Keynote Speakers
David Wilkinson, Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Dr. David P. Wilkinson is a Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada. Dr. Wilkinson’s main research interests are in electrochemical and photochemical devices, energy conversion and storage materials, and processes to create clean and sustainable energy and water. He has more than 80 issued patents and 225 refereed journal articles, a co-authored book, and a number of edited books and book chapters. Dr. Wilkinson received his B.A.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from UBC in 1978, his Professional Engineering status in 1980, and his PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Ottawa in 1987. Prior to joining the university in 2004, Dr. Wilkinson had more than 20 years of industrial experience in the areas of fuel cells, hydrogen, and advanced lithium batteries. He has held a variety of leadership positions including being Associate Department Head, Executive Director of the UBC Clean Energy Research Centre, Principal Research Officer and Senior Advisor with the National Research Council of Canada in Vancouver, Director and Vice President of Research and Development at Ballard Power Systems, and Section Leader for Chemistry at Moli Energy (now E-One Moli Energy). He is a co-founder and technical advisor for Mangrove Technologies (Mangrove Water Technologies, Mangrove Lithium), a company which was spun out from his research program with his graduate students. He has received a number of awards, and was recently appointed to the Order of Canada for his contributions to electrochemical science and engineering, particularly his work on the development of fuel cell technology.
Naomi Klein, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, UBC Professor of Climate Justice
Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist, columnist, and international bestselling author of eight books including No Logo, The Shock Doctrine, This Changes Everything, No Is Not Enough and On Fire, which have been translated into over 35 languages. Her most recent book is How to Change Everything: The Young Human's Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other. She is the Senior Correspondent for The Intercept, Puffin Writing Fellow at Type Media Center, and an inaugural Marielle Franco fellow of the Social Justice Initiative Portal Project at the University of Chicago. In 2018, she was named the inaugural Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University. In September 2021, she joined the University of British Columbia as UBC Professor of Climate Justice.