Costas Synolakis

Costas Synolakis is an internationally renowned pioneer in the field of tsunami research and other natural hazards, with over 150 peer reviewed publications, over 220 conference presentations, and over 10,000 citations in Google Scholar. 
He is professor of Natural Hazards at the University of Southern California. In 2016 he was elected a regular member of the Academy of Athens, in 2019 he was elected chairman of the newly established Special Scientific Committee on Climate Change in Greece and in February 2023, he was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

In 1989 he received the Presidential Young Investigator Award from U.S. president George Bush, and in 2019 the International Coastal Engineering Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). In 2020 he received the Hamaguchi Award bestowed upon individuals or organizations that have made significant scientific or pragmatic contributions to the enhancement of coastal resilience against tsunami, storm surge and other coastal disasters.

Costas Synolakis  has helped produce several documentaries on natural hazards on the Discovery Channel, BBC, National Geographic, History Channel and ZDF, and TVARTE. He is best known for his ground-breaking theories on wave physics and his insights on the complexity of major global tsunamis, as well as his campaign to save the beaches of Greece. He is well recognised internationally from his Opinion and Editorial writings in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and Newsweek, as well as the Greek papers Kathimerini, Ta Nea and To Vima.