Christian Bachmann, PEng

Christian Bachmann, PEng
Associate Professor
Location: E2 2308
Status: Active

Biography

Chris Bachmann is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo, and a Professional Engineer (P.Eng) in the Province of Ontario. He holds a BASc, MASc, and PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto. He also holds a Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) from the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business at the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Bachmann's research interests include transportation systems and travel behavior analysis, sustainable construction and material recovery, and freight, trade, and transportation economics. His research group has worked with various agencies including Transport Canada, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), the Region of Waterloo, the City of Waterloo, the City of Kitchener, and Miovision. In 2017, he received the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) Fred Burggraf Award for excellence in transportation research by researchers 35 years of age or younger. In 2022, he received an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities.

Dr. Bachmann regularly teaches "Economics and Life Cycle Cost Analysis" (CIVE 392) and "Transportation Engineering Applications" (CIVE 341) to undergraduate engineering students at the University of Waterloo. He also teaches "Modelling Transportation, Land Use and Spatial Economics" (CIVE 645) to graduate engineering students. In 2019, he received the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award for an ongoing record of excellence in undergraduate teaching.

Research Interests

  • Transportation Systems and Travel Behavior Analysis

  • Sustainable Construction and Material Recovery

  • Freight, Trade, and Transportation Economics

Scholarly Research

Education

  • 2020, Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology, Conrad School, University of Waterloo, Canada

  • 2015, Doctorate, Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada

  • 2011, Master of Applied Science, Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada

  • 2009, Bachelor of Applied Science, Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada

Awards

  • 2024 Outstanding Performance Award, University of Waterloo

  • 2022 Distinguished Performance Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo

  • 2022 Early Researcher Award, Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities

  • 2020 Outstanding Performance Award, University of Waterloo

  • 2019 Teaching Excellence Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo

  • 2019 Distinguished Performance Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo

  • 2018 Fred Burggraf Award, Transportation Research Board (TRB)

Professional Associations

  • 2023 – 2025, Southwestern Ontario Executive Section, Student Liaison, Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers (CITE)

  • 2017 – 2025, Standing Committee on International Trade and Transportation (AT020), Member, Secretary, Transportation Research Board (TRB)

Teaching*

  • AE 392 - Economics and Life Cycle Analysis
    • Taught in 2022
  • CIVE 341 - Transportation Engineering Applications
    • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025
  • CIVE 392 - Economics and Life Cycle Cost Analysis
    • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
  • CIVE 645 - Modeling Transportation and Spatial Economics
    • Taught in 2021, 2025
  • ENVE 392 - Economics and Life Cycle Cost Analysis
    • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
  • GEOE 392 - Economics and Life Cycle Cost Analysis
    • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

Selected/Recent Publications

  • Dressler, A., & Bachmann, C. (2025). Pedaling through pixels: Decoding the methodological framework of virtual reality cycling research. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 112 (2025), 256-273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2025.04.011

  • Terry, J., & Bachmann, C. (2023). Estimating suburban preferences for integrated public transit and ridesourcing services through a revealed-preference/stated preference survey. Journal of Public Transportation, 25(2023),1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubtr.2023.100047

  • Rendel, R. A., & Bachmann, C. (2022). Transit benefit index: A comprehensive index for capturing externalities in transit planning. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2677(7). https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981231152248

  • Budhwani, A., Lin, T., Feng, D., & Bachmann, C. (2022). Assessing and comparing data imputation techniques for item nonresponse in household travel surveys. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2677(1), 1404–1417. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221104802

  • Mollaei, A., Bachmann, C., & Haas, C. (2025). Evaluation of circular construction strategies on future building material recovery. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 151(6),1-17 https://doi.org/10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-15014

  • Yoffe, H., Rankin, K. H., Bachmann, C., Posen, D., & Saxe, S. (2024). Mapping construction sector greenhouse gas emissions: A crucial step in sustainably meeting increasing housing demands. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 4(2024), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/ad546a

  • Mollaei, A., Byers, B., Christovan, C., Olumo, A., De Wolf, C., Bachmann, C., & Haas, C. (2023). A global perspective on building material recovery incorporating the impact of regional factors. Journal of Cleaner Production, 429(2023), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139525

  • Mollaei, A., Bachmann, C., & Haas, C. (2023). Assessing the impact of policy tools on building material recovery. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 198 (2023), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107188

  • Aguas, O., & Bachmann, C. (2022). Assessing the effects of input uncertainties on the outputs of a freight demand model. Research in Transportation Economics, 95(2022), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2022.101234

  • Wang, W., Saari, R., Bachmann, C., & Mukherjee, U. (2020). Estimating transboundary economic damages from climate change and air pollution for subnational incentives for green on-road freight. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 82(2020), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2020.102325

  • Shahraki, H., & Bachmann, C. (2019). Integrating a computable general equilibrium model with empirically calibrated transportation models for border crossing investment analysis. Research in Transportation Economics, 78(2019), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2019.100767

  • Lei, R., & Bachmann, C. (2019). Assessing the role of port efficiency as a determinant of maritime transport costs: Evidence from Canada. Maritime Economics and Logistics, 22, 562–584. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41278-019-00135-5

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