Hala I. Chaoui
Montreal,QC
Summary
Knowledgeable in soil healthy, experienced in multi-disciplinary projects, science vulgarization and public speaking. Resourceful at solving problems, commercialized innovative products for indoor vertical gardens, mentored and taught at various academic levels.
Overview
29
29
years of professional experience
Work History
Tutoring and teaching in various institutions
Concordia University, Edu2 high school, Jardin Urbain learning center, homeschooling groups
Montreal, Canada
04.2023 - Current
- Co-taught an urban agriculture course at Concordia university with Dr Erik Chevrier, geography department.
- Taught Math and Science and coached robotics at the Jardin Urbain learning Center, to a group of highschool-level homeschoolers.
- Taught science and English classes at the Edu2 private high school.
- Developed a soil science course, as part of my teaching micro-certificate at UQAM.
Product Developer
Urban Farms Organic Inc. (R&D business)
Toronto, Canada
01.2010 - Current
- A business I developed whenever I wasn't employed or on maternity leave.
- Developed and commercialized an adobe-designed indoor suspended garden, 2015.
- Created a modular, adobe-engineered device for waste processing by earthworms in 2011.
- Prototyped an electric earthworm separator, at the ThingTank lab at the University of Toronto, 2012
- Wrote excel applications for preparing earthworms feed mixes, and designing aerated earthworm containers, 2010, refined in 2012.
- Presented talks and demonstrated the Suspended Garden and earthworm crate at the Reconstructing Resilience exhibit at OCAD (Toronto, 2015), the Scarborough Fare conference at the Culinaria Research Centre - UTSC (Scarborough, 2016) and the Carrot City Exhibit (Toronto, 2016).
- Presented a talk on Urban Agriculture as part of a DiscoverE “Feeding Future Cities Essay” Webinar, to guide participating high school students in designing self-sustaining cities (October 2014).
- Presented a paper on Technological Advances and Technological Needs in Ecological Agriculture (Organic and Urban Farming) at the CIGR and AGM annual meeting, Québec City (2010).
- Developed the website urbanfarmsorganic.com and online outreach material
- Redesigned with glass jars, ball chains, and synthetic felt, and started selling it on Etsy in 2018.
- Created flat-packed equipment for a vermicomposting pilot plant at the University of Toronto - Scarborough, 2019.
- Modelled and built hardware using the Fusion 360 software, a laser cutter, and the Solufab metal cutting services, 2019.
- Consulted for Boîte Maraîchère and Fermes 12/12 on vertical gardens and producing organic fertilizer in 2019.
- Guided students from the University of Toronto Engineering Practices and Strategies class to fine-tune and replicate prototypes.
- Managed 3 interns over 3 years, who assisted in testing the electric earthworm separator and assembling suspended garden replicas (2014-2017).
Consulting
Chrysalabs
Montreal, Canada
05.2021 - 10.2021
- Developed overview of soil health fundamentals for application in spectrometric soil probe.
- Integrated soil health knowledge into machine learning model predicting soil composition.
- Derived soil organic carbon data from existing soil data.
- Formulated experimental plan to enhance capacity of portable spectrometer for measuring soil health.
R&D manager
Modular Farms / NHXT
Toronto, Canada
02.2018 - 01.2019
- Presented a vertical garden prototype at the Autodesk "entrepreneur in residence" program (Toronto, December 2018).
- Designed and 3D-printed parts in Fusion as components of a flat-packed vertical garden.
- Created an adaptive Arduino code as part of an irrigation feedback loop.
- Rewrote a manual for setting up and operating vertical farms.
Technical seed manager and agronomist
Winfield Solutions Inc. (a Landolakes company)
Toronto, Canada
11.2014 - 10.2015
- Developed Excel tools to assist growers in selecting optimal plant varieties for their fields.
- Presented research findings in layman's terms to retail managers and marketing professionals.
- Shared literature with management showcasing yield potential of organic crops and input-efficiency of organic agriculture.
Substitute Air Quality Engineer
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Farming and Rural Affairs
Alfred, Canada
06.2009 - 09.2009
- Created a comprehensive factsheet on vermicasting, to educate the public on its practical advantages compared to compost.
- Updated factsheets on the effects of air quality on animal and human health.
Academic research and teaching work
The University of Illinois
Champaign, USA
03.2008 - 06.2009
- Trained a team of undergraduate students in a research lab, and manage its time and financial budget.
- Collaborated with engineering team and conducted research to optimize biomass handling processes (for miscanthus crops), from field to biofuel processing plants.
Academic research and teaching work
The Pennsylvania State Univ., Ag. and Biol. Engineering
State College, USA
07.2006 - 03.2008
- Designed experiments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from manure through compost biofilters, presented results at ASABE's annual meeting in 2007.
