Alik Ismail-Zadeh

Alik Ismail-Zadeh is a German/Russian mathematical geophysicist known for his contribution to computational geodynamics. and natural hazard studies, pioneering work on data assimilation in geodynamics as well as for outstanding service to the Earth and space science community. He is a Senior Scientist of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, and Chief Scientist, Research Professor and Scientific Leader of Research Group “Computational Geodynamics and Geohazard Modeling” of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Earthquake Prediction Theory and Mathematical Geophysics, Moscow, Russia.
Biography and academic career.
Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, Ismail-Zadeh attended the Bulbul specialized secondary music school of the Baku Academy of Music and Baku High School #134 (specialized in mathematics) between 1967 and 1978. He graduated from the Baku State University and the Lomonosov Moscow State University before being awarded Ph.D. degree in 1990 and D.Sc. (Habilitation) in 1997 from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia.
He has been a visiting scholar, lecturer and professor at several universities and academic centers, including the University of Cambridge (UK), University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Tokyo (Japan), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (France), the University of Uppsala (Sweden), and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste (Italy).
Scientific interests and results achieved.
Research interests of Ismail-Zadeh cover geodynamics, seismology, sedimentary geology and tectonics (incl. research for hydrocarbon industry), geohazards, risk analysis, science diplomacy and history. His research methods are also broad covering multi- and interdisciplinary synthesis, theoretical analysis, and numerical experiments. He is a principal author and co-author of over 120 peer-reviewed papers and several books published by the Cambridge University Press, Springer Nature, and others. Scientific results obtained by him and his group are as follows:
Inverse Problems and Data Assimilation
Lithosphere dynamics and seismicity
Seismic and Volcanic Hazard and Risk
Tectonic Stress
Sedimentary Basins
Numerical methods for geodynamics
Gravitational and Thermal Instability
Science organization, history and diplomacy
Activities in national, regional, international, and intergovernmental organizations.
Alik Ismail-Zadeh is active in promoting science research, science excellency and science for society worldwide in his capacity of Secretary of the International Science Council (2018-2021), the largest international non-governmental science organization designed to defend the inherent value of science and to provide a powerful and credible voice for science. He is a Member of the Scientific Council of the UNESCO East African Institute for Fundamental Research (EAIFR), Kigali, Rwanda, since 2018. Ismail-Zadeh has been serving the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) as Secretary-General for 2007-2019. He was Founding Member and Governing Board Member of the European Association for the Promotion of Science and Technology (EuroScience); Founding Chair of the Natural Hazards Section of the American Geophysical Union (AGU); Chair of the Committee on Sergei Soloviev Medal on Natural Hazards of the European Geosciences Union (EGU); Chair of the Steering Committee of GeoUnions grouped under the International Science Council; and Council Member of the UNESCO International Geoscience Program. He served the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization [CTBTO], the Group on Earth Observations [GEO], the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction [UNDRR] and the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth [IYPE; 2007-2009] in various capacities. Alik Ismail-Zadeh has been editor or member of several editorial/advisory boards including Surveys in Geophysics, Springer Nature; Special Publications of Geodesy and Geophysics series, Cambridge University Press; Computational Seismology and Geodynamics, American Geophysical Union