Dr Martina Egedusevic (she/her)

I hold an MSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Belgrade. After graduating, I was awarded a national scholarship for attending an international specialization in water resources management and environmental engineering. My research dissertation critically examined flood management practices in Serbia by focusing on the extreme floods of 2006 in the lower Danube region. 

From 2009 to 2016, I worked as a flood protection engineer in Serbian Waters, a public water management company. On a day-to-day basis, I was dealing with various aspects of flood risk management in Serbia. For instance, I was actively involved in the production of flood hazard and vulnerability maps, led designs and implementation of structural and non-structural mitigation works of catchments exposed to riverine and flood hazards, and guided risk communication with national and regional media. 

In 2016, I was awarded a full scholarship to pursue a Ph.D., in which I dealt with assessing the impact of new woodland creation in a small Scottish catchment in the Menstrie River Basin, frequently exposed to flash flooding. As part of the research, I am doing extensive field surveys, collecting and analyzing data to understand the physical processes characterizing flash flooding in the catchment (e.g. overland flow, sediment runoff and loading, debris movement, and delivery) which serves as a basis for the development of a hydrological model. Throughout my Ph.D., I was focused on nature-based solutions for disaster risk reduction and climate change reduction, a topic that is receiving increased attention from policymakers, practitioners, and academics.

As a logical step forward, at the end of my PhD journey, In December 2020, I joined the University of Exeter as a research associate at the SENSUM project (Smart SENSing of landscapes Undergoing hazardous Hydrogeologic Movement). This job allowed me to learn about new hazards associated with woody debris movement and landslides. After this, I worked at ARUP is specifically involved with nature-based 
projects for different parties (Such as the Environmental Agency, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Natural England farmers, etc.). This applies to designing solutions and offering new perspectives to them.