Alik Ismail-Zadeh | |
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Born | |
Alma mater | Baku State University (BSc, Mathematics), Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSc, Mathematical Physics), Russian Academy of Sciences (PhD and DSc (Habilitation), both Geophysics) |
Awards | Fellow, International Science Council (ISC) (2022) Ambassador Award and Fellow, American Geophysical Union (AGU) (2019) Fellow, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) (2019) Member of the Academia Europaea (2017) Honorary Fellow, RAS (2013) Axford Distinguished Lecture Award, Asia Oceania Geosciences Society(2012) International Award, AGU (2009) Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellowship Award(2001) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics, Geophysics |
Doctoral advisor | Vladimir Keilis-Borok, Boris Naimark |
Website | http://comgeodyn.org |
Alik Ismail-Zadeh is a mathematical geophysicist known for his contribution to computational geodynamics[1] and natural hazard[2][3] studies, pioneering work on data assimilation in geodynamics[4] as well as for outstanding service to the Earth and space science community.[5] He is Senior Research Fellow (in the rank of research professor) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.[6]
Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, Ismail-Zadeh attended the Bulbul specialized secondary music school of the Baku Academy of Music and Baku High School #134 (specialized in mathematics) between 1967 and 1978. He graduated from the Baku State University and the Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1983 before being awarded Ph.D. degree in 1990 and D.Sc. (Habilitation) in 1997 from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia. Ismail-Zadeh has been affiliated with the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geology and Geophysics (1983-1986, 1990–1992).[7] He has been chief scientist, research professor and scientific leader of research group "Computational Geodynamics and Geohazard Modeling" of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Earthquake Prediction Theory and Mathematical Geophysics, Moscow (1992–2022).[8]
He has been a visiting scholar, lecturer and professor at several universities and academic centers, including the University of Cambridge (UK),[9] University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Tokyo (Japan),[10] Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (France),[11] the University of Uppsala (Sweden),[12] and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste (Italy).[13]
Ismail-Zadeh has conducted research in the fields of geodynamics, seismology, sedimentary geology and tectonics (incl. research for hydrocarbon industry), geohazards, risk analysis, science diplomacy and history. His research methods cover multi- and interdisciplinary synthesis, theoretical analysis, and numerical experiments. He is a principal author and co-author of over 120 peer-reviewed papers and several books published by the Cambridge University Press, Springer Nature, and others.[14] Scientific results obtained by him and his group are as follows:
Inverse problems and data assimilation
Lithosphere dynamics and seismicity
Seismic and volcanic hazard and risk
Tectonic stress
Sedimentary basins
Numerical methods for geodynamics
Gravitational and thermal instability
Alik Ismail-Zadeh is active in promoting science research, science excellency and science for society worldwide. From 2018 to 2021, Ismail-Zadeh served as (inaugural) secretary-general of the International Science Council (ISC).[52] Also, he was (inaugural) chair of the ISC Awards Programme Committee, and currently he is a senior adviser to the ISC governing board (2021–2024).
Ismail-Zadeh was elected secretary-general of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) in 2007, and served the union for 12 years in this capacity (until 2019).[53] He also served the union as chair of the IUGG Commission on Geophysical Risk and Sustainability (2003–2007). He is chair of the IUGG Commission on Mathematical Geophysics (2019–2027).[54] He has been a member of the scientific council of the UNESCO East African Institute for Fundamental Research (EAIFR), Kigali, Rwanda, since 2018.[55]
He was a founding member and the (inaugural) governing board member of the European Association for the Promotion of Science and Technology (EuroScience);[56] (inaugural) president of the Natural Hazards Section of the American Geophysical Union (AGU);[57] chair of the Committee on Sergei Soloviev Medal on Natural Hazards of the European Geosciences Union (EGU); chair of the steering committee of GeoUnions grouped under the International Science Council;[58] and council member of the UNESCO International Geoscience Program.[59] He served the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization [CTBTO],[60] the Group on Earth Observations [GEO],[61] the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction [UNDRR][62][63] and the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth [IYPE; 2007-2009][64] in various capacities.
Alik Ismail-Zadeh has been editor or member of several editorial/advisory boards, including Surveys in Geophysics, Springer Nature;[65] Special Publications of Geodesy and Geophysics series, Cambridge University Press;[66] Computational Seismology and Geodynamics, American Geophysical Union[67]