Loretta Li

Dr. Loretta Li joined the Department of Civil Engineering in 1995. She has a strong background in fundamental and applied work on the spread, degradation and treatment of contaminants in water/soil/sediment and the natural environment. Dr. Li led and founded the UBC Cluster for Microplastics, Health and the Environment in 2021 with a group of outstanding researchers.

Dr. Li’s research has helped influence strategic planning efforts and key policy decisions on issues related to contaminated sites and contamination by per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs), as well as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). She has worked with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Stockholm Convention, Environment Canada, Health Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the BC Ministry of Environment in addressing these chemicals of emerging concern.

In the past, Dr. Li has served as a project engineer and as a junior structural engineer, and worked with a number of professional societies and associations. She has made significant technical contributions to her profession. Her findings on metals dispersion and distributions along highway were used by the B.C. Ministry of Transportation (MOT) and Infrastructure. Her research has also been used extensively in environmental assessments along the Sea-to-Sky, Gateway, Okanagan Lake Bridge and Highway 37 Widening projects.

Dr. Li’s education includes a Ph.D. and a M.Sc. in Environmental Soil Science at Queen’s University and a M.Eng. in Geo-environmental Engineering at McGill University.