Károly Németh

Károly Németh is an expert at the Saudi Geological Survey working on Volcanology, Geohazard, and Geoheritage of volcanic fields of the Arabian Peninsula. He is also a senior researcher at the Institute of Earth Physics and Space Science, Hungary; a Doctor of Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Adjunct Professor of the Volcanic Risk Solutions, Massey University, New Zealand; and a research affiliate at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Italy. He is the Chairperson of the Geoconservation Trust Aotearoa Pacific, based in New Zealand. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of Earth Interior, leading its Volcaniclastic Sediments, Monogenetic Volcanism and Volcanic Geoheritage commissions. In 2024, he has been elected to be one of the co-leaders of the IAVCEI Commission on Volcano Geology. Currently, he is a Vice President of the International Association of Sedimentologists and Chair of the International Union of Geological Sciences' Sub-commission on Geological Heritage Sites. He has worked in the SW Pacific in the last 20 years focusing on volcanic hazard and geoheritage research mostly in Vanuatu and Samoa. He has spent great deal of time in the region and accumulated substantial amount of knowledge and experiences on Pacific cultures and continuously explored the way how these unique geocultural aspect of the region could be more visible and valued. He has conducted numerous research, supervised and mentored young scientists in Samoa and presented large number of research outputs within the volcanic geoheritage of the Samoan Islands. His family base is in Samoa where his wife, Diana and son, Karcsi comes from.

Vladyslav Zakharovskyi is a Junior Research Officer at the Volcanic Risk Solutions, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. His research focuses on geodiversity calculations, geoheritage categorization, and remote sensing. As a PhD research student at Massey University, he authored several influential publications about geodiversity, specifically focusing on the development of qualitative-quantitative assessments of geodiversity. This method offers practical estimates of geodiversity by identifying geosite hot spots. It is robust enough to use publicly available spatial data and local geoscience knowledge while allowing parameter adjustments for specific purposes such as geotourism or geoconservation projects, from local to global scales. He has worked on geodiversity projects associated with volcanic sites in New Zealand, Samoa, Hungary, and Saudi Arabia. Currently, he is exploring deeper levels of remote sensing in hyperspectral imaging and data processing with the introduction of new techniques into geodiversity studies.