Jianbing (Jason) Li, PhD, P.Eng., Professor, FCSCE, FCSSE, FEC, FEIC

 

Office: 10-2510

Phone: (250) 960-6397

E-mail: Jianbing.Li@unbc.ca

Web: http://web.unbc.ca/~li/

Address: Environmental Engineering Program

University of Northern British Columbia

3333 University Way, Prince George,

British Columbia, Canada V2N 4Z9

 

 

 

Biography

 

Dr. Jianbing Li is a professor and professional engineer in the Environmental Engineering program. He received his PhD degree in environmental systems engineering from the University of Regina. He has research interests in environmental pollution control, petroleum waste management, contaminated soil and groundwater remediation, environmental modeling and decision analysis, environmental risk assessment, and oil spill response. He has produced more than 300 publications in international journals and conferences, including over 210 refereed journal publications, with an h-index of 53 (Google Scholar). His research has been supported by various organizations, including NSERC, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), and BC Ministry of Forests. He obtained the 2013 Northern BC Business and Technology Award (Collaborative Research Award with Husky Energy), the 2010, 2014, 2019 and 2023 UNBC Research Excellence Award, the 2013 UNBC Achievement Award in Professional Practice and Mentorship, and the 2023 Dr. Albert E. Berry Medal (award to a CSCE member who made an outstanding contribution to the field of environmental engineering in Canada). Dr. Li was nominated for the 2022 and 2023 CUFA BC Ehor Boyanowsky Academic of the Year Award. He served as a member of NSERC’s Research Tool and Instruments Selection Committee for Civil, Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2016-2021, and the Committee Chair for the 2021 competition. He is currently serving as a member of NSERC’s Discovery Grants Evaluation Group 1509 (Civil, Industrial and Systems Engineering). He has been a member of the Academic Examiners Subcommittee with Engineers & Geoscientists BC (EGBC) since 2017. He has served as the co-director of the UNBC/UBC environmental engineering program for 4 years (2013-2017). He served as a guest editor for five international journals and is currently an Associate Editor or Editorial Board member of seven journals. He was the inaugural Chair of the Northern British Columbia Section of Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE). Dr. Li was named a CSCE Fellow in 2022, a CSSE Fellow in 2023, an EIC Fellow in 2024, and an Engineers Canada Fellow in 2024.

 

 

Supervision of Graduate Students

1)      PhD and MSc in NRES

2)      MASc in Engineering

 

Related News and Research Highlights

1)      UNBC professor has received over $800,000 in funding for oil spill response in Canada” (Nov 8, 2023) (https://ckpgtoday.ca/2023/11/08/unbc-professor-has-received-over-800000-in-funding-for-oil-spill-response-in-canada/)

2)      “Li receives renewed funding for oil spill response research” (Nov 7, 2023) (https://www.unbc.ca/our-stories/story/li-receives-renewed-funding-oil-spill-response-research) (https://pgdailynews.ca/index.php/2023/11/07/li-receives-renewed-funding-for-oil-spill-response-research/)

3)      “Multi-Partner Research Initiative – Oil spill research” (https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/videos/mpri-irmp-eng.html)

4)      Advances in Engineering, research highlight: “A new utilization of oily sludge as a useful material for environmental cleanup” (https://advanceseng.com/new-utilization-oily-sludge-useful-material-environmental-cleanup/ (September 28, 2020)

5)      “UNBC and other B.C. universities help tackle challenges faced by rural communities” (July 13, 2020) (https://ckpgtoday.ca/2020/07/13/unbc-and-other-b-c-universities-help-tackle-challenges-faced-by-rural-communities/

6)      “Research teams land grants for three projects” (July 13, 2020) (https://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/local-news/research-teams-land-grants-for-three-projects-1.24169695)

7)      “Research collaborations tackle challenges faced by rural B.C. residents” (https://www.unbc.ca/newsroom/unbc-stories/research-collaborations-tackle-challenges-faced-rural-bc-residents

8)      “UNBC prof receives $1.9 million to study oil spill response” (January 22, 2020) (https://ckpgtoday.ca/2020/01/22/unbc-prof-receives-1-9-million-to-study-oil-spill-response/

9)      “UNBC professor receives $1.9 million to study oil spill response” (January 22, 2020) (https://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/local-news/unbc-professor-receives-1-9-million-to-study-oil-spill-response-1.24058663 )

10)  “Cleaning up after a spill - UNBC engineering prof Dr. Jianbing Li receives a $1.9 million for oil spill response study” (December 10, 2019) (https://www.unbc.ca/newsroom/unbc-stories/cleaning-after-spill )

11)  “UNBC Prof’s oil recovery research rewarded” (January 11, 2013) (http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/local-news/unbc-prof-s-oil-recovery-research-rewarded-1.1030710

 

Editorship

1)      Associate Editor, Carbon Neutralization (Wiley)

2)      Associate Editor, Environmental Systems Engineering section, Frontiers in Environmental Science

