Backgrounder
September 25, 2008
BUILDING ONTARIO’S INNOVATION ECONOMY
BIOECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT AND CLEAN TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS
Carleton University
Dr. Paul Simms
Environmental test pit for pilot-scale testing of mine waste management technologies
Provincial Funding: $50,634
Disposal of excavated mining materials carries both economic and environmental risks for mining companies worldwide. Led by Dr. Paul Simms, researchers at Carleton University are testing innovative mine waste management technologies under controlled climate conditions. Their work will lead to new environmentally responsible disposal and clean-up techniques.
Dr. Susan Bertram
Developing natural pest controls
Provincial Funding: $85,000
Pests such as grasshoppers cost Ontario’s agricultural sector millions of dollars a year in lost crops. The growing interest in organic crops, coupled with public concern over pesticide effects, has increased interest in developing alternative pest control. Dr. Susan Bertram at Carleton University is studying how genetics and the environment interact to influence survival and reproduction of crop pests. Her research could lead to innovative biological control methods.
University of Ottawa
Dr. Charles Darveau
Uncovering the reason for the decline in pollinating insects
Provincial Funding: $102,014
Gaining a greater understanding of how organisms respond and adapt to a changing environment is the focus of research being conducted at the new Evolution of Animal Energetics Laboratory at the University of Ottawa. Led by Dr. Charles Darveau, researchers are focusing on pollinating insects, which are in decline worldwide. The goal of Dr. Darveau’s research is to learn how organisms can cope with changes, both within their lifetime and over time. This will enable researchers to predict the ability of a population or species to remain in a given environment – and lead to strategies to ensure their survival.
Dr. Glenn Milne
High performance computer for numerical simulations of earth system evolution
Provincial Funding: $130,000
How is climate change affecting the evolution of coastlines and landforms? It’s an important question for a country with coastline on three sides – and one that Dr. Glenn Milne at the University of Ottawa hopes to answer. Dr. Milne is investigating the interactions between ice sheets, solid earth and the sea in an effort to more accurately predict how sea levels change as a result of changes to ice sheets and glaciers, and how solid earth deforms as ice sheets grow and melt. With Ontario on the verge of massive changes in its northern region, Dr. Milne’s research will help guide future environmental, engineering and socio-economic planning.
Dr. Julian Starr
What sedges can tell us about the conservation and management of our natural resources
Provincial funding: $89,683
Systematics is the science that names, classifies and determines the evolutionary relationships of organisms. It’s becoming increasingly important to Ontario as the province’s unique biodiversity becomes ever more threatened by global warming, invasive species and habitat loss. At a new Laboratory for Molecular Systematics at the University of Ottawa, Dr. Julian Starr is using DNA fragment and sequencing techniques to study the Cyperaceae (sedges) and other land plants. This plant group represents one of the most diverse, ecologically significant and economically important plant families on earth and it dominates vast tracks of Ontario’s land. But this unique diversity is threatened and Dr. Starr hopes to save it for future generations. In the process he aims to develop new molecular techniques for recognizing biodiversity and combating its loss on earth.
See also:
- News Release:
Fuelling Alternative Energy Research - Backgrounder:
Creating the Jobs, Clean Technologies and Energy Sources of the Future - Backgrounder:
Bioeconomy, Environment and Clean Technology Projects - Recipients
