苹果淫院
The MSSI Ideas Fund provides seed funding to explore bold projects and novel ideas which, if successful, will have significant positive impact on sustainability challenges.
2023
Global survey of Bisphenol S and alternative color developers in thermal papers in food packaging
Thermal labels used in food packaging may be a significant dietary source of previously unknown contaminants. Of particular interest are color developers such as Bisphenol S (BPS), often used in thermal labels, which have been demonstrated to migrate from packaging into food itself. This project will undertake a global survey of color developers used in thermal labels and identify less hazardous chemicals using human cell-based assays. Lead researcher: St茅phane Bayen (Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry)
Maximally efficient photocatalysis through Janus nanoparticle-based band engineering
Photocatalytic reactions are accelerated chemical reactions driven by sunlight. This project aims to engineer how such reactions are optimally coordinated with nanomaterials to dramatically improve their efficiency. Combining advanced theoretical design and state-of-the-art experimental synthesis methods, this technology would mimic and turbocharge natural photosynthetic and enzymatic processes. It could contribute to new ways to sustainably produce hydrogen from renewable water resources, synthetically scrub carbon dioxide, and drive the remediation of water resources in emerging economies. Lead researcher: Kirk Bevan (Materials Engineering)
Reducing electronic waste with fruit juice-based flexible, stretchable, and biodegradable batteries
Batteries are a significant contributor to total electronic waste (e-waste) generated by Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as smartphones. This project aims to design and fabricate biodegradable, flexible, and stretchable batteries to power such devices. These low-cost batteries will be based on electrolytes fabricated from fruit juice and paper-based biodegradable electrodes. Ultimately, they will reduce the environmental impact of e-waste from the disposal of IoT devices. Lead researcher: Sharmistha Bhadra (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Sustainable pollinator biodiversity conservation in the Quebec cranberry industry
Quebec is one of the largest cranberry-producing regions in the world. This project will assess how cranberry production affects pollinator biodiversity in and around farms by surveying the insect biodiversity of cranberry farms and their surrounding natural habitats. The project鈥檚 aim is to empower the Quebec cranberry industry to promote a sustainable balance between agricultural production, economic growth, and biodiversity conservation. Lead researcher: Jessica Gillung (Natural Resource Sciences)
Active packaging enabled by molecular imprinting-based smart coating to extend food shelf life
Food that is produced but not consumed is an important contributor to global carbon emissions. This project aims to develop a novel smart packaging material, based on molecular imprinting technology, that could potentially extend the shelf life of food products. This packaging could reduce food waste caused by spoilage bacteria, which are microorganisms that cause food to deteriorate. Lead researcher: Xiaonan Lu (Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry)
2022
Mining the Atmosphere for Carbon: Designing and Deploying Sustainable Enzyme Catalysts from Transfected Cyanobacteria to Convert CO2听into Value Added Metal Carbonates
This project addresses the need for a naturally sourced and sustainable carbon capture process that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into metal carbonate products that can be stored or shipped in dry form. This method is based on catalysts used by cyanobacteria, a 1.9-billion-year-old bacterium, to produce bicarbonate from CO2. The project will be the first to make, harvest and utilize large quantities of this catalyst, resulting in a unique "carbon clean" process that converts CO2听into solid, inorganic chemical materials. Lead researcher:听Mark Andrews
Solving Aerosol Enigma in a Blink of an Eye
Air pollution, including aerosols, has profound societal, economic, and environmental impacts. Not only are aerosols (or airborne particles) health hazards, but they are also important 鈥� yet little understood 鈥� climate change forcers. This project will enable us to detect aerosols in a millisecond and explore their fate in the environment, providing solutions to some air pollution challenges by creating the 4-dimensional data needed for health and climate change modelling. Lead researcher:听Parisa Ariya.
Biopolymer Reinforced Blood Plasma Based Bio-ink for 3D Printing of Cultured Meat
Animal agriculture for meat has a huge negative impact on environment, human health and animal welfare. Obtaining meat through in vitro culturing of cells is a promising alternative to traditional animal agriculture. Advancements in basic technologies are warranted for ensuring economic sustainability of cultured meat. This biomimetic approach, based on principles of blood clotting and nanotechnology, holds promise for developing sustainable bioink for 3D printing of cells. Lead researcher:听Saji George
蟺-Quasicrystals: Aperiodic 2D Materials for Clean Energy Storage and Conversion
The main objective of this work is to use mathematical and computer modeling to designa new class of two-dimensional organic nanomaterials based on pentagonal arrangements of atoms that have long thought to be 鈥渇orbidden鈥� in nanostructures with 蟺-conjugated bonds. This pentagonal symmetry can lead to unprecedented properties in materials for clean energy applications in batteries, supercapacitors, solar cells, photocatalysts, light-emitting diodes and thermoelectrics. Lead researcher:听Rustam Khaliullin
High-Throughput Microfluidic Droplet Platform to Identify Bovine Commensal Bacteria with Antagonistic Activity Against Klebsiella pneumoniae
The non-pathogenic bacteria that live in and on us as part of our microbiome can protect us from infections by out-competing bacterial pathogens. Some of these non-pathogenic bacteria, or commensal bacteria, are better at excluding specific pathogens than others. The aim of this project is to develop a high-throughput technique that will allow rapid screening of bovine commensal bacteria for their ability to antagonize a specific bacterial pathogen - Klebsiella pneumoniae. Lead researcher:听Jennifer Ronholm
2021
Design of Innovative Clean Technologies for Sustainable Use of Marine Biomass
Seaweed cultivation for food, bioenergy, and bioinspired materials is developing rapidly; however, sustainable post-harvesting processing remains a major technological challenge. This project is based on the circular economy principle and aims to design a green process for seaweed transformation with minimal chemical use, low energy costs, zero wastes, improving sustainable development goals for social well-being and environmental health.听Lead researcher:听Benjamin Simpson.
Mechanochemical Synthesis of Disordered-Rocksalt Anodes for Ultrafast-Charging Li-ion Batteries
The slow rechargeability of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) in electric vehicles (EVs) has been a critical bottleneck for EVs' adoption. The recent discovery of the disordered-rocksalt (DRX) anode opened the possibility of ultrafast LIB-recharging in a few minutes. However, the material could be synthesized only through expensive multi-step methods involving toxic chemicals. Here, we use mechanochemistry for the green, cost-effective, single-step synthesis of novel DRX anodes, revolutionizing the LIBs in EVs for a greener and more sustainable society. Lead researcher: Jinhyuk Lee.
Climate-contaminant Impacts on Arctic Wildlife Sustainability: Insight from Coupled Cryo-tox Approach
The Arctic - a key biome for which Canada has an important responsibility - is facing a number of threats that will impact its biodiversity. These include climate change and chemical pollution, two stressors currently studied in isolation. This project will develop a technique to link these two stressors through analysis of amino acid-specific stable isotope markers. This enables researchers to link in ice-associated food webs and contaminants to population dynamics in a key Arctic seabird. The results will provide important information on the combined impact of climate change and contaminants on Arctic wildlife.听Lead researcher: Kyle Elliott.
Green Ammonia Production Using Solar-Plasma Catalysis
The goal of this project is to develop a novel and efficient green ammonia production method using solar-plasma catalysis. Solar-thermo-catalysis and plasma-catalysis are both promising candidates with complementary advantages and disadvantages. In this exploratory project, we aim to combine for the first time the strengths of the solar- and plasma-catalysis processes in a synergetic way using our existing plasma-catalysis reactor and 6.5kWe solar thermal facility. Lead researcher:听M茅lanie T茅treault-Friend.
