News

On November 16, 2022, the Honorable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced an investment of more than $139 million to support 176 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs across 46 institutions in Canada. The announcement was made during his remarks at the Canadian Science Policy Conference in Ottawa, ON.

In this latest cycle, Carolyn Ren, a member of the Microplastics Fingerprinting research team, was named Canada Research Chair in Microfluidic Technologies.

The Microplastics Fingerprinting project hosted its first in person, annual meeting in Waterloo on September 16, 2022.  Over 40 researchers, students, and collaborating partners gathered to discuss ways to better support research integration, hear about the needs and perspectives of water practitioners, and to collectively fine-tune our communication and knowledge mobilization tactics.

Our goal is to better understand the sources, quantities, compositions, and fate of microplastics in the environment, as well as its environmental impacts.

The Ecohydrology Research Group has installed a new machine that is expected to help more quickly identify microplastics.

Working on new techniques for sensing microplastics that are online, low-cost, and user-friendly.

The Microplastics Fingerprinting project team consists of over 25 faculty members, masters and PhD students, and support staff from various disciplinary backgrounds. We recognize this diversity as a strength that enables an interdisciplinary and holistic evaluation of the challenges and solutions associated with microplastics. Each issue of our newsletter will feature one of the project’s excellent researchers.

Since 2021, we have been working with the City of Kitchener, as part of our ongoing NSERC-funded Microplastics Fingerprinting project, to study microplastics accumulation in the city’s stormwater pond sediments.

It is essential that data corresponding to research are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. This is otherwise known as the FAIR principles by those who work in data management.

The Microplastics Fingerprinting project team consists of over 25 faculty members, masters and PhD students, and support staff from various disciplinary backgrounds. We recognize this diversity as a strength that enables an interdisciplinary and holistic evaluation of the challenges and solutions associated with microplastics. Each issue of our newsletter will feature one of the project’s excellent researchers.

To better understand the migration, accumulation and abundance of microplastics in the environment, we need accurate and fast identification methods to differentiate between different plastic types.