Professor Nathwani remains a tireless creator of linkages between the research community and the policy community. His work as Chief Scientific Advisor for two major energy summits hosted by the Waterloo Global Science Initiative brought together hundreds of participants and global thought leaders from diverse backgrounds (including specific attention to youth, indigenous, and developing country participation) to develop action plans and polices for sustainable energy solutions.
Two “blueprint” documents, now in circulation, engaged thousands of Canadians through traditional (TVO’s The Agenda, the Globe and Mail) and social media presence. The result of these events has been a sustained global conversation on how to harness technological energy solutions to transition to a low-carbon and more just world.
The AE4H project and the International Conferences on Energy Access provide ongoing re-enforcement to a global community of researchers, technology developers, and practitioners. This project by necessity works at a grassroots level, recognizing that local, often impoverished communities, must be engaged and empowered to co-create their own energy futures. The result of these events has been a sustained global conversation on how to harness technological energy solutions to transition to a low-carbon and more just world.
As the Executive Director of WISE, he created a welcoming pathway for those beyond the academic walls, to attend public lecture series (80+), events, and workshops (30+) that brought together hundreds of participants from diverse backgrounds (including specific attention to youth, indigenous, and developing country participation) to develop action plans and policies for sustainable energy solutions.
Prof. Nathwani’s commitment to supporting the next generation of energy researchers (600 +) under his leadership as Executive Director of WISE, including mentoring his own students (post-graduate 15+, URA’s 30+, Post Docs and RA’s 25+) has been documented in the Annual report of WISE 2020.
With respect to specific financial support to students, Professor Nathwani was instrumental in the creation of a scholarships with the Energy Council of Canada providing $300,000 in funding, benefitting 27 graduate students and established the Queen Elizabeth Scholarships Program ($300,000) targeting work on clean energy projects as part of experiential learning for undergraduate students to participate in building much capacity in the Global South.
Professor Nathwani was instrumental in establishing the power engineering program to support utilities for advanced professional training staff. The program since its inception has graduated 500+ graduate students with advanced degrees, created one endowed research chair and two additional research chairs at UW.