Dr Liz Holcombe

Research interests
My research interests are in the fields of slope hydrology and stability, geotechnics, and cost/benefit of landslide risk reduction measures in developing countries. With respect to software development in these areas, I adopt a quantitative (numerical or physics-based) approach, to allow the assessment and management of landslide risk along highways and within communities. Importantly these interests relate strongly to the current and forward agenda of ‘science into policy’ in the UK, see for example www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/corporate/policy.asp. This research has implications for the policy agendas Governments in the developing world and international agencies concerned with landslide risk reduction.

Software development
I am the sole author of the QUESTA software which is being piloted in the Caribbean with the support of the World Bank 2009-2011.

PhD
Awarded 2007. ESRC Industrial CASE award. "Towards a more precise costing of expenditure on highway slopes in developing countries".

Supervisors:
Prof. Andrew Chesher, Department of Economics, University College London
Prof. Malcolm Anderson, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol

Increasing landslide activity and increasing public awareness of this issue has put pressure on governments to allocate resources for the improvement of slope safety. This project addresses the need for further development of landslide risk assessment in designing and managing cut slopes along "lifeline" roads in developing countries. The aim is to integrate slope stability modelling techniques and econometric methods in order to develop a risk-based management framework for expenditure on such slopes.

The stability component of this integrated model is CHASM (Combined Hydrology And Stability Model) - an integrated slope hydrology/slope stability software package developed by Malcolm Anderson. The addition of landslide extent (runout) predictions and slope engineering practice provides the basis for the economic impact of landslides to be assessed. This landslide cost is balanced against the cost of possible initial investments in engineering measures to reduce landslide risk.

(a)	(b)	(c)

Photos: Old (a) and new (b) cut slopes in Saint Lucia (West Indies) are at risk of failure during the rainy season with the potential to block essential transport routes and incur high costs to the government and to road users. Fieldwork includes taking soil samples (c) in order to determine soil geotechnical properties for slope stability analysis.

Activities
World Bank – invited member Disaster Risk Management Group for Latin America and the Caribbean
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States – Technical Advisor
Poverty Reduction Fund, Saint Lucia – Technical Advisor

Awards & recognition
Institution of Civil Engineers, London. 2007 – Awarded the Trevithick Prize for a paper published by the Institution.
First World Landslide Forum, Tokyo, Japan. 2008 – Invited speaker
World Bank, 2009. World Development Report 2010 – invited contribution

Media
Government of Saint Lucia 2005 – 30 minute TV documentary reporting on the MoSSaiC landslide risk reduction programme which I co-direct.

Opening image of TV Documentary

Teaching

Contributions to:
Society and Nature Course: Year 3
Geographical Association ( Bristol) 6 th Form Conference