Background
My research focuses on urban water distribution infrastructure, and specifically how this infrastructure behaves in Mega Cities in the Global South. Projects include new ways of understanding, sensing, managing, and modelling water networks, especially networks that turn on and off frequently. Such intermittent water systems affect one billion people!
Additional projects invent new mechanisms and new sensors that change the efficacy of water and sanitation globally.
Professor David Meyer (né Taylor) completed his PhD and M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering at MIT, is an alumnus of Engineering Science (Energy Option) at U of T. Additionally, David has worked for Engineers Without Borders (EWB) in Ghana and for HydraTek in Toronto.
Prospective Graduate Students
Want to apply your technical skills to problems that matter in the Global South? Please send me an email (see below) with the subject line Prospective Applicant – Your Name. Be sure your email includes:
- A personalized cover letter (explaining why you are interested in my research and how your experience would contribute to this research). Generic emails will be discarded.
- Your CV
- Your (unofficial) transcripts
- A writing sample (preferably related and recent; ideally published)
Research Interests
- Global Engineering
- Sustainable Development Goal 6
- Intermittent Water Supplies
- Water Distribution Networks
- Planning Sewers
- Equity in Piped Networks
- Sensors for International Development
- Mega City Infrastructure
- Sensing Health in Toilets
Research
Globally relevant, application-focused, interdisciplinary. Our research group works on hard, applied problems, aiming to improve the health and wealth of the vulnerable, especially in the Global South.
Research and Group Fun in Images
Current Students
Samantha LeValley: Sami is a PhD Student studying equity among improved rural water supplies in the Global South. In 2019, she completed her BS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2021, under Prof. Meyer's supervision, she completed her MASc in Civil Engineering at UofT with a Collaborative Specialization in Global Health. Her MASc research explored ways to mathematically model diarrheal defecation inside the body for the Sensing Health In Toilets (SHIT) initiative.
Gabrielle Migliato Marega: Gabrielle Marega is a second-year PhD student researching how to expand urban sanitation infrastructure in low and middle-income countries to achieve universal and equitable access to safely managed sanitation services. Previously, she worked as an intern at Suez and focused on the drinking water treatment process. She holds a MASc in Sanitation and Hydraulics Engineering from the University of Sao Paulo, a MA in General Engineering from CentraleSupelec (Paris-Saclay University), and a BASc in Civil Engineering from the University of Sao Paulo.
Omar Abdelazeem: Omar is a MASc student interested in providing safe water supply to disadvantaged populations. He is studying intermittent water supply networks, specifically models that help in understanding their behaviour. Omar graduated in 2021 from the University of Science & Technology at Zewail City with a BSc degree in Environmental Engineering.
Hamidreza Mohabbat The main focus on Hamid’s research is modelling intermittent water supply (IWS) networks. His work tries to reduce the complexity of IWS networks to shed light on the barriers of realizing continuous water supply (CWS) in the Global South. Before coming to UofT, Hamid completed his B.Sc in Civil Engineering at the University of Tehran, Iran.
Omar Abdalazeem
Matthew Chan
Previous Students
Negin Ahadzadeh: Negin Ahadzadeh graduated with her MASc in 2021. She is primarily interested in providing safe drinking water to underprivileged populations. Her research explored the equity implications of design practices and operational strategies in intermittent water supplies. Prior to her studies at UofT, Negin worked on modelling transient flow during filling a pipe and designing hydraulic structures of desalination plants. She holds an MA in Water and Hydraulic Structures Engineering from the University of Tehran and a BA in Civil Engineering from K. N. Toosi University of Technology.
