I am a founder and co-director of Sustainability oriented, Cyber Unit for Built Environment (S⨁CUBE) at the University of Cape Town. My research focuses on developing inclusive, sustainable, and smart solutions for engineering and built environment projects. I hold a PhD in Construction Economics and Management, MS in Transportation Engineering and Construction Management and BS in Civil Engineering. I have held various positions in government agencies, engineering consultancies, and developing firms across the globe. I am also lecturing several courses and supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students at the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, UCT.
Dr Abid Mehmood
Cardiff University
I have broader expertise is in social innovation, sustainable development and environmental governance. I have research experience in climate change, renewable energy transitions, and social cohesion for local and regional development planning, policy and practice.
Dr Isabel Richter
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Throughout my training as a psychologist, I mainly focused on social and environmental psychology. I absolved my Diploma in Germany on power, social dominance and environmental behaviour. Subsequently, I completed my PhD at NTNU on sustainable (sea)food consumption.
Today, my research revolves around applying theories for behaviour change to encourage pro-environmental actions and decision making. In my international and interdisciplinary projects my focus is to identify behavioural barriers and facilitators for sustainable behaviour change such as norms, values, attitudes and perceptions. In these projects, I collaborate with other scientists to find innovative approaches and solutions for marine conservation, sustainable development or consumer decision making. Often, these projects are involving populations from marginalized backgrounds and developing countries. I am passionate about respect and equality across genders, cultures and backgrounds. Examples of my applied work are projects on plastic pollution, urban smart farming, water quality, environmental communication, sustainable consumption and sustainable tourism. In all these projects I am applying quantitative and qualitative methods from social and environmental psychology.
Dr Sheena Francis
University of the West Indies
I am a research fellow with over ten years of experience in vector biology, toxicology, and genetics. In recent years, my research at University of the West Indies, Jamaica has focused on studying insecticide resistance in the mosquito Aedes aegypti, the most important vector of dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses. My work strives to understand mechanisms of insecticide resistance in Aedes aegypti as well as to understand the behaviour of the vectors. The goal of my research is to identify novel methods that can be used to reduce the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases by decreasing human-mosquito contact in dense communities. Interdisciplinary approaches have led me along a path to explore Urban Smart Farms that focuses on repurposing abandoned open spaces and or buildings that would have normally housed the vectors as a possible solution of mosquito-vector management in urban areas. This possibility may also simultaneously provide sustainable food produce for urban communities.
Dr Folasade Mary Owoade
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology
I am an experienced lecturer and researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. A registered Soil Scientist, climate change expert, Environmentalist, organic and urban smart farmer.
I have a strong Education professional with a master of science (M.Sc.) and a Ph.D. in Soil Science (Soil fertility). A post doc. Fellow Under Climate Impact Research Capacity for Leadership Enhancement,(CIRCLE) Cohort 3 2017. Fellow with passions for conserving and managing soil.
Dr Kutemba K. Kapanji-Kakoma
National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research, Zambia
I am a chemical engineer with over twelve years combined experience in the mining industry and research and development (R&D) institutions focusing on water, energy, and the environment. I have broad experience in industrial wastewater treatment, hydrometallurgical mineral processing technologies and metallurgical accounting. I am an expert in adsorption, ion exchange and electrowinning techniques. I obtained her BEng (Hons) degree, MSc, and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham (U.K), University of the Witwatersrand (RSA) and Stellenbosch University (RSA), respectively. My research interests lie in the circularity of bio-economies, renewable energy technologies (including combined heat and power plants), modelling/simulation of biorefineries (bio-based chemicals’ production) and sustainability studies, which involves the assessment of the techno-economic, environmental (life cycle analysis) and social impacts of processes.
Vasilena Vassilev
P+
Vasilena Vassilev is a director and co-founder at P+ Studio and a passionate educator currently teaching design studios at a number of high-profile universities in the US and UK. Her research focuses on urban sustainability, future applications of new technologies, and their effect on the ecology of the built environment.
P+ is a London-based multidisciplinary design studio which focuses on performance-based design and innovation in the built environment. Featuring designs that range from speculative technologies to products, furniture, buildings, and urban development, the practice focuses on projects that lie at the intersection of research, design, and architecture.
