Assoc Prof Adam Switzer
Biography
Adam Switzer holds concurrent positions as Associate Professor at the Asian School of the Environment, Assistant Dean (Development) at the College of Science, Deputy Director of Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus and Principal Investigator at the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS). He is a broadly trained coastal geoscientist who studies catastrophic marine inundation events (tsunami or large storms), sea level changes, coral reefs and tropical coasts. After obtaining a BSc and PhD in Geosciences from the University of Wollongong, Australia he accepted an Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong fellowship to study at The University of Hong Kong where he held positions as Post-Doctoral Fellow and Research Assistant Professor. His work on coral reefs and tropical coasts focuses on coral records of environmental change including the study of past ocean changes, pollutants, storm and tsunami events and heavy metal sedimentation.
Adam is a former Executive Council member of the Asia Oceania Geoscience Society and he has authorship on >95 peer-review publications. He is a founding editor of the Journal Communications Earth and Environment from Nature. Adam is also passionate about science communication and has appeared in documentaries for Mediacorp (Singapore), Curiosity Channel (Discovery) and BBC (UK) and delivered invited talks a numerous international venue including the World Economic Forum.
Abstract
Global oceans are changing rapidly. Sea temperatures are warming, oceans are acidifying and coastal reef systems are becoming increasingly impacted by human populations and rapid urbanisation. These compounding stressors have led to the widespread degradation of shallow-water coral habitats. This is of major concern because marine ecosystems, like coral reefs, provide important provisions to nearby coastal communities (e.g., food security, tourism, cultural identity and coastal protection). However, assessing declines in ocean condition and coral reef health is difficult because there are very few long-term datasets to compare with present day reef systems. In an era of unprecedented environmental and ecological change, can coral reefs maintain their biodiversity and geological functioning into the future?
Assoc Prof Benoit Taisne
Biography
Benoit Taisne joined the Earth Observatory of Singapore in 2012 as a Principal Investigator within the volcano group and the Asian School of the Environment (ASE) at Nanyang Technological University, where he is now an Associate Professor, and Associate Chair for research and graduate matters. Benoit was educated in France where he received his BSc and MSc degrees in earth sciences at the University Pierre et Marie Curie and the École Normale Supérieure de Paris in 2004. He also holds an MSc in geophysics from the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, where he obtained his PhD in 2008. Prior to moving to Singapore, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory and at the seismological laboratory of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris. Most recently, Benoit received the 2018 Nanyang Education Award (School) presented in the highest recognition of his teaching contributions to the University.
Broadly speaking, Benoit is primarily interested in magmatic processes from depth to the atmosphere, with the aim of understanding and integrating the external and internal mechanisms that control the dynamics of magmatic systems. His current research interests include monitoring volcanoes and real-time processing, analogue experiments, and infrasound, with a focus on the volcanoes of Southeast Asia. Within the ASE, Benoit established the magma transport and infrasound laboratories. He set up the very first infrasound-based monitoring network in Singapore and is collaborating with colleagues in and around Southeast Asia to develop infrasound capability in the region in order to further improve the potential to detect and characterise explosive volcanic eruptions.
Abstract
Boom! Did you hear that? Explosive volcanic eruptions can be heard by people close by, but they can also be “heard” by specific instruments that are sensitive to very low sound frequencies (called infrasound). By listening to the voice of volcanoes, scientists can learn what is happening at volcanoes without directly seeing them. This is an important advantage when you must monitor volcanoes that are in very remote areas that still have the potential to impact your life, including in Singapore. In this presentation we will cover the basics of this technique and how it is being used to monitor explosive volcanic activity from a safe distance. Together we will understand that even though we don't have volcanoes in Singapore, it is important to monitor them in order to mitigate their impacts on communities, both in Singapore and around the region.
Dr I-Te Lee
Biography
Dr. I-Te Lee is a researcher at the Meteorological Information Center of Central Weather Bureau (CWB) in Taiwan. Dr. Lee received his M. S. and Ph. D. from the Institute of Space Science, National Central University, Taiwan in 2008 and 2013, respectively. His research interest is focusing on space weather which involved in ionospheric physics, radio science, and numerical ionosphere-thermosphere model simulation. Now, he works at the space weather operations office in CWB to provide space weather operational service and information to local user, as well as continue to develop a data assimilation system for ionospheric forecasts.
On the other hand, Dr. Lee participated outreach education activities for space sciences with Prof. Jann-Yenq (Tiger) Liu since 2005, and became a frequent speaker to illustrate knowledge of space science and technology, and introduce influences caused by space weather. He has extensive experience in delivering lectures and workshops to a wide audience ranging from elementary school students to the general public.
Abstract
For your daily life, you could feel wind, sunshine, rainfall, lightening, etc., which are so called ‘weather'. In the space environment, above 100 km altitude from earth surface, there are also phenomena with day-to-day variation. Due to these are similar as weather in the space, scientist call them 'space weather'. This term refers to all variable physical parameter and conditions from the Sun to the entire space environment, such as solar wind, solar radiation, charged particles density, high-energy particles, and magnetic fields. In the early stage, researchers studied their variations and interactions with the Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere. Recently, more and more studies point out that rapidly changing space weather might make severe influences for our daily life. Therefore, scientists pay more attentions to understand influences of space weather and try to prevent their destructions
Mr. Edwin Tan
Biography
Mr Edwin Tan is a Senior Manager at the Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn). Mr Tan graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a B.Eng (First Class Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and was awarded the Koh Boon Hwee Scholars Award and the Professional Engineers Board Gold Medal in 2013. He has been involved with the research, design and/or development of satellites since 2012 and have worked on multiple satellite programmes over the past 9 years. Through the Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn), he helps to drive Space technology research and grow the local Space industry in Singapore.
Abstract
Spacecraft are vital to the successful exploration in Space. They provide the means for humans to explore, and discover behaviour and sciences governing our Earth. Getting a spacecraft up in Space involves understanding, applying the scientific principals behind them and engineering them using ever-improving technologies. In this talk, an introduction to students about the science, technology, and engineering processes behind the design and development of a satellite leading to a successful mission is to be covered.
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