**Professor KANTOUSH Sameh Ahmed**

Head of the Laboratory of Socio and Eco-Environmental Risk Management
Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan

Professor Kantoush is a professor at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI) at Kyoto University, where he leads the Laboratory of Socio and Eco-Environmental Risk Management. His laboratory focuses on advanced water research, addressing sediment-related disasters and climate-resilient river basin management. Through a combination of experimental, numerical, and field-based approaches, the lab tackles the increasing challenges posed by floods, droughts, and sediment imbalances caused by changing climate and environmental conditions.

Professor Kantoush's lab aims to enhance the resilience of hydraulic infrastructure, water systems, river ecosystems, agricultural production, and local communities in multi-hydro-hazard environments. The laboratory promotes smart monitoring and mitigation measures, along with innovative strategies such as the development of upgraded dams and reservoir systems, which ensure the continuity of natural sediment and improve river ecosystem conditions. Ultimately, the goal of Professor Kantoush's research is to create innovative, integrated frameworks for sustainable river and Wadi basin management, connecting mountains to the sea and linking scientific knowledge with community resilience worldwide.

Professor Kantoush is also leading collaborative research on flash flood management and early warning systems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Southeast Asia. His extensive international network includes partnerships in Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Oman, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria, as well as collaborations in Africa.

His expertise spans a wide range of topics, including:

• Dam impacts, reservoir sedimentation, dam safety, hydropower operations, and dam management
• Riverbank erosion, sand mining, and environmental restoration in Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines
• Wadi flash floods, integrated flood and sediment management, and dam upgrading projects
• Real-time monitoring technologies for tracking flash floods, sediment transport, and morphological changes
• Smart, nature-based solutions for sustainable and resilient river basins

Professor Kantoush's industrial expertise is particularly relevant to flood modeling, integrated river basin management, dam impacts, reservoir sedimentation, sediment management techniques, and integrated river engineering projects, including Wadi flash floods and sustainable dam upgrading.