Scott McDougall

My main area of interest is landslides and related natural and human-made geological hazards (geohazards), particularly those that can travel long distances and pose risks to people, property and the environment. The long-term goal of my research group, the UBC Geohazards Research Team, is to help reduce the significant worldwide losses caused by these events by developing tools and techniques that improve the ability of engineers and geoscientists to answer questions such as:

1. What is the probability that a landslide or related geohazard of a given size will occur?
2. If it occurs, what is the probability it will reach a certain location of interest (e.g. a community)?
3. If it reaches that location, what is the probability it will cause a certain degree of damage?
4. If the resulting risk is not tolerable, how can it be reduced effectively with available resources?

Our work is focused mainly on the following key geohazards: rock avalanches, debris flows, debris floods, tailings dam breaches, mine waste dump failures, shoreline erosion and landslide-generated waves. To address the unique research challenges presented by these different hazards, our research approach integrates the following four methods: 1) field data collection and mapping of past events using state-of-the-art equipment, 2) statistical analysis of the data to look for trends, 3) development and calibration of computer models that can be used to predict how far, how fast and in what direction future events may travel, and 4) laboratory experiments to study the underlying fundamental processes that influence the behaviour of these events.

My research interests and mentoring approach draw significantly from my experience as a consulting engineer, and I maintain strong industry connections. As a result, students, postdoctoral fellows and research assistants under my supervision gain fundamental and specialized geohazard knowledge and skills that are in high demand in practice.