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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2024Martha Dagnew recognized as a trailblazer in environmental engineering
The Faculty of Engineering at Western University is proud to celebrate the recognition of Martha Dagnew, associate professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as one of the inaugural Canadian recipients of the prestigious 3M 25 Women in Science Program.
Dagnew, who also leads the Biofilm Engineering and Wastewater Resource Recovery Laboratory at Western University and directs the Greenway Wastewater Technology Testing Bay at the City of London's Greenway Pollution Control Plant, joins a cohort of exceptional women scientists whose innovative work is transforming the landscape of environmental sustainability.
"I am thrilled to be selected as the first Canadian cohort for the distinguished 3M 25 Women in Science Program; thank you team 3M,” said Dagnew.
One of her notable contributions is her work on source water protection, where she develops comprehensive frameworks, technologies and processes to safeguard source waters amidst changing environmental conditions. Her research encompasses a holistic approach to addressing water pollution and scarcity, focusing on developing smaller-footprint treatment technologies for existing and new water systems.
Dagnew 's pioneering efforts extend to her work on anaerobic membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment. This innovative technology combines traditional anaerobic processes with membrane technology, offering a smaller footprint solution for water treatment while generating energy and recovering nutrients.
Now, as an associate professor at Western University, she leads groundbreaking research initiatives to protect source water in the face of climate change. Her work focuses on advancing nutrient load reduction techniques, encompassing energy-efficient membrane-aerated biofilm, ZeeLight and the passive rope-type BioCord media. Additionally, she is developing processes and technologies for destroying forever chemicals (PFAS), notably the innovative green ePFASx Tech.
“Representation in science has always been one of the biggest challenges, and highlighting women's work in STEM is essential to attracting more young girls into the sciences," emphasized Dagnew. Her dedication to empowering the next generation of scientists underscores her commitment to fostering diversity and inclusivity in STEM fields.
In recognition of her contributions to science, Dagnew will also be included in the digital book 25 Women in Science 2024, which will be released later this year.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2024Western Engineering PhD candidates win President’s Challenge with Mobile MRI
From l-to-r: Maxine Montpetit, Jaimy Hannah, Riddhi Gadre and Glen DSouza. (photo by Brandon MacIntosh/Ivey)
Western Engineering PhD candidates Riddhi Gadre and Glen DSouza and their team, Mobile Diagnostic Imaging, have been named winners of Western University’s inaugural President’s Challenge.
The challenge saw hundreds of students, using interdisciplinary knowledge and tapping into Western’s entrepreneurial expertise, to tackle a major societal challenge – keeping Canadians out of the hospital.
“At Western, we really want to challenge our community to think about big solutions to tough problems – and how they can make an impact – especially our students,” Western President Alan Shepard said.
“The President’s Challenge is an opportunity to bring forward unique, creative ideas while also developing the entrepreneurial and leadership skills they need for their future careers.”
Gadre and DSouza’s team wanted to answer the question: What if a change in access could cut MRI wait times in half?
Gadre, a third-year chemical and biochemical engineering PhD candidate supervised by Western Engineering professors Kibret Mequanint and Ajay Ray, said one case study the team reviewed in the United Kingdom showed wait times were cut from 13 to six weeks using a mobile model at one hospital.
“We want to enhance the reach of our healthcare system into every corner, with effective time management for appointments allowing for quicker diagnosis and better patient outcomes,” she said.
The idea is to start with mobile imaging in major urban centres, home to large hospitals, and then work toward more rural locations.
Gadre and DSouza, a PhD candidate in chemical and biochemical engineering supervised by Western Engineering professors Madhumita Ray, Anand Prakash and Chunbao Xu, partnered with team members Maxine Montpetit, a master’s student in neuroscience and Jaimy Hannah, a PhD candidate in psychology, to enter the competition.
The President’s Challenge was launched with over 400 registrants and 120 teams, representing every faculty at Western University. There were 53 final submissions, of which ten were selected for the Semi-Finals at Western University on March 13. The top five teams presented at the finals on April 5 in Toronto.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2024Glen Dsouza, a 4th-year PhD student at Western University was awarded second place in the SPE poster presentation
Glen DSouza, a fourth-year PhD student supervised by Drs. Madhumita Ray, Anand Prakash, and Chunbao Xu, was awarded second place in the Poster Presentation competition held during the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE) Foams Conference 2024 in King of Prussia, PA, USA.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2024WWC organized a workshop in the International Water Association conference IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, 11-15 August 2024, Toronto, CA.
https://https://worldwatercongress.org/exhibition/
Tuesday, January 16, 2024WWCTR will be supporting the CAWQ Conference on April 9, 2024
The symposium aims to unite professionals from diverse water quality management and research fields, fostering the presentation of advancements and innovations in science, engineering, and policy. The goal is to facilitate the exchange of information for the public benefit in Canada, fostering collaboration among universities, consultants, industries, and governments.
We invite submissions for both Podium and Poster presentations, as well as One-Slide-3 min presentations addressing the proposed symposium themes. The organizing committee also welcomes the submission of high-quality abstracts on themes not explicitly listed, provided they are rooted in innovative studies or commercial applications relevant to water quality issues in Canada.
Furthermore, those interested in organizing a special session are encouraged to reach out to the conference chair, Dr. Martha Dagnew (mdagnew@uwo.ca).
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2024Dr. Mohhamed Reza Najafi is one of 10 faculty to attract provincial funding for projects focused on health, homelessness and climate change
Flooding is the costliest natural hazard in Ontario, causing severe impacts on its communities and infrastructure systems, including Ottawa, where 2,196 dwellings were flooded in April 2019, and in Toronto and Southern Ontario in July 2013, amounting to $995.5 million in damage.
Traditionally, causes of flooding are analyzed in isolation without considering their interactions in time and space. Considering population growth and intensified weather extremes associated with climate change, there is an urgent demand for the development of reliable flood risk assessment approaches to protect Ontarians from future disasters.
This research will develop an integrated modelling framework to characterize the complex interactions between concurrent and sequential flood hazards across the entire Great Lakes basin.
The project will examine how various factors, including greenhouse gas increases and climate variability, interact to cause floods in Ontario. It will assess the impact of these factors on each other, determine the frequency of compound flood disasters, and identify the conditions leading to severe floods in the region.
The proposed innovative framework will lead to the development of effective mitigation and resilience strategies for small and large communities and infrastructure systems in Ontario.
Friday, November 10, 2023Glen DSouza, a third-year PhD student at Western University awarded first place at the 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition during the AIChE Annual Meeting
Glen DSouza, a third-year PhD student supervised by Drs. Madhumita Ray, Anand Prakash, and Chunbao Xu, was awarded first place at the 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition during the AIChE Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, last week. The preliminary round for the competition was held in June through video submission, and Glen was chosen among the top 12 finalists to present at the conference. The winning 3MT talk was based on his PhD thesis, exploring the boundless possibilities of forest waste-based foams in diverse applications such as hydroponics, floral arrangements, and environmental remediation.
