News archive - December 2020

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Monica Emelko named new Canada Research Chair

Investigating water security

Water Institute member Monica Emelko, a professor in Waterloo's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is the first Canada Research Chair in Water Science, Technology and Policy.

She will receive $1.4 million over seven years for research into ensuring water security in Canada.

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Restoring wetlands near farms would dramatically reduce water pollution

Waterloo wetlands research appears today in Nature

Targeted wetland restoration in heavily farmed areas would dramatically reduce the amount of nitrogen polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas, a new study finds.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) examined detailed data on wetland locations and nitrogen loads from fertilizer on farm fields throughout the United States.

Monday, December 14, 2020

ICCA report: Institutional investors find Alpha in Climate Risk Matrices

The Climate Risk Matrix, developed by the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, is a tool that institutional investors can use to identify material physical risks that investee companies face from climate-related extreme weather events.

Monday, December 14, 2020

Water Institute hosts Global Peatlands Initiative Canadian network workshops

From September to November, 2020, the University of Waterloo’s Water Institute, in collaboration with the United Nations’ Environment Programme 'Global Peatland Initiative' (UNEP GPI), hosted three virtual workshops to catalyze dialogue and exchange among over 150 Canadian peatland researchers, government officials, private sector representatives and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The workshops were an important step toward establishing an active Canadian peatlands research network.

Friday, December 11, 2020

2020 Waterloo iGEM team wins gold with a project to recover heavy metals from wastewater

The Waterloo iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) team has been recognized with a number of awards this year at the annual competition. In addition to receiving Gold standing, their project also received the award for best Manufacturing Project at the undergraduate level, it was also nominated for the iGEM Inclusivity Award and the Best Wiki Award!