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In Memoriam–Tahir Husain
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Research Report
In Memorium Dr. Tahir Husain
Dr. Tahir Husain, Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial, obtained his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Water Resources and Environment) at the University of British Columbia in 1979.
Dr. Husain’s studies took him all over the world. In 1975, he completed a UNESCO Postgraduate Certificate in Water Resources Management at the Research Institute for Water Resources Development (VITUKI) in Budapest, Hungary; in 1972, his master’s in Systems Engineering and Management at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok; and in 1969, his bachelor’s (Hons.) in Civil Engineering at Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, UP, India.
Since he joined Memorial University in 1995, Dr. Husain’s research output was unrivalled with worldwide collaborations from Saudi Arabia to Australia. One glance at his resume shows how prolific Dr. Husain was as a researcher; he was principal investigator on more than 70 research projects, presented at 157 conferences and was published in 140 journals and five magazines including International Oil & Gas Engineer and Enviro-News.
He also authored 65 technical reports ranging in topics from Water Filtration Technology and Pulp and Paper Mill Waste Management to using Activated Carbon from Fly Ash for Pollution Control.
Internationally, Dr. Husain is perhaps best known for his work on environmental modelling and management. Previous to joining Memorial, he worked as a supervisor and senior research engineer (in North America, this would be equivalent to a professor) in the Water Resources and Environment Division of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia from 1979 to 1995. When the Gulf War started and eleven million barrels of oil spilled in the Persian Gulf, Dr. Husain was called upon to apply his expertise to deal with oil well fires, air quality and pollution control.
“During the Gulf War, he was invited by the United Nations to help advise and handle the oil well fires and pollution from the oil spills,” said friend and colleague, Dr. Bing Chen. “He published a book and several papers which significantly contributed to air pollution control and oil spill technologies.”
That book, Kuwaiti Oil Fires: Regional Environmental Perspectives, published in March 1995 in the UK by Pergamon Press, ran 293 pages and led Dr. Husain to the Harvard School of Public Health, as a visiting scientist from 1995 to 1996.
It was during his year at Harvard that Dr. Husain accepted a position at Memorial as chair of the environmental engineering program and continued his innovative research from air pollution control to water and wastewater treatment. He remained at Memorial for the rest of his career.
Not only was Dr. Husain a prolific researcher, he was also a popular teacher, explained Dr. Chen, who is chair, professor, associate dean of graduate studies (acting) and former head of the Department of Civil Engineering and director of the Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory where he worked closely with Dr. Husain for almost sixteen years.
“Tahir did a lot of work in risk analysis, turning research into teaching and making sure his stories got in touch with the most frontier in the field,” said Dr. Chen. “His grad course, environmental risk assessment (ENGI 9609), was one of the most popular courses in the faculty, designed and taught by
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
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Dr. Faisal Khan
Tahir, he usually had more than 60, sometimes up to 100 students. Students from various disciplines across the campus wanted to do his course,” said Dr. Chen, explaining that so many registered, sometimes the course had to be offered in two sessions.
“That indicates his excellent teachings. Students loved him; he was always there for his students, not only academically, but for their personal lives. He was a wise man; he understood how students were feeling, especially those from overseas. Because of his international experience, he had a good understanding of the challenges faced by international students away from their homes. His office was always wide open to his students.”
Dr. Faisal Khan, former Canada Research Chair (Tier I) professor, former associate dean of graduate studies and director, Centre for Risk, Integrity and Safety Engineering (C-RISE), concurs.
“Dr. Husain’s greatest achievement, in my view, is changing people’s lives; I am one of them,” said Dr. Khan, explaining how Dr. Husain reached out to him in 2000 and invited him as a visiting research professor to work on soil remediation. “I wouldn’t be what I am today if not for Dr. Husain who trusted me and brought me here and gave me the drive to succeed. And I am not the only example.”
Dr. Helen Zhang, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Coastal Environmental Engineering and lab colleague for twelve years explained how encouraging Dr. Husain was to her in 2010 right after she began her position as an assistant professor at Memorial working on-site remediation and biotechnologies.
“When I joined the faculty, he encouraged me; whenever he had the chance, he would drop by my office and suggest I apply for funding and awards. He always said, Helen, why don’t you try this. Not only will you be an excellent researcher, but you can be a great research leader. He made so many good things happen. We were more than colleagues; he was also my friend and mentor.”
“He was so curious with a huge desire to do good in the world,” she said. “Every day he focused on research and education; he was so loved by his colleagues and students.”
“I think he got his inspiration from working with young people,” said Dr. Khan, who published more than fifty articles with Dr. Husain. “He dedicated his life to mentoring young people and that kept him young - at the age of seventy-three, he looked sixty. His students were part of his family and every day was an exciting day for him.”
At the time of his death, Dr. Husain was collaborating with Drs. Chen and Zhang and researchers from the University of Toronto, the Dalhousie University, the University of British Columbia, the University Northern British Columbia, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia on a project that was part of Canada’s $1.5 billion Ocean Protection Plan.
This four-year project is part of the Multi-Partner Research Initiative (MPRI) funded in 2018 by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to improve marine oil spill response. Dr. Husain’s team was investigating a more efficient method for separating contaminants from water. He was specifically looking at oil spills and had come up with a way of using activated carbon and other engineered nanomaterial to remove oil from seawater after skimming so that the oily water could be cleaned to an acceptable level for discharge at sea without having to transfer onshore for treatment.
“Dr. Husain was about to generate promising adsorbents to aid oil-water separation; he had modified fly ash from local pulp and paper mills to make the adsorbents,” said Dr. Zhang, explaining how converting local waste into useful products greatly reduce costs. “He also used fly ash-based adsorbents to remove impurities from drinking water in small communities.”
Dr. Zhang explained how, even at 73, Dr. Husain was a font of research ideas. “His passing is such a big loss, you can’t imagine. Even in early January, he said: ‘I have a new idea; we may work together on a proposal.’ He still had a lot of dreams.”
“Dr. Husain and I just co-authored a paper in Environmental International and I believe he co-authored several more papers to be published in 2022,” said Dr. Zhang, explaining that she, Dr. Chen and other colleagues will also continue to work on Dr. Husain’s remaining projects and patent application. “He’s still contributing to the world of science after his death. We will work together to showcase the legacy of Dr. Husain.”
Besides working as a professor of Environmental Engineering, at Memorial since August 1995, Dr. Husain also worked as Associate Dean (Research), (January 2014-April 2017) and Director, Executive MBA Program in Oil and Gas, Faculty of Business Administration (2009-2010) and Chair, Civil Engineering (2005-2007).
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