Dr. Baiyu (Helen) Zhang is a professor of civil engineering at Memorial University and a Canada Research Chair in Coastal Environmental Engineering. She is the founder of the Coastal Environment Research Laboratory (CERL), where her research focuses on developing bio-based technologies for monitoring and mitigating marine and coastal pollution. As a key researcher at the Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution (NRPOP) Control Laboratory, Dr. Zhang explores the occurrence, fate, and remediation of emerging organic contaminants. Her expertise includes marine oil spill response, coastal and inland site remediation, wastewater treatment, ocean carbon dioxide removal, reservoir souring control, and solid waste management.

Dr. Zhang has led over 50 funded research projects and published more than 160 peer-reviewed journal articles. Her innovative work has earned her numerous accolades, including the NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement and the Memorial University President’s Award for Outstanding Research. Through her leadership, Dr. Zhang advances sustainable environmental practices and supports resilient, productive ocean economies in a changing climate.