Teaching Fellow, Environmental Planning Programme, University of Waikato Rob Bell has 42 years’ experience in coastal and estuary engineering, risk from coastal hazards, the impacts of climate change on coastal lowland communities and infrastructure and adaptive planning for climate adaptation (including managed retreat). Rob, formerly with NIWA, was the Lead Author of the 2017 coastal guidance for local government published by NZ’s Ministry for the Environment for planning adaptation to climate change and contributed to the forthcoming 2023 revision. The guidance pivots around the Dynamic Adaptive Pathways Planning approach to deal with the deepening uncertainty from coastal climate impacts. Rob was a Contributing Author for the IPCC Working Group II 6th Assessment Report on climate change impacts for Australasia (2022). Rob's primary research interests are coastal hazards, sea-level rise, risk assessments and climate adaptation approaches. Rob is a certified Resource Management Act Hearings Commissioner and Chartered Professional Engineer (Environmental).
Professor of Ecology, The University of Western Australia Raphael Didham is Professor of Ecology in the School of Animal Biology at the University of Western Australia, with a joint research position at CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences. Professor Didham received his PhD from Imperial College of London in 1997 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Delaware, USA, before holding a faculty position at the University of Canterbury, NZ, for 10 years. The goal of Professor Didham’s research is to quantify the synergistic effects of multiple drivers of global change on biodiversity and ecological resilience of remnant natural ecosystems within production landscapes, with a particular focus on conserving invertebrate biodiversity and maintaining natural pest control services.
Adjunct professor, Physics, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa My current research interest is in astrophysics, cosmology, and general relativity, especially the dynamics of the universe under evolutionary physical constants beyond the standard model. I have shown that variations of constants are correlated and thus are not possible to observe as, in most observations, they cancel, e.g., lunar laser ranging, binary pulsar timing, gravitational lensing, and evolution of planetary orbits. I have hypothesized that the observed redshifts of distant galaxies are not only due to the expansion of the Universe but also caused by the photons losing energy due to cosmic drag while traveling over large distances. I currently teach astrophysics and cosmology to senior undergraduates and graduate students. I enjoy teaching and learning through teaching.
Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University My research is focused on the health impacts of air pollution. I am particularly interested in the effects of air pollution on fetal growth and early childhood development.
Senior Lecturer, Social Work and Health, Nottingham Trent University Richard Machin is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences. He specialises in social policy and teaches across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules on the Social Work, Health and Social Care, Public Health and Public Policy courses. He has been awarded NTU's Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His research focuses on the impact of government policy on vulnerable groups. He managed Derby City Council's Welfare Rights and Money Advice service for over ten years before pursuing an academic career. He was the course leader for the BA (Hons) Social Welfare Law, Policy and Advice Practice degree at Staffordshire University before joining NTU in 2018.
Senior Research Fellow, Australian National University Dr. Ralf Steinhauser is a Senior Research Fellow at the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods. He previously held a position as Assistant Professor for Environmental and Resource Economics at Hamburg University and is currently a Fellow of the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute. He holds a Bachelor and Master’s degree from Humboldt University Berlin and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He has published research on carbon emissions forecasting, behavioural consumer response, corporate governance and taxation. He is an expert in behavioural and environmental economics and has particular expertise in large data analysis and experimental design. He has undertaken extensive work on economic policy issues involving tax elasticities, GFC stimulus payments, property tax reform, fertility and road accidents.
