Antagonism and Intimidation in Academia Speaker Series

Antagonistic Responses to Environment and Climate Change in the Academy

We invite you to attend the fourth panel discussion of the Antagonism and Intimidation in Academia Speaker Series entitled, Antagonistic Responses to Environment and Climate Change in the Academy. We will explore several significant topics such as how the environment and climate change impact the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe; ways of navigating the academic space as a brown woman at the intersection of climate, water, and sustainability; understanding how different types of antagonistic discourses and challenging conversations shape researchers working in the environment and climate change fields; teaching and researching on issues of climate change in the interconnected disciplines of ecology and evolution; and ways of managing antagonisms inside and outside the classroom. There will be time for audience members to engage in a question-and-answer period following the panel presentations. A reception will follow.

Dr. Nandita Basu is a Tier I Canada Research Chair of Global Water Sustainability and Ecohydrology, and a Professor in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth and Environmental Sciences. She is an environmental engineer who uses data science and process modeling to explore how human actions degrade water quality, and she designs strategies to mitigate such impacts.

Dr. Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Science, Health, and Technology Communication in the Department of English Language and Literature, in the Faculty of Arts. She is the author of On Expertise (Penn State UP) and Science Communication Online (Ohio State UP). She is also the inaugural Co-Director, with Donna Strickland, for the Trust in Research Undertaken in Science and Technology (TRuST) network.

Dr. Juan Moreno-Cruz is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Energy Transitions at the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) in the Faculty of Environment. Juan Moreno-Cruz is also a Center of Economic Studies (CESifo) Research Affiliate. Juan Moreno-Cruz’s research focuses on how solar and carbon geoengineering technologies affect climate policy. 

Dr. Kirsten Müller is Professor and the Department Chair of Biology in the Faculty of Science. She studies algae in lakes, rivers, and oceans, focusing on the impacts of climate change on the ecology of these organisms including the consequences of forest fires on watersheds and resulting toxic algal blooms. In the Fall of 2023, Kirsten Müller was one of four individuals representing the University of Waterloo at COP28 for the United Nations Framework on Climate Change.

Antagonistic Responses to Health Research in the Academy

We invite you to attend the third panel discussion of this series entitled, Antagonistic Responses to Health Research in the Academy. We will explore several important topics such as the experiences of being a vaccine researcher and health care professional during a pandemic; the challenges of conducting research on highly politicized issues in the face of political and social backlash; how communities of relational support are useful for countering hate and isolation during times of tension and misunderstanding; the neutrality of health research in policy; the interplay between evidence and decision-making; and mitigating antagonism and aggression in health care research. There will be time for audience members to engage in a question-and-answer period following the panel presentations. A reception will follow. 

Dr. Geoff Bardwell is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health Sciences in the Faculty of Health. His research focuses on unregulated drug use and related public health interventions. He has conducted studies in community health centres, housing environments, inner-city drug scenes, and Indigenous communities.    

Dr. Lisbeth Berbaryis anAssociate Professor in Leisure Studies in the Faculty of Health. Her work engages liberatory theory practices, creative analytic practices, qualitative/post-qualitative inquiry, and progressive politics to interrogate how health happens within community relations, social research, and academic institutions.   

Dr. Kimberly Lopez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies in the Faculty of Health. She is interested in critically examining structures that (re)produce oppressions affecting experiences of long-term care homes, helping work, migration and settlement, and labourer well-being.  

Dr. Nancy Waite is Professor and Associate Director Clinical Education in the School of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Science. Her research focuses on increasing the uptake of vaccines using community pharmacies as immunization hubs and improving vaccine confidence through policy and practice change. 

Antagonistic Responses to Science and Technology in the Academy

We invite you to attend the second panel discussion of the series, “Antagonistic Responses to Science and Technology in the Academy.” Panel presentations will explore several important topics such as opposition to science and technology solutions for sustainable agriculture; what it means to be a public-facing healthcare expert during the pandemic; the anxieties and antagonisms surrounding automated artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, including generative AI; and challenging encounters characterizing the relations inside and outside the science classroom, and ways of promoting inclusivity. There will be time for audience members to engage in a question-and-answer period following the panel presentations. A reception will follow.

Panel Participants

Dr. Trevor C. Charles is Professor of Biology, Founder of the company Metagenom Bio, Executive Director of the LiftOff Black Entrepreneurship Program, and Director of Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research.

Dr. Lai-Tze Fan is a Canada Research Chair in Technology and Social Change, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies. She leads the Unseen-AI Lab.

Dr. Kelly Grindrod is an Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy. Dr. Grindrod was a public-facing expert on COVID vaccination and treatment during the pandemic.

Dr. Maura R. Grossman is a Research Professor in the School of Computer Science and the School of Public Health Sciences, an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, and an affiliate faculty member at the Vector Institute of Artificial Intelligence.

Antagonistic Responses Based on Gender and Race in the Academy

We will explore several important topics such as responding to silence arising from gendered harassment and workplace threats of violence; unpacking the public silencing of expertise when Black women engage in anti-racist work; countering the view that teaching about structural inequalities and social injustices is “ideological,” rather than empirically-based; and emphasizing the merits of inclusivity in the classroom and creating learning environments of respect even where differences prevail. There will be time for audience members to engage in a question-and-answer period following the panel presentations.

Panel Participants

Dr. Carla Fehr, Associate Professor & Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy, Philosophy

Dr. Laura Mae Lindo, Assistant Professor, Philosophy

Dr. Logan MacDonald,Assistant Professor & Canada Research Chair of Indigenous Art, Fine Arts

Dr. Rashmee Singh, Associate Professor, Sociology and Legal Studies