PROF. DR. PETER BRIMBLECOMBE

Prof. Dr. Peter Brimblecombe is Chair Professor of Atmospheric Environment at the School of Energy and Environment at the City University of Hong Kong and an emeritus professor at the School of Environmental Sciences of the University of East Anglia, U.K., and has served as a senior editor of Atmospheric Environment since 1990. Prof Peter remains interested in atmospheric chemistry and currently works on the thermodynamics of aerosols, particularly water-soluble organic substances.  His studies of long-term changes in urban air pollution and its effects on health and building damage are also important: the historical aspects of the subject resulted in his book, The Big Smoke. This book encouraged an interest in the relationship between air pollution and architecture, literature and even cinema.  His research on material damage by air pollutants has not been restricted to outdoor environments.  He has worked on the museum atmosphere and has a continuing interest in the process of damage to cultural materials by air pollutants.  He has increasingly co-operated with conservators in the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic Royal Palaces on management issues. He focuses on the accumulation of dust but has also become interested in the effect of climate change on heritage, with recent work focussing on the changing potential for insect damage.  His current interest in air pollution relates to human exposure in the urban environment and air pollution policy, especially in China and Hong Kong. The practical context of his research work means that he has frequently been an invited speaker at conferences, interviewed by the media and taught advanced courses.  In 2005 he received a gold medal from the Italian Chemical Society for his contributions in environmental and heritage chemistry.

PROFESSOR DR. JAMAL HISHAM HASHIM

Title: Climate Change and Health in Malaysia: Impacts, Mitigation and Adaptation.

Professor Dr. Jamal Hisham Hashim is a visiting professor of environmental health at the University of Selangor (Unisel) and Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP). He is also a director of Provenue Corporation, an environmental consulting firm specialising in health risk and impact assessment. He was formerly a visiting professor and research fellow at UNU-IIGH and Malaysia’s first appointed professor of environmental at the National University of Malaysia (UKM). Prof. Jamal obtained his PhD in environmental health from the University of Michigan. He has been teaching, conducting research and consultancy in environmental and occupational health at UKM and UNU for the past 35 years. His research interests are mainly on the health effects of heavy metals, pesticides, solvents, air pollution, risk assessment, and recently, climate change. He has been the principal and co-investigator of 19 research projects and has over 360 publications and presentations to date, including 87 full articles in refereed and indexed journals. In 2004, he became the first Professor of Environmental Health in Malaysia when he was appointed to that position by UKM. He has been engaged as an environmental health consultant in over 60 local and overseas projects, primarily in the area of environmental health impact and risk assessment. He has also been consulted by the World Health Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency, Risk Science Institute and the Institute of Medicine in the U.S., the governments of Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia on various environmental health issues. He is a registered environmental impact assessment consultant with the Department of Environment, Malaysia, a member of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health in the U.K., an honorary fellow of the Academy of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Malaysia and a council member of the Asia Chapter of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology.