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Every year, approximately 80 outstanding scholars, researchers, scien sts and ar sts are elected to the Academies of the Royal Society of Canada. Fellows are chosen by their peers for their outstanding contribu ons to the humani es, the natural and social sciences, and the arts. In late 2012, G.S. Vijaya Raghavan, James McGill Professor in the Department of Bioresource Engineering, was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, signifying not only his contribu ons to science and engineering, but also the passion, determina on and hard work that it takes to be a top- er researcher and mentor. Professor Raghavan studies and develops pre- and post-produc on technologies and processes for growing and handling crops and hor cultural produce. His work on soil management, controlled environment storage, drying and thermal processing has led to the development of technologies and techniques that are being applied not only in Canada but also in India and China and poten ally in Africa to address issues of food security and safety, and poverty. Currently he con nues to break new ground through research on the use of hyperbaric pre-treatment of produce before storage as a means of extending shelf

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Still Breaking New Ground

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life without cooling and refrigera on, and research on microbial fuel cells that generate electric power through bacterial ac vity. These technologies address circumstances where refrigera on and electricity are not readily available, such as in isolated communi es.

“What I have always tried to do in my research is to find solu ons to produc on and post-produc on challenges in food, environment and energy,” says Raghavan. “The underlying goal has been to strive for food security, food safety and sustainability.”

Raghavan joined McGill University in 1974; he started his research career inves ga ng the effect of soil compac on by agricultural machinery. The results of his research — quan fying the effect of compac on on soil, the resul ng damage and its allevia on, effect on produc on losses and design of be er llage prac ces — led to several significant recommenda ons on conserva on and zero- llage prac ces at the provincial level that are s ll relevant a er two and a half decades.

Subsequently, Vijaya Raghavan turned his a en on to post-harvest technology and focused his research on crop processing and storage. Apart from pioneering work in the areas of controlled- and modified-atmosphere storage of fresh fruits and vegetables, he has contributed to the development of knowledge in the areas of grain processing, drying and dehydra on of agri-food produce, and storage.

“An es mated 30% of crops and produce in developing countries is lost a er being harvested as a result of damage and spoilage. Losses occur at every step of the chain of events from the field to the market as a result of mishandling during sor ng and transport, of poor storage condi ons that

lead to spoilage and infesta on by insects and pests, and of inadequate packaging for market,” says Raghavan. “Post-harvest losses are not only that of quan ty but also of nutri onal quality of the produce. Preven ng or reclaiming these losses by implemen ng adequate storage methods and by processing the food would provide a means of addressing food insecurity problems, and also provide the resources to deal with problems of poverty, malnutri on and hunger.”

Raghavan worked on various modified atmosphere storage technologies involving the use of membranes and diffusion channels to passively alter the storage condi ons controlling the quality and longevity of fresh produce. This innova ve research brought him into contact with farmers near Montreal, leading to the establishment of one of the first large-scale commercial storage facili es in Canada.

Vijaya Raghavan has always been striving to develop technologies that enhance heat and mass transfer in industrial and agricultural processes. The various designs developed by him for the use of par culate medium-based hea ng and drying systems have been put to use for heat treatment of soybeans and other grains. With support from the Canadian Interna onal Development Agency (CIDA), he has shared the benefits of his research efforts with people in India and China; he was the director of three major CIDA projects that provided training and support to Indian and Chinese universi es to strengthen their capacity in post-harvest technology and food processing. He has also been part of developmental ac vi es in parts of Africa and South America. He is currently working on a fourth CIDA project, “Post-harvest Enterprises for Rural Development,” which is

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bringing rural and urban stakeholders to a common pla orm.

Dr. Raghavan has been honoured with many awards around the globe for his contribu ons to food processing outreach ac vi es and his contribu ons to the many professional associa ons to which he belongs. He has supervised 115 graduate students and as many postdoctoral fellows, visi ng scien sts (China, India, Ethiopia) and research associates. He has brought in $25.5 million in research grants; he is the holder of four patents and nine reports of inven on. He is the recipient of two Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) degrees, conferred upon him by the University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad and by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, in “recogni on of services rendered to the development of agricultural educa on, research and extension in the country.” In addi on to being elected to the fellowship of many professional bodies (CSBE, ASABE, ASME, IIE), he was elected as a Foreign Fellow of the Na onal Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) of India.

Vijaya Raghavan has been fortunate to witness the posi ve results of his research work in his na ve India. His work has helped turn hunger into sustainable agriculture and has impacted the lives of thousands. Now, a er almost four

decades at McGill, Raghavan is s ll going strong, taking on new challenges with great enthusiasm.

Professor Raghavan, in reflec ng on his career, appreciates that “learning and transferring of knowledge has been my main mantra. Macdonald Campus has provided me and con nues to provide me, an engineer, the invaluable opportunity to operate in a mul disciplinary context. The work we do touches upon the lives of millions in remote rural parts of the world, and is appropriate to the vision of Sir William Macdonald, in which science and engineering is used to help remote farming communi es. I am truly humbled by the opportunity to be part of this vision.”

Learn more about Vijaya Raghavan’s research:

The movie: h p://media.campus.mcgill.ca/misc/Headway03/Raghavan.wmv

Headway:h p://publica ons.mcgill.ca/headway/2010/01/28/from-green-revolu on-to-evergreen-solu ons/

Globally Connect: h p://www.mcgill.ca/at-a-glance/interna onal/

RESEARCH AND AGRICULTURE

A New Crop for Quebec

Macdonald researcher Jean-Benoit Charron is intent on giving Quebec’s agricultural community the tools it requires to boost the produc vity of a promising new crop.

Banned in North America in 1938 and interna onally in 1961, Cannabis sa va L., more commonly known as industrial hemp, was reintroduced to the Canadian landscape in 1998 under the regulatory authority of Health Canada. Notably, Cannabis sa va L. contains less than 0.3% of the psychoac ve drug delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and is safe for human consump on. In 2011, the area licensed for hemp produc on across the country totaled

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FEATURES

University-based research is be ering the lives of millions of people, including industries and communi es here at home. We hope you enjoy a peek into some of the projects taking place on campus this year that are making a difference in our local community.

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15,720 hectares – only 2% of this land was under cul va on in Quebec.

Hemp was one of the earliest domes cated plants and is one of the fastest growing biomasses known: demand for its grains and fibres is growing rapidly, especially in markets where its growth is prohibited, such as the US, where annual retail sales of hemp-based products are es mated to exceed $350 million per year. It is known for its high protein and omega-3 and omega-6 essen al fa y acid content and gluten-free proper es. It can be transformed into a myriad of products, ranging from papers to tex les and plas cs and fuel.

Charron believes that hemp research, which is at an embryonic stage in Canada and par cularly in Quebec, has a role to play in giving growers the tools they require to have a compe ve advantage in the marketplace.

Funded by the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Dr. Charron and his team aim to improve the quality and yield of the crop by conduc ng a series of experiments that will inves gate the management prac ces of approved varie es that are being contracted and grown in Canada, the environmental stress tolerance capaci es of industrial hemp, and the distribu on of endogenous fungal and bacterial

endophytes and their impact on plant growth when used as bioinoculants. All of this research will pave the way for producing plants that will meet the needs of food and fibre producers worldwide.

Says Charron, “This research project will provide Quebec growers with tangible guidelines in order to grow hemp more effec vely in the province and will thus give a compe ve edge to the Quebec hemp industry.”

Some Quick Facts about Hemp

Henry Ford’s first Model T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the car itself was constructed from hemp! On his large estate, Ford was photographed in his hemp fields. The car, “grown from the soil,” had hemp plas c panels whose impact strength was 10 mes stronger than steel. (Popular Mechanics, 1941.)

