As concern about climate change and the future of our planet grows, efforts to establish alternative forms of energy that would replace fossil fuels have intensified. For many, the transition from reliance upon fossil fuels toward other sources of energy that are more environmentally friendly is reflected in how we power automobiles and other means of conveyance. Vehicles that are powered by electricity instead of gasoline, diesel and similar fuels may be one of the more significant ways to address climate change, but such transitions may have technical, political, and resource-related challenges. In this webinar, speakers will be invited to discuss electrification as a topic of study and concern.
Electrification Transition in Canada: Challenges and Opportunities
The College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada is committed to fostering engagement amongst its members, the Royal Society of Canada, and the public. To facilitate this engagement and showcase the expertise of our College members, the RSC College Webinar Series will be hosted by the Royal Society of Canada three times each year. This webinar series is managed by the College executive, advised by College Council, and supported by Walter House.
Speakers
John Sandlos
John Sandlos is a historian at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He has spent the past 17 years researching the environmental and social impacts of mining in northern Canada. Most recently, he is the co-author of Mining Country: A History of Canada’s Mines and Miners, published with Lorimer Press in 2021.
Lina Kattan
Lina Kattan is a Professor of Transportation Engineering at Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. She earned her doctoral degree at the University of Toronto and her BSc and MSc in Engineering from the American University of Beirut. Lina holds Canada Research Chair (CRC) Tier I in Integrative Transportation Systems through Automation and Connectivity, and the Urban Alliance Chair in Transportation Systems Optimization. Dr. Kattan is also the Director of the NSERC CREATE program in Integrated Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities (IISC), which focuses on finding systematic solutions to understand the multifaceted needs of tomorrow’s cities.
Lina‘s research program focuses on developing solutions to urban transportation problems with a special focus on intelligent transportation systems, emerging vehicular technologies, connected and automated vehicles and their implications, equity and fairness in transportation, traffic flow theory and control, transportation network modelling and optimization, public transport operation, transit electrification, and dynamic demand modelling.
Lina is a Member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2022 Astech Award, the 2022 Killam Annual Professorship Award – NSERC category and the 2023 Apega Summit Research Excellence Award.
Moderator
Audrey Moores
Dr. Audrey Moores' research focuses on green chemistry and more specifically on the use of sustainable resources to access new functional materials and molecules with a reduced environmental footprint.