Speakers

Dr. Myra J. Hird

Professor, FRSC & Stephen J.R. Smith Chair in Engineering for Humanity
Queen's University, Canada
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Keynote
Epistemic Virtues and Engineering for Humanity
About the Speaker
Dr. Myra J. Hird is Professor and Stephen J.R. Smith Chair in Engineering for Humanity at Queen's University. An internationally recognized scholar, her work bridges engineering, environmental studies, and the social sciences to address sustainability, waste systems, and responsible innovation. She has secured over $12 million in research funding and authored more than 90 scholarly publications and 14 books.

What You'll Learn
This keynote explores how engineers can strengthen design by considering multiple ways of knowing, including Indigenous, feminist, and community perspectives. Attendees will gain insight into how engineering solutions can become more socially responsible, culturally appropriate, and effective across diverse communities.

Dr. Nemkumar (Nemy) Banthia

University Killam Professor & Distinguished University Scholar
The University of British Columbia, Canada
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Keynote
Towards Low-Cost and Carbon Neutral Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC)
About the Speaker
Dr. Banthia is a global leader in sustainable concrete infrastructure and carbon-neutral construction materials. He has published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers, holds nine patents, supervised over 75 doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Cement and Concrete Composites.

What You'll Learn
Discover how next-generation ultra-high-performance concrete can dramatically reduce carbon emissions while improving structural performance and durability. This presentation highlights advances in low-cement and cement-free UHPC and their potential to transform sustainable infrastructure.

R. Kerry Rowe, OC, FRS, NEA, FREng., FRSC, FCAE, Dist. M. ASCE, NAC

Barrington Bachelor Distinguished Professor
Smith Engineering, Dept. of Civil Engineering at Queens
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What You'll Learn / TITLE: Sustainability: do we really understand what this word means?
As we grapple with the realities of global warming, attention turns to what we can do. The Norwegians have their answer in terms of action: “in 2025, 95.9% of all new passenger cars registered in Norway were fully electric vehicles (battery electric vehicles). The remaining 4.1% of new car sales were split among plug-in hybrids, traditional hybrids, and a tiny fraction of petrol and diesel cars.” That is impressive – but are electric cars sustainable technology? This talk discusses the questions in the context of how narrowly we define the word and the massive increase in mine waste that will be generated to deal with electric cars. He will then discuss the questions in terms of extreme events like flooding -the weather is changing whether we like it or not, and if we do not do something soon, there will be more disasters. Then there is AI – lots of hype about the AI revolution, but is it sustainable? Where is all the extra power coming from? Ontario, like many jurisdictions, is almost out of landfill space – what do we do then? Why do we keep dodging the question of what is sustainable?