Royal Society of Canada Miroslaw Romanowski Lecture: Dr. Keith Hipel on Negotiations Over Groundwater Contamination

Wednesday, March 6, 2019
2:00 - 3:15pm
Auditorium, Beaty Biodiversity Museum

On Wednesday, March 6, Dr. Keith W. Hipel will present his Royal Society of Canada, Miroslaw Romanowski lecture on Negotiations over Groundwater Contamination

Dr. Hipel was awarded the Miroslaw Ronanowski Medal, Canada’s highest recognition for environmental research, for significant contributions to the resolution of scientific aspects of environmental problems or for important improvements to the quality of an ecosystem in all aspects – terrestrial, atmospheric and aqueous – brought about by scientific means.

His lecture explores the application of the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution (GMCR), which was applied to the explosive dispute that arose 30 years ago over the discovery of a carcinogen in the aquifer supplying water to the town of Elmira, located in Southern Ontario, Canada, to demonstrate how one can realistically investigate conflict to obtain strategic insights for supporting informed decision making.

Dr. Hipel is University Professor of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo where he is Coordinator of the Conflict Analysis Group. He is Former President of the Academy of Science within the Royal Society of Canada, Senior Fellow of the Centre for International Governance Innovation, Fellow of the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and Past-Chair of the Board of Governors of Renison University College. 

Wednesday's lecture is co-sponsored by the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and Water @UBC