b'CAREER PROFILEDEPARTMENTBRIAN SULLEYCONTINUED FROM PAGE 22Q:Describe your typical day on the job and how the work you do contributes to your company. A typical day involves writing or reviewing reports; performing or reviewing emission calculations and computer modelling of air pollution; or keeping up on regulations and air-quality-relatedliterature.Onceevery week or two, I will be out of the office for industry association meetings, client meet-ings, or site visits, which provides variety andachancetonetworkandconnectin person with other stakeholders. On top ofBrian Sulley with colleagues appearing on the Rick Mercer Report.this,ItypicallygoonquarterlybusinessPhoto credit: Michal Grajewski - Rick Mercer Reportdevelopment trips, targeting specific sectors or geographies. The variety of projects andIholdaBachelorofAppliedScienceinairqualityhasbeenslowlyimproving the chance to travel and meet new peopleenvironmental(chemical)engineeringoverall for the last decade, our continued keeps things interesting and challenging. fromtheUniversityofWaterloo.Iwasreliance on fossil fuels prevents us from fortunate to be part of the first cohort formakingmajorimprovements.Asnew, Q:Howdidyougetinterestedinthis program when it started in 1999 andcleaner technologies begin to gain more thiswork? was able to take a wide variety of coursesacceptance, we will see greater improve-Growing up in Newfoundland, I gained andealing with ecology, toxicology and envi- ments, but we have a long way to go. In early appreciation for the great outdoors,ronmentalassessments,inadditiontothemeantime,balancingtheneedsof as my father was an avid fisherman andmoreconventionalchemicalengineeringsociety with the protection of the envi-hunter, spending as much time as he couldcoursessuchasseparationsandprocessronment [means] that the type of work I outside.Healsospenttimeworkingforcontrol.Sincethen,Ihavebeenfortu- do will continue, and the scrutiny applied the government in his early years, helpingnate to work at a firm where continuingby other stakeholders will only increase.enforceearlyenvironmentalregulationseducation is promoted extensively throughQ:Whatadvicewouldyougiveto in the province. You could say I came byinternal training and access to some of theothers looking for a career in the aggre-it naturally when I decided to pursue envi- top people in the field, as well as encour- gateindustry?ronmental engineering at the University ofagement to enrol in external courses and Waterloo. In co-op engineering programs,attend conferences. Objective,resourceful,andknowledge-the work terms often shape the course thatI have also been the instructor for theableenvironmentalprofessionalswill your education and career follow.IntroductiontoAirQualitycourseatalwaysbeneededbytheaggregate ConestogaCollegeinKitchenersinceindustry.Conductingrock-solidassess-Apersonhaslittlecontroloverwhich2003, for which I must maintain awarenessments,developingconcretemitigation worktermsareavailableeachsemester,of current regulatory and scientific devel- solutions,anddefendingyourworkin and the odds are often against you beingopments. I enjoy teaching and have taughtfront of the public or a tribunal requires abletodeterminewhichpathtotake.numerousrelatedcoursesatboththedeep knowledge and a commitment to an Quitefrankly,Igotlucky.Imanagedtocollege level and at conferences and work- ethical, objective approach to this work. get two work terms with the Oil, Gas andMy advice is to learn as much as possible Energy Division at Environment Canada,shops over the years. Each course providesabout the industry and the challenges it lookingatairemissionsfromtheelec- me with as many learning opportunities asfaces, but also to learn about the objec-tricity sector, and two work terms in theit does the individuals taking the course. tions raised by the other stakeholders. A chemical industry, conducting quantitativeQ:Where do you see the industry goingperson must listen to and understand the hazard assessments dealing with air emis- in the next few years? concernsofallstakeholders,beableto sionsresultingfromaccidentalreleases.separatefactfromfiction,sciencefrom The rest is history. Concerns about climate change and long- spin,anddevelopasolutionbasedon term health impacts related to air qualitygoodengineeringpracticesandsound Q:Detail your past or ongoing educationdominatethefieldandwillcontinuetoscience. Above all else, a person can never and how it is relevant to your job.dosofortheforeseeablefuture.Whilestop learning.24 AVENUESWINTER 2020'