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Gerald Palomino Romani et al Receive 2023 Graduate Student Paper Prize

Gerald PalominoEERI is pleased to announce that the 2023 Graduate Student Paper Prize has been awarded to Gerald Palomino Romani, Kristen Blowes, and Carlos Molina Hutt for their paper “Evaluating post-earthquake functionality and surge capacity of hospital emergency departments using discrete event simulation," published in Earthquake Spectra Vol. 39, No. 1 (pp. 402-433). The award recognizes a paper published in Earthquake Spectra that has a graduate student as the first author. According to the abstract of the paper, “past earthquakes have illustrated the impacts of reduced hospital functionality due to physical damage resulting in a health service deficit immediately after a major seismic event. In this article, a methodology was developed to quantify the deficit in health care anticipated due to a loss of functionality of a hospital emergency department (ED) and a surge in demand due to regional damage in an earthquake scenario. Earthquake-induced patient arrivals were calculated using multi-severity casualty estimation for the catchment area of the hospital.”

Gerald Palomino Romani (M.EERI 2021) obtained his M.A.Sc. in Structural & Earthquake Engineering from the University of British Columbia  and previously earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the National University of Engineering in Peru. His research lies at the interface between earthquake engineering and emergency medicine. His interdisciplinary work introduced a methodology for modeling earthquake emergency response at a regional scale, considering the post-earthquake functionality of hospitals emergency departments and the surge in healthcare demand. His objective is to develop methodologies that inform policies, enhancing disaster preparedness and fostering resilient societies. Currently, he works as a structural engineer at Ausenco Vancouver, contributing his expertise to the development of mining and infrastructure projects.

Carlos Mesta (M.EERI 2022) was awarded an Honorable Mention for his paper “Quantifying the potential benefits of risk-mitigation strategies on present and future seismic losses in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal,” published in Earthquake Spectra Vol. 39, No. 1 (pp. 377-401).

For more information about the Graduate Student Paper Prize, visit the EERI awards and honors page here.

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