معرفی
Robert Weiss is a Professor of Natural Hazards at Virginia Tech's Department of Geosciences within the College of Science. His research focuses on interdisciplinary studies of sedimentology, coastal engineering, and oceanography with an emphasis on tsunami dynamics, disaster resilience, and climate change impacts. He holds a Dr. rer. nat. (PhD) from Westfälische-Wilhelms-University (2005) and degrees from Friedrich-Schiller-University (2002 M.S., 1999 B.S.).
Research interests include tsunami sedimentation/erosion, meteorite impact tsunamis, coastal landslides, and three-dimensional wave modeling. He develops numerical models like GPU-SPHysics and TSUFLIND-EnKF to simulate tsunami behavior and has conducted field surveys in tsunami-affected regions (Samoa 2009, Chile 2010, Galapagos 2011). Recent work addresses sea-level rise amplification of hazards and disaster intelligence systems for national security.
Teaching emphasizes quantitative methods in geosciences, fostering student skills in equation-based problem-solving, systems thinking, and communication. His courses cover sedimentary systems across spatial/temporal scales.
Notable contributions include advancing boulder transport theory, modeling impact tsunamis, and linking paleotsunami deposits to seismic history. Current projects explore resilience frameworks, meteo-tsunami dynamics in the South China Sea, and climate adaptation strategies for coastal communities.
Labs/Teams: Coastal Hazards Research Group (homepage: coastalhazardsvt.weebly.com). Collaborations include NSF-funded field surveys and UNESCO disaster preparedness initiatives.