The works of Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Gainsborough were painted on hemp linen.

In 1938, hemp was called the “Billion Dollar Crop.” It was the first me a cash crop had a business poten al to exceed a billion dollars. (Popular Mechanics, Feb. 1938.)

The oldest known records of hemp farming go back 5,000 years to China, although hemp industrializa on probably dates as far back as ancient Egypt.

The version of the Declara on of Independence released on July 4, 1776 was wri en on hemp paper. (U.S. Government Archives.)

The original Levi Strauss jeans were made from hemp.

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RESEARCH AND THE COMMUNITY

A Partnership to end hunger

Food insecurity has emerged as a growing problem on the Island of Montreal. According to West Island Community Shares “there are pockets of poverty on the West Island that are among the poorest on the Island of Montreal.” Researchers in the FAES, led by Professor Kris Koski, Director of the School of Diete cs and Human Nutri on, Dr. Caroline Begg, Coordinator of Ecological Agriculture (Department of Plant Science), and Field Coordinator Amy Van Elslande (MSc’12), have teamed up with Lucy Baum, Director of the West Island’s Corbeille de Pain/Bread Basket Lac St. Louis (CDP), to improve the food security of CDP’s youth, young mother, refugee, immigrant and senior clientele.

The two-year “Project to End Hunger” funded by the Fonds des services aux collec vités (Community Service Fund) of the Quebec Ministry of Educa on will transfer university exper se and capacity into CDP’s opera ons by developing new working rela onships between the CDP, the University, community gardens/farms and food aid programs such as the “Good Food Box” program operated by Moissan Montréal.

In the past year, students in the School of Diete cs and Human Nutri on performed a complete assessment of agency programs, client food and nutri onal status. Students also hosted a number of “community kitchens” where small groups of people came together to learn some basic skills (knife skills, shopping and label reading, understanding the Canada Food Guide) and also how to make nutri ous and economical meals based largely on the staples received through food aid programs and on vegetables and fruits processed in the Mary Catherine Freeman Food Laboratory.

The skills and knowledge that par cipants gained have served them well. One young par cipant stated that she had “really enjoyed the level of nutri on informa on provided in the recent kitchens” and felt that the [McGill] animator was knowledgeable, approachable and provided an interes ng and delicious menu. She also registered for the next three dates at that loca on.

Late last summer, dona ons of surplus produce from the local organic farming community, including the Macdonald Student-Run Ecological Garden, were processed by Food Service Systems Management students in the Mary

Catherine Freeman Food Laboratory. Recipes u lizing the produce were developed by the School and tested by CDP clients. Favourite recipes and all of the produce were incorporated into the community kitchens.

According to Lucy Baum, Execu ve Director of the CDP, “Our clients have enjoyed the food dona ons and the diversity it adds to our menus. The flash-frozen kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower and tomatoes distributed this winter have added a new dimension to our meals. Many clients wouldn’t seek to incorporate these highly nutri ous items during winter months, either due to cost or the lack of knowledge in planning ahead for seasonal cooking.”

Now that the groundwork has been laid, the team will be transla ng all of the lessons it has learned into the produc on of fruits and vegetables through a network of community gardens and farms. Caroline Begg is overseeing the produc on project and is working with contacts in the local community to ensure that the food grown is diverse and nutrient-dense, preserves well and meets client preferences.

“I see this as a win-win situa on,” says Kris Koski. “Diete cs and agriculture students are collabora ng together to learn about the food produc on system and community nutri on, and the local community is benefi ng from university exper se.”

Of the project to date, Lucy Baum says, “The impact of the project has been immediately felt. It has provided us with a much needed supply of nutri ous, preserved vegetables, improved the quality of nutri on educa on in our programs, and increased the food security of our clients. The partnership will play a cri cal role in be er assessing our

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community’s food and nutri on needs and in expanding our reach to vulnerable ci zens. We are eager to share these lessons with the broader community.”

