The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the UK Government's leading agency for research and training in engineering and the physical sciences, has granted funding for a flood risk PhD starting in October 2007. The supervision for the PhD will be jointly shared between Dr Diane Horn, School of Geography, Birkbeck College, and insurance risk experts in Willis Analytics.

 

The award was given for an industrial CASE (Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering) studentship, which can be on any topic within the engineering and physical sciences. This particular PhD will focus on providing improved quantification of possible frequency and severity of insured flood losses in the Thames Gateway. Following the devastating floods in parts of the UK in June, this field of research is highly relevant in today’s uncertain environment.

 

Dr Diane Horn, School of Geography, Birkbeck College commented, “The Thames Gateway is an ideal case study site, as it is geographically contained, with a clear and defined risk and the potential for large losses in the future. According to the Government’s Communities Plan, 160,000 new homes will be built in the Thames Gateway area by 2016 and this research will help to inform current approaches to flood risk management.”
 
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