Solmaz Mohadjer
Biography:
Solmaz Mohadjer wore shoes in bed as a child to be ready for a quick escape from earthquakes. Now as a geoscientist, she chases earthquakes and rockfalls with high precision measuring instruments. Together with her team, she works to detect and measure subtle movements and changes in Earth’s surface and their implications for earthquake and rockfall hazards. Inspired by school children in mountain communities of central Asia, she started the initiative ParsQuake to bridge the information gap between scientists and the public in regions of high geohazards risk exposure. Her main aim is to make geohazards research results accessible to all and help those having fatalistic attitudes move toward taking positive actions to plan and prepare for future events. She is currently a PhD researcher in the field of natural hazards at the University of Tübingen.
What does (e)Motion mean to you?
(e)Motion is earthquake motion, and people’s emotional response to earthquakes. Slow tectonic motions, over hundreds of years, can add up to forces that can be tremendously destructive when released, especially in societies with fatalistic attitudes. To mitigate the effects of earthquakes, advancements in geohazards research must be turned into practical knowledge on hazard preparedness.