As the project moves into its second year, all efforts will con nue to be monitored and fine-tuned. A series of training materials for both food prepara on and garden produc on is being developed and will be shared across the community service network at the project’s end. Stay tuned for updates as the season progresses.

RESEARCH AND HEALTH

One potato, two potato

Although potatoes are one of the most naturally nutrient-dense vegetables available, they seem to be ge ng a bad rap these days.

Foods such as potatoes with a high glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) have been linked with increased risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Potatoes also have a tendency to darken a er cu ng and during processing. In fact, this has been a long-standing problem for the potato processing industry.

Researchers Danielle Donnelly of the Department of Plant Science and Stan Kubow of the School of Diete cs and Human Nutri on are teaming up with Quebec potato producers, researchers, breeders and packers in a new two-pronged study funded by the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to address these issues.

The team aims to develop screening tools to quickly and accurately iden fy parental breeding lines with a rela vely lower glycemic index as well as gene c proper es that reduce blackening.

If successful, the research will give the industry some important tools it needs to revitalize itself, which will be good news to potato lovers everywhere.

RESEARCH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Healthier trees, healthier environment

We all know that trees provide significant benefits to urban environments: improved air quality, noise reduc on, energy conserva on, as well as improved health and mental well-being and quality of life of the human popula on. The pleasure of strolling down a leafy street on a warm summer’s evening is one that we can all share. But did you know that the con nued stomping of our feet on the pavement is actually compac ng the soil below the sidewalks, which, combined with soil compac on by traffic, is impeding tree roots from expanding?

Trees must have adequate amounts of quality soil and water in order to thrive and mature, but the very nature of the urban environment imposes a myriad of adverse condi ons on growing vegeta on, leading to chronic stress and eventual demise.

The large number of public trees, including the street trees grown in pits along sidewalks, in the City of Montreal is valued at around $648 million. However, urban soils impose difficult condi ons on tree growth — soil compac on, composi on (soil, landfill, concrete, refuse), lack of adequate water and organic material, poor drainage and aera on, nutrient deficiencies, contamina on from de-icing salt and

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trace metal pollu on, to name a few. These soil problems are increasingly iden fied as important reasons behind the establishment failures and declines of street trees.

Now, researchers from the Department of Bioresource Engineering are trying to get a be er handle on what is going on beneath ground level in order to improve condi ons for these urban trees. Supervised by professors Grant Clark, Pierre Jutras (who also heads the scien fic research program on urban trees at the City of Montreal), William H. Hendershot and Shiv O. Prasher, PhD candidate Maryam Kargar is looking to understand, and subsequently improve, tree pit soil through innova ve approaches and modeling complex ecological situa ons related to urban environments and tree growth and survival.

The research team is designing an op mized soil mixture for newly planted street trees associated with the City of Montreal’s green district project in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood. In situ applica on of organic material to improve contaminated soils is one of the most cost-effec ve ways to meet the remedia on needs of urban soil, as it is derived from biological material and o en requires li le pre-treatment before applica on; organic material can also be a convenient route for recycling the organic por on of municipal solid waste. The applica on of different types of organic ma er (compost and biochar), in combina on with the standard soil mixture that is tradi onally applied in Montreal tree pits, should allow the tree pit’s newly formulated soil to bind contaminants while promo ng available nutrients for tree growth.

In phase I of the project, Kargar analyzed around a hundred soil samples taken from tree pits in residen al and commercial zones, looking at soil chemical composi on,

including not only environmental contaminants (trace metals such as cadmium, zinc, copper and lead) but essen al nutrients as well. Results show that commercial zones and older tree pit soils have higher amounts of trace metals. Armed with this informa on, in phase II Kargar will test a variety of soil combina ons, focusing in par cular on the type and amount of organic material added. According to the current recipe of the City of Montreal for tree pit soil, it should contain 5%-10% organic ma er. In this phase, Kargar is also looking to determine the significance of the compost and biochar effect, both singly and in combina on, on modifying the fer lity of the soil mixture and immobilizing the trace metals in the soil solu on versus non-amended soil. The final formula on will allow for control of environmental contaminants while allowing trees to grow and flourish.

