Dr Barnard is a role model for many aspiring environmental engineers

On Wednesday morning, about a dozen post-graduate students from the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, gathered at the Black & Veatch booth to meet with Dr James Barnard.

Known by many names (among which the ‘Father of BNR’ and ’Laureate of 2011 Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize’ are among the most commonly used), Dr Barnard is not only a leader in his field but also an inspiration to many aspiring engineers in the water industry. As he said in his interview later that morning, winning the prize hasn’t done as much for his career as it has presented more opportunities for him to share about his work and, in the process, bring to light the ongoing challenges the industry faces and the need for more solutions.

The session began with the screening of Dr Barnard’s Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize 2011 video, after which Dr Barnard took the stage with a short introduction to his work. This was quickly followed by an interactive Q&A session with the students, who were keen to find out more about how the BNR process works and seek advice on taking their own research further by hearing from the leader himself.