UBC congratulates new University Killam Professors

Professor Nemy Banthia’s research has advanced our understanding of how concrete structures perform during extreme events such as earthquakes, and how these structures can be strengthened using carbon-neutral materials.  His work integrates sensors into structures and uses data analytics to design cost-effective rehabilitation strategies. Prof. Banthia is the Scientific Director of the Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence, IC-IMPACTS, which has developed and installed numerous advanced technologies with remote and rural communities in Canada and India. Recognized for his mentorship and research, he has received numerous prestigious international awards and the Alumni UBC Global Citizenship Award. Prof. Banthia is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Professor Dominic McIver Lopes is the author of 12 highly cited books in aesthetics and the philosophy of art. These works focus on new technologies in the arts, on aesthetic value, and on the values of artworks — both in terms of their beauty and also how they contribute to knowledge and understanding. A winner of multiple research and teaching prizes, Prof. Lopes has been recognized for his service to philosophy with the American Philosophical Association’s Quinn Prize. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Guggenheim Fellow, a Canada Council Killam Research Fellow, and a Fellow of the National Humanities Center.

Professor Natalie Strynadka’s research addresses the critical global health problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Her research is focused on understanding, at an atomic level, how antibiotic resistance mechanisms work in bacteria, and on characterizing and designing novel treatments and ways to inhibit disease-causing bacteria. Prof. Strynadka is a visionary leader in the atomic analysis of membrane protein assemblies underlying infection and one of the first in her field to use cryogenic electron microscopy for this work. She has received ongoing national and international recognition for her research, including as a Fellow of the Biophysical Society of Canada; Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada; and Fellow of the Royal Society, London.