Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Ilija Djekic
Department of Food Safety and Quality Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade
Prof. Dr. Ursula Eicker
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities and Communities, Concordia University Montréal
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Lachemi
President and vice-chancellor of Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University)
MDPI Sustainability Foundation Awardees - World Sustainability Award
Name: Prof. Dr. Michael R. Templeton
Affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London
Bio: Michael R. Templeton is Professor of Public Health Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London and the Oxfam and Water For People / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Global Sanitation Technology. His research seeks to address public health challenges related to water supply and sanitation in resource-constrained settings. He has specific expertise and research interests in the role of water, sanitation and hygiene in the prevention of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, the development and testing of novel sustainable on-site sanitation technologies, and innovative faecal sludge management processes. His research collaborations are inter-disciplinary and international in nature, combining laboratory research and field-based research. He has conducted research and co-authored publications with partners in a number of countries in Africa and Asia, including Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Sénégal, Bénin, India, and Nepal. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers in the UK and has served on strategic advisory groups and technical review panels for the World Health Organization, the UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Swedish Research Council. He is also currently the Co-Chair of Imperial College London's Global Development Hub, a cross-university strategic initiative aimed at supporting research, education and entrepreneurship projects and partnerships that contribute to addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He holds a bachelor's degree with honours in engineering science and a PhD in civil-environmental engineering, both from the University of Toronto.
Image:
Name: Dr. Krithi Karanth
Affiliation: Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore; Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University
Bio: As a scientist, her research in India and Asia, spanning 24 years, encompasses many issues in the human dimensions of wildlife conservation. She has conducted macro-level studies assessing patterns of species distributions and extinctions, impacts of wildlife tourism, consequences of voluntary resettlement, land use change and understanding human-wildlife interactions. She has published 100+ scientific and popular articles in English and Kannada. Dr. Karanth served as an editor for Frontiers in Ecology and Environment, Human Dimensions of Wildlife, Conservation Biology, and Conservation Letters. She has mentored over 250 young scientists from India, US, Chile, UK, Australia and Indonesia. and engaged over 750 citizen science volunteers in her research and conservation projects. As a conservationist, she has designed Wild Seve, Wild Shaale, Wild Surakshe, Adopt-a-PHC and Wild Carbon programs. As a storyteller, Dr. Karanth has collaborated with painters, illustrators, film-makers and photographers. Dr. Karanth’s conservation and research work has been featured in three award-winning BBC series: The Hunt, Big Cats and Dynasties, and in documentaries by CBC and PBS. She has co-produced five documentaries: Wild Seve, Humane Highways, Wild Shaale, Flying Elephants and Wild Surakshe. In 2020, she co-starred with Kevin Pietersen in Save This Rhino: India by Disney Hotstar and National Geographic. Dr. Karanth's work has been covered by over 250 media outlets, including Washington Post, Time magazine, Al Jazeera Television, BBC, Christian Science Monitor, GQ India, Harper's Bazaar, Mongabay, Monocle, National Geographic, National Public Radio, New York Times, Scientific American, All India Radio, Deccan Chronicle, Deccan Herald, Down to Earth, Kannada Prabha, LiveMint, New Indian Express, Prajavani, The Hindu and Times of India. Dr. Karanth has been honored with more than 45 awards and recognitions including National Geographic Society’s 10,000th grantee and 2012 Emerging Explorer, University of Florida’s Outstanding Young Alumnus, India's Power Women by Femina, Women o
Image:
Name: Prof. Dr. Thomas P. Lyon
Affiliation: Ross School of Business and the School of Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), University of Michigan
Bio: Thomas P. Lyon holds the Dow Chair of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce at the University of Michigan, with appointments in both the Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability. He is Faculty Director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, and past President of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS). Professor Lyon is an economist and a leading light in corporate sustainability, both for the lines of research he has opened up and the organizations he has led that create professional opportunities in the corporate sustainability space. He has written path-breaking papers on self-regulation, regulatory preemption, voluntary environmental programs, greenwashing, astroturfing, and corporate political responsibility, and has been cited more than 10,000 times. As President of ARCS, he created new avenues for scholarly success in the area of corporate sustainability, and helped numerous emerging scholars secure tenured positions in this field; he