Secretary General: Dr Julius Lejju (Uganda)

Julius Lejju is a senior lecturer in Biology Department and the Associate Dean in-charge of academics in the Faculty of Science at Mbarara University of Science and Technology. Lejju has broad interest in palaeo-environment and palaeo-climate research, including palaeo-ecology, archaeology, and archaeo-botany. He is the Principal investigator of the Climate Change Research Project (CCP) in Lake Victoria basin supported by Uganda Government through Uganda National Council for Science and Technology under the Millennium Science Initiative. The project addresses the long term climate and environmental dynamics of Lake Victoria basin and builds local capacity through research training in palaeo-environmental research in Uganda. Under the CCP project, graduate students have benefited in obtaining research skills and training at PhD and MSc levels. 

Lejju is the founder member of the East African Quaternary Research Association (EAQUA) and served as the president of EAQUA from 2007 to 2010. He is an Honorary Research Associate in the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (UCL). He is also a Co-project Coordinator on the UK-Africa Research Partnerships between UCL, Institute of Archaeology and Mbarara University of Science and Technology. The UK-Africa Research Partnership enhances the teaching and researching of archaeology and palaeoecology in Uganda. It also encourages inter-disciplinary research and exchange, both within Uganda, and the wider eastern African region as well as raising public awareness of archaeology and heritage issues within Uganda and exploring the long-term dynamics of human/environment interaction in the Lake Victoria Nyanza.

Lejju has also served in other academic and scientific bodies and he is currently an Associate Editor of the African Journal of Ecology and Honorary Treasurer of the Uganda Society.

Department of Biology
Mbarara University of Science & Technology
P.O. Box 1410, Mbarara-Uganda
Tel: +256 782 809814
Fax: +256 485 20782
E-mail: lejju2002@yahoo.co.uk / jlejju@must.ac.ug
http://www.must.ac.ug

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Treasurer: Dr Marie-France Loutre (Belgium)

Marie-France Loutre contributed in improving the accuracy of the orbital parameters and in calculating the long-term variations of the astronomically forced insolation. She is using Earth System Models of intermediate complexity to to test the Milankovitch theory over the last glacial-interglacial, to assess the role of the different forcings and feedbacks in the model, in particular those related to the atmospheric CO2 concentration. She focuses on the interglacial during the Quaternary, in particular MIS11, in order to gain further knowledge on the future climate of the next glacial interglacial cycle. From the experience gained in performing these experiments related to the past, she looks for the future of our climate, at the geological time scale, using different CO2 forcing scenarios to better understand the role of the 'natural' and of the anthropogenically-perturbed conditions. She is also involved in climate simulation at time scales of the order of hundreds to thousands of years, in particular to assess the uncertainties of climate models for the projected future climate.

She is member of the editorial board of Climate of the Past and Quaternary International.
She is president of the Belgian National Committee on Quaternary Research (BELQUA)
Institute web site : http://www.climate.be
Belgian Quaternary Association (BELQUA) : http://www.belqua.be

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Vice President: Fabrizio Antonioli (Italy)

Fabrizio Antonioli was born in Italy on 1953, graduated in 1977 in Earth Science. Since 1983 Researcher at ENEA Italian National Agency for New tecnologies Energy and Sustainable Economic Development

Research Fields

• Sea level changes and projections for the future
• Coastal Geomorphology
• Coastal Tectonic
• Karst evolution

Member of the Executive Commetee of AIQUA (Italian Association for Quaternary Studies) for 2007-2009 and 2010-2012.  Member of the Scientific Commetee of the "Il Quaternario":  Italian Journal of Quaternary Sciences. Member of the INQUA Commission Coastal and Marine Processes CMP (2008-2011).
In 1990 he qualified as a Scientific diver, deals with relative changes of sea level, socio-economic impacts on Italian coast and tide gauge monitoring activities since 1991 with the aim of exploring future scenarios and possible long-term sea-flooding (2100) on Mediterranean sea.
Studied the submerged coastal geomorphology of Italian coasts, visited and studied 80 submerged caves in the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea and the Mexican Cenote. Sampled speleothems until a depth of -49 meters and studied caves down to -70 m. He studied and measured underwater archaeological s.l. markers in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Tunisia, Spain and France. He collaborated for the publication of 3 books by writing about the vulnerability and adaptation in the Italian coast: Kyoto and its surroundings, climate change as global problem, 2006. Franco Angeli eds, Relative change in sea level and vulnerability of coastal plains and Italian. CMCC Bononia University Press, 2009. Understanding Sea-Level Rise and Variability Church et al. eds 61, 121 Wiley, London (2010).
For ENEA was the scientific director of 3 projects with the Abruzzo Region (2003-2005-2009) the impacts of climate variations on the coasts. He has worked in numerous European projects 1998-2008 (including: Interreg Italy Slovenia "The arc of the High Adriatic coastal sites: topographic surveys on land and sea" and National Agreement (ENEA MINAMB program, "The Mediterranean - Protection of the Sea and coasts. "CNR Agenzia 2000, again on coastal issues. Italian project manager of the VECTOR project (vulnerability of the Italian coasts and marine ecosystems to climate change and their role in the carbon cycle Mediterranean) which coordinates the line 3 VARCOST: variations on sea levels, impact on coastal areas. (2006-2010). In 2007 he published a map of the Italian sites at risk of being flooded by the sea in the next 100 years. Collaborated for 3 volumes as guest Editor on Quaternary International all dedicated to issues related on relative sea level changes. Author of about 80 publication on international Journal. In 2009 he published in Nature a study on the submerged cave stalagmites in Argentarola island on MIS 7.1, 7.3 and 7.5 relative sea level change.

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Vice President: Professor John Lowe (United Kingdom)

John Lowe is Professor of Geography and Quaternary Science at the Centre for Quaternary Research (CQR), Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London.   He was a co-founder of the CQR and was its Director from its inception in 1990 until 1997;   he has resumed this position for a second term commencing in early 2006.   He was a co-founder of the NERC-supported MSc degree programme in Quaternary Science and the MSc Programme Director from 1990 to 1997 and from 2001-2005. He was Dean of the Faculty of Science at Royal Holloway from 1997 to 2000.    His current research interests include Quaternary geology and global environmental change; high-precision dating methods; abrupt climate change; palynology; tephrochronology.   He is presently conducting research in several parts of Europe, including the Mediterranean region, and in Peru.

Previously within INQUA he was co-ordinator of the INTIMATE project, a core project of the INQUA Palaeoclimate Commission, from 1995 to 2003.   He was a full member of the Palaeoclimate Commission from 1999 to 2003 and President of PALCOMM from 2003 to 2007.

John is a Fellow of the Geological Society (London) and a chartered geologist, and is currently the President of the UK Quaternary Research Association , having served as Vice-President of that society from 1993 to 1997.   He has served on numerous committees for the UK's Natural Environment Research Council including as Chairman of the Earth Science grants committee and current member of the Steering Committee for NERC's 'RAPID Climate Change' programme.   He has acted in an advisory capacity for committees of The Royal Society, IGCP, the European Commission/Union and for IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme).   He was the founding editor of the Journal of Quaternary Science (1985) and still serves on its board as well as on the board of Quaternary Science Reviews .   He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers in leading international journals, has co-edited six volumes and three field guides on Quaternary matters and is co-author of the text-book Reconstructing Quaternary Environments (Lowe and Walker, Addison-Wesley-Longman, 2 nd edition 1997).   He was awarded the Coke Medal by the Geological Society in 2003 for services to Quaternary science.

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Vice President: Professor Koji Okumura (Japan)

Koji Okumura is professor of the Department of Geography in the Graduate School of Letters, Hiroshima University, Japan since 1996.   He had served as a research geologist in Seismotectonic Research Section of the Geological Survey of Japan from 1986 to 1996. Paleoseismology, active tectonics and tephrochronology are the major interests of Koji's Quaternary research.   Since 1988 Koji has conducted international cooperative research on paleoseismology in Turkey, Western U.S., Australia, Japan, Asia, and South America. A number of important findings as well as exchange of ideas and techniques are the fruits of these cooperations.

The 1995 Kobe earthquake urged Koji to devote more for hazard reduction based on Quaternary research.   Recent damaging earthquakes further raised public attention on geologic hazard reduction and risk management especially for seismic and nuclear safety. Koji serves for the Science Council of Japan as an associate member and is coordinating Japanese Quaternary research and collaboration with INQUA.   He has been working with INQUA since 1991 in commissions of tephrochronology, neotectonics, and TERPRO.  

Graduate School of Letter
Hiroshima University
1-2-3 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima
739-8522 Hiroshima, Japan

Phone: +81 82 424 6657
Fax: +81 82 424 0320

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