People
Prof. Byer has supervised numerous graduate students in Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto. Some past students are:
Brownfields Redevelopment:
- Nik Schruder began his Master’s degree program in September 2005 having completed his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Queen’s University. His Master's degree research was part of a joint University of Toronto - University of Windsor project to develop a “Classification System for Assessing and Promoting Development of Brownfield Sites,” which was sponsored by the Ontario Centres of Excellence and several government and private partners. (For more information about the project, go to the Research page.) Nik developed a method for classifying the human health and safety risks of brownfield sites and graduated in the Spring of 2007.
- Dr. Edwin Tam is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Windsor. Edwin, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Alberta, completed his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in 1998 with research on a "Decision Methodology for Site Owners in the Remediation of Contaminated Sites.” He then worked as a Senior Research Analyst for Innovest, an international finance firm, before taking up his current position in 2000. Since graduating from the University of Toronto, Drs. Tam and Byer have co-authored several refereed journal papers and carried out a project on “Classification System for Assessing and Promoting Development of Brownfield Sites” sponsored by the Ontario Centres of Excellence and several government and private partners. (For more information on the project, go to the Research page.)
Environmental Assessment and Climate Change:
- Dr. Julien Scott Yeomans, an expert in management science and information systems, is an Associate Professor in the Schulich School of Business at York University. As a professor (and with his Ph.D.), Scott returned to school for a Master’s degree to study environmental decision making under Dr. Byer’s supervision. Scott’s research project, which was funded by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, was on "Incorporating and Communicating Climate Change Uncertainties in Environmental Assessment." This research has also been summarized in refereed journal papers published in 2007 and 2009 (for the citations, go to the Publications page.)
Waste-Econ Program:
Eight of Dr. Byer’s students did research under the Waste-Econ Program. Four of these students are highlighted below. All of these students benefited tremendously from the research experience and those who grew up in North America had the added experience of working and living in another culture and environment. As shown in this photo, we had wonderful times relaxing after long days of work.
- Thuy Nguyen and Chi Hoang, who came to the University of Toronto from Vietnam, completed their master’s degrees in 2005 as part of the University’s Waste-Econ Program funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. In addition to taking courses in environmental engineering, waste management and environmental decision-making, they each conducted a research project on waste management in Vietnam: Thuy on an audit and separation of compostable solid wastes at households in Danang, and Chi on an audit of solid wastes from hotels and a composting trial in HaLong City. They both then went on to complete their Ph.D. studies: Chi at the University of Texas at Austin, and Thuy at the University of New Brunswick.
- Luu Duc Cuong, who also came to the University of Toronto from Vietnam as part of the University’s Waste-Econ Program, completed his master’s degree in 2003 with a project on Institutional Issues for Landfill Siting in Viet Nam. Since returning to Vietnam, Cuong has become Director of the Centre for Research & Planning on Urban & Rural Environment, Ministry of Construction, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
- Sangeeta Chopra completed her master’s degree in 2004. For her research, Sangeeta conducted an audit of waste generated at a market in Vientiane, Laos. Since graduating, she has been working as an environmental engineer for a major environmental consulting company in Canada.
Waste Management:
- Helen Contala Noehammer completed her Master’s degree in Civil Engineering in 1994, after graduating from Chemical Engineering in 1989 and working for Esso Petroleum Canada as a process design engineer. Her master’s degree research was on “Residential Curbside Recycling Programs: Design and Development,” which resulted in a paper published in Waste Management and Research. In addition to waste management, Helen studied environmental decision making and project evaluation. Since graduating, Helen has worked for the City of Toronto’s Transportation Department where she is responsible for environmental assessments for road infrastructure projects and transportation planning studies.
- Dr. Brian Baetz is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering and Director of the Engineering and Society Programme at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He was formerly the Chair of Civil Engineering at Tulane University. Dr. Baetz completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Toronto in 1983 under Prof. Byer's supervision before going to Duke University where he completed his Ph.D. degree.