Science for You — SciFY invites you to the SciFY Academy “Technology & Natural Disasters” event on Tuesday, November 12th, 2024, at 19:00, at Impact Hub Athens (28 Karaiskaki Street, Athens). Professors and Researchers from the Democritus University of Thrace and the NCSR “Demokritos”, as well as members of the Hellenic Rescue Team of Attica will discuss natural disasters & resilience in simple terms.

Participation is free and open to everyone!
Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis, as space is limited. Those who wish to attend will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

Book your free ticket here

We invite you to discuss :

• What is the situation in Greece in terms of prevention?
• What is the usefulness and value of prevention actions?
• How can technology support prevention, rescue, and decision-making (sensors, computational tools, AI)?
• What lessons have we learned from previous Natural Disasters?
• What new generation of technologies is being created through R&D?

See the event program here

A few words about the speakers and the content:

Natural Disaster Prevention

Initially, Dr. Ioannis M. Dokas , Associate Professor at the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH) in the Department of Civil Engineering, will talk about the need for a holistic approach to resilience to natural disasters. More specifically, he will talk about:

• The usefulness and value of prevention actions.
• The current situation in Greece in terms of prevention.
• The need for a holistic approach to prevention actions to achieve the desired resilience of a region.
• The example of the Risk Assessment and Resilience Center of the DUTH as a model of scientific infrastructure for decision support for the prevention of natural and technological disasters.

Then, Dr. Stelios Karozis , Senior Researcher at the NCSR “Demokritos”, will report on the Use of Computational Tools in the climate resilience of critical infrastructure. More specifically, he will talk about:

• How computational tools are combined to improve decision-making processes for the prevention of natural disasters (e.g. floods, heat waves, droughts).
• Presentation of the implementation of strategic planning for climate change adaptation in municipalities and critical infrastructure (e.g. Municipality of Egaleo, Municipality of Marathon, Hospital of Nikaia “Agios Panteleimon”).

Next, Dr. Effie Marcoulaki , Research Director of the System Reliability and Industrial Safety Laboratory of NCSR “Demokritos”, will talk about the early detection of forest fires. In particular, we will answer the following questions:

• What is the need for early detection of the first fire outbreaks in order to effectively deal with them?
• How can detection time be improved, and the impact of fire be significantly reduced?
  
• How can we find the optimal placement of sensor networks, taking into account the specific characteristics of a forest or the presence of settlements and critical infrastructure?
• How can we make use of geographical databases, analytical fire dispersion models, and historical climatic data?

Lessons from previous Natural Disasters

On behalf of the Hellenic Rescue Team of Attica (HRTA), we will hear from rescuers with experience in Search & Rescue operations, in particular, Dr. Harris Georgiou, Scientific advisor, rescuer (Sea/USAR), Mrs. Anastasia Andriopoulou, Financial Manager, and Mr. Alexis Vlachopoulos, Research Assistant. In their speech “Modern AI Technologies in Search & Rescue: Lessons from Recent Disasters and Prospects for the Future”, they will refer to:

• Lessons taken from previous disasters (Mandra/2017, Mattia/2018, Thessaly/2023, Turkey/2023, etc.)
• Ways in which AI-based technologies can help in Search & Rescue operations (security, victims, etc.)
• Next generation AI technologies developed in R&D programs (UAV/UGV, robotics, C3I, sensors)

SciFY Academy is a series of educational activities open to all interested, organized by the non-profit organization Science For You – SciFY, for the free diffusion of knowledge. Already, the beneficiaries up to date are more than 10,000, and the actions continue!

Through the SciFY Academy initiative, SciFY aims to create a platform for discussion, bringing together people from the field of research, knowledge, and the exploitation of technologies with citizens, students, and related professionals. The goal is to learn from the recent past and know what is happening in the present, learn about new technologies and existing technologies, be inspired by scientific achievements and shed more light on the subject of natural disasters, and learn about what is happening in Greece today from the most experts. We are waiting for you to discuss the present and future of natural disaster management in Greece. Registration for free participation: http://go.scify.gr/sfacIN47Tickets Short Speaker Bios: https://go.scify.gr/sfacIN47Speakers

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Organizer:
Nazeli Papadakis: academy[at] scify [dot] org