Maria Shahgedanova

Professor of Climate Science at the Department of Geography and Environmental Science in the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading

Maria Shahgedanova is Professor of Climate Science at the Department of Geography and Environmental Science. She has a joint BSc and MSc degree in Meteorology and DPhil in Climatology. Her research focuses on climate change and its impacts on the mountain cryosphere, water resources and hazards primarily (but not exclusively) in Central and High Mountain Asia. Maria has led many research projects in these regions including ‘Climate Change, Water Resources and Food Security in Kazakhstan’, ‘Solutions for Clean Water in Central Asia: What Happens After the Ice?’, ‘Bridging over Troubled Waters: Improving Preparedness and Reducing Vulnerability to Debris Flow in Central Asia’, and ‘Improving Forecast of Extreme Rainfall for Risk Reduction in Central Asia’. She works with many regional research organisations including the Central Asia Regional Glaciological Centre under the Auspices of UNESCO and The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
Maria is a member of the Science Leadership Council of the Mountain Research Initiative network where she leads a working group on Mountain Observatories. She helps coordinate the Central Asia Mountain Observatory Network. She is a member of the Task Force for the development of the Third Pole Climate Change Centre / Climate Forum Network coordinated by the World Meteorological Organisation. She collaborates with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on several projects on the use of water stable isotopes in the assessment of water resources.