Member Spotlight: Kris Holm

Kris Holm, M.Sc., P.Geo.
Principle Geoscientist, BGC Engineering Inc.

Kris Holm is the Principle Geoscientist at BGC Engineering Inc. Most of his work is in mountainous areas of Western Canada, focusing on flood, steep creek, and landslide geohazard risk management for industry and municipal development. In past years he has also worked on mining projects in Chile and Argentina.

The types of projects he is involved with range from site-specific risk assessments to regional risk prioritization studies. Kris is particularly interested in multidisciplinary, multi-hazard projects that span the gamut of risk management, from hazard identification through mitigation design and policy integration.

Kris feels that the geohazards industry is evolving to have greater integration across disciplines and steps of geohazards management, with lines blurring between earth and data sciences.  Innovations related to real-time monitoring, remote sensing, and information management have transformed the geohazards industry in recent years.  They have allowed practitioners to characterize geohazards across regions that would have previously been cost-prohibitive to assess.   New approaches to visualize and communicate about geohazards, such as through augmented reality, are rapidly changing the industry as well.  Methods and tools to consider climate change in geohazard risk management that are practical and actionable by practitioners is also a rapidly improving area of practice.

As the new Corporate Representative on the Board of Directors, Kris feels that AGHP plays an important connector role between specialists focused on different areas of geohazards practice. He says, “Within our industry, AGHP can help those focused on characterizing geohazards to understand better the needs of those focused on mitigation.  AGHP provides a platform to demonstrate how our industry reduces losses due to geohazards across the sectors in which we work.  The results of our work can help influence risk-informed decision making to which can then be incorporated into public policy.  Together we are far more influential than we could ever be in our individual roles.”

Asked about his experiences with firsthand accounts of geohazards, Kris pointed to a few years ago when while assessing geohazards at a mine site in Argentina he witnessed wherein the space of three days – two debris flows, a flash flood, several damaging debris avalanches, and channel migrations that impacted a camp and nearly wiped out a transmission line.  Geomorphology in action!

In his spare time, Kris is well known for riding a unicycle on mountain bike trails, which takes ‘terrain analysis’ to a different level!  Just google his name!