Gino Casassa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gino Casassa Rogazinski | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Director of the Chilean Antarctic Institute | |
| Assumed office 17 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Andrés López Lara |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 23, 1958 |
| Spouse | Marie Claude Bastres |
| Children | 5 |
| Occupation | Glaciologist Civil hydraulic engineer Professor at the University of Magallanes |
| Known for | Contributions to glacier studies |
Gino Casassa Rogazinski (born April 23, 1958, Recoleta) is a Chilean glaciologist, serving as director of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) since 2024. He studied civil hydraulic engineering at the University of Chile (1984), completed a master's degree in geophysics/glaciology at Hokkaido University (Japan), and obtained a doctorate in glaciological sciences at The Ohio State University (United States).[1] He is associated with the University of Magallanes. He also maintains that the increase in the planet's temperature is largely due to human activity.[2]
His father was an Italian prisoner of war and a member of the Alpine troops, and his mother, a German woman who fled Jewish persecution to China. From a young age, he was interested in climbing mountains and met the glaciologist Cedomir Marangunic, who also studied at The Ohio State University. Along with two thousand other scientists, he shares a Nobel Peace Prize, three of whom are also Chileans who worked at the IPCC under the UN.[3]
Career
![](#/media/File:Seminario_"La_región_de_Magallanes_y_la_Antártica,_oportunidad_de_desarrollo_en_el_siglo_XXI".jpg)
He has carried out research at the Center for Scientific Studies[4] (CECS),[5] where, between 2002 and 2012, he has worked in the Glaciology and Climate Change section. In addition, he served as deputy director of the Scientific Committee for the Climate and Cryosphere project (under the World Climate Research Programme), together with the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, and he was vice president of the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences. He received the Guggenheim Fellowship.
He was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations[2] recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for its contribution to disseminating the theory of anthropogenic climate change. In parallel, he has led and contributed to national and international projects related to glacier research and environmental impact assessments, promoting innovation and technological development in geosciences.
Since 2023, he has worked as an independent consultant and project manager at Geoestudios Asesores Ltda. (owned by Cedomir Marangunic), while also serving as an associate professor at the University of Magallanes.[6] From 2018 to 2022, he was head of the Glaciology and Snow Unit at the Dirección General de Aguas, and previously he promoted academic initiatives as co-founder of a glaciology laboratory and Antarctic programs at the University of Magallanes.
He has authored over 100 scientific publications regarding glacier geophysics, snow avalanche processes, and debris flows, and he has contributed to awareness campaigns about Antarctica's importance for Chilean foreign policy. After taking over as director of INACH, he expressed his commitment to strengthening the National Antarctic Science Program and Chile's participation in the Antarctic Treaty System.[7]
.jpg)
