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02.02.2022

Meet the young researchers behind MYRIAD-EU: Remi Harris

MYRIAD-EU wouldn’t happen without the driven and curious people behind it. This month we’d like to introduce climate scientist Remi Harris, one of the project’s PhD candidates.

Remi, please introduce yourself.

I’m Remi, a new PhD student from the island of Jersey, studying Science and Management of Climate Change at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice where I have also been working in collaboration with the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC).

What do you do on MYRIAD-EU? Is it the first project you’ve worked on?

My work in MYRIAD-EU will focus on the Veneto pilot, examining the interplay between natural hazards, anthropogenic hazards, and climate change, and on how the impacts of these multiple hazards can manifest themselves in terms of environmental quality changes.

I’ve been lucky to have experience in some other EU projects through my collaboration with the CMCC, but MYRIAD-EU is the largest project I have been involved in, and the first one I will be able to follow from the launch.

What makes you excited about MYRIAD-EU?

Although we are still in the beginning phases, I am looking forward to applying forward-thinking approaches that could reveal hidden or unexpected multi-risk dynamics in the Veneto region. The Covid-19 pandemic has also presented a unique opportunity to disentangle some of the anthropogenic influences on environmental quality which we may not have been able to see before.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Having only just started my PhD, in 5 years’ time I should be freshly graduated and hopefully applying the skills and knowledge I’ve gained through MYRIAD-EU into more work in this field. Multi-hazard issues are only just coming to the forefront of research so there will be plenty more work to be done!

Did you always want to become a climate scientist?

My path to this position has been very indirect, through different countries and careers. I didn’t have a clear plan when I was young, but what has always linked my ideas is an interest in science, and how it can be used to help people in some way.

Who is your science idol?

I would have to pick Alan Turing, who was a jack of all trades but also a master of many of them too – and he managed to do a heroic amount of good in the face of incredible persecution.

To end on a light note, if MYRIAD-EU held a party, which song would you request from the DJ?

I’d lose my British passport if I let a party finish without Mr. Brightside coming on at some point in the night. I think it’s written into law by now.

Got interested in the people behind MYRIAD-EU? Then find out more about Judith Claasen who’s a PhD candidate at VUA, or Marta Machado, our tourism expert.