Tough Biodegradable Protein Nanofibers as Plasticizers for Sustainable Commodity Bioplastics
This project aims to improve the properties of existing biodegradable bioplastics by incorporating bacterial protein nanofibers into the blends. These nanofibers are some of the stiffest known biological materials - they have the potential to toughen polymers and enhance their biodegradability. With low-cost and bio-sourced starting materials, the resulting bioplastics will contribute to growing a sustainable economy. Lead researcher: No茅mie-Manuelle Dorval Courchesne.
A Unified Approach Towards Understanding Defect Tolerant Materials for Solar Energy Harvesting
Sustainability is intimately connected to our energy future. Within our energy future, one requires new materials for harvesting energy as well as deploying energy in devices. The most recent material that is setting the global photovoltaic world on fire is the semiconductor perovskite, which has a unique and mysterious defect tolerance to its electronic properties. Here, we will exploit the world-leading expertise of three groups to unravel the mysteries of how these materials function so well, and what design principles can we learn for the future. Lead researcher: Patanjali Kambhampati.
2020
3D printing of Architected Ferroelectrics for Sustainable Energy Harvesting
In efforts to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and to lessen their environmental impacts, a new sustainable energy material based on architected ferroelectrics will be designed and 3D printed to simultaneously scavenge energy from wasted resources and to strategically reduce energy consumption in structural systems and infrastructure. Lead researcher: Hamid Akbarzadeh.
3D printed architected shell-based ferroelectric metamaterials with programmable piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties.听Nano Energy, 2024.
The Effect of Microplastics on Cloud Droplet Formation
The elimination of single-use plastics is at the heart of many sustainability initiatives. Understanding the lifecycle and impact of these materials on atmospheric processes will be crucial in the design of their alternatives and key to avoiding an outcome where a replacement is unintentionally more harmful to the environment. Using optical trapping, we will be able to study water uptake and loss in small droplets that contain microplastics. These high-precision measurements will allow us to begin to understand the role of microplastics in cloud droplet growth and the subsequent implications for transport in the atmosphere and climate change. Lead researcher:听Thomas Preston.
Hygroscopicity of Microplastic and Mixed Microplastic Aqueous Ammonium Sulfate Systems. Environmental Science and Technology, 2021.
Ultrathin and Ultrastrong Alternatives for Plastic Films
Proof of concept will be developed that biorenewable, biodegradable, recyclable and water-insoluble ultrathin and ultrastrong transparent films can be made from cellulose by continuous flow casting from dilute solutions. This opens the door to sustainable plastic alternatives, thus tremendously reducing the amount of plastic waste. Lead researcher: Theo van de Ven.
Insoluble Regenerated Cellulose Films Made from Mildly Carboxylated Dissolving and Kraft Pulps. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 2021. 听
Influence of Carboxyl Charge Density on Properties of Extruded Cellulose Films. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2021.听
All-Plant-Derived Biodegradable Packaging with Mechano-Bactericidal Activity
The release of organic preservatives and inorganic nanoparticles incorporated into antimicrobial packaging materials presents a risk to consumers. At the same time, petroleum-based food packaging, like any other short-term storage packaging materials, is a serious sustainability challenge. This project is developing a mechano-bactericidal, biodegradable, material from natural polymers that is suitable for food storage. Lead researcher: Yixiang Wang.
Construction of chevaux-de-frise from cellulose nanocrystals to enable mechano-bactericidal activity on recycled waste cotton films. Green Chemistry, 2022. .
2019 - Faculty
GLAD 鈥� the Global Lake Analysis Dashboard
This project produced new ways to download, view, and understand lake data from around the world. Researchers developed an application in Google Earth Engine to dynamically browse more than a dozen properties of each lake in the world and created a new tool that, for any selected lake, identifies other lakes that are the most similar. Recognizing that sustainable management of resources requires both top-down and bottom-up approaches, this tool provides interested citizens a way to understand more about their local lake and that it exists in the broader context of regional, continental, and global patterns. Lead researcher: Jeffrey Cardille.
Coupling Microbial Metabolism and Biogeochemistry to Identify Mechanisms that Mitigate Positive Feedback Effects of Thawing Permafrost Peatlands to Climate Change
Permafrost peatland soils store vast quantities of carbon. As it thaws under a warming climate, soil microbial communities could release much of this carbon as greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, creating a runaway feedback effect on warming. Combining molecular chemistry, genomics, and isotopic geochemistry, researchers will determine the microbial controls regulating if and when positive versus negative feedback effects to climate change occur. Lead researcher:听Cynthia Kallenbach.
Global Contaminant Fate Model and Data Development to Screen for Chemicals in Rivers and Lakes
To protect our surface water ecosystems and to sustain their benefits to society, including the provision of safe drinking water, we need to understand the sources and distribution of potentially harmful substances in the river and lake network. This project developed a contaminant fate model and associated data, in particular information about wastewater treatment plants, to screen for the concentrations of contaminants in the aquatic environment at large scales, including down-the-drain household chemicals, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and nanoparticles. Lead researcher:听Bernhard Lehner.
Distribution and characteristics of wastewater treatment plants within the global river network. Earth System Science Data, 2022. 听and .
Fabrication of Nanoporous Membranes for Blue Energy Harvesting
There is growing need to provide local, inexpensive and environmentally friendly power sources for a wide range of miniaturized electronic devices that operate at low power level. This project focuses on the development and optimization of membranes for the exploitation of the green and sustainable salinity gradient energy that is released whenever sources of fresh and salt water are mixed. Lead researcher:听Walter Reisner.
High Osmotic Power Generation via Nanopore Arrays in Hybrid Hexagonal Boron Nitride/Silicon Nitride Membranes. Nano Letters, 2021.
Mining the Chicken Microbiome for Anti-Infective Probiotics to听Eliminate the Need for Prophylactic Antibiotics
The growing antibiotic resistance (ABR) crisis has led to legislation that came into effect in December 2018 that restricts the use of antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention. This work focused on the discovery of novel probiotic bacteria that are able to reduce the incidence of pathogenic bacterial infections in high-density poultry production operations. The hypothesis is that there are commensal bacteria in the healthy avian intestine (most probiotics were originally isolated from the intestine), that are capable of effectively killing pathogens, and thus preventing infection. In progression towards this goal, we have established a bacterial culture collection of commensal bacteria from layer and broiler chickens, and have started to characterize the ability of each of these commensal bacteria to antagonize bacterial pathogens. Lead researcher: Jennifer Ronholm.
Combined CO2 Reduction and Biomass Upgrading System for Sustainable Production of Fuels
We have developed an electrochemical system which combines CO2 conversion into feedstocks, and biowaste upgrading. This fund enabled us to improve the energy efficiency of the electrochemical system that is crucial for its commercialization. It also helped us to develop new catalysts for hydroxymethylfurfural (a biomass-derived chemical readily accessible from renewable resources) conversion into furandicarboxylic acid (one of the top 12 value-added chemicals for bio-refinery) with a throughput of 10x higher than most reported systems in literature. This improvement in reaction throughput promises for its viable commercialization and a faster transition toward sustainable energy storage and feedstock production. Lead researcher:听Ali Seifitokaldani.
Electrochemical reactors for CO2 conversion. Catalysts, 2020. 10(5), 473.听.
2019 鈥� Student-led projects
Seasonal Energy Storage through Means of Phase Change of Water Contained in Soil
There is a growing need to incorporate renewables into our energy consumption budget. A lot of work has been done in including renewables into the electrical grid, however another way to do so is through heating and cooling. Directly incorporating renewables into heating and cooling systems allows for relatively easy and high impact reduction in emissions. This project seeks to use the cold from winter to cool during the summer and the heat from summer to warm during winter.听Lead researchers: Matthew Fong & Agus Sasmito.
On the performance of ground coupled seasonal thermal energy storage for heating and cooling: A Canadian context. Applied Energy, 2019. .
Designing Fully Degradable Alternatives to Single-Use Plastics by Upcycling Food Waste
鈥淏iodegradable鈥� cutlery on the market is made from polylactic acid are not biodegradable in practice. This project proposed an alternative made from a blend of starch, edible food industry byproducts, and cellulose. This starch-based cutlery can withstand the rigors of a single meal (hot or cold). After use, the cutlery falls apart in water. A spinoff project explored the use of cellulose for everyday objects. Lead researchers: Nicholas Lin听& Nathalie Tufenkji (faculty supervisor).
A听New Strategy to Screen Antagonistic bacteria against听Staphylococcus aureus听for听sustainable therapeutics听and medical interventions
This project aimed听to design and develop a new strategy to screen antagonistic bacteria against S. aureus which causes a broad range of diseases in livestock, including bovine mastitis. Antagonistic bacteria has been suggested as one of the promising alternatives to antibiotics to maintain the sustainability of agriculture since antibiotics are being phased out of usage in Canadian agriculture. To find bacteria that are antagonistic to S. aureus among commensal bacteria, a more effective and efficient screening strategy needs to be developed. A new plasmid听 will allow us to label S. aureus with fluorescent proteins and co-culture听S. aureus with commensal bacteria to monitor its growth and quorum sensing activity. Lead researchers:听Soyoun Park & Jennifer Ronholm.
A new , reliable , and high-throughput strategy to screen bacteria for antagonistic activity against Staphylococcus aureus. BMC Microbiology, 2021.
鈥淕reen鈥� Antimicrobial Straws - An Alternative to Synthetic Plastic Straws
In this project, 鈥済reen鈥� straws were prepared using biopolymers, i.e., chitosan and alginate from waste biomass and evaluated for the possibility as an alternative to synthetic plastic straws. Our 鈥済reen鈥� straws had uniform microstructure, and showed good properties in terms of compostability in soil, mechanical properties, and stability in water/beverages, etc. Lead researchers: Paola Sully, Benjamin Simpson (faculty supervisor) & Yixiang Wang.
A Compact, Ready-Made Methane Monitoring Station Powered by Leaking Oil and Gas Infrastructure
Fugitive methane emissions from the oil and gas sector represent a significant portion of the greenhouse gas budget in North America, but are still poorly understood in terms of their temporal emission patterns. A necessary step to improve our knowledge of temporal trends in emissions is long-term and continuous monitoring, which requires a power source that can sustain a measurement system. By harnessing fugitive natural gas emissions as a fuel source, our monitoring station will simultaneously reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of a leaking well, and gather long-term temporal data regarding emission patterns. Our project also has potential applications in other fields of methane emission monitoring, such as arctic regions where popular off-grid power sources (e.g. solar panels) are limited in their power generation capabilities.听Lead researchers: James William & Mary Kang.
Methane emissions from abandoned oil and gas wells in Canada and the United States. Environmental Science and Technology, 2021. .
Transformation of Soluble Phosphate, a Pollutant within Manure, to an Insoluble, More Sustainable Calcium Phosphate Solid with Waste Concrete
This project aims to solve the problem of excessive soluble phosphate in dairy cattle manure, which limits its application in agriculture. We have developed a process that transfers the soluble phosphate into calcium phosphate minerals with concrete addition, which can be used as a slow-release fertilizer. The greenhouse test indicated that the products provide a similar fertilization effect as the mineral phosphorus fertilizer. Lead researchers: Tian Zhao & Sidney Omelon.
2018 鈥� Faculty
3D Printing of Lightweight Sustainable Materials: Wood-Fiber Reinforced Cellular Composites
As 3D printing is currently revolutionizing the manufacturing process of intricate lightweight components with arbitrary topologies, a state-of-the-art technology is developed for transformation of waste woodchips and and sawdust into 3D printed wood-fiber reinforced polymeric cellular composites with engineered architectures and enhanced thermomechanical properties to be used as durable and sustainable structural components.听Lead researchers: Hamid Akbarzadeh.
3D printed architected waste wood-fiber reinforced composites. Advanced Engineering Materials, 2020. .
Development of an Electrocatalytic Method for the Direct Functionalization of Methane to Aldehydes
Hydrocarbons are perhaps the most common resource available for the generation of valuable synthetic materials such as pharmaceuticals, plastics or other products. Under the MSSI Ideas fund project, our lab demonstrated these feedstocks could be converted听directly into useful products through the use of metal catalysis. This offers a new method to directly exploit hydrocarbons in sustainable synthesis, as an alternative to their combustion, and opens the potential to do so with electrochemistry as a clean energy source.听Lead researchers: Bruce Arndtsen.
A Palladium-Catalyzed C-H Functionalization Route to Ketones via the Oxidative Coupling of Arenes with Carbon Monoxide. Chemical Science, 2020. .
Supercritical Metal-Water Reactor Proof of Concept
Convenient access to clean and reliable energy sources is key to transitioning away from fossil fuels. This research focuses on using metal-water reactions to provide clean energy on demand. Metal fuels can be processed using renewable energy, such as wind and solar, thereby effectively storing and allowing for the transport of clean energy. The clean energy stored in the metal electrofuels can then be released via metal-water reactions to produce heat and hydrogen for use in a wide range of transportation and stationary power-generation applications. Lead researchers: Jeffrey Bergthorson.
Aluminum and its role as a recyclable, sustainable carrier of renewable energy. Applied Energy, 2020. .
Indigenizing concepts of food security
Traditional food security, based on the sustainable local harvest of wild plants and animals, is a critical natural, health, and cultural asset of Indigenous Peoples globally. Most food security research focuses on market food accessibility and availability. This project will realize a conceptual understanding of food security distinct to Indigenous Peoples Food Systems (IPFS) and valuing Indigenous knowledge. Lead researchers: Treena Delormier.
Green Supramolecular Polymer Assembly Inspired by the Velvet Worm
By mimicking supramolecular self-assembly achieved by nature, we aim to develop a novel bio-inspired paradigm for circular processing of polymeric materials. We will produce stable mechanoresponsive colloidal suspensions of nanoglobules using oppositely charged polymer chains that can be disrupted by mechanical shear, leading to triggered aggregation of polymer chains under controlled conditions.听Lead researchers: Matthew Harrington.
Green polymers inspired by biology. 苹果淫院 Faculty of Science News, 2018.听Read article.
The Role of Induced Earthquakes on Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Infrastructure in Western Canada
Oil and gas production is the largest emitter of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in Canada. Methane emissions have been linked to natural earthquakes but the role of induced earthquakes on methane emissions is unclear. Here, we measure and analyze methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure and investigate potential links to earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing activities in Western Canada.听Lead researchers: Mary Kang.
Potential increase in oil and gas well leakage due to earthquakes. Environmental Research Communications, 2019. .
Reducing methane emissions from abandoned oil and gas wells: Strategies and costs. Energy Policy, 2019.
Why wait for grad school? 苹果淫院 Alumni News, 2019. .
Changing-Climate Resilient Cisgenic Crop Variety Development through Genome Editing
Kushalappa lab at 苹果淫院 has identified several disease resistance R genes. Some of these genes are mutated in commercial wheat cultivars, such as Pasteur, which will be replaced with functional gene segments from a resistant wheat land race based on genome editing using CRISPR-Cas9 system that does not leave any foreign DNA in the recipient plant. Following proof of concept, this technology can be used to enhance multiple disease resistance in hundreds of wheat and other crop cultivars, saving billions of dollars around the world. Lead researchers: Ajjamada Kushalappa.
Role of laccase gene in wheat NILs differing at QTL-Fhb1 for resistance against Fusarium head blight. Plant Science, 2020. .
TaNAC032 transcription factor regulates lignin-biosynthetic genes to combat Fusarium head blight in wheat. Plant Science, 2021. .
Engineering Nanocatalysts for Photo-Fixation of Nitrogen into Ammonia
Nitrogen is one of the essential building elements for all living organisms. However, the industrial ammonia synthesis process requires high temperatures and pressures and consumes more than 1% of the world鈥檚 annual energy supply. This proposal will combine the expertise of Prof. Li, Prof. Mi, and Prof. Guo to develop sustainable nitrogen-fixation with solar light by using theoretical and experimental means.听Lead researcher:听C.J. Li.
Efficient nitrogen fixation catalyzed by gallium nitride nanowire using nitrogen and water. iScience, 2019. .
Potential huge energy savings through nanocatalysts for nitrogen fixation. 苹果淫院 Faculty of Science News, 2019.听.
Sustainable Copolymer Additives for Durable Roadway Asphalts
Many of us are familiar with the cracks over roadways during the winter season. Block copolymers have been applied previously as bitumen additives but face several limitations, which can be overcome by using controlled radical polymerization. Applying this method makes the process greener: polymerizations can now be done with a continuous aqueous phase. Further, the feedstocks will be derived from sustainable sources. Lead researcher: Milan Maric.
Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization of Bio-Based Farnesene with a Functionalized Methacrylate. Macromolecular Reaction Engineering, 2019. .
Resilience Planning in New Master-Planned Cities
This project is concerned with how new cities built from scratch around the world are adapting to or anticipating climate change and disasters. The research seeks to understand how new city projects are planned and executed, and how they may expose a large number of people to disasters and the effects of climate change in the coming decades. The study examines over 100 new city projects and focuses on six case studies in Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco.听Lead researcher: Sarah Moser.
New cities may make millions more vulnerable to climate change. 苹果淫院 Faculty of Science News, 2018.听Read article.
Developing the Use of Seawater eDNA to Track Species Responses to Environmental Change
Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding technology can allow a sample of seemingly empty seawater to reveal nearby fish and invertebrates with remarkable speed and accuracy. Prof. Sunday's team has听applied this technology and tested sampling designs that will bring us into an era of tracking of biodiversity in near-real time. The work funded by the MSSI has produced exciting results that reveal the density of samples that are needed to observe a regional fish and invertebrate fauna. In collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Hakai Institute, the team听has听leveraged this听early success听to win a Genomic Applications Partnership Project with Genome Canada to optimize the approach for monitoring Canada鈥檚 Marine Protected Areas.听Lead researcher:听Jennifer Sunday.
Predicting the fate of eDNA in the environment and implications for studying biodiversity.听Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,2019). .
Using DNA technology to track marine life. 苹果淫院 Faculty of Science News, 2018.听Read article.
2018 鈥� Student-led projects
SymBioSyn
SymBioSyn worked with the First Nations Regional Adult Education Center (FNRAEC) in Kahnawa:ke to pilot a Food Sovereignty Leadership Programme. Using methods of collaborative-action research, the students ran intercultural workshops that would help the group self-direct toward Food Sovereignty outcomes for their community. This included a community garden designed, built, and maintained collaboratively between Kahnawa:ke youth听and 苹果淫院 students associated with SymBioSyn. Lead researchers: Yves Abanda & Treena Delormier.
Using Air and Solar Energy as a Sustainable Source of Water
Presently, water scarcity affects every continent. In 10 years, more than two-thirds of the world's population could be living under water stressed conditions. However, a significant amount of water resides in our atmosphere, a resource that if made available, would help solve the problem of water scarcity. Taking on this challenge, we have come up with an idea to extract humidity from air using low grade thermal energy (e.g., solar heat), and create water through a novel process. Lead researchers: Kevin Kelly & Jan Kopyscinski.
Development of a Solar-Powered UAV
The aim of this project was to design, manufacture and test a solar-powered drone that carries a multispectral camera for use in large scale crop monitoring. The initial prototypes of both the airframe and power management system were completed and the project lead engaged over 20 undergraduate students and three additional faculty supervisors in the project. Although the design was ultimately unfeasible, the students involved learned invaluable lessons in engineering design and project management. Lead researchers: Callaghan Wilmott &听Jovan Nedic.
