SPEAKER

CEESD 2020 Speaker

Prof. Gordon Huang (Keynote Speaker) University of Regina, Canada  International Society for Environmental Information Sciences Speech: TBA Biography: Dr. Gordon Huang is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Energy and Environment, and Executive Director of the Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Communities at the University of Regina (U of R), Canada; during 2003 to 2018, he was Associate Dean of Engineering (U of R). He is also Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, President of the International Society for Environmental Information Sciences, Honorary Doctor of Science at McMaster University. He also acts (or acted) as editor-in-chief for 2 international journals (one with an SCI impact factor of 4.425). He holds BSc from Peking University (China), MSc from Simon Fraser University (Canada) and PhD from McMaster University (Canada). Since the 1990s, Huang has led over 200 environment-related research projects, produced over 1000 peer-refereed international journal papers (with an SCI-based H-index of 69 in Science Citation Index under the Web of Science), and supervised over 100 Master/PhD students. Over 40 of his PhD graduates were appointed as faculty members at universities in Canada, USA, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and China.
Prof. Yongping Li (Keynote Speaker) Beijing Normal University, China Speech: TBA Biography: Yongping Li is a Changjiang Scholar Professor at Beijing Normal University, China. She receives her MSc and PhD Degrees from the University of Regina, Canada. Her research interests involve in energy and environmental systems analysis, environmental pollution control, water resources management, and decision making under uncertainty. Since 2005, Li has led or involved in over 50 energy- and environment-related research projects supported by industrial, governmental and international organizations. She has produced over 320 peer-refereed international journal papers (with an SCI-based H-index of 40 in Science Citation Index under Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science), and supervised over 60 Master/PhD students. She has been continuously selected as a highly cited scholar in the field of “environmental science” (by Elsevier) since 2013. Dr. Li was received a number of awards such as Distinguished Young Scientist Award, New Century Excellent Talents in University, the National Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholar, the National Award for Youth in Science and Technology, and the National Award for Youth Female Scientist.
Prof. Caterina Valeo (Keynote Speaker) University of Victoria, Canada Speech: Modelling versus Measurement: Error and Scaling Impacts on Sustainable Urban Design Biography: Caterina Valeo is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Victoria and a Professional Engineer in the Province of British Columbia. After receiving undergraduate degrees in Physics and later, a second one in Civil Engineering, both from the University of Toronto, she went to McMaster University to complete a Masters degree and eventually a PhD specializing in urban water resources in 1998. She has also worked as an Academic at various other universities in Canada in the areas of Civil Engineering and Geomatics Engineering over her 22 year plus career. These eclectic roles have allowed her to develop a unique foundation and develop her interdisciplinary research program that merges information science with environmental science and engineering. Her research interests and areas of application are wide and varied and range from researching the impacts of global scale changes on forestry and water supply to developing sensors and models to describe the role of bacteria and biofilm in treating polluted water.  She has more than 200 publications including 3 co-authored books on topics as diverse as Environmental Hydraulics and Digital Terrain Modelling. She has collaborated with over 100 researchers across the globe, has received and participated in several millions of dollars in grants and is the recipient of numerous accolades including the 2014 Award of Distinguished Scientist from the International Society for Environmental Information Sciences. Today Dr. Valeo runs the Bioretention Research Laboratory and the HAL Lab at the University of Victoria and continues to conduct multi-collaborative research that uses Environmental Informatics tools to create sustainable solutions to society’s modern problems.
Prof. Ed McBean (Keynote Speaker) University of Guelph, Canada Speech: Climate Change and Coastal Cities, The Imperative Need for Action Biography: Edward McBean, Ph.D., P.Eng., P.E., FCAE, D.WRE., FCSCE, FEC, FIAH, FAGGS, is a Professor of Water Resources Engineering, a University of Guelph Research Leadership Chair Professor in Water Security, and a former Canada Research Chair in Water Supply Security at the University of Guelph.  Ed received his B.A.Sc., from the University of British Columbia (1968) and his S.M., C.E., and Ph.D. (1973) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Ed is an academician in Canada as Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and in the US as a Diplomate, Water Resources Engineering of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Ed is also a recipient of numerous additional awards including the K. Y. Lo Award from the Engineering Institute of Canada for demonstrating Canadian expertise to the world, the Julian C. Smith from the Engineering Institute of Canada for achievement in the development of Canada, the Research and Development Award from the Professional Engineers of Ontario, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of British Columbia, and the ‘Ton Duc Thang University Prize, Lifetime Achievement Award’, Viet Nam. Ed is a recognized expert in water security, risk assessment and management, and climate change.  Ed has published three books, edited 17, published more than 400 papers in the refereed journals and presented more than 470 papers at technical meetings around the world.  Ed has been involved in research in water security issues in more than seventy countries.

Past CEESD Speakers