Members

Maryia Markhvida is a disaster and climate researcher, educator, and practitioner. Her academic research and international development work with the World Bank focus on understanding the impacts of future disasters and climate change on society to inform equitable risk reduction and adaptation strategies. She is also working in the space of climate literacy through experiential simulations, using emerging technologies to develop immersive environments aimed at addressing climate risks and enhancing urban resilience.

Nancy Tapias Torrado's main research program is dedicated to understanding the impact of Indigenous women-led mobilizations defending their dignity, territory and rights from human rights abuses committed in connection to mega-projects affecting their ancestral territories in the Americas.

Maxime's work is focused on the development of a framework for advanced manufacturing of porous microstructures for electrochemical devices, including water electrolyzers and flow batteries, to increase the implementation of these technologies in the energy industry.

Jaliya Fonseka explores narratives and lived experiences shaped by climate, migration, cultural identity, belonging, and place, with a focus on those often overlooked.

Julie Bernard's research focuses on sustainable finance, responsible investment, and shareholder activism, particularly the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, proxy voting, and their roles in addressing the twin crisis—climate change and biodiversity crisis—as well as their integration of Indigenous issues.

Michael Wood's research examines organizational perceptions and responses to sustainability issues through the lens of space, time, scale, and social license to operate within the contexts of the insurance industry, mining, carbon management, Blue Economy, waste management, and global security and climate change.

Arfa Aijazi is a faculty member in the School of Architecture and the Architectural Engineering program at the University of Waterloo. Her research focuses on climate change adaptation and resilience in architectural design, particularly concerning extreme temperatures.  

Cameron is an Assistant Professor at the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development. His research interests focus on urban sustainable development and the systems that give rise to both compounding vulnerability and sustainable progress in cities. In pursuit of this research interest, he has partnered with researchers, policymakers, private industry leaders and local communities on investigations into sustainable urban development across North America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. Cameron is currently working with SDSN Canada to develop an index of Sustainable Development Goal achievement in Canadian cities.

Zhao Pan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo and the Principal Investigator of the Interdisciplinary Fluid Physics Lab - Pan Lab. Prior to joining Waterloo, he worked at Utah State University and Florida Center for Advanced Aero-propulsion (FCAAP, FSU) as a postdoctoral fellow. His research interests span from fundamental fluid physics (e.g., jets, bubbles, droplets, and cavitation), micro/bio-fluids, to advanced fluid flow diagnostics. Most of his studies are driven by curiosity and serve both academia and the community with creative ideas and broader social impact.

Professor Kendall uses geochemistry to:
develop innovative geochemical methods that can serve as process tracers for petroleum systems, ore mineralization, and biogeochemical cycles;
learn more about how mineral and petroleum deposits form and improve exploration strategies for these important resources;
reconstruct the history of atmosphere and ocean oxygenation through time and its relationship to biological evolution, seawater chemistry and natural resource deposits.