UNews - Aquatic Research Facility

Rasmussen Research Chair renewed

trevor.kenney — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 18:56:27 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Dr. Joe Rasmussen, a professor of biological sciences and a national leader in aquatic ecosystem research, has had his Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) funding as a Tier I Canada Research Chair renewed.

The need to provide dependable water supplies for agricultural, industrial and domestic uses without degrading natural processes is a major sustainability challenge. Rasmussen's research projects address this problem and many more.

"Joe and his team have made a vital contribution towards furthering the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's commitment in the area of water research, which is not only a key part of our strategic plan but is furthering our progress as we become a comprehensive research university," says Dr. Dan Weeks, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's vice-president research.

He adds that Rasmussen's award affirms the
U of L's place as a leader in water and aquatic ecosystems research.

"He has built up the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's presence in the aquatic research community to an unprecedented extent, and was recently the only Albertan appointed to a major review panel on the environmental state of the Athabasca River Basin surrounding the oil sands," says Weeks. "The U of L has become recognized as an important centre for research in fisheries and aquatic ecosystems, which would have been inconceivable a decade ago."

Rasmussen's research has made a significant contribution to the development of tracer approaches that are used to model energy flow in aquatic food webs. His research has provided fresh insights and technical inroads into important ecological problems such as the biomagnification of persistent contaminants and the impacts of heavy metals on environmental quality.

The good news came as part of a national announcement by Tony Clement, Federal Industry Minister, who confirmed $275.6 million to fund 310 new or renewed Canada Research Chairs at 53 Canadian universities.

Rasmussen will receive $1.4 million over the next seven years – funds that will allow him to focus on several diverse research projects and add doctoral and master's level researchers to his already-busy lab group.

He says his original and renewed funding, when combined with other aquatic researchers, played an important role in leveraging funds to build the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building, which stands as a symbol of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's strategic commitment to water research.

"In addition, the funds have helped leverage more than $3 million from Western Economic Diversification to equip the building and to build a state-of-the-art Aquatic Research Facility within this building," says Rasmussen. "I am really pleased to have the funding continue for another term, and am looking forward to a significant expansion of my research programming."

One of the new projects Rasmussen is working on involves an NSERC-supported strategic network called HydroNet, which partners with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the hydroelectric industry.

The aim of the project is to develop science-based criteria for assessing productive capacity of aquatic ecosystems where water flow and water levels are affected by hydroelectric dams.

"Our work on the effects of flow regulation is helping to inform policy regarding instream flow requirements for aquatic ecosystem health, which is part of the core mandate of the Alberta Water Research Institute," says Rasmussen.

Construction on Campus

trevor.kenney — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:03:56 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ continued to expand in 2007/2008 with four major projects highlighting campus activities. Ground was broken Feb. 15, 2007, on the $65-million Markin Hall project, a four-level complex that will house the School of Health Sciences and Faculty of Management. It is expected to open during the summer of 2010. Oct. 17, 2008, marked the official opening of Turcotte Hall. The building houses the Faculty of Education and provides cutting-edge math/science and computer laboratories, improved office and classroom space and allows room for further expansion. The $24-million Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building will open this fall. This new state-of-the-art facility increases the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's applied research capacity in areas such as watersheds, water ecology, water quality and public health, environmental monitoring, hydrologic forecasting and water resource management. The Aquatic Research Facility is slated to open in early 2009. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Sports Field Complex, an $11-million project, is to be completed in the summer of 2009.

Water centre offers high-tech toolbox for scholars

trevor.kenney — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:58:41 +0000

As the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge continues to gain momentum as a leader in water research, it is achieving a critical mass of outstanding scholars.

Dr. Sarah Boon, who came to the U of L a year-and-a-half ago, is one of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's newest researchers. She's also part of a diverse group of scholars conducting research at the new Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building (AWESB). Focusing on mountain hydrology, Boon studies snow melt and glacial melt and how they contribute to runoff in mountain systems.

"Right now, my specific research is looking at forest disturbance, like pine beetle or wildfires, and how that changes snow processes in alpine watersheds," says Boon. She's also exploring how these changes affect the timing and magnitude of runoff from the watersheds into downstream systems.

Boon says the new AWESB offers researchers greater opportunities to collaborate.

"I think that's what's going to bring us forward as a place of international excellence, where there's a lot of good research taking place."

The AWESB offers a toolbox to help researchers continue to excel in the field of water research, says Vice-President (Research) Dr. Dennis Fitzpatrick.

"In many ways, it's more than just a building. It's a repository of people and tools that are going to produce profound research," he says.

The $27-million centre is a partnership between the U of L and seven provincial and federal research partners, including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Health Canada and Alberta Environment.

The 5,500 sq. m. facility opened on Nov. 13, 2008, and it will initially house 20 researchers and up to 150 supporting technicians, graduate students and doctoral candidates from the departments of biological sciences, geography and physics and astronomy. Research at the centre revolves around these key areas: social policy (including how the government is legislating water use); ecology (the relationship of water to flora and fauna); toxicology (the effects of chemical pollutants to the health of water supplies); environmental impacts (including how agriculture and industry impact water); and water-climate interactions (for instance, how rising global temperatures affect water systems).

The AWESB contains many state-of-the-art technologies, offering researchers the chance to expand the breadth and depth of their work.

"The tools you have access to affect the questions you can answer," Fitzpatrick explains, adding that it's rare for a university to possess so many new technologies at once.
"You can usually be up-to-date in one thing – but we're up-to-date on a whole host of tools that will help us answer more questions."

Other significant acquisitions include earth-imaging tools (for geomatics research) and instruments for stable isotope analysis as well as environmental monitoring (a significant acquisition for researchers like Dr. Christopher Hugenholtz and Dr. Mathew Letts).

The basement of the building is home to the Aquatic Research Facility, housing specialized tanks for fish and aquatic organisms, in which environmental conditions can be manipulated. Researchers like Dr. Alice Hontela, who studies water toxicology, use the facility to study responses to environmental stressors like chemical pollutants or rising temperatures.

The facility isn't just a benefit to established scientists. The AWESB will also incubate developing talent, like PhD candidate Lana Miller, who is studying the health of Alberta's lakes and rivers. She is one of more than 100 graduate students who will benefit from both the new infrastructure and the outstanding researchers that the centre is attracting.

"Researchers want to go to places where there's research actually going on," Fitzpatrick says.

For many researchers – including Boon, who's fieldwork often takes her to the Crowsnest Pass – the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is uniquely situated within the 'living laboratory' that is southern Alberta.

"These things all come together and make the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge a very attractive place to do research," Fitzpatrick says.

Construction on Campus

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:40:06 +0000

UNews - Aquatic Research Facility

Rasmussen Research Chair renewed

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Water centre offers high-tech toolbox for scholars

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