Have you Met… Syed Biyabani?

Have you met Syed, faculty safety advisor in the Faculty of Engineering? Spend a few minutes getting to know him a little better.

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Syed Biyabani (August, 2019)

Have you met Syed, faculty safety advisor in the Faculty of Engineering? Spend a few minutes getting to know him a little better.

What brought you to the U of A and Edmonton?

I moved here for school about eight years ago, and then I just liked living here — I made a lot of friends. I met my wife, and now I have a family here. It became home.

Tablet or paper?

I’m more of a paper person. I just prefer writing things down — it’s easier for me to keep things in my mind that way.

What’s a weird pet peeve you have?

I’m very particular about my coffee temperature — same with tea — I need to keep them warm. I can’t have cold coffee or tea.

What’s one thing you can’t live without?

My phone. For me, a lot of the work that I do is on my phone.

Where is your favourite place on campus?

My favourite place on campus has to be the Saskatchewan Drive area — just because of the view, and the peaceful walking over there.

You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?

I’ve been very interested in cars since I was a child. That’s how I started into mechanical engineering. As part of one of my projects, I did a lot of research on Carl Friedrich Benz — so if I had the chance, I’d meet him and try to understand what his theory was like. He took cars to a new level.

If you could solve any one problem, what would it be?

It would be the shortage of clean water. It’s one of the bare minimums that everyone needs to survive.

If you won airfare to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Probably Greece. I’ve never been, but it’s on the list. I’d want to do a full country tour, but I’m a coastal person, so the beaches would be important to me.

What does “uplifting the whole people” mean to you?

Basically, it means accommodating everyone’s needs and beliefs, and giving space to everyone. The biggest and best part of the U of A is that we have people from all around the world. I’m someone who moved here all the way from Pakistan. The culture that this university offers — not a lot of places in the world have that.

What three words best describe your U of A experience?

Dream. Passion. Success.

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Syed is a mechanical engineer with a background in engineering safety and risk management. In his time at the U of A he has worked with the Environment, Health and Safety office, the David and Joan Lynch School of Engineering Safety and Risk Management, and the facilities and safety team in the Office of the Dean of Engineering. He looks after inspections, incident investigations, staff safety training, contractor safety management and review, research safety review, and the health and safety management system in Engineering, as well as facilities safety.