The applica on of compost and biochar to the newly formulated soil will also support the Montreal waste management master plan (2010-2014). In 2008, organic material contained around 47% residual materials, from which only 8% was recovered. According to the master plan, the City of Montreal wants to increase the recovery rate of waste materials to at least 60%. Making use of organic material as soil amendments will help the City of Montreal get closer to this ideal recovery percentage.

RESEARCH AND THE FARM

Using vegetable residue as animal feed

The vegetable-growing industry is a major part of agricultural produc on in Quebec, genera ng annual revenues of $450 million. Quebec produces 64% of the total domes c produc on of broccoli, 48% of cabbage, 44% of

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carrot and 29% of cauliflower. Due to the high standards imposed by consumers and merchants, more than 90,000 tonnes of vegetables are discarded annually. This represents 25% to 70% of annual produc on for some species in Quebec and has a major environmental impact as it is a significant source of organic waste.

Mustafa Arif, professor in the Department of Animal Science, is looking at the poten al use of various vegetable residues as animal feed. Phase one will determine the composi on and varia on of different vegetable nutrient residues. Residue samples of the main vegetables grown in Quebec will be collected from different Quebec vegetable farms; samples will be dried and analyzed for protein, fat and carbohydrate factors (i.e. starch, oligosaccharides and fibre), amino acids and minerals. The diges bility of waste will also be evaluated using in vitro methods.

Phase 2 of the research will consist of a series of feeding studies for chickens and pigs. Vegetable residues from broccoli and cabbage will be used to replace a por on of tradi onal foods such as corn and soybeans and evaluate their benefits.

“Recovery and conversion of waste into food for animals is an effec ve way to reduce the impact of hor cultural produc on on the environment and increase the profitability of several vegetable crops,” says Mustafa. “Vegetable residues can be used to replace a significant por on of tradi onal food sources for animals. Addi onally, residues can be an important source of essen al nutrients such as protein, fibre, carbohydrates and minerals; they are also an important source of an oxidants and oligosaccharides (pre-bio cs) and may have beneficial effects on animal health.”

RESEARCH AND INDUSTRY

“NASA technology” hits the grocery

stores

Imagine being able to get fresh produce in your local grocery store within 45 minutes of harvest, all coming from a large warehouse-like building just minutes away. Inside the building are stacks of moving units of growing produce illuminated by specially formulated combina ons of LED lights designed to provide the resources needed to accelerate plant growth and improve nutri onal value. Sound like science fic on? Well, this technology is just around the corner.

“Cubic Farming,” a patented technology developed by Urban Barns, is set to revolu onize indoor agriculture. Rather than using conven onal flat growing surfaces (greenhouse or field), this technology uses the en re cubic space of a building, hence its name. Cubic farming allows the produc on of affordable vegetables in a secure and controlled environment. The system can be set up anywhere, so proximity to consumers reduces transporta on costs. Produce can be supplied on demand.

Cubic agriculture is defined as the use of a modular growing apparatus that can be stacked ver cally or horizontally. Each module is iden cal, meaning that plants can be grown in any climate-controlled building, regardless of shape, floor plan, or ceiling height. Cubic agriculture has been developed with the increased focus on urban farming ini a ves to supply food in large ci es. Governments are worried about sustainability of the food supply, as current farming methods are resource-intensive. Cubic agriculture has been raised as an addi onal solu on to issues of agriculture sustainability and food safety, food security and traceability together with a reduc on to current high carbon emission levels.

Evan Meikleham, Urban Barns

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Bioresource Engineering professor Mark Lefsrud is the lead researcher on this project. “We will be tes ng combina ons of LED lights to give plants exactly what they need to grow,” says Lefsrud. “In a controlled environment, we can easily adjust light, airflow and water to achieve op mum results for each species grown. We can also subject plants to the right amount of stress they need to improve their nutri onal value. We will also be looking at energy reduc on, carbon footprint, nutrient recycling, minimal water usage and recyclable product packaging, leading to a sustainable urban agriculture model.”

The idea of food produc on in an urban agricultural environment has been proposed by a number of companies but the technology already developed by Urban Barns, coupled with McGill food produc on research and engineering knowledge, will allow the cubic agriculture system to reach the next level of sustainable food produc on.

Good to the last drop…

The NSERC Engage program is intended to give a company that operates from a Canadian base access to the knowledge and exper se available at Canadian universi es. The grants are intended to foster the development of new research partnerships between an academic researcher and a company that have never collaborated before. The project must be scien fically sound and technically feasible and aimed at solving a company-specific problem in the natural sciences or engineering fields through the genera on of new knowledge, or the applica on of exis ng knowledge in an innova ve manner.

As the number of oil-expor ng countries dwindles, the exploita on of oil resources in exis ng mature reservoirs is essen al for mee ng future energy demands. Current oil produc on technologies recover only about one-third to one-half of the oil originally present in an oil reservoir. One key to exploi ng this untapped resource is to overcome the capillary forces that entrap oil in small pores within the reservoir. By effec vely “blocking” the pores, new water flow paths can be established and the trapped oil would have nowhere to go but up.

Among the most promising methods to improve oil recovery is microbial-enhanced oil recovery (MEOR); this technique uses microbes to pull more out of oil and gas fields. Now Plant Science professor and Associate Dean (Research) Suha Jabaji, an expert in func onal genomics of microbes and analy cal chemistry, is partnering with a Canadian energy company to develop a cost-effec ve, environmentally acceptable alterna ve form of efficient oil recovery. Jabaji is looking at ways to increase the growth rate of the indigenous and naturally occurring biosurfactant-producing microbes already present in the wells. Suitable nutrient formula ons can s mulate and increase the growth rate of the beneficial micro-organisms, which in turn will release the trapped oil.

The research outcomes will help define the op mum nutrient formula on to increase the growth of the desired micro-organisms, which, in turn, will have a huge economic benefit and be a cost-effec ve, environmentally friendly way of increasing oil produc on capability.

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Macdonald leadership recognized on the National Stage

It is not o en that we take the opportunity to tell stories about the excellent work that is being championed by members of our administra ve and support staff and it is rare that the work of these individuals is recognized at the na onal level.

Earlier this year public ins tu ons across the country received a call from the Ins tute of Public Administra on of Canada to submit projects to the IPAC Deloi e Public Sector Leadership Awards. Had we undertaken a project that demonstrated outstanding leadership and strategic thinking, that was innova ve and that could be held up as an example of public policy and management? A tall order – but indeed we thought we had!

Macdonald took the lead in pulling a project team together. Headed by Kathy MacLean, Manager of Macdonald Planning and Communica ons, team members included Mike Bleho of the Hor cultural Research Sta on, Philip Seguin of the Department of Plant Science, Mathieu Laperle and Oliver DeVolpi of McGill Food and Dining Services, and Mar n Krayer von Krauss and Lilith Wya of the McGill Office of Sustainability.

The group had worked together in one way or another through the years on a variety of capacity building projects that had allowed, in part, each of the respec ve units to

develop rich por olios, por olios that operated quite independently of the others: the challenge was to rise above our individual por olios to tell our story from the systems perspec ve.

The result of our work, Feeding McGill, is a bold, innova ve project that demonstrates leadership and teamwork but most importantly, a project that has had a tremendous impact at the University. Feeding McGill is a story about how a community came together to reinvent itself; how people from different backgrounds, with different ideas and skills, connected, communicated and formed real partnerships to create a McGill food system we are connected to and proud to eat from.

The project was awarded the silver medal at IPAC’s na onal conference, “Reinven ng Leadership: Courage Under Fire,” which was held in Toronto at the end of February.

Professor recognized for contributions to graduate

education

Congratula ons to Natural Resource Sciences professor Elena Benne , who is the 2012 recipient of the Carrie M. Derick Award for Graduate Teaching and Supervision, offered by McGill Graduate and Post-doctoral Studies; the award will be presented at the 2013 Spring Convoca on.

Benne was cited as “having made a very significant contribu on to graduate educa on at McGill, which is truly commendable. Your students, past and present, wrote glowing le ers that praised your excellence not only with respect to your teaching and supervision but also in terms of your inspira onal mentorship.”

Quand le corps n’en fait qu’à sa tête – Découvrez ce qui

vous pousse à manger

In her newest book, Professor Louise Thibault looks at our conscious and unconscious rela onship with food, focusing on what is going on in both the body and the brain that affects weight loss or gain. The book guides the reader to

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IN THE NEWS

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develop personalized and realis c solu ons aimed at improving health, deprogramming our responses to certain foods, and reaching a “harmonious balance between the brain and the belly.” Dr. Thibault is also the author of “Nourrir son Cerveau. Manger Intelligemment,” reprinted in 2013; both books are published by and available through Les Édi ons de l’Homme.

Service Point for Graduate Students

The Faculty is pleased to announce the launching of the Macdonald Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Under the direc on of the Associate Dean (Graduate Educa on) Ian Strachan, services for graduate students in the Faculty have been consolidated in order to bring a standardized but improved level of service to all graduate students on campus. The office is located in room MS2-074 of the Macdonald-Stewart Building.

Tel: (514) 398-8738 Email: gradstudies.macdonald@mcgill.ca

New Program Announced

A new MSc (Applied) in Bioresource Engineering — Integrated Food and Bioprocessing — will be offered this fall. The program will give students an understanding of how agricultural and food produc on systems interact, and the tools and techniques required to design, manage and sustain the planet’s biomass. The ul mate goal of the program is to ensure that there will be an adequate supply of wholesome food, feed, fibre and fuel produced in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner for the benefit of all.

Spotlight on Macdonald Alumni: Integrated Water

Resource Managers Dive into Great Careers

Carolyn Lee (MSc’10)

Carolyn is working as a planner in the Water Business Group at CH2M HILL in Toronto, Ontario. CH2M HILL is an engineering firm that serves the energy, water and wastewater, transporta on, power,

manufacturing and communica ons industries. Her area of specializa on is helping municipal clients in the Greater Toronto Area conduct environmental assessments for water and wastewater infrastructure. She works with engineers and stakeholders to iden fy and select preferred solu ons to meet the needs of growing communi es.

She joined the IWRM Program with the intent of gaining technical skills in water management, balanced with knowledge of water policy. “The IWRM Program met my objec ves and complemented my environmental science educa on to enable collabora on with planners and engineers.” For Carolyn, it provided a good context of water management, par cularly in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed, which was beneficial for understanding project drivers around Lake Ontario. Her summer internship with the watershed organiza on AGIR pour la Diable gave her an opportunity to par cipate in a Stakeholder Advisory Commi ee and witness first-hand the prac cal challenges of implemen ng a water master plan. Public consulta on and engagement skills acquired during the internship have proven to be very useful in her current posi on at CH2M HILL. “The ability to see the larger picture and communicate common goals with people from various technical backgrounds is integral to the work that I do.”

Paul Reig (MSc’11)

As an IWRM student Paul conducted research under the supervision of Dr. Jan Adamowski, applying an indicator-based evalua on method to assess the adap ve capacity of a watershed management regime in North America. This work was later published in the Journal of Environmental Hydrology and

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IN OTHER NEWS

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helped Paul gain an internship at the World Resources Ins tute (WRI), a global environmental think tank in Washington DC.

