David Etkin

Lecturer of Emergency Management

Director, EM Graduate Program

MSc (York University),

BEd (University of Toronto),

BSc (York University)

Prof. David Etkin is coordinator of the Program in Emergency Management at York University, the first in Ontario and the second of its kind in Canada. Prior to that he worked for 28 years with the Meteorological Service of Canada in a variety of fields, including operations and research. He has been an associate member of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto since 1994, doing research on natural hazards, teaching and supervising graduate students. In 2003 he was awarded the Environment Canada Award of Excellence. Prof. Etkin has participated in three international hazard projects and was one of only 2 non-Americans to assist with their 2nd national assessment of natural hazards. He has been principal investigator for a NATO short term project on natural hazards and disasters and the Canadian Assessment of Natural Hazards Project that resulted in the book 'An Assessment of Natural Hazards and Disasters in Canada,' which he edited. The summary report he wrote of this latter project has been widely distributed within Canada and was used by PSEPC and Foreign Affairs as the official Canadian contribution to the ISDR Kobe disaster conference held this past year.