joining our team to pursue research in any of the areas outlined here. However, please note that we only consider applications from highly qualified candidates who hold a specialised MSc degree, have achieved a first-class honours (or equivalent), and have either secured or are actively seeking a competitive scholarship.
If you meet these criteria and are genuinely committed to advancing research in our fields of interest, we encourage you to get in touch via email. Please be aware that funding opportunities—both internal and external—are limited and awarded only to exceptional applicants through highly competitive selection processes.
Group Photos
Farewell, Kenneth. Wishing you all the best.
Farewell, Kenneth. Wishing you all the best.