His IWRM internship and project at WRI focused on construc ng and tes ng a framework of indicators that would allow for quan fying and mapping water-related risks to businesses. As an intern at WRI, Paul evaluated the availability of indicators and their capacity to accurately measure water-related risks to business in a clear and comprehensive way. He then tested the selected indicators in the Orange-Senqu River basin in Southern Africa. Using publicly available data and engaging with key stakeholders across the basin, Paul and his team calculated and mapped the indicators, using hydrological models and GIS so ware. This work fed into a larger effort that resulted in the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, a global and publicly available online pla orm for measuring and mapping water risk.

Penelope Ma (MSc’10) Penelope Ma is currently in her third year of the Juris Doctor program at Queen’s University and expects to graduate in May 2013. Prior to a ending law school, she completed her Bachelor of Arts at Cornell University in Biology and Society, with a theme in Environment,

Health and Society. She then obtained her Master of Science at McGill University in Integrated Water Resources Management.

In the summer of 2011, Penelope’s strong desire to combine her passion for the environment with her interest in law led her to Anchorage, Alaska. There, through the Canadian Lawyers Abroad program, she conducted research on Aboriginal water rights as a Legal Intern at the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC). The YRITWC is a cross-border, Indigenous grassroots organiza on, comprising over 70 First Na ons and Tribes in the Yukon River Watershed. Their goal is to protect and preserve the Yukon River for present and future genera ons, while their vision is

to “to be able to drink water directly from the Yukon River.”

The highlight of Penelope’s internship experience that summer was the Healing Journey and the Biennial Summit. The Healing Journey is YRITWC’s annual canoe journey along a stretch of the Yukon River or a tributary of it. In 2011, the journey was one and a half weeks long, star ng at the Yukon Bridge and ending in Ruby, Alaska. During that me, Penelope was able to put her knowledge of Alaska Na ve history and legisla on into context. She canoed with six others as a part of this journey, connec ng with the river and those who live by it. “At the Biennial Summit, I witnessed interna onal inter-Tribal collabora on and decision-making for the first me. I watched as youth, elders, government agencies and partnering organiza ons all came together to discuss issues important to them, to learn from each other, and to work together as One People along One River.”

The following summer, in 2012, Penelope worked as a Summer Law Student at Ecojus ce Canada (Toronto, Ont.), where she assisted staff lawyers and scien sts in their li ga on and public educa on efforts towards environmental protec on. In par cular, she conducted some legal research for the Darlington Nuclear case and Sarnia Chemical Valley Charter Challenge. She also looked at the threat of Asian carp to the Great Lakes ecosystem and at Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Par cipa on. Furthermore, Penelope was involved with scien fic research regarding regula on of toxic substances, and collected data for Ecojus ce’s Great Lakes Sewage Report Card publica on.

The work at Ecojus ce exposed Penelope to environmental issues that arose in the context of development, rezoning and property naturaliza on. This piqued her interest in addressing environmental interests at the municipal level. In July 2013, Penelope will be working for the City of Toronto (Legal Service Division) as an Ar cling Student. There, she will rotate through six prac ce areas: Employment and Labour, Land-Use Planning, Li ga on, Municipal Law, Prosecu ons, and Real Estate. “I am excited for this opportunity to con nue my work in the public interest, combining my newly gained legal skills with my passion for the environment.” Penelope finds that her legal studies have opened many doors for her in terms of pursuing an environment-related career.

Focus on Macdonald is an electronic publica on of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Macdonald campus, McGill University. It is published online four mes a year and can be viewed at publica ons.mcgill.ca/macdonald

Wri en by Kathy MacLean and Helen Rimmer; Proofreading by Jane Jackel. Spring 2013.