also hosted the very first ARCS conference in 2009. As Director of Michigan's Erb Institute, he has helped hundreds of MBA students find career paths that combine business success with their passion for protecting the natural environment. He coined the term Corporate Political Responsibility in the award-winning article “CSR Needs CPR: Corporate Sustainability and Politics,” and created a CPR Taskforce at the Erb Institute that is bringing this idea into the world of business practice. Professor Lyon has won numerous awards for his research. In 2022, he won the Distinguished Scholar Award, Organizations and the Natural Environment division, Academy of Management, as well as the Senior Faculty Research Award from the Ross School of Business. He has testified before Congress, and given keynote addresses at academic conferences from California to Texas to Paris. He has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University, the University of Chicago, the University of Paris, the University of Pisa, Georgetown Univ
Image:
Affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London
Bio: Michael R. Templeton is Professor of Public Health Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London and the Oxfam and Water For People / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Global Sanitation Technology. His research seeks to address public health challenges related to water supply and sanitation in resource-constrained settings. He has specific expertise and research interests in the role of water, sanitation and hygiene in the prevention of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, the development and testing of novel sustainable on-site sanitation technologies, and innovative faecal sludge management processes. His research collaborations are inter-disciplinary and international in nature, combining laboratory research and field-based research. He has conducted research and co-authored publications with partners in a number of countries in Africa and Asia, including Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Sénégal, Bénin, India, and Nepal. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers in the UK and has served on strategic advisory groups and technical review panels for the World Health Organization, the UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Swedish Research Council. He is also currently the Co-Chair of Imperial College London's Global Development Hub, a cross-university strategic initiative aimed at supporting research, education and entrepreneurship projects and partnerships that contribute to addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He holds a bachelor's degree with honours in engineering science and a PhD in civil-environmental engineering, both from the University of Toronto.
Image:
Name: Dr. Krithi Karanth
Affiliation: Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore; Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University
Bio: As a scientist, her research in India and Asia, spanning 24 years, encompasses many issues in the human dimensions of wildlife conservation. She has conducted macro-level studies assessing patterns of species distributions and extinctions, impacts of wildlife tourism, consequences of voluntary resettlement, land use change and understanding human-wildlife interactions. She has published 100+ scientific and popular articles in English and Kannada. Dr. Karanth served as an editor for Frontiers in Ecology and Environment, Human Dimensions of Wildlife, Conservation Biology, and Conservation Letters. She has mentored over 250 young scientists from India, US, Chile, UK, Australia and Indonesia. and engaged over 750 citizen science volunteers in her research and conservation projects. As a conservationist, she has designed Wild Seve, Wild Shaale, Wild Surakshe, Adopt-a-PHC and Wild Carbon programs. As a storyteller, Dr. Karanth has collaborated with painters, illustrators, film-makers and photographers. Dr. Karanth’s conservation and research work has been featured in three award-winning BBC series: The Hunt, Big Cats and Dynasties, and in documentaries by CBC and PBS. She has co-produced five documentaries: Wild Seve, Humane Highways, Wild Shaale, Flying Elephants and Wild Surakshe. In 2020, she co-starred with Kevin Pietersen in Save This Rhino: India by Disney Hotstar and National Geographic. Dr. Karanth's work has been covered by over 250 media outlets, including Washington Post, Time magazine, Al Jazeera Television, BBC, Christian Science Monitor, GQ India, Harper's Bazaar, Mongabay, Monocle, National Geographic, National Public Radio, New York Times, Scientific American, All India Radio, Deccan Chronicle, Deccan Herald, Down to Earth, Kannada Prabha, LiveMint, New Indian Express, Prajavani, The Hindu and Times of India. Dr. Karanth has been honored with more than 45 awards and recognitions including National Geographic Society’s 10,000th grantee and 2012 Emerging Explorer, University of Florida’s Outstanding Young Alumnus, India's Power Women by Femina, Women o
Image:
Name: Prof. Dr. Thomas P. Lyon
Affiliation: Ross School of Business and the School of Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), University of Michigan