- Designed a wooden structure holding 25 tons of animal waste in the field. Conducted experiments to test models of ammonia mass transfer. Results published in Transactions of ASABE.
- Optimized the workflow and completed project under budget in the research lab I managed.
- Served as a thesis advisor to an undergraduate student and trained several students in my research team.
- Committee Officer at Ecological engineering committee at ASABE (2006 - 2009) and organizer of an ASABE session on 'Innovative technologies in organic farming' (2005 to 2009).
Academic research and teaching work
University of Florida Citrus Research Station
Lake Alfred, USA
04.2006 - 07.2006
- Designed and conducted experiments comparing accuracy and reliability of capacitor-based, TDR, and Echo soil moisture sensors.
- Developed algorithm for processing spatial data from citrus harvester and yield monitor to enhance data analysis efficiency.
Academic research and teaching work
Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Dept., Ohio State University
Columbus, USA
01.2006 - 03.2006
- Researched and presented results on odor emissions from organic waste.
- Posted online reviews and studies on comparing earthworm casts and compost system.
- Created a tool that uses electricity to move earthworms out of the fertilizer they've generated from biodegradable waste.
- Consulted for Yelm Worms in Seattle, Village One Foundation, and a vermicomposting feasibility study.
- Assisted in teaching precision agriculture and using the related software.
Research assistant
Soil Ecology Lab, Ohio State University
Columbus, USA
07.2000 - 09.2000
- Developed and performed an experiment demonstrating plant disease suppression due to earthworm casts (vermicompost).
- Disseminated results at conferences.
Master's research
The University of Maine, Plant and Soil Science Dept.
Orono, USA
01.1998 - 06.2000
- Designed experiments to compare organic and synthetic fertilizers, presented results at conferences and in the Soil Biology and Biochemistry Journal (8th most downloaded article in 2003, cited 100 times).
Production developer and manager
Cutflower Production "Relais d'Art"
Beirut, Lebanon
09.1996 - 05.1997
- Created and implemented new production protocols for cut flowers grown in greenhouses.
Education
Ph.D. - Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Ohio State University
Columbus, OH12.2005
M.S. - Plant and Soil Science
University of Maine
Orono, ME06.2000
B.S. - Agriculture and Diplôme d'Ingénieure Agricole
American University of Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon06.1996
French Baccalaureate -
Lycée Franco-Libanais
Beirut, LebanonPost-secondary Teaching Micro-certificate - Teaching
UQAM
Montréal, QC12.2025
Bilingual certification (advanced plus) - French fluency
Ontario Government
03.2009
Fundamentals of Engineering License -
National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
Clemson, SC04.2005
Skills
- Soil and plant science
- Prototype development
- Data analysis
- Organization and time management
- Vulgarizing science with visual aids
- Succinct, clear verbal and written communication
- Shares knowledge with colleagues, learns from them and mentors younger talent as well
Languages
English
Native/ Bilingual
French
Native/ Bilingual
Arabic
Professional
Timeline
Tutoring and teaching in various institutions
Concordia University, Edu2 high school, Jardin Urbain learning center, homeschooling groups
04.2023 - Current
Consulting
Chrysalabs
05.2021 - 10.2021
R&D manager
Modular Farms / NHXT
02.2018 - 01.2019
Technical seed manager and agronomist
Winfield Solutions Inc. (a Landolakes company)
11.2014 - 10.2015
Product Developer
Urban Farms Organic Inc. (R&D business)
01.2010 - Current
Substitute Air Quality Engineer
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Farming and Rural Affairs
06.2009 - 09.2009
Academic research and teaching work
The University of Illinois
03.2008 - 06.2009
Academic research and teaching work
The Pennsylvania State Univ., Ag. and Biol. Engineering
07.2006 - 03.2008
Academic research and teaching work
University of Florida Citrus Research Station
04.2006 - 07.2006
Academic research and teaching work
Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Dept., Ohio State University
01.2006 - 03.2006
Research assistant
Soil Ecology Lab, Ohio State University
07.2000 - 09.2000
Master's research
The University of Maine, Plant and Soil Science Dept.
01.1998 - 06.2000
Production developer and manager
Cutflower Production "Relais d'Art"
09.1996 - 05.1997
Ph.D. - Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Ohio State University
M.S. - Plant and Soil Science
University of Maine
B.S. - Agriculture and Diplôme d'Ingénieure Agricole
American University of Beirut
French Baccalaureate -
Lycée Franco-Libanais
Post-secondary Teaching Micro-certificate - Teaching
UQAM
Bilingual certification (advanced plus) - French fluency
Ontario Government
Fundamentals of Engineering License -
National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying