Professor Atalay Ayele

Atalay Ayele is a professor of Geophysics at the Institute of Geophysics Space Science and Astronomy, Addis Ababa University. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, as part of the Africa Oxford Visiting Fellowship Programme.   

Atalay is the Director of the Institute of Geophysics, Space Science and Astronomy (IGSSA) at Addis Ababa University (AAU) in Ethiopia. He is a seismologist who studies the seismo-volcanic nature of continental rifting, primarily in East Africa. He has raised awareness of geohazards throughout Africa and has been a key figure in facilitating international science efforts in Ethiopia and surrounding regions. Atalay has made significant local, regional, and internal contributions. He served as the Chairperson of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Seismological Group (ESARSWG) and Founder and President of the African Seismological Commission (AfSc). Ayele was awarded the American Geophysical Union (AGU) international award for outstanding contributions to developing nations in science.    

Atalay is interested in the broader issue of how Africa will achieve net zero in an ethical and equitable manner. His research seeks to process and interpret seismic data better to understand the nature of the hydrothermal system at depth and to guide the exploitation strategy better. His research interests are in seismicity of the East Africa rift system and Ethiopian rifts in particular, fault plane solutions, deep earth studies, probabilistic seismic hazard assessment, applied geophysics, site effect, analysis of ground motion, and analysing accelerogram data.   

While at the University of Oxford, Atalya will research sustainable geothermal energy in Ethiopia. Geothermal energy will be key in East Africa’s quest for a low-carbon future.  Atalay’s work in Oxford focused on the use of geophysical methods in geothermal exploration, which will help to accelerate geothermal exploration in Ethiopia and other African countries.