Bio: Thomas P. Lyon holds the Dow Chair of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce at the University of Michigan, with appointments in both the Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability. He is Faculty Director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, and past President of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS). Professor Lyon is an economist and a leading light in corporate sustainability, both for the lines of research he has opened up and the organizations he has led that create professional opportunities in the corporate sustainability space. He has written path-breaking papers on self-regulation, regulatory preemption, voluntary environmental programs, greenwashing, astroturfing, and corporate political responsibility, and has been cited more than 10,000 times. As President of ARCS, he created new avenues for scholarly success in the area of corporate sustainability, and helped numerous emerging scholars secure tenured positions in this field; he also hosted the very first ARCS conference in 2009. As Director of Michigan's Erb Institute, he has helped hundreds of MBA students find career paths that combine business success with their passion for protecting the natural environment. He coined the term Corporate Political Responsibility in the award-winning article “CSR Needs CPR: Corporate Sustainability and Politics,” and created a CPR Taskforce at the Erb Institute that is bringing this idea into the world of business practice. Professor Lyon has won numerous awards for his research. In 2022, he won the Distinguished Scholar Award, Organizations and the Natural Environment division, Academy of Management, as well as the Senior Faculty Research Award from the Ross School of Business. He has testified before Congress, and given keynote addresses at academic conferences from California to Texas to Paris. He has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University, the University of Chicago, the University of Paris, the University of Pisa, Georgetown Univ
Image:
MDPI Sustainability Foundation Awardees - Emerging Sustainability Leader Award
Name: Dr. Youjin Kim
Affiliation: Catholic University of Korea; Jeon Buk National University
Bio: Dr.-Ing. Youjin Kim is a member of "Association of Fluid Mechanics" (LSTME) e.V. Erlangen, Germany. She is a lecturer of Energy Environmental Engineering at the Catholic University of Korea and Jeon Buk National University. Driven by a passion for expanding sustainability in Korean start-ups, she performed technical fellow works with Korean VC Sopoong. As a passionate renewable energy researcher, Dr. Kim implements scientific knowledge in education and business. She dreams of solving the global climate crisis through international education and tech business solutions, collaborating with world-class academic and industrial partners.
Image:
Name: Dr. Bahareh Kamranzad
Affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde
Bio: Dr Bahareh Kamranzad is a Chancellor's Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde. Her research interests lie within the field of Coastal Engineering, and her primary research focuses on investigating the impacts of climate change on oceanic conditions and coastal processes, sustainability of ocean renewable energies (OREs), extreme events, and coastal hazards, protection & resilience. Prior to joining the University of Strathclyde, she worked in Japan for six years, initially at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University under the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship, and then, at the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University as an Assistant Professor. Furthermore, in 2022, she was a visiting researcher at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College, London.
Image:
Name: Dr. Julia Lohmann
Affiliation: Universität Augsburg
Bio: Julia conducts research on education in the context of sports and physical education. The focus here is on the development of competences among multipliers (e.g., physical education teachers) and learners (e.g., pupils). Julia is currently particularly concerned with issues of (education for) sustainable development and health
Image:
Affiliation: Catholic University of Korea; Jeon Buk National University
Bio: Dr.-Ing. Youjin Kim is a member of "Association of Fluid Mechanics" (LSTME) e.V. Erlangen, Germany. She is a lecturer of Energy Environmental Engineering at the Catholic University of Korea and Jeon Buk National University. Driven by a passion for expanding sustainability in Korean start-ups, she performed technical fellow works with Korean VC Sopoong. As a passionate renewable energy researcher, Dr. Kim implements scientific knowledge in education and business. She dreams of solving the global climate crisis through international education and tech business solutions, collaborating with world-class academic and industrial partners.
Image:
Name: Dr. Bahareh Kamranzad
Affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde
Bio: Dr Bahareh Kamranzad is a Chancellor's Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde. Her research interests lie within the field of Coastal Engineering, and her primary research focuses on investigating the impacts of climate change on oceanic conditions and coastal processes, sustainability of ocean renewable energies (OREs), extreme events, and coastal hazards, protection & resilience. Prior to joining the University of Strathclyde, she worked in Japan for six years, initially at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University under the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship, and then, at the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University as an Assistant Professor. Furthermore, in 2022, she was a visiting researcher at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College, London.
Image:
Name: Dr. Julia Lohmann
Affiliation: Universität Augsburg
Bio: Julia conducts research on education in the context of sports and physical education. The focus here is on the development of competences among multipliers (e.g., physical education teachers) and learners (e.g., pupils). Julia is currently particularly concerned with issues of (education for) sustainable development and health
Image: