Researcher Gregorio Antonio Rosario Michel, Deputy Coordinator of the Research and Development Unit for Oil and Gas Exploration and Exploitation of the Dominican Oil Refinery (REFIDOMSA), was invested as the first Dominican to graduate with a doctorate in social sciences from KU Leuven University, Belgium,
Rosario Michel, born in Ozama Extension, obtained her doctorate at the Institute of Public Governance of the said academy.
In his research, the Refidomsa Executive highlights that the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean represent developing island nations with the highest level of exposure to disaster events and climate change impacts, including hurricanes, droughts and earthquakes.
Rosario Michel has published her research in specialized journals of international standing on data management problems for disaster risk reduction and emergencies in the region.
For Dr. Rosario Michel, about 80 percent of the decision-making process in risk and emergency situations depends on knowing the area through geolocation.
It explains that governance of geo-tagged data means proper standardization of quality, availability of metadata, effective communication between emergency services, active involvement of local communities, the private sector and NGOs, access to public information and staff training.
It highlights that this set of actions facilitates the generation of a common operational vision for the territory for decision-making and reducing the risks of human and economic losses in the event of disasters.
Dr. Rosario’s work provides a roadmap for developing multilateral regional cooperation mechanisms and geospatial resource sharing among decision-makers and emergency response agencies in the Caribbean and other small island developing States around the world.
“Building networks for collaborative and real-time work, digital transformation of data collection processes, agreements between the public and private sectors, and training of local actors are part of the roadmap to strengthen mapping teams in emergency situations,” explains the specialist.
Gregorio Rosario studied Electromechanical Engineering at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (1996-2001) and obtained a Master’s degree in Communications in 2003-2005.
He has completed multiple disciplinary studies internationally, including a Master’s degree in Geotechnological Mapping Techniques from the University of Salamanca, Spain, and another degree in Geomatics from Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan.
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