ESRs - PhD students

Jaleena SUNNY

ESR1.1 - ULIV

I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from University of Calicut and Master’s degree in Marine Geophysics from Cochin University of Science and Technology in 2018, with a thesis entitled ‘One Dimensional Regional Shear Velocity structure and dispersion characteristics of both Eastern Darwar Craton and Deccan Volcanic Province’. Following my master studies, I worked as a Project Assistant in the Seismology division at National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India focusing on Safety and Security of Vital Installations. Presently, I am working with the Uncertainty characterisation of ground motion from large earthquakes in urban areas.

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PhD Defense
Title : Uncertainty characterisation and validation of seismic ground motion models
Date : 3rd July 2023
Place : University of Liverpool


Ming-Hsuan YEN

ESR1.2 - GFZ

I have a Bachelor degree in Earth Sciences and a Master degree in Geophysics both at National Central University of Taiwan. My master thesis was about the source rupture analysis and the numerical simulation of the historical earthquake in Taiwan. After getting the Master degree, I worked as a research assistant at the department of Earth Sciences and the Earthquake-Disaster & Risk Evaluation and Management Center (E-DREaM) at the National Central University of Taiwan. My work was assisting the projects about earthquake source analysis and numerical simulations. My works and my earthquake experiences in Taiwan inspire me to learn more and hope to contribute my knowledge for preventing or decreasing seismic disasters in the future.
Currently, I am a PhD student at GFZ-Potsdam. I am working on the Ground-motion models for stable continental part of Europe. My object of the project is improving the description of the near source ground motion and its variability through physics and empirical based approached.

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Jiayue LIN

ESR1.3 - POLIMI

She graduated in Civil Engineering in 2018 at Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China. She was selected for Marie Curie Actions ITN Fellowship in 2019. Her host institute is Politecnico di Millano, and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Munich RE will be her secondment. Her research currently focus on hazard and risk assessment based on three-dimensional physics-based ground shaking scenarios in urban areas.

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Punky SUROYO

ESR2.1 - ULIV

I graduated from Geophysics Sub-Department of Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. I did my Bachelor thesis about “Analysis of Seismic Source Parameters to Predict Damage Potential in Underground Mine “ in PT. Freeport Indonesia. In 2019, I earned a Master’s degree in Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology from the MEEES program at the Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble-France and Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori -Pavia, Italy. I did my Internship in ISTerre and completing a Master thesis about : " Deriving Source and Site Transfer Function from Coda Wave : Qcoda Estimation and Removing Coda Attenuation". In the second year of master, I work on the "Shear Wave Velocity (Vs) - Based Assessment for Microzoning the Liquefaction Risk : A Case Study of the Urban Center of Cavezzo, Emilia - Romagna Region (Northern Italy)" under the Liquefact Project in 2019.

I am currently working in the Modeling Ground-motion from Induced Seismicity in Urban Areas. As a key element of seismic hazard assessment, ground motion models (GMM) for induced seismicity would be determined during this project. Factors influencing ground motions such as earthquake magnitude, geometric decay and attenuation (due to the distance of the site and earthquake source), earthquake rupture properties( e.g., stress drop), wave propagation effects, and the site’s geology would be analyzed to determine the ground motion models (GMM) for induced earthquakes under the concept of scenario-specific modeling.

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Riccardo MINETTO

ESR2.2 - UGA

The focus of my PhD is on natural and induced seismic swarms. In particular, I will process several seismic datasets recorded in different parts of Europe. The processed data will form the base for an analysis of statistical and physical properties of swarms. The ultimate goal is to find markers that can help to identify their triggering mechanisms.

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in geology and a Master’s Degree in geophysics, both received at the University of Trieste in Italy. My experience with passive seismic data began with my Master’s thesis, when I had the chance to carry out a seismic monitoring of the Larderello-Travale geothermal field (Italy) during a drilling of an exploratory well. This project also gave me the opportunity to train at the University of Geneva and to learn how to manage a local seismic network.
After my graduation, I was hired as a research assistant at CEED (Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics) in Oslo. My job at CEED was to characterise seismic signals recorded at the Lusi hydrothermal system and during an eruption of Mount Bromo (East Java, Indonesia).

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PhD Defense
Title : Seismic swarms : comparing natural and induced earthquakes
Date : 20th April 2023
Place : University Grenoble Alpes


Paulina JANUSZ

ESR3.1 - ETHZ

I am PhD student at Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zürich. During my PhD I focus mostly on linear and non-linear site response in urban environment. As a case study, I am going to use the Swiss city of Lucerne. My project is supervised mainly by Donat Fäh (ETH Zürich) and Fabian Bonilla (IFSTTAR Paris), however, at ETH I also collaborate closely with Vincent Perron and Walter Imperatori who are my co-supervisors. As my secondments, I will spend a few months at IFSTTAR in Paris and Resonance in Geneva.

I was born in Krosno, a small town in southeastern Poland. I have received a Bachelor’s degree in Geophysics from AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. Then, I continued my education in the field of geophysics during a Master Programme at Aarhus University in Denmark. After successful defense of my Master thesis “Modeling of strain distribution in the reservoir unit of the South Arne field”, I stayed at Aarhus University working as a research assistant within the Radical Innovation Sprint project funded by the Danish Hydrocarbon Research and Technology Centre (DHRTC). The project aimed to investigate the possibilities of using drill cuttings to estimate rock elastic properties.

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Anna Maria SKLODOWSKA

ESR3.2 - OGS

Ciao ! I’m Anna Maria. I’m from Warsaw in Poland, where I did my bachelor and master degree in civil engineering at Warsaw University of Technology. During my master studies, I spend a year in Norway at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim and few months in Oslo, where I had my first encounter with the research world. After working for a while in a private sector, I decided to extend my educational background and I started a second master degree in Geohazards at Université Grenoble Alpes in France. This decision re-shaped completely perviously chosen path. I was given an amazing opportunity to do my master project in collaboration with GNS Science research institute in New Zealand where I spent few months analysing seismic data from instrumented buildings in Wellington.
Combination of educational and professional experience opened me the door to be a part of the URBASIS project. In November 2019 I’ve moved to Trieste in Italy and I started my project, where I will attempt to develop new methodologies for soil structure interaction assessment.
Apart from work, I like to draw, play chess and hike.

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PhD Defense
Title : Innovative approach for soil-structure interaction assessment (pdf)
Date : 23rd March 2023
Place : University Trieste



Shoaib Ayjaz MOHAMMED

ESR3.3 - UGA

Shoaib is a PhD student at UGA since January 2020. He works with Philippe Roux at the ISTerre Laboratory in Grenoble. His research concerns the metamaterial behaviour of dense urban areas. To verify this concept he will analyze experimental data from dense building clusters and perform numerical simulations using high-end computational facilities at UGA. Current efforts focus on devising a method for surface wave mode-separation in layered media and studying scattering in clamped metamaterials. He will also be participating in the META-WT experiment which aims to investigate the role of the wind turbines as a set of coupled resonators.

Until 2019, Shoaib was a master’s student at IIT Hyderabad, India where he developed his interest in metamaterial-based seismic barriers while exploring low-frequency noise mitigation strategies for terrestrial gravitational-wave detectors like LIGO. He has a background in Civil and Structural Engineering. When he is not doing research he likes to go cycling, play Table Tennis or outdoor sports. He enjoys cooking and travelling and often goes hiking in the mountains.

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Srihari SANGARAJU

ESR3.4 - POLIMI

He is motivated to work on wave propagation, source inversions, computational geophysics. His ongoing research is on physics based earthquake simulations. He has a master’s degree in structural engineering, thesis focusing on behaviour of structures due to super-shear phenomenon of earthquake source. He is also looking to explore hazard assessment and use of machine learning techniques. Apart from work, he loves food, walking on sunny days and riding motor bike in the night.

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Chiara AMENDOLA

ESR3.5 - AUTH

I’m an italian engineer gratuated at the University of Neaples Federico II with a thesis in Soil Dynamic and Geotechnical Engineering. The thesis research activity was carried out as part of the SISIFO PROJECT (Seismic Impedances from soil-foundation-structure interaction (SFSI) from on site test) in the framework of the research programme SERA.
After my master graduation I continued to work on the experimental and numerical analyses of SFSI systems in the framework of the research programme funded by Italian civil protection, through the ReLUIS Consortium.
My sensibleness concerning reducing risk and increasing resilience in urban environment has considerably increased visiting the cities devasted from the recent seismic sequence in Central Italy, where clearly appears that new challenges for Urban Engineering Seismology need to be faced. I would like, with my research activity, to encourage the adoption of reliable SFSI models in urban environment.
I love reading more than anything, research papers as well as novels and sometimes the difference is very smooth.
"Noi stiamo volando sopra una palla di fuoco. La parte che s’è raffreddata galleggia sulla lava. Su questa parte costruiamo i palazzi, i ponti e le strade. Ogni tanto la lava esce dal Vesuvio oppure fa venire un terremoto che distrugge tutto. Ogni secondo può succedere qualcosa che ti fa soffrire in un modo che non hai mai abbastanza lacrime." (My brilliant friend-Elena Ferrante)

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Subash GHIMIRE

ESR4.1 - UGA

I am from Nepal. I did my undergraduate studies in civil engineering with a specialization in hydropower engineering from Kathmandu University of Nepal in 2015. On April 25, 2015, a devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit central Nepal. I bore witness to the loss of infrastructures and livelihood. I soon realize that it was not the earthquake that killed people and economic losses but the seismic vulnerabilities itself that draws my attention in seismic hazard, risk, and vulnerabilities.
I have had the opportunity to work as a trainee engineer at KU, an internship research assistant at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and ISTerre. I completed my graduate studies in Earthquake Engineering and Seismology from the University of Grenoble, France and the University of Patras, Greece.
In this project, I will develop and perform vulnerability assessments using opensource data along with machine learning applications. I will also develop building damage prediction equations that assist in the rapid assessment of potential pre and post-seismic damage.

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PhD Defense
Title : Data-driven-based models for seismic damage assessment of buildings : using machine learning at a regional scale and in-situ structural monitoring at building scale
Date : 5th June 2023
Place : University Grenoble Alpes


Andrés Felipe HERNÁNDEZ ESTRADA

ESR4.2 - Fugro/UGA

I am a Civil Engineer from Colombia with two master’s degrees on Structural Engineering and other in Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology in Mexico and Italy respectively. In my professional experience I have worked in consulting projects in structural engineering, seismic engineering and the insurance sector. My ESR topic is about the time-dependency of seismic risk in urban areas including seismicity variations and building degradation in time. During my research I have to spend time in the University Grenoble Alpes and also in a private company called FUGRO based in Auriol, southern France near Marseille as a member of the seismic hazard team. My hobbies are traveling, hiking, watching movies, listening music and sharing with friends and of course with my family.

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PhD Defense
Title : Time dependency of seismic hazard and risk in urban areas, including seismicity variations and building degradation in time
Date : 31st May 2023
Place : University Grenoble Alpes


Karina LØVIKNES

ESR4.3 - GFZ

I am a PhD student at GFZ - Potsdam focusing on testing of Ground Shaking Models. I will test Ground Shaking Models against large databases, like the Japanese KiK-net, and evaluate how the models perform in relation to specific issues, starting with nonlinear site effects and model complexity.
I have both a Bachelor and Master degree in Geophysics from the University of Bergen. The objective of my master thesis was to measure seismic station timing error from ambient noise. After finishing my master’s degree in January 2019, I was a research assistant at the Department of Earth Science at the University of Bergen, where I worked on timing issues with Ocean Bottom Sensors. In addition to my studies at the University of Bergen, I had two semesters abroad, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa during spring 2015 and at Université Grenoble Alpes in France during spring 2016, and a summer internship at Equinor in 2018.

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Yu CHEN

ESR4.4 - ULIV

He earned his Master’s degree in Geological Engineering from a joint program between Tongji University and the State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection (Chengdu University of Technology, China). He was engaged in several research projects on reliability and risk analysis of geo-hazards (i.e. landslide and tunnel squeezing) during his master’s time. He mainly focused on probabilistic modeling of uncertainties and the use of Bayesian methods.

Before joining the URBASIS project he spent a gap year in Australia, when he confirmed his continued interests in developing methods and tools for Machine Learning applications and risk-informed decision making in engineering field.

From October 2019, he worked as a Postgraduate Researcher at University of Liverpool on the ESR 4.4 project "Modeling and dealing with vague and sparse information using machine learning", under the supervision of Edoardo Patelli and Michael Beer. A goal of developing robust Machine Learning tools for dealing with "bad" data problems under uncertainty in earthquake engineering is proposed for this project.

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Astha POUDEL

ESR4.5 - AUTH

Namaste ! I am a civil engineer from Nepal. I did my Bachelor in Civil Engineering from Pokhara University, Nepal. I was one of the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) scholar to pursue my MSc in Natural Hazards and Risks in Structural Engineering at Bauhaus University, Germany. Additionally, I have also done MSc in Urban Planning from Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University.
Currently, I am one of the early-stage researchers with MSCA fellowship at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. It involves the close collaboration with Politecnico di Milano, Italy and RESONANCE, Geneva. The objective of my research is to develop the innovative approach and computational model for the systemic risk and vulnerability of the systems due to earthquake in urban and industrial scale. Realization of the suffering of society due to the earthquakes and other hazards in my country intrigued me in the field of natural hazards and risk mitigation.
I love to travel and understand different cultures. I aspire to become an exemplary woman and inspire many to make a difference.

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Updated on 18 septembre 2023