The Willis Research Network (WRN) has strengthened its position as the world’s largest collaboration between academia and the re-insurance industry by announcing the addition of three prestigious North American members: Princeton University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado.
Joining with existing WRN members, including Cambridge, Imperial College London, Reading and Durham, the newest members reinforce WRN’s focus on groundbreaking, industry-relevant research into catastrophe risk.
The new member organisations, which recently met for a two-day workshop in Boulder, Colorado, bring leading scientists and their world-class expertise to the WRN research programme: From Princeton, Professor James Smith, whose research includes the hydrology, hydraulics and hydrometeorology of extreme floods in urban areas; NCAR’s Dr Greg Holland, who specialises in hurricanes, cyclones, tropical meteorology and severe local storms; and from the University of Colorado, Dr. Keith Porter whose interests include next-generation, performance-based earthquake engineering and risk mitigation decision-making.
Each senior academic is supported by a dedicated, Willis-funded post-doctoral Research Fellow to focus on refining work to the specific needs of the insurance industry: Dr. James Done has been appointed Willis Research Fellow at NCAR; Dr. Anna Olsen has been appointed Willis Research Fellow at University of Colorado; and Gabriele Villarini will take up his post as Willis Research Fellow at Princeton University on 1 August.
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