WENXI LIAO // HBSc., PhD Candidate (Schwartz Reisman Fellow)
I am a PhD Candidate (Direct Entry: 2019–2024) and Schwartz Reisman Fellow in Institute of Forestry and Conservation and Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto. I received my Honours Bachelor of Science (HBSc) degree with High Distinction from the University of Toronto (2015–2019), with double majors in Forest Conservation and Physical Geography and minor in GIS.
I am currently conducting interdisciplinary research on green infrastructure, including substrate property, plant response, hydrological performance, erosion, and spatial analysis (remote sensing). The ultimate goal of my research is to design sustainable green infrastructure. To date, I have received $130,000 in 19 scholarships/awards to support my research. With these supports, I have published 6 manuscripts as the first author in peer-review journals and 1 conference proceedings, and presented my work at 17 academic conferences, 2 industrial companies, and 1 government agency.
In addition to research, I am passionate about teaching. I taught a core undergraduate course in Civil Engineering (143 students) independently and field trips in a core undergraduate course as the course instructors in Fall 2022. I have been a teaching assistant in 10 undergraduate and graduate courses since 2019.
Beyond academia, I am a table tennis player (National Grade 2 in China), and I love skiing, scuba diving, and travel.