People

Hadi Dowlatabadi’s research is focused at the interface of nature, humans, technology and policy. He uses a systems approach to capture the dynamics of such systems as well as what is known and unknown about it. This permits the use of a value of information approach to focusing on research that matters most. Once the bare bones of a problem are combined with the psychology and sociology of public perception and problem definition the research will identify the paths that have led to the problem and barriers to finding solutions that avoid repeating similar challenges. Hadi has served as Lead Author for the IPCC, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, and reviewer for WHO’s Global Burden of Disease. He has worked with 42 PhD students to complete their degrees and published over 150 peer reviewed papers. He has co-founded half a dozen non-profit and for profit initiatives to bring better solutions for meeting human needs.

Hadi is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Engineering & Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. He is also a University Fellow at Resources for the Future in Washington DC.

Website: http://ires2015.sites.olt.ubc.ca/person/hadi-dowlatabadi/
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=9pMu_28AAAAJ&hl=en

John Robinson is a Professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs, and the School of the Environment, at the University of Toronto; an Honorary Professor with the Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability at The University of British Columbia; and an Adjunct Professor with the Copenhagen Business School, where he is leading the sustainability component of their campus redevelopment process. Prof. Robinson’s research focuses on the intersection of climate change mitigation, adaptation and sustainability; the use of visualization, modeling, and citizen engagement to explore sustainable futures; sustainable buildings and urban design; creating partnerships for sustainability with non-academic partners; and, generally, the intersection of sustainability, social and technological change, behaviour change, and community engagement processes. 

I am a PhD Candidate in the RMES program, working with Prof. Stephanie Chang. I finished my undergraduate studies in Urban and Regional Planning in Turkey. I did my masters at the University of Colorado Denver with concentration of Urban Place Making. Before starting my PhD at UBC, I worked as an Associate Planner, where I mainly focused on zoning, urban design, land development and land permitting projects.

My PhD research focuses on green infrastructure practices and climate change induced coastal disasters particularly in Canadian coasts. I am interested in how green infrastructure (G.I) effects adaption and resilience to potential coastal disasters and G.I’s applicability to communities along the Canadian coasts.

Sameer Shah is a PhD student in Resource Management & Environmental Studies under the supervision of Professor Leila Harris. He examines the social, political, and natural dimensions of water governance and its impacts on marginalized agricultural communities in India. He is deeply interested in promoting efforts designed to strengthen community adaptation and rural livelihoods in response to shifts in water access. Through his work, he is involved with the Program on Water Governance and with the EDGES Research Group. In 2012, he graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Honours Co-operative) from the University of Waterloo and earlier this year he completed his Master of Science degree at the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability.

Sameer is also actively involved in water policy planning at UBC, in British Columbia, and across Canada. At UBC, he is currently a lead organizer of Water Ways: Understanding the Past, Navigating the Future, a major interdisciplinary workshop celebrating UBC’s 100th anniversary and bringing together leading water experts to advance a global water research agenda for the coming century. He also holds an 18-month appointment as the Pacific Regional Representative for the Canadian Water Network’s Student and Young Professional Committee of emerging water leaders. In 2014, he was selected as one of about 50 applicants from across Canada to participate in the Waterlution Transformative Leaders of the Future Program. As part of this program, he co-facilitated the first Canada-wide exercise in participatory water policy planning with the aim to inject the public’s creative visions into future water policy. Having travelled to over 20 countries and lived in multiple, Sameer is passionate about nature, cooking, photography, and hiking.

Jonathan Taggart is a PhD candidate studying with Drs. Terre Satterfield and Kai Chan whose research looks at the challenges in representing the traditional knowledge and land use of BC First Nations. Working closely with communities, he is interesting in the ways First Nations and allies might continue to express vibrant cultural practices in rights & title processes in ways that are both politically powerful and inclusive of diverse and dynamic human-nature interactions. Jonathan has taught visual-ethnographic methods at Emily Carr University and is Associate Faculty at Royal Roads University’s School of Communication & Culture. His feature-length ethnographic film,”Life Off Grid“, has screened at festivals and conferences internationally.

Jonathan is a UBC Public Scholar, a member of the Google Earth Outreach Trainers Network, and a founder of the Boreal Collective of Documentary Photographers. His research is supported by a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Graduate Scholarship and a UBC Four-Year Fellowship.