Lecture by Hubert Chanson (University of Queensland-Australia) on "Fluid Mechanics applied to Natural Disasters" on at 4 pm on 25 January at Centrale Nantes

Conference abstract:

The presentation will develop a strong case for a greater role of fluid mechanics in the prediction and modelling of natural hazards and natural disasters. While our planet experiences a broad range of natural disasters, with vastly different physical features, the fluids in motion are typically turbulent and the fluid flows involves a very wide range of relevant length and time scales. Currently, most meteorological, oceanographic and hydrological models are incapable to resolve the turbulent scales most relevant to the interactions with human beings. In this seminar, the speaker will share his experience on successful fluid mechanics applications to natural disasters, including the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami inundation of Banda Aceh, the inland propagation of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami along the Kitakami River, and the deadly thunderstorm in western Corsica on 18 August 2022. In each case, scientific considerations are complemented by photographic and cinematographic observations, with some 'forensic' commentary.

Biography of Hubert Chanson:

Hubert Chanson is Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Queensland, where he has been since 1990, having previously enjoyed an industrial career for six years. His main field of expertise is environmental fluid mechanics and hydraulic engineering, both in terms of theoretical fundamentals, physical and numerical modelling. He leads a group of 5-10 researchers, largely targeting flows around hydraulic structures, two-phase (gas-liquid and solid-liquid) free-surface flows, turbulence in steady and unsteady open channel flows, using computation, lab-scale experiments, field work and analysis. He has published over 1,250 peer reviewed publications including two dozen of books. He serves on the editorial boards of International Journal of Multiphase Flow, Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, and Environmental Fluid Mechanics, the latter of which he is currently a senior Editor. Since 1994, he has been involved in the organisation of a dozen international scientific conferences. And he chaired the Organisation of the 34th IAHR Word Congress (2011) and of the 22nd Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference (2020), both held in Brisbane, Australia.

His Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/@Hubert_Chanson