Rate My Professor Thomas Wilson

Professor Thomas Wilson is a Professor in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Canterbury in the Faculty of Science. He holds a BSc (Hons) and a PhD. His research focuses on the impacts of natural hazards on society, including volcanic, earthquake, and tsunami hazards on critical infrastructure, primary industries, and community resilience. He has contributed underpinning impact and risk science to the major New Zealand Riskscape initiative, investigated GIS tools for evacuation planning and disaster management, and worked extensively on collaborative disaster resilience programmes including AF8, DEVORA, and Taranaki Volcanic Futures. His research has spanned diverse settings from Indonesia to South America. Professor Wilson is also Professor of Disaster Risk and Resilience and serves as Chief Science Advisor for the National Emergency Management Agency. He is Co-leader of Rural Communities in the Resilience to Nature's Challenges programme. He has produced over 90 refereed publications and supervised more than 10 PhD graduands.

Throughout his career at the University of Canterbury, Professor Wilson has maintained a strong emphasis on understanding natural hazard risk assessment, volcanic ash impacts, disaster risk reduction, and geological risk. His appointments and leadership roles reflect a commitment to bridging academic research with practical applications in disaster management and resilience building.