New Canada Research Chair in Predictive Aquatic Ecotoxicology
U of S Canada Research Chairs explore rural innovation and water quality
A $7.5 million federal investment through the Canada Research Chairs program will fund two researchers exploring rural innovation, economic development, the safety and security of our water supplies and back the continued efforts of four researchers working in atmospheric, materials and crop sciences.
“These Canada Research Chairs recognize the strength and growing preeminence in several of our signature areas of research,” said U of S Vice President Research Karen Chad. “Their work will help us protect vulnerable water resources, help us understand our climate, provide knowledge to develop advanced materials for our technological society, and provide tools for our rural and Aboriginal communities to build a more prosperous future.”
Funds from Canada Research Chairs are used for the researchers’ salaries and for operating their research programs. Two new Chairs will be funded.
Ken Coates, a new faculty member in the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS), will receive $200,000 per year for seven years from his new Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation. Coates’ research will identify barriers preventing rural and remote communities from reaping the benefits of scientific and technological innovation enjoyed in more metropolitan areas. Coates’ appointment in the JSGS takes effect in April 2012.
Working with Aboriginal groups, northern and rural communities, business groups, and provincial and federal governments, Coates will examine innovation-based investment, skills training and entrepreneurship in non-metropolitan areas, and look at best practices in other countries that can be applied in Canada.
Markus Hecker, associate professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability, will receive $100,000 per year for five years from his new Canada Research Chair in Predictive Aquatic Ecotoxicology. Hecker’s research lab will examine more effective and objective ways to gauge how environmental stressors such as pollution from human activities or climate change affect water quality and aquatic species in western and northern Canadian watersheds.
Working out of the U of S Toxicology Centre, Hecker focuses on indicator species – in this case, ecologically important native fish – whose health reflects the health of the ecosystems in which they live. Hecker is particularly interested in how these fish species respond to chemicals such as endocrine-disrupting compounds that enter the watershed from human activities like oilsands development and wastewater effluent. This research and its results will inform the scientific community, governments, and industry as they develop solutions to sustainably manage our environment and its resources.
Read the full press release here: http://news.usask.ca/2011/10/12/canada-research-chairs-announced/
