Five Carleton University researchers have received new funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF). The projects include fighting plastic pollution, advancing energetic materials, large-scale soil experimentation as well as research into student absenteeism and expression through sonic arts.
The CFI JELF funds state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to mobilize knowledge, spur innovation and commercialization, and empower the talented minds of a new generation.
The total of $379,432 awarded by CFI will contribute to projects totalling over $1 million to provide the equipment necessary for driving forward research development. The CFI funding represents 40 per cent of the total with additional funds anticipated from the Ontario Research Fund and other sources.
“Carleton is proud of the continued recognition our innovative research is receiving in areas critical to improving the lives of Canadians,” said Rafik Goubran, vice-president (Research and International). “We would like to thank the Canada Foundation for Innovation for the ongoing support of the awarded researchers.”
See how the funding will benefit the recipients’ projects:
Upcycling plastic waste using yeast fermentation
Eugene Fletcher, Department of Biology
Plastic pollution is a global issue that not only impacts the environment but also human health, as they are not biodegradable. Plastics fragment into microplastics that can pose health risks when inhaled or consumed through food and water. While there are recommendations for banning single-use plastics, this can be impractical. Another proposed solution is breaking plastics down to convert them into new plastics, but this does not reduce plastics in the environment. As a new step toward eliminating plastic pollution, Fletcher’s team will use the CFI funding for equipment to explore innovative ways of converting plastics into valuable chemicals, such as biofuels.
Fletcher’s solution involves genetically modifying brewer’s yeast to recognize the chemical building blocks of plastics as a food source. Yeast strains can convert plastic-derived compounds into bioethanol, a fuel brewer’s yeast naturally produces. Fletcher’s research will also train skilled talent for Canada’s burgeoning bioeconomy workforce in growing sectors such as bioenergy, waste management and biomanufacturing.
Urgent Need for Infrastructure to Support a Synthetic Energetic Materials Laboratory
Katherine Marczenko, Department of Chemistry
For centuries energetic materials (EMs) have played a crucial role in various mechanical energy applications, from civilian to military. However, there is an inherent energy-safety balance, where high-performing materials are often the most difficult to handle. Marczenko is studying ways to make EMs safer and more efficient by investigating how the structure of an EM affects the initiation of an explosive reaction.
With new equipment funded by the CFI, Marczenko’s team will develop a new class of EMs called Photoresponsive Energetic Materials, which can convert UV-light energy into mechanical energy. The intense strain and stress created during this molecular reaction break the molecular crystals apart, releasing mechanical energy. Employing light as a trigger allows precise control over when and where the reaction occurs. The research will pave the way for new defense and military technologies while placing Canadian research at the forefront of material development.
Student absenteeism and child mental health in the post-pandemic era
Maria Rogers, Department of Psychology
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a sharp rise in school absenteeism among children and youth worldwide, with research indicating that student absences have doubled or even tripled in some areas. At the same time, rates of mental health challenges among children have reached unprecedented levels. Given the critical connection between school attendance and long-term well-being, Rogers’ research seeks to tackle the pressing issue of chronic absenteeism.
With support from CFI funding, Rogers’ lab will conduct large-scale studies to unravel the complexities of this issue, combining quantitative data analysis with in-depth qualitative insights from students, teachers, clinicians, and parents. Partnering with community mental health clinics, the research will employ mixed methods approaches, including focus groups and statistical modelling, to identify key drivers of school absenteeism. The findings will have important implications for education policy and mental health support, playing a crucial role in Canada’s post-pandemic recovery and strengthening preparedness for future public health crises.
Sonic Arts Participation Lab
Ellen Waterman, School for Studies in Art and Culture: Music
Waterman’s CFI funds will support the Sonic Arts Participation Lab which facilitates community-engaged research-creation projects in music, sound and audiovisual art to address the complexities of ideological, technological and environmental social change in Canada. The lab will comprise adaptive audio and video equipment for co-creation, presentation, recording, post-production and analysis of these collaborations. Using the novel community-engaged research-creation methodology, Waterman’s team will help Canadians relate to their experiences, engage in dialogues across differences and promote an understanding of how change affects different people within our diverse society.
The lab takes an intersectional and contextual approach to two themes: Equitable Participation in Society and Creative Adaptations to Climate Change. Project participants are invited to uncover unexpressed ideas and work through differences to discover new insights. Through ethnographic documentation and analysis, Waterman will bring insights into focus for effective knowledge translation, thus ensuring they can be applied to broader contexts amidst bewildering social changes shaping Canada today.
Sensors for multi-scale laboratory experiments on soils
Elena Zabolotnii, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Zabolotnii is developing novel ways to safeguard tailings deposits, a by-product of mining that can adversely affect the local environment. Using CFI funding, Zabolotnii’s team will use cutting-edge sensor systems to monitor the tailings materials’ mechanical behaviour in large-scale physical experiments at Carleton University. In the experiments, the tailings will be brought to failure in a controlled environment so that pre- and post-failure behaviour can be investigated.
Zabolotnii’s soil experiments are unrivalled in scale and the quality of information collected. Fiber optic sensors will capture movement in tailings at unprecedented resolutions, potentially detecting localized zones of failure as small as 1mm thick. With this enhanced accuracy, Zabolotnii’s research can yield real solutions for mining multinationals engaged in multi-billion-dollar efforts to find reliable ways of securing tailings deposits across Canada.
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