Draft:Johan Gaume

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Johan Gaume
Johan Gaume (2022)
Born (1985-09-18) 18 September 1985 (age 38)
NationalityFrench
Alma materUniversity Grenoble Alpes, France
Known forSnow mechanics, Avalanches, Gravitational Mass Movements
Scientific career
FieldsCryospheric sciences, computational mechanics, Geomechanics
InstitutionsETH Zurich
Thesis Evaluation of avalanche release depths: combined statistical and mechanical modeling  (2012)
Doctoral advisorMohamed Naaim, Guillaume Chambon, Nicolas Eckert

Johan Gaume (born 18 September 1985) is associate professor of alpine mass movements at ETH Zürich and at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos, Switzerland.

Biography[edit]

Johan Gaume obtained his mechanical engineering and Master's degrees in 2008 from the Grenoble Institute of Technology. His MSc thesis focused on investigating the local and nonlocal rheological behavior of dense granular flows using the Discrete Element Method. He received a Ph.D. from Grenoble Alpes University in 2013 with a thesis entitled „Evaluation of avalanche release depths. Combined statistical – mechanical modeling”. He was then a postdoctoral researcher at WSL/SLF in Davos. In 2016, he joined EPFL as a Research and Teaching Associate with extensive visits to UCLA and UPenn. From 2019 to 2022, Gaume was an Assistant Professor at EPFL and head of the Snow and Avalanche Simulation Laboratory. Since 2022, he is Associate Professor of Alpine Mass Movements at ETH Zürich, a position which is jointly affiliated with the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos, Switzerland where most of his group is located.[1][2] Johan Gaume was also a semi-professional snowboarder specialized in Big Air and Slopestyle.[3][4]

Research[edit]

His research interest is in the initiation and propagation of gravitational mass movements with a particular focus on snow and avalanche mechanics, including the development of multiscale methods based on computational geomechanics validated using laboratory and field experiments. In 2018, he proposed a new approach based on a novel snow constitutive law and a numerical technique known as the Material Point Method to simulate both the release and flow at the slope scale.[5] This model later allowed him and his group to discover a transition from sub-Rayleigh anticrack to supershear crack propagation during the release process of snow avalanches.[6] His work on snow avalanches was extended to model glacier calving and tsunamis as well as multiphase alpine mass movements.[7] He is also known for proposing, together with his colleague Alexander Puzrin a plausible explanation to the Dyatlov Pass Incident, a famous Russian Cold case.[8][9] His work improves the physical understanding of slope instability and mass flows with impacts on applied research related to risk assessment and management in mountainous regions.

Teaching and Outreach[edit]

Johan Gaume is involved in the class „Physics and Hydrology of Snow” (EPFL Master course) and teaches the course „Granular mechanics” at ETH Zürich (Fall semester). He is involved every year in outreach activities: he gives lectures and organizes practical workshops during the international avalanche education events. Gaume is a member of the Science Alliance of Protect Our Winters Switzerland.[4]

Awards[edit]

Johan Gaume has received the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship (SEFRI) and was awarded the SNSF Ambizione grant and Eccellenza Professorial fellowship. In 2023 he was a recipient of the IUGG Early Career Scientist Award.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ ETH Zürich (4 August 2022). "New Professor of Alpine Mass Movements and farewells". Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. ^ SLF (n.d.). "Prof. Dr. Johan Gaume". Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  3. ^ Mickein, Iris (2 February 2023). "From board sports to cutting-edge research'". Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b Eggert, Christiane (24 December 2022). "PowderPeople - Lawinenforscher Johan Gaume". Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  5. ^ Gaume, J.; Gast, T.; Teran, J.; Van Herwijnen, A.; Jiang, C. (2018). "Dynamic anticrack propagation in snow". Nature Communications. 9 (1): 3047. Bibcode:2018NatCo...9.3047G. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05181-w. PMC 6076253. PMID 30076290.
  6. ^ Trottet, B.; Simenhois, R.; Bobillier, G.; van Herwijnen, A.; Jiang, C.; Gaume, J. (2022). "Transition from sub-Rayleigh anticrack to supershear crack propagation in snow avalanches". Nature Physics. 18 (9): 1094–1098. Bibcode:2022NatPh..18.1094T. doi:10.1038/s41567-022-01662-4. PMC 9458539. PMID 36097630.
  7. ^ Cicoira, A.; Blatny, L.; Li, X.; Trottet, B.; Gaume, J. (2022). "Towards a predictive multi-phase model for alpine mass movements and process cascades". Engineering Geology. 310. Bibcode:2022EngGe.31006866C. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2022.106866.
  8. ^ Gaume, J.; Puzrin, A. M. (2021). "Mechanisms of slab avalanche release and impact in the Dyatlov Pass incident in 1959". Communications Earth & Environment. 2 (1): 10. Bibcode:2021ComEE...2...10G. doi:10.1038/s43247-020-00081-8.
  9. ^ Andrews, Robin George (17 May 2023). "Has science solved one of history's greatest adventure mysteries?". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  10. ^ "IUGG Early Career Scientist Awards 2015 – 2023". 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2024.

External links[edit]



Category:Academic staff of ETH Zurich Category:french engineers Category:Living people Category:1985 births