Michael D. Mehta

Dr. Michael Mehta is a Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at Thompson Rivers University. He is an environmental social scientist who specializes in science, technology and society with a focus on environmental and health risk issues, and in recent years he has focused on air pollution and solar energy. Dr. Mehta was Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Thompson Rivers University, Principal of Richardson College for the Environment at the University of Winnipeg, Executive Director of the Population Research Laboratory at the University of Alberta, and Chair of a program on the social, ethical, political and legal impacts of biotechnology at the University of Saskatchewan. He set up Canada’s first Purple Air network of PM2.5 monitors with more than 50 across British Columbia, and has decades of experience in renewable energy and nuclear safety. He led development of Canada’s first solar sidewalk system – called the Solar Compass – and own a solar energy company that has completed several solar arrays in the province. He has published more than 60 articles, five books, and has received numerous awards including Health Canada’s Chief Scientist Distinguished Lecturer and the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal to name a couple.