Dr Joel Gill

(he/him)

FHEA FGS FRGS

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

My research and related activities can be grouped into two interrelated themes:

1. Multi-Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)

There is a strong two-directional relationship between disaster risk reduction and sustainable development. Disasters disproportionately affect the most marginalised in society, and threaten development progress. Development choices we make today shape the risk faced by individuals and the spaces of tomorrow.

A key step in the characterisation of risk is understanding the multi-hazard landscape of a region (i.e., the relevant single natural hazards and the processes by which they may interrelate to generate combinations or cascades of hazards). To support this, I draw on both natural and social science methodologies, to collect, analyse, and integrate diverse qualitative and quantitative evidence (literature, field observations, interviews, data-generating workshops), and explore multi-hazard scenarios with decision makers.

Sub-Themes of Interest:

• Multi-hazard frameworks/systems
• Dynamic risk
• Natural hazard interactions
• Anthropogenic impacts on natural hazards
• Urban multi-hazard risk in the Global South.

Current Projects and Roles:

• Principal Investigator, Improving household preparedness in multi-hazard contexts, Lloyd's Register Foundation
• External Advisory Board, MYRIAD-EU – Multi-hazard and sYstemic framework for enhancing Risk-Informed mAnagement and Decision-making in the E.U., Horizon 2020.

2. Geoscience and Sustainable Development

Understanding of our Earth's resources, systems, and dynamics can help deliver many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). My work in this theme aims to characterise geoscientists’ role in sustainable development and understand the structural transformations required to facilitate positive impact (e.g., reforms to geoscience education, improved approaches to partnership development, strengthened access to and ability to use geoscience data by non-geoscience organisations).

Sub Themes of Interest:

• Science and the SDGs
• Education for sustainable development
• Capacity strengthening
• Access to and capacity to use geoscience data and expertise
• Evaluating interdisciplinary research.

Current Projects and Roles:

• Water Management in Sub-Saharan Africa. Exploring the barriers and enablers to geoscience information being used by those implementing water and sanitation projects, in support of SDG 6.
• Strengthening the Ambition and Technical Feasibility of Nationally Determined Contributions. Work exploring the science-policy interface, and how to strengthen this to support implementation of the Paris Agreement.
• Reshaping Geoscience to Support SDG Implementation. Work on education and critically examining the science-policy interface to identify and support action on changes required to implement the 2030 Agenda.

Aligned with this work, I lead Geology for Global Development, a UK-based registered charity that works to build a sustainable future for all by transforming understanding of, access to, and capacity to use the geoscience required to implement the SDGs.

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching

• I contribute to the World of Dynamic Environments module, using case studies from around the world to introduce Year 1 students to concepts of sustainable development and disaster risk reduction. 
• I contribute to a residential fieldtrip to Cornwall for Year 2 students.
• I lead the Hazard, Risk, and Resilience module, available to students in Year 3, exploring how complex factors shape risk and the actions that can be taken to reduce disaster impacts.
• I lead the Environmental Geoscience Dissertation module, and supervise projects on multi-hazard characterisation in the Global South.

Postgraduate Teaching:

• I lead the Risk Assessment module, forming part of the MSc Environmental Hazards, teaching on topics including complex risk dynamics and risk perception.

Biography

• Lecturer in Sustainable Geoscience, Cardiff University (2022 – present)
• Senior International Development Geoscientist, British Geological Survey, UK (2021 – 2022)
• International Development Geoscientist, British Geological Survey, UK (2016 – 2021)
• PhD Geography (Natural Hazards), King's College London (2016)
• MSc Engineering Geology, University of Leeds, UK (2010)
• BA Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK (2008)

Honours and awards

• Class Teacher Prize. Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics (2016).
• Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society (2015)
• Class Teacher Prize. Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics (2014).
• Best Paper Award (Bronze Medal). Young Scientists’ Session, Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM) International Conference, University of Northumbria, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (2013)

Professional memberships

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2024–)
• Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (2022–)
• Member of the European Geosciences Union (2016–)
• Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2016–24)
• Fellow of the Geological Society of London (2012–)

Academic positions

• 2015 – 2016: Module Teacher (Natural Hazards), Geography, King’s College London, UK
• 2012 – 2016: Class Teacher (Disaster Risk Reduction), Geography and Environment, London School of Economics, UK

Speaking engagements

Since 2012, I have given >40 invited talks (with visits to 16 universities in the UK, and additional invited talks in Ireland, Tanzania, Sweden, Canada). Select examples include:

• April 2024, Geosciences and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, GESINA Initiative for Geoscience Sustainability (Nigeria), Invited Talk (Online).
• April 2024, How can geoscience unions and societies effectively integrate science into global policy decisions?, EGU General Assembly, Vienna, Panel Discussion.
• September 2022, The future we want: how do we deliver it?, Cardiff University School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Public Lecture Series.
• April 2021, Geosciences and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Professional Geoscientists Ontario Symposium, Canada, Invited Talk (Online).
• September 2020, Effective approaches and methodologies to understand and model multi-hazard relationships (e.g., hazard cascades), AOGS-EGU Joint Conference on New Dimensions for Natural Hazards in Asia, Invited Talk (Online)
• April 2019, Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development, Geological Society of London Public Lecture Series, London, Invited Lecture.
• January 2018, Reshaping Geoscience to Deliver the Sustainable Development Goals, Irish Early Career Geoscience Symposium, Galway, Ireland, Keynote Lecture.

In addition, I have given >35 research and outreach presentations at conferences in 10 countries.

Committees and reviewing

• 2023–Present, Steering Committee, UK Alliance for Disasters Research
• 2020–23, Secretary (Foreign and Exteral Affairs) and Council Member, Geological Society of London
• 2014–23, External Relations Commitee, Geological Society of London

Supervisions

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:

• Multi-Hazard Risk Management
• Geoscience and Sustainable Development

External students:

• Co-Supervisor for Harriet Thompson (King's College London) - Using quantitative and qualitative methods for multi-hazard impact knowledge in urban poor communities: A case study in Kathmandu, Nepal.
• External Supervisor for Hedieh Soltanpour (Université de Tours) - Multi-hazard susceptibility mapping in the karst context using a machine-learning method (MaxEnt), case study: Val d’Orléans, France

Current supervision

Stephanie Buller

Graduate Demonstrator

Impact

Policy and Intergovernmental Engagement

• Multi-Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction. My academic outputs seek to strengthen efforts to reduce disaster risk in both UK and international contexts. For example, my work informed a 2023 report by the Royal Academy of Engineering, advocating for changes to the methodology used to develop the UK's National Security Risk Assessment. I have dialogued with organisations ranging from the UK Cabinet Office to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, working to mainstream multi-hazard concepts into disaster risk reduction efforts around the world.
• Geoscience and Sustainable Development. I regular engage in multi-lateral processes, seeking to transform understanding of, access to, and capacity to use the geoscience required to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I have participated in-person at two UN Forums on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the SDGs and COP26, and contributed to position papers and briefing notes in advance of other UN meetings. 

Public Engagement

• Place-Based Learning in Barry (South Wales). Working with a Cardiff University student in the summer of 2024, we are developing a set of self-guided walks and educational activities designed to support engagement with the geological outcrops at Whitmore Bay (Barry Island).
• School Talks and Workshops. I deliver talks and workshops to school groups on topics related to natural hazards and disasters. For those in secondary education, I reflect on careers in the Earth and environmental sciences, and their value in contributing to a more sustainable future.
• Public Lectures. I deliver public lectures to diverse audiences on topics aligned to my research. 

Continued Professional Development

• Building Sustainable and Resilient Communities: Actions for Natural Hazard Scientists. Supported by the European Geosciences Union, this free online course explores how natural hazard scientists can better contribute to the planning and development of sustainable and resilient communities through improved engagement in disaster risk reduction. The course includes seven classes, with an aim of helping learners develop skills and content-based knowledge.