Pool Re, university fund terror risk professorship

Metropolitan Police officers on high alert in central London after terrorist attacks on Westminster and London bridges and Borough Market./ SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Andrew Silke has been named the first professor of terrorism risk management and resilience at England’s Cranfield University, a position that will be co-funded by Britain’s Pool Reinsurance Co. Ltd. and the university for an initial five-year period.

Mr. Silke, who will start his new role on Jan. 31, is charged with establishing the university’s Centre for Excellence in Counterterrorism, with the aim of improving the U.K. economy’s resilience to terrorism, Cranfield said Wednesday in a statement.

He currently holds a chair in criminology at the University of East London, and his primary research interests include terrorism, with over 100 publications, including several books, to his credit, according to the statement. His most recent book, “The Routledge Handbook on Terrorism and Counterterrorism,” will be published in March.

Pool Re, the U.K. government’s terrorism reinsurance backstop, and Cranfield University will collaborate on academic research and study, collate and share data and work with government and other institutions to improve knowledge about terrorism and develop ways to potentially mitigate the threat, according to the statement.

“The appointment of Professor Andrew Silke represents the important first step toward building a world-leading resource into the study and analysis of terrorism, risk mitigation and resilience,” Julian Enoizi, chief executive of Pool Re, said in the statement. “Andrew will lead the development of a Centre for Excellence which will serve as a focal point for counterterrorism thought leadership and risk mitigation.”