Speakers

he Speaker information and Bios

Keynote-speaker invitees:

LTC Aleksandar Petrovski PhD, Assistant professor at the Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski” – Skopje	LTC Aleksandar Petrovski PhD – Assistant professor at the Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski” – Skopje As an officer and professor, LTC Aleksandar Petrovski shows high level of initiative and creativity. He is responsible and punctual, with great communication skills and persistence. He shows high level of professionalism and efficiency when completing tasks. He possesses high military expert knowledge, and thus far has been assessed as “outstanding” 15 times by his superiors and two times by the students throw evaluation progression. The teaching activity of PhD. Aleksandar Petrovski is also seen in the introduction of modern methods and technologies in the teaching process, primarily in the use of advanced educational and computer techniques in teaching.

	Mr. Nikola Todorov PhD Associated Professor in University "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov", Burgas, Bulgaria Scientific areas of interest and work: Ecology and Environmental Protection, Environmental Legislation, Environmental Sustainability Education: Technological-chemical, Environmental, Sport

Mr. Angel Burov PhD in the field of Territorial, landscape and urban planning and design from the University of Architecture Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Sofia, Bulgaria.	Mr. Angel Burov PhD in the field of Territorial, landscape and urban planning and design from the University of Architecture Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Sofia, Bulgaria. Angel Burov holds B. Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Urbanisme as well as PhD in the field of Territorial, landscape and urban planning and design from the University of Architecture Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Sofia, Bulgaria. Currently senior assistant professor at the Urban Planning Department with occupation in various theoretical, ethical, analytical and conceptual educational modules at the Bachelor's and Master's programmes in Urbanisme and also Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Planning and others. Research interests include Integrated Urban & Rural Planning, Environmental & Landscape Planning, Tourism & Recreational Planning, EIA & MIA, Urban Regeneration, Non-motorized Mobility, Demand-responsive Transport, Urban Biodiversity & Agriculture, Community Empowerment, Intentional Communities Practical experience in urban planning and design consulting services. Participation in various activities of NGOs and citizen action groups' - mostly in policy formulation and consultation and good practices implementation.

	Plamena Atanasova PhD Assistant Professor in University “Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov ”, Burgas, Bulgaria Scientific areas of interest and work: Technical safety and protection in case of disasters, Protection in Disasters, Disaster Situations' Medicine, Risk situations in chemical industries and methods for protection, Chemistry and physics of macromolecular compounds. Education: Technological-chemical, stc.

	Sabina Nedkova PhD Assistant Professor in University “Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov ”, Burgas, Bulgaria Scientific areas of interest and work: Technical safety and protection in case of disasters, Protection in Disasters, Disaster Situations' Medicine, Technological Risk Analysis, Human Reliability assessment, etc. Education: Technological-chemical, Economical and qualification in Phycology, stc.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nina Dobrinkova	Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nina Dobrinkova PhD in Informatics, working in department Cyber-Physical Systems in the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, responsible for a number of national and international projects dealing with Environmental Modeling topics, CBRN, Wildfire Analyses, Training and Education activities.

Mr. Dr Atanas VASILEV Marine geophysics	Mr. Dr Atanas VASILEV Dr Vasilev is marine geophysics with 42 years experience in seismic, magnetic and heat flow data acquisition, processing and interpretation. He studies complex processes and geo-objects; author of more than 200 publications and more than 100 research reports; participant in more than 50 research cruises on board of 30 research vessels and European gas hydrates projects ASSEMBLAGE, GASHYDAT, EUROSEISMIC, SEISCANEX, CRIMEA, GEO-METHANE, GEO-HYDRATE, PERGAMON, GEOHAZARDS, SUGAR and MIGRATE. Dr Vasilev studies gas hydrates from more than 20 years. His current project "GEOHydrate: Geothermal evolution of marine gas hydrate deposits", aims reconstruction of the 4D formation of marine gas hydrate deposits from heat flow data.

Mr. Damyan Barantiev Research Associate, PhD	Mr. Damyan Barantiev Research Associate, PhD Research Associate at the Climate, Atmosphere and Water Research Institute – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (CAWRI-BAS). His scientific and professional career is mainly built as an employee of the Bulgarian National Weather Service (NIMH – BAS) for more than a decade. Research interests: Remote sensing measurements, Boundary Layer Meteorology, Coastal Meteorology and Climatology, Numerical Methods and Models Simulations, Mesoscale Modelling, Time-series analysis, Weather Forecasting, Physics, Mathematics, Informatics, Statistics.

