Dr. Abbas S. Milani is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UBC's Okanagan Campus and a leading expert in composite/biocomposite manufacturing with applications in Industry 4.0. He is a highly community-engaged researcher who brings together people and ideas. His interdisciplinary research, in collaboration with several national and international industrial sectors and institutes, links theoretical concepts to real-world applications, thereby enabling innovations in manufacturing high-quality and cost-effective products. He is a Killam Laureate, the founding Director of the UBC Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute, the Lead of the Canadian-International Biocomposites Research Network, and the Technical Director of the Composites Research Network (CRN) in Canada. He was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada in 2020.