19 May, 2012

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Rohit Jigyasu

Rohit JigyasuEmail id : rjigyasu at iihs dot ac dot in

Dr. Rohit Jigyasu is a Senior Advisor for the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bangalore – India’s first prospective National Innovation University addressing the challenges of urbanisation through an integrated programme of education, research, consulting and advisory services.


Education:

  • Doctor of Engineering (Dr.Ing), Department of Urban Design and Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway (1999-2002)
  • Masters in Architecture (M.Arch.) with specialisation in Architectural Conservation, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi (1994-96)
  • Bachelors in Architecture (B.Arch.), Chandigarh College of Architecture, Chandigarh (1989-94)
  • NORAD Fellow in Intensive Continuing Education Course in ”Urban Ecological Planning” at NTNU, Trondheim(1998)
  • International Course on Wood Conservation Technology, (ICWCT), conducted under the auspices of ICCROM, Directorate of Cultural Heritage (Riksantikvaren), Norway, Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research, Norway (SINTEF) (2000)

Career Highlights
Dr. Jigyasu is a conservation architect and risk management consultant. Currently he also serves as a Professor and UNESCO Chair holder at the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan. He is the President of ICOMOS-ICORP (International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness of the International Council on Monuments and Sites).  He is also the Project Coordinator and Senior Researcher for the joint Research Project titled “Understanding habitats, housing and social changes in post disaster traditional and relocated rural settlements in India”  undertaken by the University of Applied Science and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) and Chitkara School of Planning and Architecture, Chandigarh, India.

Dr. Jigyasu comes with a wide experience. He has been consultant to UNESCO and other international organizations for post earthquake damage assessment and recovery of cultural heritage in Gujarat (2001), Kashmir (2005), Indonesia (2006) and Bhutan (2009). He works with ICCROM and Getty Conservation Institute as instructor for various training programmes and projects on heritage conservation and disaster risk management in various countries of Europe and Asia and has been the lead author of the Resource Manual on managing disaster risks to World Heritage Properties published by UNESCO, ICCROM and IUCN in 2010. He has served/is serving as risk preparedness consultant for Archaeological Survey of India and various State Governments for Hampi, Ajanta and Ellora, Red Fort, Konarak and Pattadakkal World Heritage Sites and Cultural landscape of Majuli Island, Assam. In addition, he is also a consultant to National Culture Fund (NCF), Ministry of Culture, Government of India for Website Based Initiative “Emergency Response to Natural Disasters for Heritage Properties”. He is also member of the technical team for formulating Cultural Policy of Punjab.

Dr. Jigyasu is a visiting faculty at several prestigious institutions like – National Institute of Disaster Management(NIDM), Government of India; School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi; Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Faculty of Engineering, Tibet University, Lhasa; Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu; National College of Arts, Lahore; and Chitkara Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture, Chandigarh.

Awards & Recognitions

Awarded S.P.A.  Gold Medal for Best student in Architectural Conservation, 1996.

Awarded Citation for best final year thesis in architecture, Chandigarh College of Architecture, Chandigarh, India

Publications

  • From ‘Natural’ to ‘Cultural’ Disaster. Consequences of Post-earthquake Rehabilitation Process on Cultural Heritage in Marathwada Region, India” ,  Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, Vol.33, No.3, September 2001.
  • Report of the International Inter-disciplinary Post-Earthquake Reconnaissance Team to Gujarat, India sponsored by World Seismic Safety Initiative (WSSI), Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative (EMI), OYO Corporation, US National Science Foundation and various universities.
  • “Role of International NGOs in Disaster Mitigation and Recovery – Issues and Challenges in the context of South Asia”, Alertnet Weekly Digest of Reuters, UK, 26th May, 2003.
  • Jigyasu and Stovel, ‘Risk Preparedness Training Kit’, International Center for Study of the Preservation and Restoration of the Cultural Property (ICCROM) Newsletter – 30, 2004
  • A joint collaboration with Earl Kessler, Deputy Executive Director, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) titled “Integrated Tools and Strategies for Risk Preparedness of Historic Urban Areas in South Asia”, published in UNESCO-ICCROM Asian Academy for Heritage Management Newsletter
  • “Sustainable Post Disaster Reconstruction through Integrated Risk Management – The Case of Rural Communities in South Asia”, published in the Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning – Volume three, 2004, Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Chapters titled “Disaster – A ‘Reality’ or ‘Construct’? Perspectives from the ‘East’” and “Defining the Definition for Addressing the ‘Reality’”, Perry, R. & Quarantelli, E.(ed.), “What is a Disaster? Perspectives on the Question”, Second Edition, Xlibris, 2005
  • Editor, Proceedings of the Meetings on Cultural Heritage Risk Management, World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Kyoto and Kobe, Japan, 2005
  • Jigyasu and  Boen, T, “Cultural Considerations for Post-Tsunami Recovery”, Asian Disaster Management News, Vol. 11, No.2, April-June 2005
  • Cultural Heritage Concerns in World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR), Comments on the WCDR, Kobe, Hyogo Japan, International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, March 2005, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 141-160
  • Appropriate Technology for Reconstruction 2010 “Rebuilding after Disasters: From Emergency to Sustainability”, Davidson et. al Ed., Taylor and Francis, UK
  • A joint contribution with Salazar, A. 2010, A Decade of Lessons from Marathwada: Earthquake Vulnerabiility, Politics and Participatory Planning” Revi, A. and Bhatt, S. eds. Recovering from Earthquakes : Response, Reconstruction and Impact Mitigation in India. New Delhi: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
  • Rediscovering Traditional Knowledge for Post Disaster Reconstruction in India through ‘participatory’ research methods Bowd, R. and  Özerdem (eds.), A.   “Participatory Research Methodologies in Development and Post Disaster/Conflict Reconstruction”, London: Ashgate, UK, 2010
  • Urban Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Resilience: Case of Patan in Kathmandu Valley Nepal in SAARC Disaster Management Centre, 2010, Urban Risk Management in South Asia. Launch of Global Campaign on Making Cities Resilient, 8-9 June 2010, New Delhi, India
  • Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Resilience of Urban Environment in Aquilino M. ed. Beyond Shelter: Architecture and Human Dignity, Birkhauser: 2011
  • Economic Recovery Handbook of Natural Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Wesner B. Gaillard J.C & Kelman I. London: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. 2011

    • On the Review Panel of:

    1. International Journal, “Disaster Prevention and Management”

    2. “Disasters. The Journal of Disaster Studies, Policy and Management”

    3. Journal of Housing and Built Environment, Springer

    4. Editorial Advisory Board Member; Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Emerald