Wednesday 2 March
4.30-6.00pm AEST
It is evident that climate change has affected every country. It is disrupting national economies, destroying species biodiversity and affecting lives. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and weather events are becoming more extreme with warmest decade (2010- 2019) ever recorded. CO2 and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have risen to new records. This calls for urgent actions to combat climate change and adapting our cities for better resilience towards this change.
In response, great ideas and solutions for combating climate action have been proposed. These include using renewable clean energy instead of fossil fuels, developing energy-efficient transportation systems, using electric vehicles, travelling less, reducing wastages, reusing and recycling materials, and even eating less meat and more vegetables.
In this webinar on combating climate change, we discuss two interesting solutions, namely seaweed farming and floating cities. Dr Brian von Herzen (CEO of Climate Foundation) will speak on Marine Permaculture to Regenerate a Healthy Climate in our Lifetime while Dr Koen Olthius (Founder of Waterstudio.NL) will give a talk on the rise of the Blue city. The facilitator for the talks is Prof Chien Ming Wang FTSE (TMR Chair Professor in Structural Engineering, The University of Queensland).
Please join us for a stimulating conversation on these two solutions with our two eminent speakers.
SPEAKERS
Dr Koen Olthuis
CEO and Principal Architect at Waterstudio
Dr Koen Olthuis is a Dutch architect. He studied architecture and industrial design at Delft University of Technology. Olthuis is CEO of the Dutch architectural firm, Waterstudio.NL, which specializes in floating structures to counter concerns of floods and rising sea levels. The firm is currently based in Rijswijk, The Netherlands. In 2005, together with Paul Van de Camp, Olthuis co-founded a company that specializes in developing floating structures. In 2007, Olthuis was ranked #122 in TIME Magazine’s readers poll of “the most influential people of the year”. In 2010, together with David Keuning, Olthuis authored a book called Float, which discusses construction on water.
Dr Brian von Herzen
CEO of Climate Foundation
Dr Brian Von Herzen is the founder and CEO of the Climate Foundation, which upholds the vision and the mission to regenerate life in the ocean using Marine Permaculture technology. As CEO, Brian leads Climate Foundation’s large-scale seaweed mariculture programs to develop sustainable food, feed and fertilizer value chains, provide ecosystem life support, and sustain blue carbon sinks. Brian graduated magna cum laude in three years from Princeton University with a degree in Physics. He holds a Ph.D. in planetary science from California Institute of Technology where he was awarded the prestigious Hertz Fellowship and has been awarded numerous patents.
MODERATOR
Professor Chien Ming Wang FTSE
TMR Chair Professor in Structural Engineering, University of Queensland
Prof. C.M. Wang FTSE is the TMR Chair Professor in Structural Engineering, The University of Queensland. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and a Fellow of Academy of Engineering Singapore. His research interests are in the areas of structural mechanics and floating structures. He is the Leader of the Offshore Engineering Program of the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre that conducts research projects that combine seafood, renewable energy and offshore engineering, underpinned by a $329 million grant from the Australian Government and industry partners over a 10-year period.