PAIR Distinguished Lecture by Prof. Nemkumar BANTHIA (17 Dec 2025)

Harnessing sensors and AI for sustainable urban futures: Insights from Prof. Banthia’s distinguished lecture

Prof. Nemkumar BANTHIA of The University of British Columbia, Canada, delivered a PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “Toward Carbon-Neutral Cities: Sensors and Cyber-Physical Networks for Green Infrastructure” on 17 December 2025. The event attracted over 90 in-person participants and an online audience of more than 17,900 across various social media platforms.

Prof. Banthia commenced his presentation by emphasising the contribution of construction and building operations to global carbon emissions, and the urgent need for data-driven mitigation strategies. He cited statistics indicating that the built environment accounts for at least 51% of annual global CO2 emissions. He warned that, if current practices persist and no action is taken, many regions—including Vancouver—could be submerged by 2100. He then explored how sensor networks underpin the digital economy and facilitate the transition towards smarter, greener, and more energy-efficient urban systems.

Prof. Banthia further highlighted the role of environmental and occupancy sensors in optimising building performance, enhancing user comfort, and reducing operational carbon. He discussed how advancements in machine learning, such as edge computing, data integration, and cloud platform updates, enable more accurate real-time detection. He explained that digital twins of building energy systems support data-driven modelling, operational forecasting and control, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, and multi-objective optimisation of building systems.

The lecture continued with an overview of sensor technologies for assessing structural integrity, extending service life, and reducing embodied carbon through informed maintenance and retrofitting. Prof. Banthia underscored the importance of real-time monitoring and predictive analytics for anticipating and mitigating both natural and human-induced hazards, citing a case study of damage monitoring to a university building in Chile following the 2010 earthquake. He proposed integrated frameworks that combine operational, structural, and resilience monitoring for holistic carbon management and enhanced infrastructure performance. He also reviewed significant datasets obtained from currently monitored structures, assessing their implications for carbon reduction, safety, and resilience.

In conclusion, Prof. Banthia introduced emerging approaches for leveraging sensor data, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital twins to enable carbon-neutral, smart, and resilient infrastructure systems. He stressed that digital infrastructure equipped with Internet-of-things (IoT) enabled sensors represents the future—enabling minimised life-cycle costs, prudent asset management, and carbon neutrality. He noted that substantial data are essential for machine learning and AI to reach their full potential.

After the presentation, Ir Prof. POON Chi-sun, Director of Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE), moderated a dynamic question-and-answer session. The audience participated actively in a thoughtful exchange with Prof. Banthia.

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