Category: 2018 Speaker

Rovani Sigamoney is a chemical/environmental engineer from South Africa who started in the platinum refinery/mining sector and then moved on to researching bioenergy systems and biofuels for Africa.

She joined the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) HQ in Paris, France in 2007 in the Natural Sciences Sector and later ran the Chemistry programme and International Year of Chemistry 2011. She thereafter took over the UNESCO Engineering programme. The Engineering Programme is working with Member States (UNESCO has 195 Member States), international partners and program experts to strengthen engineering education through curricula development, hands-on training and capacity building. In line with UNESCO’s global priorities on Africa and Gender Equality, it focuses on women and Africa but also has activities around the world. Rovani is passionate about women in engineering and encouraging more youth to pursue careers in engineering.

She previously worked at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Paris on a biofuels strategy and also at the Wuppertal Institute of Climate Change in Germany on a policy document for the European Parliament on the security of energy supply.

Wahid Omar is a Professor of Structural Engineering at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). He was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of UTM in September 2013. Wahid Omar obtained his Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from the University of Birmingham, his Master’s degree in Bridge Engineering from the University of Surrey, and his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree from the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom. He is a registered Professional Engineer with the Board of Engineers Malaysia and a member of various professional bodies including the Institution of Engineers Malaysia. He is also an Honorary Member of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organization (AFEO).

His area of expertise includes structural assessment, reinforced and pre-stressed concrete and ductility of high strength concrete and project management. Prior to his present appointment, he was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development) (2011-2013) and the Director of the Office of Asset and Development (2008-1011). In his capacity as the then Director of the Office of Asset and Development, he was entrusted with a major task to manage the UTM campus development projects worth RM1 billion.

Dr Nagarajan is currently Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Madras, and Dean of International & Alumni Relations. He obtained his B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering in 1981 from IIT Madras, and a Ph.D. in the same field from Yale University (New Haven, CT, USA) in 1986. From 1986 – 1988, he served as Research Faculty in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV; during this tenure, he served as coordinator for research projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Navy. From 1988 – 2003, Dr. Nagarajan was a Senior Technical Staff Member with IBM Storage Systems’ Development Laboratory in San Jose, CA, where he oversaw elimination of ozone-depleting chemicals from IBM’s manufacturing operations, and directed many ground-breaking efforts in the areas of chemical integration & micro-contamination control for hard disk drives.

Dr Nagarajan returned to Chennai in 2003, and served as G.S. Laddha Visiting Professor at A.C. College of Technology for one semester, prior to taking up his position as Professor at IIT Madras in February 2004. His teaching and research endeavours are focused on cleanroom processes, nano-technology and ultrasonic process-intensification. From 2009-2012, he served as Advisor, Office of Alumni Affairs at IIT Madras, and since October 2012, has been serving as the Institute’s first-ever Dean of International & Alumni Relations.

Professor Heng is now retired; formerly he was a vice president of NTUST. Prior to that he had served as a Director General of Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute and a Vice President of Motorola Inc. YC is a Fellow of IET in the United Kingdom.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Shirley Congdon is responsible for the leadership and management of the University of Bradford, leading the development of its values and strategy.

Shirley is the eighth Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford and is the first women to hold the role. Shirley has significant experience of working in higher education championing the quality of the student experience, widening participation, engagement with business and communities and advancing the quality of research and innovation.

Originally qualifying as a Registered Nurse, Shirley’s professional and academic expertise lies within the area of health and social care, service modernisation and cultural change, research methods and evidence-based practice. She has a strong track record in all aspects of university leadership, having worked within the field of higher education for 25 years and held senior roles in three different universities.

Shirley is passionate about equality and diversity, social inclusion and widening participation in higher education; opening up opportunities and unlocking potential for people of all backgrounds.

Shirley is a tireless ambassador for students and is committed to ensuring they receive the education, experience, and support they need to reach their potential and move into their chosen career or further study after graduating.

Brian Cantor is Professor of Materials at Oxford and Brunel Universities. He is also Founding Chair of the World Technology Universities Network, a Trustee of the Science Museums Group and an Editor of Elsevier’s premier review journal, Progress in Materials Science. He has published over 300 books and papers. He invented the field of High Entropy Alloys and discovered “Cantor alloys”. In the recent past, he has been Vice-Chancellor of the Universities of Bradford and York, Head of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at Oxford, a research scientist at GE Labs in the USA, a consultant for Alcan, NASA and Rolls-Royce, and a Vice-President of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He has worked at other universities such as Sussex, Northeastern, Banaras, Washington State and IISc Bangalore, and chaired or been on boards such as the Marshall Aid Commission, the UK Universities Pensions Forum, and Bradford, Leeds and York Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs). He founded and built up the Begbroke Science Park, the Heslington East Campus, the Hull-York Medical School, the National Science Learning Centre, and the World Technology Universities Network. He has received academic prizes, honorary professorships and fellowships in the UK, USA, China and India. He was awarded a CBE for services to higher education in 2013.