UNews - Canada Research Council

Let's DO Science Day, Apr. 30

trevor.kenney — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:09:37 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge graduate students will share their passion for science with local high school students by organizing an event that provides hands-on experience in seven different science disciplines.

The all-day Let's DO Science initiative, held at the U of L, will not only provide for a fun and interactive experience for enthusiastic students, but the organizers say it will also inspire them to consider careers in science after graduating from high school.

"This is an excellent opportunity to inspire high school students for science and to showcase the U of L to the next generation of students and to further tighten the relationship between our ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the Lethbridge community," says Dr. Ute Kothe, a chemistry and biochemistry researcher who supervises the program with more than 20 undergraduate and graduate student volunteers. "Our U of L graduate students really shine in this event. Their passion for science and research is infectious."

Participants will engage in hands-on activities exposing them to science problems and procedures that challenge their scientific knowledge. Students will have a chance to analyze the true colours of Skittles in chemistry, learn about neurons and how the brain functions in neuroscience and design a helmet to protect a marshmallow "brain" in kinesiology.

At the end of the day, students will be awarded prizes for their achievements and will hear a presentation from Dr. Joseph Rasmussen, the Canada Research Council Chair in Aquatic Ecoystems and professor at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

U of L President Dr. Mike Mahon says the event is consistent with the many endeavours the institution undertakes to bridge high school and university experiences.

"This event is one of the ways the U of L makes science accessible to high school students. It also allows students to have a university experience while they are still in high school," says Mahon. "The U of L has a responsibility to inspire students at a younger age to consider university as an option when they graduate and we are able to do this through initiatives like this."

The host U of L graduate students are volunteers for the Let's Talk Science Outreach program - an award-winning, national, non-profit, science outreach organization.

Byrne film an environmental landmark

trevor.kenney — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:29:29 +0000

This story first appeared in the Lethbridge Herald

By SHERRI GALLANT

An educational film with algae-filled Lake Winnipeg as its focal point appeals to farmers and city dwellers to change their ways and help the country's watersheds to heal.

Choking Lake Winnipeg, a 25-minute documentary available free online, was screened Thursday at Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs. Produced by Jim Byrne, U of L prof and Chair of Geography, and his wife, Leanne Little, it includes interviews with many of the nation's top environmental scientists, including David Schindler, Killam Memorial Professor of Ecology at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, and Joe Rasmussen, Canada Research Council Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

An original soundtrack for the film was created by Stephen McGlenn, a U of L grad who attended COP 16 in Cancun — the United Nations Conference on Climate Change — as a Canadian Youth Delegate.

"We're looking to change a political/social approach to the way we deal with environment," said Byrne. "I went to some of my very favorite colleagues, Canada Research Chairs in many locations, outstanding and brilliant colleagues."

Byrne's expertise is in global environmental change. He was the lead scientist, originator and co-producer of the 2002 award-winning television series Global Change and the 2004 TV series Water Under Fire.

"Our goal was to inform people in a qualitative way and let them know that not only do we have this very challenging environmental problem, but we have some suitable solutions if we just have the political will."

Comparisons can be made with conditions in southern Alberta, where chemical runoff from farming and manure from beef, chicken and hog operations makes its way into the Oldman River watershed. Farmers, said Byrne, can go to zero-tillage practices which holds moisture in the soil and doesn't allow erosion and runoff; while city dwellers can take steps that include conserving water, being aware of what they shouldn't flush down their toilets, and using less — or zero — herbicides and pesticides on their lawns.

The film shows how massive blue-green algae blooms have appeared in Lake Winnipeg and other water bodies across the Canadian prairies. Eutrophication (when water is depleted of oxygen by algae, killing the body of water) is fast becoming a problem; not just in Canada but in the most heavily-populated parts of the industrialized and developing world.

To learn more, visit www.scientia.com.

Rasmussen Appointed to National Oilsands Review Panel

trevor.kenney — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:20:51 +0000

In response to concerns about industrial pollution in the Athabasca River and connecting waterways, Environment Minister Jim Prentice has appointed an independent advisory panel of leading scientists to review the design and management of related environmental systems.

Among the committee members is Dr. Joseph (Joe) Rasmussen, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge biological sciences researcher and Canada research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems – and the only Albertan on the six-member review panel.

Rasmussen says he is looking forward to working with Environment Canada officials and his colleagues, who are among Canada's leading water and environment researchers.

"I was very pleased to be asked to participate in this review," says Rasmussen. "It's a chance to do something very important, and an affirmation that the Minister is taking this issue very seriously."

The Advisory Panel has a mandate to advise Minister Prentice on the current state of environmental research and monitoring in the region around Alberta's oil sands and to make recommendations to ensure that state-of-the-art monitoring and best practices are implemented.

"We are determined to develop Canada's oil sands in a manner that it sustainable and environmentally-sensitive," says Prentice. "This independent review by some of Canada's most respected scientists is a critical step in ensuring that environmental issues are balanced with economic considerations."

