Slobodan P. Simonovic, Western University and ICLR
Slobodan P. Simonovic (www.slobodansimonovic.com) is universally acknowledged as one of the world’s leading authorities on application of Systems Analysis to water and environmental management. He advanced the understanding of water and environmental systems, by providing decision-makers with tools to support their sustainable management. He provides unparalleled contributions to global and local management of water that have improved the lives and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. His work has a significant impact on our understanding of system linkages between humans, and build and natural environments that lead to sustainable water resources management and resilience as a new development paradigm.
Glenn R. McGillivray, ICLR
Glenn McGillivray is Managing Director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction. Prior to joining ICLR, he served as Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communication for Swiss Reinsurance Company Canada and was Corporate Secretary for three Swiss Re operations in the country. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program at York University’s Emergency and Disaster.
Reza Najafi, Western University
Najafi leads the Hydroclimate Extremes and Climate Change Lab (HydroClimEX Lab) at Western University. Our interdisciplinary research program focuses on addressing the challenges associated with nonstationary hydroclimatic extremes, particularly floods and droughts. Drawing on expertise from diverse fields such as engineering, climate change science, hydrology, hydraulics, risk assessment, data analytics, and statistics, HydroClimEx investigates the complex interrelationships between hazards and infrastructure systems in a changing climate. Our work contributes to the development of robust risk and resilience frameworks, supporting the sustainability of both the natural and built environment. Najafi currently serves as an associate editor of the Water Resources Research Journal (AGU).
Angela Peck, GHD – Integrated Water Management (IWM)
Angela has technical and project management experience in complex and multidisciplinary research and design projects involving stakeholders from academia, consulting, and government sectors. She has water resources engineering experience completing conceptual level analyses through to detailed design. Angela’s PhD (supplemented by coursework in coastal engineering at UBC) focused on the impacts of climate change on coastal cities. She created and was the instructor for CEE9567b: GIS Applications in Water Resources Management at the University of Western Ontario. She’s a demonstrated leader in climate change resilience and sustainability, published in academic journals, and is an Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP).
Brian Perry, Natural Resources Canada
Brian Perry is a water resources engineer working for Natural Resources Canada and the Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program (FHIMP). His current role as Engineering Advisor supports the FHIMP program’s western and northern portfolio as it aims to develop flood hazard maps for all high priority areas in Canada. Brian graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Master’s of Applied Science in Civil Engineering in 2018 where his research focused on physical and numerical modelling of river systems.
Robin Burke, Public Safety Canada
Robin Bourke is Senior Engineering Advisor and Manager of the Data Science and Engineering Team at Public Safety Canada. He studied Water Resources Engineering and International Development in Canada and Sweden before spending ten years in northern Canada as a consulting engineer and project manager. Following three years with the Flood Mapping Team at Natural Resources Canada, he joined Public Safety Canada and developed the Data Science and Engineering Team, which provides expert advice and conducts quantitative risk analysis supporting major policy programs including Flood Insurance, Disaster Assistance, Investment Screening, and Flood Risk Communication.
Subhankar Karmakar, ICFM
Prof. Subhankar Karmakar is a Professor at the Environmental Science and Engineering Department, IIT Bombay, and the Vinaya & Samir Kapoor Chair in the Centre for Climate Studies, IIT Bombay. He holds a Ph.D. from IISc Bangalore and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Western Ontario. His research focuses on Environmental Systems Analysis, Uncertainty Modelling, and Climate-induced Risk Analysis. He has published over 100 international journal papers and received IIT Bombay’s Excellence in Teaching and Research Awards. He is an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Water and Built Environment Journal and serves on the Editorial Board of Scientific Reports by Nature Portfolio.
Zhang Cheng, ICFM
Dr. ZHANG Cheng, Director of General office, Research Center on Flood&Drought Disaster Prevention and Reduction of Ministry of Water Resources(CDPR), Director of the Permanent Secretariat of International Conferences on Flood Management (ICFM), Professor of China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR). As the project leader or project leader, he has undertaken more than 10 national-level projects, more than 20 provincial-level or prefecture-level projects, and participated in 5 international cooperation projects. published more than 40 academic papers, 5 monographs and 4 translations; won two Dayu Water Conservancy Science and Technology Awards and one Environmental Protection Science and Technology Award; and invented more than 10 patents and utility models. He is also an expert in water science of smart city of IEC Committee; editorial board member of SCI journal La Houille Blanche (English version), peer reviewer of SCI journals-Journal of Flood Risk Management; expert in evaluation of demonstration of National Sponge Cities, expert in international cooperation expert database of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and member of the Urban Water Conservancy Committee of Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society; master tutor of Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, Zhengzhou University and Xi’an University of Technology.