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Presented by Professor Carolyn Roberts, Gresham College

About this Webinar

Professor Carolyn Roberts will talk about what you need to think about to develop a great idea into something that can actually work.

About the Speaker

Professor Carolyn Roberts is a scientist with longstanding water and environment interests, working mainly for people who want to know about the likely future impact of developments such as housing, industry, waste disposal and mining on the water environment. She started her career in the University of Exeter, moving to Gloucestershire where she eventually became Head of the School of Environment before leaving for the University of Oxford. She later became the first Professor of the Environment at Gresham College, giving public lectures in the City of London on behalf of this ancient institution. You can find her lectures for Gresham College at https://www.gresham.ac.uk/professors-and-speakers/professor-carolyn-roberts

Along the way Carolyn directed the Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network at the University of Oxford, linking business and universities internationally in order to promote research and innovation in environmental technologies. Her team helped to generate projects on renewable energy and low carbon tech, building futureproof cities, water management, pollution clean-up, low impact agriculture, novel materials, and many other new technologies. She still undertakes related work today, advising the UK government agency Innovate UK on business and university proposals for major UK research and development projects, and new facilities. She has frequently represented the UK government in international meetings promoting the country’s expertise in environmental science and technology.

Carolyn has been Chair of the UK’s national organisation representing environmental professionals, Society for the Environment, and is a Vice President of the Institution of Environmental Sciences and Fellow of CIWEM. She has written many books, papers and consultancy reports on environmental themes, and spoken at conferences around the world, from China to Argentina, New Zealand to Sweden. She has a deep interest in Bangladesh, where in non-Covid circumstances she volunteers with a local university to promote knowledge about the environment and sustainability amongst Bangladeshi staff and students. More information about her work, including advising on management of major flooding incidents, can be found in her interview on the BBC’s ‘The Life Scientific’ website, at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07428bk.

Carolyn is a Trustee of the Water Conservators’ Trust and in July 2022 was installed as the Walbrook Warden of the Company.