The Institute of Mechanics of Natural Hazards of the Ionian University officially started operating on February 22, 2023 with its headquarters in Lixouri, Kefalonia.
The main mission of the Institute is the development of infrastructures for the systematic monitoring of critical parameters and quantities linked to the creation of natural hazards and the resulting disasters. The aim is to make it possible, on the one hand, to predict the intensity of occurrence of dangerous natural phenomena, on the other hand, to help their management based on modern scientific methodologies. The individual objectives of the Institute include the development of basic and applied research and the transfer of know-how and technology in the field of infrastructure development for forecasting and management of natural hazards, the utilization of research results with priority in the Ionian Islands Region, and the contribution to the social, economic, energy and environmental policy primarily of the region, but also of the country.
The scientific field of Natural Hazards requires an interdisciplinary approach to achieve an optimal understanding of the phenomena and processes that govern them. Natural Hazards touch a number of scientific fields of Positive Sciences and Technology, such as the general branch of Engineering, Science and Technology of Materials, of Applied Models and Stochastic Processes in Engineering, Meteorology, Oceanography and Climate Dynamics, Informatics Applications in Geosciences and the development of Logging Systems. In particular, in order to serve its mission, the Institute will develop research on the above scientific fields and the scientific objects they include and whose study is directly related to the understanding of Natural Hazards and Technological Disasters, their prevention and treatment.