3)      Associate Editor, Journal of Environmental Informatics Letters (JEIL)

4)      Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Hazardous Materials (Elsevier)

5)      Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters (Elsevier)

6)      Member, Editorial Board, Environmental Systems Research (Springer)

7)      Member, Editorial Board, Water (MDPI)

8)      Guest Editor, Research Topic “Waste Management of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Marine Environment”, Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2022

9)      Guest Editor, Research Topic “Advances in Green Control Technology for the Remediation of Water and Soil Pollution”, “Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2022

10)  Guest Editor, Special Issue “Water Security and Public Health in Small Remote Communities”, Water (MPDI), 2022

11)  Guest editor for Bioresource Technology (Special Issue on Constructed Wetland), 2020

12)  Guest editor for International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management (Special issue on Advances in Risk Assessment for Contaminated Environments) (Vol 15, No. 1, 2011).

13)  Guest editor for International Journal of Environment and Pollution (Special issue on Modeling Approaches for the Management of Environmental Pollution) (Vol 42 Nos 1/2/3, 2010)

 

Publications (see Google Scholar Citations)

 

Recent Honors and Awards

1)      Fellow, Engineers Canada, 2024

2)      Fellow, Engineering Institute of Canada, 2024

3)      2023 CSCE Dr. Albert E. Berry Medal (https://csce.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Berry-ToRs2.pdf)

4)      2023 UNBC Excellence in Research Award

5)      Fellow, Canadian Society of Senior Engineers (CSSE), 2023

6)      Fellow, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE), 2022

7)      2019 UNBC Excellence in Research Award

8)      2014 UNBC Achievement Award in Research

9)      2013 Best Paper Award from International Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology (International ASET Inc.) for a paper at the 3rd International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 15-17, 2013, 2013

10)  2013 UNBC Achievement Award in Professional Practice, Mentorship, or Stewardship

11)  2013 Northern BC Business and Technology Award (Collaborative Research Award) (co-winner with Husky Energy)

12)  2012 Best Paper Award from the International Society of Environmental Geotechnology for a paper at XII International Symposium on Environmental Geotechnology (Los Angeles, CA, USA, June 27-29, 2012)

 

Current Teaching

1)      ENSC406/ENSC607: Environmental Modeling

 

Research Areas

1)      Environmental pollution control

2)      Petroleum waste management

3)      Soil and groundwater remediation

4)      Environmental modeling and decision analysis

5)      Environmental risk assessment

6)      Oil spill response

 

Recent Research Funding (as PI)

1)      Groundwater Protection Towards Sustainable Water Supply for an Indigenous Community: Insights from Field and Lab Experiments, Numerical Modeling, and Community Engagement (NSERC Alliance Advantage Grant & Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, Aug 2024 – Aug 2026)

2)      Oil spill recovery using novel polymer sponge adsorption and nano/micro bubble gas flotation (MITACS, Apr 2024 – Mar 2025)

3)      Finalist of Oil Spill Response Challenge, Natural Resources Canada (Project Title: “A nano/micro bubble gas flotation and adsorption-based oil recovery system, Nov 2023 - Feb 2025)

4)      Development and evaluation of next-generation environmentally friendly decanting technologies for on-site oil/water separation and disposal, Natural Resources Canada (Multi-Partner Research Initiative, June 2023 - March 2027)

5)      Improved treatment and value-added utilization of petroleum sludge waste (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Discovery Grant, 2019-2027)

6)      Impact of cumulative groundwater withdrawal on surface water and groundwater interaction in Stoney Creek Watershed (NSERC Alliance Grant & BC Ministry of Forests, 2022-2024)

7)      Water security in small, rural, and remote communities (NSERC Alliance Missions Grant, 2022-2024)

8)      Semifinalist of Oil Spill Response Challenge, Natural Resources Canada (Project Title: “A nano/micro bubble gas flotation and adsorption-based oil recovery system, Oct. 2022-Aug 2023)

9)      An integrated monitoring, statistical analysis and First Nations community engagement approach for water quality assessment in Necoslie River Watershed (MITACS, Oct 2022 – Sept 2023)

10)  A laboratory bioprocess system for innovation in petroleum waste treatment (NSERC RTI Grant, 2022)

11)  Improved decanting and oily waste management strategies for marine oil spill response (Multi-Partner oil spill research initiative (MPRI), Oceans Protection Plan, 2018-2022)

12)  Development of effective, low-cost, portable water treatment systems for protecting public health in regional, remote and rural communities (R3C) (Interior University Research Coalition, 2020-2021)

13)  Heavy metal impact assessment using a chemical speciation and index-based approach (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Engage Grant, 2019)

14)  Development of innovative energy recovery and waste remediation approaches for effective petroleum sludge treatment (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Discovery Grant, 2013-2019)

15)  Investigation of surface water groundwater interaction in the Stoney Creek Watershed (BC Ministry of Forests, Lands & Natural Resource Operations, 2015-2018)