The European Commission awards a Marie Sklodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship to Itxaso Odériz for research at IHCantabria.

The European Commission has awarded the Marie Curie Fellowship to Itxaso Odériz Martínez, for her research on global coastal climate risks at the Institute of Environmental Hydraulics of the University of Cantabria (IHCantabria), under the supervision of Professor Iñigo Losada. Her research project proposes a forward-looking risk analysis for climate change scenarios – tropical and extratropical cyclones – that have a novel component.

The premise of Odériz’s research proposal is that “the analysis of climate change must have a spatio-temporal component”. This premise is a consequence of the doctoral thesis she previously developed at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), in the area of Civil Engineering. Her research proposal warns of the need to take into account the intensity of extreme events and the variation in the displacement of these events when analyzing the impact of climate change.

Among the main objectives of her proposal is the identification of the regions that will be affected by these extreme events in the future, especially in coastal areas. Its purpose is to generate a probabilistic framework to provide decision-makers with appropriate advice on how to address adaptation to climate change in these regions, both at the socioeconomic and ecosystem levels.

One of the aspects that the European Commission valued most in Odériz’s proposal is the coherence between the relationship between her research work developed during her PhD at UNAM and the project she now plans to develop at IHCantabria.

Odériz’s ability to transfer her knowledge to other institutions, at the international level, was also well valued; because the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship Program promotes the transfer of knowledge, taking into account its impact at the economic, social and scientific level. This grant program is an excellent “opportunity to develop the project you want, which is usually the result of previous work,” says Itxaso Odériz, who considers this grant a great opportunity to work on her research project.

Odériz will begin to enjoy her Marie Curie Fellowship in September of next year for a period of two years. Because of the relevance of her academic profile, she has also been recognized with a seal, or mention of excellence, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

This prestigious program aims to enhance the creative and innovative potential of researchers who hold a doctoral degree. It offers a great opportunity for international mobility, to achieve a high degree of training and excellence in the field of research, inside and outside Europe. These grants promote international and intersectoral mobility in universities, research centers, research infrastructures, companies, SMEs and other socio-economic groups, within and outside Europe.