The Department's Centre for Sustainable Development hosts an Annual Lecture Series where experts distinguished in the field of sustainable development give a presentation on their subject.
The events are free and open to the public.
The lectures are held in Lecture Theatre 0 in the Department of Engineering, Trumpington Street, Cambridge. The lectures are on Wednesday evenings, 5:30 for 6:00 p.m and are concluded by 7:30pm. The 2009 series is listed below:
28th January
The role of engineering in entering the ecological age
Peter Head OBE FREng FRSA (Arup)
Peter Head will carefully analyse current global knowledge in an attempt to see if and how we can reach a sustainable future. He concludes that we could move to a sustainable way of living within environmental limits over the next few decades, allowing for continued development and population growth, whilst adjusting to climate change impacts
4th February
Sustainable development – great green dream or impossible ambition?
Tony Juniper, (former Director of Friends of the Earth)
Tony Juniper is a British environmental campaigner, author and commentator most recognised for his work as Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Vice Chair of Friends of the Earth International from 2000-2008
11th February
title – to be confirmed
Dr Jamie Bartram (Co-ordinator of water, sanitation and health at World Health Organsiation)
18th February
A sustainable technology strategy for engineers
Dr Karel Muldur (TU Delft, the Netherlands)
Since 1998 Dr Mulder has been project leader of the Education for Sustainable Development project. He was the initiator of the series of Engineering Education in Sustainable Development Conferences that took place biannually from 2002. He has lectured at various universities and cooperates with several Sustainable Development units at Technical Universities throughout Europe. He recently published the book ‘Sustainable Development for Engineers’ (Greenleaf) and authored various papers regarding the role of technology, technological innovation and technological education in Sustainable Development.
25th February
Sustainability in the resources sector
Paul Skinner (Chairman, RioTinto)
Paul Skinner is inventing a new job in Rio Tinto, that of corporate patriarch. Rio’s chairman has become the guiding hand promoting a culture of ethics, safety and environmental protection within the world’s second-largest mining group.
11th March
Innovating to sustainability
Professor Charles Ainger (MWH Ltd and Centre for Sustainable Development)
Charles has worked for over 40 years as a civil engineer and has extensive UK and international experience in the planning, procurement, direction, design and management of projects, mainly in the water and environmental field. He is Head of Sustainable Development for Montgomery Watson Harza (MWH) Europe. He specialises in introducing sustainability concepts and strategies into engineering, for sustainable development. He is Visiting Professor in the Engineering Department’s Centre for Sustainable Development.
6th May
title –to be confirmed
William McDonough (provisional) (Author of Cradle to Cradle, William McDonough and Partners, Virginia, USA)
William McDonough is a world-renowned architect and designer and winner of three U.S. presidential awards: the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development (1996), the National Design Award (2004); and the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (2003). Time magazine recognized him as a “Hero for the Planet” in 1999, stating that “his utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that—in demonstrable and practical ways—is changing the design of the world.”
Details on this year's lectures and the lectures of previous year's can be found on the Centre for Sustainable Development website
The lecture series leaflet can be downloaded as a (109 KB) pdf file here
For further details please contact: Dr R.A.Fenner Tel: 01223 765626; E-mail raf37@eng.cam.ac.uk