Bull trout in the upper Fraser watershed (UFW) of British Columbia are important top predators and serve as the basis of a recreational fishery. Anglers in the region have asked government to consider changing current fishing regulations for bull trout from catch-and-release to regulations that allow them to take a portion of their catch home. […]

This project aims to develop a numerical tool for predicting accurately resonance frequencies of high-heads hydraulic turbines. Both the presence of water and the rotation of the disk-like structure induce shifts in these frequencies compared to a standing disk in air, respectively added mass and mode split. The project is articulated around the following steps: […]

Resilience is toughness, or the ability to function and bounce back after a traumatic event. In this Mitacs research project, the focus is on housing, and resilience results from features that protect Canadian lives and property from natural disasters. One of the ways that governments ensure the safety of Canadians is through The Canada Model […]

The purpose of this project is to conserve critical shorebird roost habitats at high tide in the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy in collaboration with recreational beach users, local businesses and tourism operators. The project seeks to develop long-term solutions for creating safe spaces for roosting shorebirds by identifying innovative strategies whose effectiveness […]

Thousands of organic chemicals have been synthesized and commercialized for industrial and consumer uses. However, an increasing number of organic chemicals are revealed to be “hazardous” because of their potential adverse environmental and/or health effects. The project seeks to identify the primary route(s) that humans take up these organic substances, e.g., use of personal care […]

Traditional engineering approaches to stabilizing stream’s (e.g. dams and cemented banks), typically alter a stream’s natural function and are expensive to maintain. Using large grains naturally found in a stream, could provide a way to stabilize the channel’s banks while still allowing natural system movement. To test if treatments of large grains could be used […]

Levulinic Acid (LA) is among the top twelve value-added platform chemicals, and is an abundant and versatile building block for numerous compounds aimed at consumer applications. LA is produced in insufficient quantities to meet market demand and by using fossil fuels which prevents LA production to meet environmental standards. We propose a novel, efficient, and […]

Driven by heightened environmental awareness, the construction industry increasingly strives to utilize materials such as timber with a low-carbon footprint in their life cycle. High-strength mass-timber products, innovative ductile connections, and fast computer-numerically-controlled pre-fabrication, combined with changing legislation create better opportunities to also build tall timber structures. However, low ductility and limited tensile strength of […]

Pollutants in stormwater runoff and municipal wastewater are grave concerns to the receiving environment of lakes and streams, as nutrients (Phosphorus (P), Nitrogen (N)) contribute to eutrophication. While rain gardens are effective to retain and retard stormwater runoff and removal of certain organic pollutants, limited studies have been conducted on nutrient capture. This research focuses […]

Roads threaten wildlife throughout the world when animals experience increased collisions with vehicles and decreased access to important habitat and resources. This research will investigate where animals are crossing roads in the Chignecto Isthmus of Nova Scotia, a region highly impacted by human development. The results will provide evidence for hotspots of negative wildlife-road interactions, […]

Given that plastic pollution in the marine environment has been a critical issue in Canada and in the rest of the world in recent decades, our project aims to provide a possible solution to mitigate plastic waste in the ocean. Previous findings have shown that asking people to make a commitment can effectively change their […]

Atlantic salmon and its associated fisheries have a rich and complicated history in Nova Scotia. Commercial and recreational overfishing, as well as habitat damage and environmental pollution have all contributed to the species’ decline. For a century, work on rebuilding populations has met with varied successes. This history, and relative successes of different measures, will […]