Halbach at the Thunderbird mine reclamation site near Eveleth, Minnesota.

Halbach held several jobs before he joined the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate as a professor in 1987. From 1976 to 1980 he worked for the University’s Extension Service in Marshall, Minnesota. Tom says he applied his knowledge to present educational programs on topics from water quality to wind energy to road salt. He spent the following two years in Chicago as the liaison between land grant universities and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “I connected researchers with regulators,” Tom says. He also worked for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. as the National Program Leader for Environmental Quality from 1985 to 1987 before accepting his current position.

As a professor, Tom researches environmental issues that are important to Minnesota. One of his projects looks at feedlots, where farmers spend time and money managing manure left by livestock. Traditionally, manure is treated in one of two ways: pumped into a lagoon and later applied to cropland, or sent through a vegetative filter strip. Halbach is studying a third option that uses high-carbon material such as wood chips to filter nitrogen, phosphorous, and pathogens to reduced levels. “We hope that it will save money by saving equipment, saving labor, and saving land,” he says. He hopes his work will someday save one-third of the current cost of treatment for feedlot storm water runoff.

Tom in the classroom

Tom enjoys teaching as much as researching. In fact, Halbach earned his B.S. in education at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. There he was inspired by good teachers like Jim Alexander, a professor of geography who still stays in touch with Tom. Tom later earned an M.S. in agricultural geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

One of the most important courses he teaches at the University of Minnesota is Principles of Waste Management (ES5601). The course trains students to properly manage solid waste by applying technologies such as source separation, recycling, composting, energy recovery, waste reduction and landfilling. Halbach says the University has probably trained half of the professional waste managers in Minnesota. “It’s a real satisfaction to see students succeed,” he says.

Tom won a distinguished teaching award from the U of M’s University College in 1998. He received a plaque that hangs in his office today. Halbach was also recognized by the University’s Center for Transportation Studies in 2005 for his part in a joint research project with Dr. Paul Bloom. The researchers studied how to use coal ash to stabilize sub-surface soils during highway construction. They developed an environmental screening tool to evaluate elements of concern in both the coal ash and the soil, resulting in better, longer-lasting roads and in protection of our water resources.

Halbach has three brothers: one who teaches vocational agriculture at a high school in Wisconsin, one who is disabled with Parkinson’s disease in Ohio, and one who formerly taught applied economics at the University of Minnesota and now runs a computer service company in Wisconsin. Tom is married and has two daughters. When he is not busy working, you might find him at the racetrack. He likes all types of auto racing and has visited some of the nation’s major speedways. He also enjoys boating and canoeing.

Tom in the Indian Ocean Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2004.