Umberto Fracassi

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT UMBERTO FRACASSI

A seismologist with a global outlook on the interplay among multi-hazards, compounded risks, energy strategy, urban coastal safety, Earth system complexities, and human life across a changing climate As a Geology graduate, I have been primarily involved in understanding how hazards rooted in the Earth’s subsurface could influence the spatial arrangement of the ground-surface. This led me towards the subtle deformations due to earthquake-prone areas and, from there, to how geology can meaningfully contribute to assess seismic hazard. However, although at times overarching, seismic shaking is ‘just’ one of the numerous hazards that affect the ground-surface which, in turn, is at the intersection among life, infrastructure, the natural environment, and the geophysical hazards due to Earth’s dynamics. Since early 2020, I have been drawn to the interplay among the diverse geophysical and environmental stressors that contemporary societies are called to face, including: 1) the geosphere-biosphere nexus, with human life affected in novel ways by the disrupted cycles of heat and water; 2) the multiple, accrued vulnerabilities affecting the built environment, due to both age of infrastructure and the effects of sustained heat on it; 3) the concomitant i) concurring hazards and ii) overlain vulnerabilities affecting the ever-growing coastal urban areas, from sea-level rise to resource depletion, and from tsunami to energy demand; 4) thawing permafrost as a potential, global element that can both impact GHG expected emissions and redesign strategic roles of multi-national efforts and institutions. In this capacity, I have been involved across initiatives where my perspective could contribute to efforts centered on tackling the effects of climate change and their downfall on human life. These include Future Earth, UN Ocean Decade, ETIP Geothermal, UNDRR Principles for Resilience Infrastructure, OECD Forum Network, UNECE, UN SDGs 2030 Agenda, EU Knowledge4Policy, UN Action Plan CCG, Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum, Global Land Programme. Having branched out toward further environmental stressors beyond my ‘native’ seismic hazard-related one, my outlook has recently allowed me to serve as reviewer and expert evaluator for a number of initiatives, including IPCC AR7 Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, UN World Ocean Assessment and IPCC AR6 First order Draft of the Synthesis Report. I also serve in various EU-centered initiatives, such as the EC TAIEX (Space, environment, and natural resources), INEA-H2020 Energy Calls, and EU FP7 (Energy).