	Dr. Rumiana Bojilova An assistant in the Department of Geophysics at National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. D-r Rumiana Bojilova is an assistant in the Department of Geophysics at National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.The scientific interests and research tasks of the scientist are focused on the study of the geomagnetic field, the total ozone content over Bulgaria, geomagnetic storms and their influence on the ionosphere.

Dr Zornitsa Dotseva	Dr Zornitsa Dotseva Dr Zornitsa Dotseva is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geology, Paleontology and Fossil Fuels, Faculty of Geology and Geography at Sofia University where teaches geology, natural and geological hazards, GIS, and remote sensing courses. She obtained her PhD from Sofia University in 2018 in the field of regional geology. She has been conducting research in the field of regional geology, tectonic geomorphology, and neotectonics since 2013 and recently she is conducting research on the assessment of the triggering factors for geological hazards and risks.

Ivelina Georgieva Chief Assistant PhD	Ivelina Georgieva Chief Assistant PhD Ivelina Georgieva graduated with a PhD degree at the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in 2017. Since 2009, she worked at the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and currently, she is Chief Assistant at the Department of “Geophysics”, section “Atmospheric Physics”. Her research activities are mainly in the fields of air pollution transport modelling, planetary boundary layer and mesoscale flow systems, air quality, quality of life and health risk.

Mr. Konstantinos Lymperopoulos	Mr. Konstantinos Lymperopoulos Konstantinos is a Military Engineer Officer at the Greek Army Forces and a Phd Student in "Geospatial Intelligence for Disaster Risk Management". He graduated from the Greek Military Academy in 2004. Now is a commander of a Greek Engineer Unit and before that he served in several positions such as trainer at the Greek Military Academy and Staff Officer at Hellenic Army General Staff. In 2010 he graduated from the Greek Army Computer Programmers School and in 2015 from the Greek Army Constructing Engineer School. At the same time he graduated with a bachelor degree in Geography, and a master degree in Applied Geography for Management of Natural and Human Induced Disasters. He made several innovation projects for the Army and won the first Greek Army innovation ideas workshop. Also he was member of the beginning of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO)'s project "Deployable Military Disaster Relief Capability Package'

Associate professor Mila Atanasova-Zlatareva, PhD at the Department of Geodesy National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Associate professor Mila Atanasova-Zlatareva, PhD at the Department of Geodesy National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Since 1998, she has experience in involved in the processing and analysis of GNSS data, coordinate systems and transformations. In October 2013 she obtained a PhD degree on thesis “Transformations models in contemporary geodetic coordinate systems”. Her scientific interests and research tasks are focused on the study of the geodynamic processes and deformations of the Earth's crust for the territory of Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula; This includes determination of plate motions, deformation analysis and analyzed and monitoring of landslide processes through the InSAR method. Up to now she has 75 publications. Coordinator of the research team in project, entitled ”Monitoring of landslide processes on the Northern Black Sea coast of Bulgaria through cooperate use of data from GNSS and interferometric images from SAR”. It was funded by Bulgarian National Science Fund under contract KP-06-OPR 06/1.14.12.2018.

	Assistant professor Hristo Nikolov, PhD Space Research and Technology Institute Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Proffesor, DSc Ivan Georgiev - deputy director of the NIGGG	Proffesor, DSc Ivan Georgiev - deputy director of the NIGGG Areas of professional activities and interests: Satellite Geodesy, Satellite orbit determination; Global Navigation Satellite Systems; Continental and Regional Geodetic Networks; Permanent GNSS networks; Global and Regional Geodynamics; Recent Crustal Motions; geodetic observations estimation theory. Part-time lecturer at Geodetic Faculty, University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, “Satellite Geodesy” and “Precise Applications of the Global Positioning System”; National Committee of Geodesy and Geophysics, Charmain; International Association of Geodesy, National Representative; Sub-commission EUREF, National Representative; “Geodesy” Editorial Board, Editor-in-Chief. Citations: 1358 in journals with impact factor according Scopus and WoS; 2028 in journals according to Google Scholar

Mr. Nikola Bobchev	Mr. Nikola Bobchev Nikola Bobchev graduated in Applied Geography and specialized in Waste Management and Ecology. He wrote his bachelor thesis on the matter of macroplastic pollution along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, describing the types of waste, sources of pollution and seasonal differences in pollution along the coast. He analyzed microplastic pollution between the bay of Sozopol and the cape of Maslen Nos and reported a method for efficient extraction of microplastics from sediment samples. Since 2020, he has been on the position of a researcher at the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, while being responsible for the systematic monitoring of micro- and macroplastic pollution along the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast. He has worked with leading NGOs to raise public awareness of plastic pollution in Bulgaria. In 2017, he founded the organization LessPlastic Bulgaria. In parallel, he specializes in digital marketing by creating valuable content to successfully promote the cause of reducing plastic pollution in the environment.

Karina Górska-Rożej, PhD	PhD Karina Górska-Rożej War Studies University in Warsaw, Poland Management and Command Department Doctor of social sciences, academic lecturer, assistant professor; conducts classes in the field of: shaping resilience to threats in local communities, public administration, public management, basics of management, organization sciences; research interests focused on the following issues: shaping resistance to threats in local communities, social capital, social participation, e-participation, relations between local government and residents, local community

Plamena Raykova - Tsankova Associate Professor, PhD	Plamena Raykova - Tsankova Associate Professor, PhD Plamena Raykova - Tsankova is an associate professor at the Department of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering at the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Since 2009, she has experience in monitoring of the seismicity in Bulgaria and the surrounding region. The research tasks she carries out focused on statistical methods in seismology, cluster activity, spectral analysis, and hazard assessment in theoretical and practical aspect. Her scientific interests and research projects are in the fields of seismic data analysis, seismic hazard assessment and risk mitigation.

Mr. Steve Recca Humanitarian Assistance Programs Pacific Disaster Center	Mr. Steve Recca Humanitarian Assistance Programs Pacific Disaster Center Steve Recca is a staff advisor for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief initiatives with the Pacific Disaster Center. Within PDC’s Humanitarian Assistance Program, his primary role is to coordinate Center operations with U.S. Defense Department disaster preparedness planning in the Western Hemisphere, Europe and Africa. Steve’s previous positions include security policy assignments with the US State Department and Department of Defense, as well as in academia. From 2006 until April 2009, Steve directed the Center for Homeland Security at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS), where he managed graduate and undergraduate education programs, applied research, and an international civil security seminar program in partnership with the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.

Mr. Vladimir Ivanov, PhD	Mr. Vladimir Ivanov, PhD Vladimir Ivanov work as a chief assistant at the Department of Geophysics at the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. His research interests and topics are numerical modelling of atmospheric processes, regional climate, and biometeorology. His research work is in the fields of statistical processing and interpretation of weather observations and numerical models.

Mr. Walter David	Mr. Walter David Mr. Walter David, is a capability development manager with 22 years' international experience in modelling and simulation. He is an Italian Army Lieutenant Colonel deployed to Somalia as Operations Advisor of the European Union Training Mission. He is also a Ronin Institute research scholar. He holds a master degree in computer science and qualifications in geospatial sciences, civil military cooperation, strategic decision-making, crisis and disaster management, preparedness and response effectiveness, project management.

Associate Professor Dr. Elena Hristova	Associate Professor Dr. Elena Hristova Associate Professor Dr. Elena Svilenova Hristova is Head of the Radiometric Measurements and Precipitation Chemistry Sector at the Department of Meteorology, National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology. She received her PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia in 2012. Her research interests include air and water pollution. Since 2012, her research interests are in the field of studying the chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols, identification of major source groups of PM pollution in urban environments with receptor model isolation, measurement of Black carbon concentrations in ambient air, and the chemical composition of atmospheric deposition in Bulgaria. She has more than 40 publications in scientific journals and conference proceedings, and has led and participated in a number of scientific and applied research projects and tasks at NIMH. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hristova has participated in international specializations in Austria, Portugal, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania on topics related to the determination of elemental composition of PM10 and PM2.5 with non-destructive methods of analysis and the source apportionment of PM. At present, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hristova is the leader of a project funded by the Bulgarian National Science Found on "Study of carbon and some significant hydrocarbons in atmospheric aerosol in urban environment" and acronym CARBOAEROSOL

Dr. Petya Trifonova	Dr. Petya Trifonova Dr. Petya Trifonova graduated in geophysics at the University of Mining and Geology "St. Ivan Rilski” in 1998. She has a PhD in "Earth Magnetism and Gravimetry" accomplished in the Geophysical Institute of BAS and over 15 years of professional experience, including as a student lecturer and supervisor of doctoral students. Dr. Trifonova is an expert in geophysical data processing, analysis and interpretation of gravity and geomagnetic anomalies. In cooperation with other departments, she participates in many different projects, including seismic hazard assessment, natural disaster and risk analysis for the region of Bulgaria and the Balkans. Currently, Dr. Petya Trifonova is Deputy Director of the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and is responsible for operational activities related to seismology, geophysics, geodesy and others.