WATERLOO, Ont. (Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012) – An expert in the management of physical systems, including the environment, water resources, infrastructure and natural disasters, will share lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake when he delivers the TD Walter Bean Lecture in the Environment at the University of Waterloo this evening.
Norio Okada is a professor at Kumamoto University in Japan and the former director of the Disaster Prevention Research Institute at Kyoto University. He holds an honorary doctorate of engineering from the University of Waterloo, has received numerous awards for research in civil engineering and risk management, and is the 2012 TD Walter Bean Visiting Professor. Okada's lecture entitled "Averting Disaster: Coping with Earthquakes, Tsunami, and Nuclear Meltdowns," will take place this evening 7 p.m. in the Humanities Theatre, located in the J.G. Hagey Hall of the Humanities, University of Waterloo.
"As the host faculty for this year's TD Walter Bean Lecture in the Environment, Waterloo Engineering is extremely pleased to welcome Professor Okada, who has made significant contributions to the management of physical and human systems," said Professor Pearl Sullivan, dean of engineering. "We are delighted to offer both the public and our university community the unique opportunity to learn and better understand environmental risk management from a leading scholar in the field."
Named in honour of the late Walter Bean, the TD Walter Bean Visiting Professor upholds the legacy of community involvement and commitment to youth and education. Bean was the former president of Waterloo Trust until its merger with Canada Trust in 1968. The professorship attracts top researchers with international reputations who give lectures, teach classes, and engage in dialogue with faculty members. The lecture is hosted on a rotating basis by the faculties of engineering, environment and science at Waterloo.
For more information about the TD Walter Bean Lecture in the Environment, please visit www.uwaterloo.ca/engineering/tdwalterbean