Publications
- Meyer, A. Whittle, J. Khari, and A. Slocum, “Effects of hydraulically disconnecting consumer pumps in an intermittent water supply,” Water Research X, vol. 12, 100107, 2021. doi.org/10.1016/j.wroa.2021.100107
- Meyer; C. Hill; K. McCain; J. Smith; P. Bessong; E. Rogawski McQuade; N. Wright, “Embedding Usage Sensors in Point-of-Use Water Treatment Devices: Sensor Design and Application in Limpopo, South Africa,” Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 55, no. 13, pp. 8955-8964, 2021. doi.org/0.1021/acs.est.0c08683
- Meyer, J. Gibson, M. He, “Discussion of “Dynamic Pressure-Dependent Simulation of Water Distribution Networks Considering Volume-Driven Demands Based on Noniterative Application of EPANET 2” by P. Sivakumar, Nikolai B. Gorev, Tiku T. Tanyimboh, Inna F. Kodzhespirova, C. R. Suribabu, and T. R. Neelakantan,” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, vol. 147, no. 8, 07021009, 2021. doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0001428
- Meyer, N. Ahadzadeh, “Discussion of “Hydraulic Analysis of Intermittent Water-Distribution Networks Considering Partial-Flow Regimes” by S. Mohan and G. R. Abhijith,” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, vol. 147, no 11, 2021. doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0001466
- Hill; K. McCain; E. Nyathi; J. Edokpayi; D. Kahler; D. Operario; D. Taylor; N. Wright; J. Smith; R. Guerrant; A. Samie; R. Dillingham; P. Bessong; E. Rogawski McQuade, “Impact of low-cost point-of-use water treatment technologies on enteric infections and growth among children in Limpopo, South Africa,” American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, vol. 103, no. 4, pp. 1405-1415, 2020. doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0228
- Taylor, A. Slocum, and A. Whittle, “Demand satisfaction as a framework for understanding intermittent water supply systems,” Water Resources Research, vol. 55, no. 7, pp. 5217–5237, 2019. doi: 10.1029/2018WR024124
- Taylor, M. Layurova, D. Vogel, and A. Slocum, “Black Into Green: a BIG opportunity for North Dakota’s oil and gas producers,” Applied Energy, vol. 242, pp. 1189-1197, May 2019. doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.03.158
- Taylor, R. Khush, R. Peletz, and E. Kumpel, “Efficacy of microbial sampling recommendations and practices in sub-Saharan Africa,” Water Research, vol. 134, pp. 115-125, May 2018. doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.01.054
- Taylor, A. Slocum, and A. Whittle, “Analytical scaling relations to evaluate leakage and intrusion in intermittent water supply systems,” PLOS ONE, vol. 13, no. 5, May 2018. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196887
- D. Taylor, S. Paiva, and A. Slocum, “An alternative to carbon taxes to finance renewable energy systems and offset hydrocarbon based greenhouse gas emissions,” Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, vol. 19, pp. 136–145, Feb. 2017. doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2017.01.003
Teaching
| Course Code | Title & Description | Session | Day(s) | Start Time | End | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APS530H | Scheduled by the Office of the Faculty Registrar. | |||||
| CIV340H | Winter | Scheduled by the Office of the Faculty Registrar. |
News Mentions
Four CivMin graduate students have been awarded scholarships from the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN). The feat is impressive, as half of the eight scholarships awarded have been granted to MASc and PhD candidates within the Department. A total pool of 40 applicants, representing more than a doubling of applicants since 2018, were reviewed. Our […]
A multidisciplinary team from across the University of Toronto is developing tools and metrics to empower water planners, communities and activists, and improve water equity in India. The project is led by Professors David Meyer (CivMin, CGEN), Nidhi Subramanyam (Geography & Planning) and Carmen Logie (Social Work). It is one of 17 to receive Research Catalyst Funding Grants through the Data Sciences Institute (DSI) […]
First neighbourhood-scale study of home water pumps shows that they decrease water pressure moderately, but have minimal effect on average water quality Household water pumps are a quirky feature of many urban water systems around the world. Utility operators hate them, and in many places they have been made illegal, yet their use remains widespread. A new study authored by Professor David Meyer (CivMin, CGEN) looks at […]