Stella Stavrinou

College student holding her robotic toy at robotics classroom at school

Profile

I am the president of the Civil Engineering Federation in the regional department of Lesvos and Lemnos island. We, women civil engineers are less than 30% of the engineering population, however from this position since 2023 I am working as a liaison for the Greek Ministry of Environment and professional civil engineers for facilitating the implementation of Greek Environmental laws in construction regionally.

How did you get involved in engineering projects to address climate change? What were your background skills or experience?

I was elected in 2023 as a president of the Civil Engineering Federation. I have been a freelance consultant for 20 years and for the past 15 years I am often hired in courts as a technical consultant for the state for cases involving environmental issues.

What projects were you invloved in and what did you do?

The past year I am involved in earthquake risk assessment committees as an inspector and sadly I am the only female who is a member of the inspectors team. Even though earthquakes and climate change are not directly linked, melting glaciers and ice sheets reduce the weight on the Earth’s crust, potentially stressing faults and increasing seismicity, especially in formerly glaciated areas.

Additionally, changing precipitation patterns, such as intense rainfall and rising sea levels, can increase underground water pressure, further impacting fault stability and leading to more frequent, though not necessarily larger, quakes.

What did you achieve?

Earthquakes are physical disasters which are very common in Greek area and feeling prepared or preparing the buildings and identifying the risks is very interesting to me.

What challenges did you face and how?

It’s very usual we cannot find the data we need to evaluate areas and building for earthquake risk.