AquaHacking 2017 has officially kicked off at the University of Waterloo. Bringing together water experts, engineers, digital designers and entrepreneurs, this multi-stage hackathon encourages creative minds to work together to develop technology that will positively impact Lake Erie.
With prizes like $25,000 in cash, a meeting with a venture capitalist, media coverage, and access to local accelerators, it’s no surprise that over 150 individuals have signed up to compete in this challenge. One of these individuals is Jason Deglint, who is tackling Lake Erie’s algae problem from a systems design engineering perspective.
Applying systems designs to the Great Lakes
Jason
is
a
PhD
candidate
at
the
University
of
Waterloo
in
the
Department
of
Systems
Design
Engineering,
and
an
entrepreneur
at
heart.
His
research
interests
are
varied,
and
include
topics
such
as
biomedical
imaging,
computer
vision,
and
remote
sensing.
He
currently
works
with
the
Vision
and
Image
Processing
Research
Group
supervised
by
Alexander
Wong,
a
Water
Institute
member
and
associate
professor
in
the
Department
of
Systems
Design
Engineering.
Water wasn’t always a focus for Jason when it came to engineering. It actually wasn’t until he met Chao Jin, a Water Institute member and research assistant professor in the Department of Systems Design Engineering, that Jason began thinking about how his research could be applied to the water sector.
said Jason. “Water affects everyone and it’s something we need to tackle.”
In
September
of
2016,
Jason
decided
to
shift
the
focus
of
his
research
to
water,
specifically
on
topics
associated
with
algae
blooms.
He
began
working
towards
building
a
cost-effective
portable
system
that
he
hopes
might be
used
to
automatically
capture
water
samples,
classify
and
enumerate
different
species
of
cyanobacteria
in
the
water
by
using
artificial
intelligence
in
the
decision
making
process.
When
he
found
out
about
AquaHacking,
and
the
algae
crisis
that’s
facing
Lake
Erie,
he
jumped
at
the
opportunity
to
apply
his
research
to
help
our
Great
Lakes.
said Jason. “If I can contribute by building a monitoring device that can be used to quantify the water characteristics in the natural systems such as Lake Erie, then we’re one step closer to protecting the environment and communities affected by this.”
Phosphorus runoff, primarily from agricultural lands, is feeding the volatile cyanobacterial growth in Lake Erie. This type of phosphorus pollution is detrimental to the health of our Great Lake, and of the communities that depend on it.
Interdisciplinary water research
More and more we are seeing innovative, interdisciplinary research in the water sector. Engineers are working with economists, mathematicians, scientists and geographers to tackle global water issues. It’s no surprise that interdisciplinary collaboration is a key factor when tackling large-scale, impactful projects. Working collaboratively, with experts from a variety of different backgrounds, is a crucial component of AquaHacking 2017. Jason welcomes the interdisciplinary aspect, recognizing how his own expertise catalyzes this type of research.
Semi-Finals
The Semi-Finals for AquaHacking 2017 takes place on June 21, from 5-9 p.m. at Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). Teams will present their ideas to a panel of judges for a chance to compete in the finals on September 13, 2017.
