About
C.J. van Westen is a Full Professor in Multi-Hazard Risk Dynamics at the Earth System Analysis Department of the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Netherlands. He has dedicated his career to advancing natural hazard and risk assessment using Remote Sensing and GIS technologies.
- Education: MSc in Physical Geography (University of Amsterdam, 1988); PhD (University of Delft, 1993)
His research focuses on multi-hazard risk dynamics, including abrupt changes after disasters (e.g., earthquakes, volcanic eruptions) and gradual changes from climate, land-use, and population scenarios. He specializes in landslide, volcanic, and technological risk assessment across global regions like Austria, India, China, Colombia, and the Philippines. He pioneered open-source GIS software and training materials for hazard assessment and directed the United Nations University-ITC Centre on Geoinformation for Disaster Risk Management (2005–2015).
He is affiliated with the Department of Applied Earth Sciences (ITC-AES) and the Digital Society Institute, contributing to decision-support tools for risk reduction planning.
