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Social Experience webinar - The potential future trajectories of society and how the work of the chemical engineering profession may be tasked to add value

Without question, Chemical Engineers have played a central role in enabling the high standards of living, from the development of abundant/affordable energy, new materials through to improving access to clean water, facilitating intensive agriculture and the production of bulk pharmaceuticals. However not everyone has benefitted, with just under one billion people are suffering energy poverty with millions without access to clean water and sanitation, sufficient nutrition, or basic medicines.

By the end of this century global population will approach 11B.  The last 20 years has seen a slow but sustained shift in the global mindset of the way we think about the footprint of humanity impact on our planet. The changes needed to reduce this footprint, whilst maintaining health, longevity and prosperity on a global scale and bridging the gap between developed and developing countries brings a level of complexity that is almost unimaginable!

These challenges will not be solved with technology alone. A cultural shift in the way we think, our expectations, and the dynamics of business and government also need to change. Engineers need to not just innovate and develop the technologies demanded to face global challenges, but also consider strategies to shift the significant resistance from incumbent systems and the established political, cultural, and institutional barriers to change

Watch the webinar recording here

Date: 13 April 2022 
Time: 08:30 (BST)

The biographies of our webinar panel are outlined below: 

Dr Marlene Kanga - Non Executive Director, Sydney Water Corporation 
Marlene is an experienced non-executive director of Sydney Water Corporation, Australia's largest water utility, Air Services Australia, providing air navigation services across Australia and the Indian Ocean, Standards Australia and other boards involving innovation and the commercialization of new technologies. She is a director of iOmniscient Pty. Ltd. which has developed artificial intelligence for video technologies. She was previously Chair of the Department of Industry Innovation and Science R&D Incentives Committee (2013-2016), the largest government support program for industry based research and development in Australia, the 2013 President of Engineers Australia and the 2017-19 President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations. 

Please visit the World Engineering Day 2022 here

Professor Genevieve Bell - Vice President & Senior Fellow, Intel 
Genevieve Bell is a distinguished profe ssor, director of the 3A Institute and Florence Violet McKenzie Chair at the Australian National University (ANU). She is also vice president and a senior fellow at Intel Corporation. Bell joined the ANU in 2017, after having spent 18 years in Silicon Valley helping guide Intel's product development, social science and design research capabilities. In 2017, she was appointed the inaugural director of the 3A Institute, cofounded by the ANU and CSIRO's Data61. The Institute's mission is to establish a new branch of engineering to responsibly and sustainably scale AI-enabled cyber-physical systems.

Bell completed her PhD in cultural anthropology at Stanford University in 1998. She is best known for her work at the intersection of cultural practice and technology development and as an influential voice within academia, industry and government. She is a non-executive director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Board, a member of the Prime Minister's National Science and Technology Council and fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). She presented the highly acclaimed ABC Boyer Lectures for 2017. In 2020, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia and the first Engelbart Distinguished Fellow at SRI International.

Tom Burke - Co-founding Director and Chairman, E3G
Tom Burke is a co-founder of E3G and chairs its Board. He is responsible for supervising the overall fitness of the organisation to fulfil its mission.
Tom is a frequent media commentator on broadcast and print media, speaker at events and active writer of blogs and on social media.
He is the Chairman of the China Dialogue Trust which produces a number of online publications covering China and the environment. He is also a Trustee of Climate Advisors UK and other civil society organisations. He is Visiting Professor at both Imperial and University Colleges, London.
He was the Executive Director of Friends of the Earth in the late seventies, of the Green Alliance for most of the eighties and was a Special Advisor to three Secretaries of State for the Environment from 1991-97.
He has been a senior advisor for a number of major companies including Rio Tinto, BP & Standard Charted Bank. He has also served as an advisor in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign Office. He was a member of the Council of English Nature, Britain’s biodiversity regulator, from 1999 – 2005.
He has a long track record of experience with international environmental organisations working with and for both non-governmental and official bodies.

Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman - Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Dr. Kamarulzaman has dedicated her career to the prevention, treatment and research of infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS. She is also a strong advocate for HIV prevention, treatment and care programs in marginalized communities. In 2007, Dr. Kamarulzaman established the Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA) at the University of Malaya, one of the few dedicated HIV research centres in the region. She has been a Yale-affiliated faculty member since 2012.

Liveris Academy Scholars, The University of Queensland, Australia 
The Andrew N. Liveris Academy for Innovation and Leadership was established at The University of Queensland in 2018 with the support of a generous donation of $13.5M from UQ alumnus Andrew N. Liveris AO and his wife, Paula Liveris. The Liveris Academy is designed to cultivate the next generation of leaders with the capacity to address grand challenges at a time of dramatic socio-economic, technological and environmental change. 

Lilly Van Gilst - Liveris Scholar 
Lilly is currently completing a dual Bachelor of Engineering / Arts, majoring in Chemical Engineering and International Relations. This eclectic mix of subjects is reflective of Lilly's broad interests, and her goals for a truly inter-disciplinary career.
She is a firm believer in Aristotle's philosophy that, 'The more you know, the more you know you don't know' and tries to expand her knowledge and skills in as many areas as possible.
She is interested the role of engineering for the future of sustainability, particularly relating to energy. With plans to study a Masters of Nuclear Engineering, it is Lilly's ultimate goal to enhance understanding across the public/private/political interface regarding necessary actions and measures for the energy transition.

Victoria Barnes - Liveris Scholar 
Victoria is currently undertaking an integrated Bachelor and Master of Engineering majoring in Chemical and Environmental Engineering. After relocating from Mississippi, USA, to Noosa, Queensland at the start of her Year 10 schooling, Victoria graduated high school as the Dux of her College, receiving an OP 1 (ATAR 99) and had already started her leadership journey with experience as Vice-College Captain. Since commencing at UQ, Victoria became the recipient of a UQ Excellence Scholarship, and was extremely honoured to be among the first cohort of Liveris Academy Scholars.
In high school, Victoria discovered a passion for using chemistry to solve real-world problems and knew that she wanted to use her skills to invent new ways to limit the waste that ends up in our environment. She believes that chemical engineers are going to be exceedingly important changemakers for creating a more sustainable world and tackling the global climate change challenges that we are already starting to experience in the 21st century, which will only get worse if significant change does not happen soon.

Kyel Steensma - Liveris Scholar 
Kyel is currently studying a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) / Master of Engineering at UQ in the field of chemical engineering.
He graduated from Mansfield State High School in 2017 with an OP 4, didn’t know what he wanted to do in life, and so embarked on a gap year. What he experienced in his work and travel, brought about a deep and powerful change of mindset.
What Kyel realised is that he has a deep love of humanity and commitment to tackling the biggest societal problems. Upon commencing his studies at the University of Queensland and throwing himself into clubs and societies, he has become a full-fledged humanitarian; working in Cambodia and soon the Torres Strait Islands to aid disadvantaged communities. He has dedicated himself to effective climate action and decarbonising the energy industry; rising to leadership and having a significant effect within his community of energy enthusiasts. Being passionate about education, he has also created a YouTube channel to better describe society’s wicked problems and empower the general public to choose better solutions.