News

Spencer Weinstein, PhD student in the Collaborative Water Program and Waterloo’s Department of Biology, has won the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for academic excellence, research potential, and leadership.

Insurance and environmental experts believe that more needs to be done in order to counter the rising risk of flooding across Canada.

According to a study published in June by researchers at Environment and Climate Change Canada, climate change has made rainfall more severe in recent years, and has also made storms with extreme rainfall more frequent.

One of the methods provincial governments have used to address the rising risk of flooding is by offering to buy out properties from homeowners living in high flood risk areas.

Water Institute member Monica Emelko, professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, comments on her research on Fort McMurray's water supply in an article written by Bob Weber for CBC News. 

In May 2016, the Fort McMurray wildfire swept through nearly 6,000 square kilometres of boreal forest in northern Alberta. Fort McMurray lost 2,400 buildings, and 88,000 people were forced from their homes.

Daniel Grégoire, a Waterloo chemical engineering researcher, has been awarded a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship to continue his research on the effects of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems.

The fellowship will provide Grégoire $70,000 annually for two years.

“Ultimately, I want to use my expertise to develop sustainable water treatment strategies that limit the environmental impacts of industrial activity,” he says on his LinkedIn page.