Marie Curie Fellow Joins the Department of Geosciences

The Department of Geosciences welcomes Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral fellow Oluwatimilehin Benjamin Balogun. Dr Balogun will be working on the Project REMCRUMR to develop tools for near real-time monitoring of deep crustal mass redistribution for the timely prediction of earthquakes. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship is one of the most prestigious and competitive research grants in Europe, recognising exceptional researchers and supporting groundbreaking, independent scientific work.

Dr Balogun’s research will focus on strong earthquakes which could have very devastating effects in the form of physical damage to structures and land, or secondary disasters like fires and tsunamis. Due to their highly destructive effects, it is very important to find better ways to predict them especially in areas where the risk is high. The EU-funded REMCRUMR project is tackling this challenge by creating a new monitoring system to forecast when and where earthquakes stronger than magnitude 5 might strike. To do this, the project combines innovative knowledge from the fields of gravimetry, satellite geodesy, seismology, and digital signal processing to develop an integrated solution. By studying how the Earth’s plates move and strain, the companying gravity field response and regional seismological models, the system can spot warning signs and identify possible rupture points. This work aims to make cities and communities safer and more sustainable, therefore aligning with SDG 11- Sustainable Cities and Communities. Partners on this project include The GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam and The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV).

Dr Oluwatimilehin Benjamin Balogun will be working on this project under the supervision of Dr Matthew Agius. Oluwatimilehin Balogun holds a PhD in Applied Geophysics. Although he has experience in near surface geophysical prospecting, his work has focused lately on using gravity, magnetic, and other geophysical data to study geological structures, processes and hazards particularly in Nigeria and the Central Equatorial Atlantic African region. Key areas of his research include Geotectonics, Physical Geodesy and Gravity Studies, Numerical Modeling and Digital Signal Processing.

The project is funded by the Horizon Europe framework under the “HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships” action type. CORDIS EU project information page available online.