DISTAR awarded first master's degree in volcanology

Dorothea Laura Jester, a student from Munich, was the first graduate of the master's program in "Volcanology" activated at the Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences (DISTAR) in Frederick.

Jester received her degree with highest honors, discussing a thesis in "Volcanic landforms and landscapes" entitled "Rockfall source areas and trajectory identification in volcano-tectonic areas, using the example of Camaldoli Hill, Naples," developed in collaboration with INGV-OV and the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (DICEA).

The degree program, in English, has the active participation of the INGV-OV, Vesuvius Observatory, a section of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, as one-third of the courses are taught by faculty members in the force of this institution. During the course leading to the master's degree, which is extremely topical given also the current condition of unrest at the Phlegraean Fields, students learn the basics of modern volcanology, the physical and chemical processes that control the behavior of volcanoes and the related risks, through in-depth theoretical and experimental studies.