Team

Benoît Boulay, P.Eng.

Senior Engineer

Benoît Boulay is a mechanical engineer with over 10 years of experience who specializes in heat and mass transfer. He completed his Master of Engineering studies at the University of Guelph. Benoît has been with Savron through the evolution of benchtop testing through full scale remediation for several smoldering applications. He has helped develop Savron’s ex situ treatment systems and recently led the design of Savron’s newest mobile treatment system (the STARxpress). Throughout his career, Benoît has designed and implemented projects throughout North and South America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Warren Ferguson, P.Eng.

Principal

Warren Ferguson is a Principal Engineer with more than 20 years of experience focused on major project proposals, oversight and quality of detailed engineering designs, equipment selection, and project and construction management. He completed a Masters of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering at University of Toronto. As a project manager, he oversees the delivery of the STAR/STARx technologies to clients worldwide, from conceptual-level design to detailed engineering; he also manages construction of these systems. Warren has managed engineering for several STARx projects with budgets larger than $US5MM, including unique pilots and full-scale projects for international locations. No matter the role, he works closely with clients to understand exactly what they need and delivers the STAR/STARx technology that meets that need.

Laura Kinsman

Senior Professional

Laura Kinsman has over 12 years of experience researching and implementing smoldering remediation. She completed her Master of Engineering Science Studies at Western University under the direction of the co-inventors of the STAR technology. Laura supports system design, field operations, and project management at sites across North America and Asia, including pilot testing and full-scale applications of both in situ and ex situ smoldering remediation. She managed Savron’s scale-up work on smoldering per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and continues to support research and development for PFAS applications. Laura frequently presents at conferences and lectures.

Dave Liefl, P.Eng.

Senior Engineer

Dave Liefl has more than 13 years of experience in the environmental industry. He has helped develop and implement STAR technology at numerous project sites around the globe. Dave’s primary duties include managing operations for Savron’s full-scale STAR and STARx treatment plants in North America and the Caribbean, providing engineering design and project delivery, and supporting STAR and STARx pilot tests. A key figure in Savron’s research and development group, Dave uses his operational experience and mechanical background to lead STAR in situ heater design, automation, and data management and analytics and to support STARx product development. He is a frequent presenter at conferences and industry events.

José Torero

Professor of Civil Engineering
Professor & Head of Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering

Dr. José Torero joined the University of Queensland in 2012 as Professor of Civil Engineering and Head of School. He earned a BSc from the Pontificia Universidad Catolice del Peru (1989) and a MSc (1991) and PhD (1992) from the University of California Berkeley. Before joining UQ, Dr. Torero served as the Head of the Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, the BRE Trust/RAEng Professor of Fire Safety Engineering, and Director of the BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering. Additionally, he was an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland (USA) and Charge de Recherche at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France). He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Building Research Establishment.

In 2008, Dr. Torero was awarded the Arthur B. Guise Medal by the Society of Fire Protection Engineering and, in 2011, the Rasbash Medal from the Institution of Fire Engineers (UK) for eminent achievement in the advancement of the science of fire safety.

Dr. Torero has received numerous education-related awards, and in 2010 he received the Tam Dalyell Prize for Excellence in Communicating Scientific Knowledge to the Public. His work on bringing technology to the Fire Service was the subject of the April, 2007, BBC Horizon show: “Skyscraper Fire Fighters,” which has been shown in more than 30 countries.

He is the author of a book and more than 500 other technical documents for which he has received multiple awards. Currently Editor-in-Chief of Fire Safety Journal, Dr. Torero was Associate Editor of Combustion Science and Technology (2005-2010). He is a member of the Editorial Board of Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Fire Technology, Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, Fire Science and Technology and the International Journal for High-Rise Buildings. He is the vice-chair of the International Association for Fire Safety Science, chair of the Fire Safety Working Group of the International Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and a member of numerous influential committees and standards development bodies.

Dr. Torero is a consultant to many private and government organizations around the world, having participated in landmark projects such as the Buncefield, Sago Mine, and Texas City Explosions, the collapse of the World Trade Centre and the design of complex infrastructure. He is recognized for leading edge research in a broad arrange of subjects associated to fire safety and for the development of many innovative educational programs in several countries. Dr. Torero is a co-inventor of the STAR technology.

Christine Switzer

Lecturer, University of Strathclyde

Dr. Christine Switzer is a Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom. She earned her BS in Chemical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and her MS and PhD in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from Rutgers University. Her research interests are in the areas of contaminated land and water, with specific interests in contaminant transport and remediation. Dr. Switzer has more than 10 years of experience in the remediation of organic contaminants and was part of the core research team that developed STAR from an idea to a field-demonstrated remediation process.

Tarek Rashwan

Lecturer, the Open University

Dr. Tarek Rashwan is an expert in applied smoldering combustion and an Assistant Professor of Sustainability and the Smart Environment at the Open University. Tarek has more than a decade of experience leading research innovations in topics including smouldering applications, experimental designs, and diagnostic tools. Working alongside Savron, these research innovations have led to commercial breakthroughs.

After completing his doctoral studies at Western University on applied smouldering systems under the guidance of STAR inventors Jason Gerhard and José Torero, Tarek joined the Open University. Tarek now researches a range of environmental engineering topics that support a low-carbon and circular economy. In his lab, he explores new smouldering applications that push the boundaries of existing STAR technology, alongside new waste-to-energy and resource recovery applications. In his current research post, he hosts numerous visiting and graduate students.

Jason Gerhard

University of Western Ontario and University of Edinburgh

Jason Gerhard’s life’s work was studying dense nonaqueous-phase liquids (DNAPLs) and finding better ways to remediate them. At the University of Edinburgh, he led a research group that undertook and studied smoldering remediation; in addition, his group generated breakthroughs in multiphase flow theory, developed proprietary models for DNAPL migration-dissolution-transport-reactions in both unconsolidated and fractured porous media, and produced novel experimental data sets for validating these numerical models. Upon being awarded the Canada Research Chair in Geoenvironmental Restoration Engineering at University of Western Ontario, Jason moved to Western while remaining an adjunct at University of Edinburgh. At Western, he continued his research and co-directed Western’s RESTORE (Research for Subsurface Transport and Remediation) Group, managing a graduate research team of more than 20 people in four experimental and modeling laboratories. He also worked as a professional engineer, providing expert technical advice on how to design subsurface investigations and remediation systems.

He co-invented the STAR technology, trained and mentored many of our staff, and was a champion of environmental sustainability.