Chaired by Elizabeth Dowdeswell, the Advisory Panel members are Dr. Peter J. Dillon, Dr. Subhasis Ghoshal, Dr. Andrew D. Miall, Dr. Joseph Rasmussen and Dr. John P. Smol.

Within 60 days, it will report back to Minister Prentice. This report will be publicly available on the Environment Canada website.

-- 30 --

Advisory Panel Background information

The purpose of the Advisory Panel is to provide recommendations to the Minister of the Environment on the scientific research and monitoring of the environmental effects associated with the development of the oilsands.

Serious concerns have been raised about oilsands pollution entering the Athabasca River Basin and connected waterways and whether monitoring systems are well designed and implemented.

These concerns must be fully explored to ensure that a first class, state-of-the-art monitoring system is in place, serving the public interest.

In this context, the Advisory Panel will:

1. Document, review and assess the current body of scientific research and monitoring.

2. Identify strengths and weaknesses in the scientific monitoring, and the reasons for them.

Within 60 days of being established, the Advisory Panel will present its findings in the form of a written report to the Minister of the Environment.

The report will include conclusions on items 1 and 2 above, and recommendations on next steps for the federal government in ensuring that any scientific issues are effectively addressed.

The report will be made public.

Environment Canada will provide scientific and logistical support to assist the Advisory Panel with their analysis of current peer reviewed literature and their discussions with recognized experts.

Biographical Information -- Advisory Panel Members

Elizabeth Dowdeswell – Chair
President, Council of Canadian Academies & Former UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP, Founding President & CEO NWMO
Toronto, ON

Ms. Dowdeswell served as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, Assistant Deputy Minister of Environment Canada, responsible for the National Weather and Atmospheric Agency and led a number of public inquiries, including into Canada's unemployment benefits program and federal water policy. Her early career included terms as Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth for the Province of Saskatchewan, educational consultant, university lecturer and high-school teacher. Ms. Dowdeswell holds a Master of Science degree in behavioural sciences from Utah State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics, a teaching certificate from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan and, nine honorary degrees.

Dr. Peter J. Dillon

Peter Dillon is a Professor in Environmental and Resource Studies and the Department of Chemistry at Trent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Professor Dillon specializes in biogeochemistry of lakes and their catchments. He was the scientific leader of the environmental research and long-term investigations carried out at the Dorset Research Centre in central Ontario for 25 years. He was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Miroslaw Romanowski Medal for outstanding contributions to the environmental sciences in 2003 and this year he received the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award from the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography for his pioneering work on lake eutrophication and acid rain. Peter directs the Water Quality Centre at Trent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ which is dedicated to the development and application of innovative new techniques for the analysis of organic and inorganic contaminants.

Dr. Subhasis Ghoshal

Professor Ghoshal joined McGill in 1997. His expertise is in the area of soil and groundwater contamination by hydrocarbon pollutants. Professor Ghoshal has conducted research on the fate and transport of organic pollutants in subsurface environments, and on the clean-up of sites contaminated by petroleum liquids, coal tars and creosotes. Professor Ghoshal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, and a William Dawson Scholar at McGill.

Dr. Andrew D. Miall

Andrew Miall is a Professor of Geology and holder of the Gordon Stollery Chair in Basin Analysis and Petroleum Geology at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto. He specializes in teaching and research in the study of sedimentary basins. He has broad interests in energy and climate-change issues, and from 1998 to 2008 he taught a popular science-for-non-scientists course at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto entitled "Geology and Public Issues". Professor Miall was awarded the Past President's Medal of the Geological Association of Canada in 1983 and became a Distinguished Fellow of that society in 1995. He served as Vice President of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) from 2005 to 2007 and President of the Academy from 2007-2009.

Dr. Joseph Rasmussen

Joseph Rasmussen is a professor of biological sciences at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and a Canada Research Council Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems. Professor 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. He is also a regular contributor to the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research (CCFFR) and the Canadian Society of Limnologists (CSL), is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology, and serves as the chair of the Ecology, Evolution and Ethology section of the Canadian Society of Zoologists. Dr. Rasmussen was the recipient of the Frank H. Rigler award from the Society of Canadian Limnologists in 2010.

Dr. John P. Smol

John Smol is a professor in the Department of Biology at Queen's ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ where he is also holder of the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change. Professor Smol has been presented with numerous research and teaching awards, including the NSERC Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal, Canada's top scientific prize, in 2004. His award winning research in the fields of limnology and environmental change has addressed impacts of acid rain, nutrients and climate warming on aquatic systems. M. Smol is the founding editor of the Journal of Paleolimnology and is currently editor-in-chief of the journal Environmental Reviews. M. Smol co-directs the Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory at Queen's ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, a group of about 30 paleolimnologists working throughout the world on a variety of limnological and paleoecological problems.

UNews - Canada Research Council

Let's DO Science Day, Apr. 30

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