SEED PhD Profile, Alex Cimprich

Alex is the second PhD graduate (having successfully defended his thesis on July 19, 2022) in the Sustainability Management program at the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo. His research focuses on environmental sustainability in healthcare from an industrial ecology perspective, which is “about stuff, where stuff goes, and what its impacts are.” Healthcare uses a lot of stuff, i.e., energy, water, and materials, and is very resource intensive with complex supply chains that have not yet been studied in this respect. He uses environmental life cycle assessment to define these impacts and, for his PhD, focused on a hospital in British Columbia.

Research and inspiration

Alex got into industrial ecology after having been a undergraduate research assistant for SEED professors Olaf Weber and Steve Young. He got hooked on LCA and liked it because the measurement of sustainability is very important, but challenging—which he likes.

Alex chose the PhD in Sustainability Management because it was a natural next step from his Bachelor’s in Environment and Business and Master’s in Sustainability Management. He knew he wanted to do more research and continue in the field, so it was an easy decision!

Top experiences in SEED

Completing the PhD degree milestones has been high on Alex’s list of top experiences, including the comprehensive exam, the thesis proposal, and most recently, his thesis defence.

Also high on the list is a 2018 workshop he attended at Yale University, where he was able to network with others working in the field of healthcare sustainability.

Finally, a big achievement was winning a competitive scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)—it took multiple tries, but he got it!

Advice for new students

Alex encourages new students to do something they enjoy and that interests them. It will keep them motivated to complete the journey.

He also emphasizes the importance of not getting discouraged if at first you don’t succeed in getting external funding—you can always try again and, being such an interdisciplinary field, there are often more sources of funding available.

One small tip with a huge benefit is to use a reference management software. This is essential, he says, and the earlier, the better.

Keeping it real

Outside of work, Alex loves home improvement. He is a self-described building science nerd, and likes to learn about things like air sealing, insulation, home energy efficiency, and electrical upgrades. Pro-tip: insulate your hot water pipes!

He also just loves going for walks and exploring his local community. There is always something new to discover just around the corner.

What’s next?

Alex is looking at doing a post-doc with an eventual goal of becoming a professor. He hasn’t ruled out consulting work, and is open to possibilities for the future!

Connect with Alex

Alex invites new connections to reach out to him via email.

~submitted by Ryan Johnson