Four interdisciplinary teams led by University of Waterloo researchers are set to advance water research in creative, unconventional ways. New approaches to detect and manage micropollutants, techniques that predict the impacts of climate change on snow and lakes, and new modelling techniques will be explored through $69,000 in Water Institute seed grants.
Today, the Water Institute announced the winners of its most recent competition.
Some of the exciting anticipated outcomes include workshops linking researchers with stakeholders and end-users and collaborations with the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ and the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries. All grants ultimately aim to develop larger collaborative research proposals to capitalize on the knowledge and expertise brought together through the seed grants activities.
One of the teams, led by Water Institute member Chris Fletcher, aims to respond to future societally-relevant problems in climate and water science.
“Canadians receive much of their freshwater from melting snow and ice, and climate change poses a major threat to this precious resource.” he says. “We’re bringing together experts and stakeholders to predict the future of Canada's freshwater from melting snow. Involving end-users from the outset will ensure the science is actionable and directly beneficial to society.”
Seed grant projects are led by Water Institute members and include a minimum of three departments or two faculties per team. The interdisciplinary makeup of the teams is meant to encourage innovation. An evaluation committee comprised of Institute faculty members awards a total of $150,000 in seed grants each year to catalyze collaboration, facilitate interaction with national or international authorities, to encourage new areas of research and to encourage the development of innovative research proposals.
Water Institute Seed Grant Recipients - Winter 2018
- Informing investment decisions in Canada in drinking water and wastewater treatment technology to reduce environmental and human health risks of micropollutants
Roy Brouwer, Economics; Peter Huck, Civil Engineering; Wayne Parker, Civil Engineering; Michael Tam, Chemical Engineering; Mark Servos, Biology; Juewen Liu, Chemistry; Brian Laird, School of Public Health and Health Systems; Rob de Loë, School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability
- Seasonal patterns of chlorophyll and temperature in lakes: Detection and attribution of climate change signal
Homa Kheyrollah Pour, Earth and Environmental Sciences; Philippe Van Cappellen, Earth and Environmental Sciences; Roland Hall, Biology; Andrea Scott, Systems Design Engineering; Georgiy Kitillin, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries
- Toward actionable science to predict snow and water availability in a changing climate
Chris Fletcher, Geography and Environmental Management; Ed Sudicky, Earth and Environmental Sciences; John Johnston, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
- Upscaling approaches in watershed biogeochemical modelling
Geertje Pronk, Earth and Environmental Sciences; Philippe Van Cappellen, Earth and Environmental Sciences; Nandita Basu, Earth and Environmental Sciences/Civil and Environmental Engineering; Merrin Macrae, Geography and Environmental Management; Sabine Attinger, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