Natural and Manmade Hazards Under Changing Environments
Fridays, March 7 – May 9, 2025
10:30 AM -12:00 PM ET
Hosted on Zoom
Course Overview
This 10-week seminar focuses on the multifaceted and complex impacts of natural and anthropogenic hazards on societies under changing environments. Natural impacts include droughts, flooding, landslides, wildfires, and anthropogenic impacts such as deforestation, armed conflict, environmental pollution and contamination, and climate change will be covered in the seminar.
The course will familiarize students with key concepts, theories, and approaches in responding, studying, and assessing these hazards. This seminar is crucial in ensuring the safety and resilience of societies through effective mitigation strategies and emergency preparedness plans by the policymakers, stakeholders, and the wider community. This also helps to minimize the impacts of disasters on human lives, infrastructure, and the environment by ultimately creating more sustainable and resilient communities.
Seminar Leaders
Dr. Tesfay G. Gebremicael
Hydrologist, Bureau of Water Supply Planning
ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Dr. Tesfay Gebremicael is a highly accomplished professional in water resources and hydrology with over 15 years of experience in basic and applied research, specializing in catchment hydrology, surface and groundwater modeling, soil erosion and sediment transport, wastewater management, agricultural water management, climate change impacts, water quality, and river system dynamics. His expertise also extends to applying remote sensing for integrated land and water management.
With a strong foundation in traditional engineering, Dr. Gebremicael has dedicated his career to fostering sustainable interactions between environmental management and ecosystems. His research has consistently delivered tailored water management strategies that address local and regional environmental challenges, promoting sustainability and resource conservation across diverse climatic regions.
Dr. Gebremedhin G. Haile
Visiting Assistant Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Gebremedhin Gebremeskel Haile is an accomplished physical geographer with over a decade of interdisciplinary experience in research and teaching in Ethiopia, China, and the United States. His expertise lies in exploring the interface of water, soil, climate, and human systems, focusing on hydrological, environmental, and climate processes. Dr Haile’s research examines regional and global hydrological changes driven by climate variability and anthropogenic drivers, addressing critical issues of drought, climate change, and water scarcity. As part of multinational, multi-institutional projects, he has collaborated with world-leading scientists to analyze hydroclimatic extremes across temporal and spatial scales, leveraging state-of-the-art hydrological and climate models. A passionate advocate for collaborative growth, he has led initiatives integrating training, research, and community service, addressing pressing environmental and climate challenges. Beyond academia, he serves as an editor for Climatic Change and PLOS Water and a reviewer for high-impact journals
Syllabus and Readings
Coming soon!
Course Schedule
Coming soon!
Certificates of Satisfactory Completion
Participants who attend 8 out of 10 complete seminar sessions are eligible to receive a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion signed by the Dean of The New School for Social Research.