Water, Soil and Air in Rome

Meet the Moderator: Rev. Robert Dowd, C.S.C.

Rev. Robert Dowd, C.S.C. associate professor of political science, also serves as vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives at Notre Dame. The author of the book Christianity, Islam, and Liberal Democracy: Lessons from sub-Saharan Africa, Father Dowd focuses his research on African politics, ethnic politics, and the relationship between religion, political institutions, national identity, and human development. His current research explores religion and the integration of migrants/refugees in Europe and North America and the effects of faith-based schools on citizenship and civic engagement in Africa.

Meet the Speaker

Prof. Dr. Bernd Cyffka
Dr. Bernd Cyffka is a full professor at CU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt since 2005 and has headed the Floodplain Institute since 2006. He is a country representative for Germany in the IAD (International Association for Danube Research) as well as head of the expert group ‘Floodplain Ecology’ in the same association since 2015. He is president of IAD since January 2022. He is a member of several national and international organizations and networks in the area of hydrology and river/floodplain ecology. His research interests are in the fields of floodplain ecology, restoration, ecosystem services, hydromorphology and ecyhydrology.

Meet the Speaker

Mariana Ferreira Jansen

Mariana Jansen Ferreira is an economics professor at the Department of Economics and at the Postgraduate Political Economy Program at PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil). Research in the area of health policy economics, public policy, social welfare economics, with a special interest in the impacts of environmental racism on access to clean water.

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Irene Ngunjiri

​​Dr. Irene Ngunjiri is the Acting Director of the Strathmore University Water Governance and Innovation Hub. She holds a PhD in Regional and Urban Governance from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Her research interests are water governance in urban informal settlements, hydropolitics, hydraulic infrastructure and water technology and innovations. She is a Project associate in the Miji Bora Project funded by Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA).

Meet the Faculty

Jennifer Tank

Jennifer Tank is the Galla Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, and Director of the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative. Dr. Tank is an aquatic ecosystem ecologist and biogeochemist who studies how nutrients and carbon move through streams and rivers, with a focus on innovative restoration and conservation that informs management and policy of freshwaters. Dr. Tank served as President of the Society for Freshwater Science (2018-2019), is a current member of the Executive Board for the Council of Scientific Society Presidents, and serves on the Water Science & Technology Board for the National Academies. In 2020, she became a Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Current and past students and postdoctoral researchers in her research group have shared her commitment to, and enthusiasm for, stream biogeochemistry in order to better support the sustainability of our freshwater resources.

Meet the Speaker

Anthony Towey

Anthony Towey is a Professor at St. Mary’s University where he leads CERRL – the Centre for Catholic Education, Research and Religious Literacy. Explicitly working at the interface of University and High Schools, he has led nationwide reviews of public examinations and reforms in Religious Education. In this role he has developed resources relating to Laudato Si for teachers and pupils at 16+. A theological consultant to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, he has directed a post-doctoral research project on Laudato Si in Africa and is currently supervising funded projects in the UK on both Laudato Si’ and on Faith schools and Conspiracy Theories.

Meet the Speaker

Sebastián Vicuña 

Sebastian is Associate Professor at the School of Engineering and Director of the Centro de Cambio Global (Global Change Research Center) at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. His research interests are related to water resources, hydrologic modeling, climate change adaptation and integrated watershed management. Related to these research areas, Sebastian was Lead Author for the Second Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities (ARC3-2), was a Lead Author of the IPCC 5th Assessment Report in the chapter on Climate Change Impacts in Central and South America and was a Review Editor for the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Extreme Events in the chapter impacts. Sebastian is an Environmental Engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. In 2004 he earned a Masters in Public Policy and a Masters in Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2007 he obtained a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the same university.

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Wednesday, June 22, 2022 1:00 pm

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Featured Speakers: 

• Rev. Robert Dowd, C.S.C., Associate Professor of Political Science and Vice President and Associate Provost for Interdisciplinary Initiatives, University of Notre Dame