On October 26, 2015, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology held a Rapid-Fire Conference to celebrate the accomplishments of Professor Eduardo Kausel over 40 years in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The “Rapid-Fire Conference @MIT” was a day full of enlightening talks and intellectual discourse on important engineering and scientific issues of our times. The occasion sought to bring together colleagues Prof. Kausel had met in the academic community throughout the years that had influenced his own work.

Among the speakers, Ramon Gilsanz presented about natural hazards facing the world and prospective response strategies for the global engineering community.

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the full program of speakers:

Regions – Hazards – People

The world’s population is growing, with increasing proportions locating to dense urban environments. This presentation compares population density and economies of the world’s largest cities with their exposure to natural disasters. We assess the relationship between vulnerability and urbanization, and make recommendations for strategic partnerships for greater investment in pre-disaster preventive measures as opposed to post-disaster recovery.