Modern pesticides have revolutionized agriculture. However, growing concerns with pest resistance, environmental run-off, and a lack of capacity to deal with abiotic stresses associated with drought or extreme heat (critical issues with regards to climate change) demand new solutions. Suncor has developed new plant immune aids that address these challenges by fortifying the immunity of […]

Phenotyping is used to develop new strains of plants, understand plant-affecting diseases (phyto-pathology) and evaluate the effects of various substances on plants. A growing variety of sensors and sensor technology is used to gather data used for phenotyping, in a non-destructive manner, and this overall process of data acquisition and analysis is being automated, leading […]

Buckwheat contains an active ingredient that lowers blood glucose in diabetic rats. The active ingredient is not a known compound such as chiro-inositol or rutin. The goal of this project is to characterize the bioactive compounds in buckwheat fractions obtained by countercurrent chromatography (CCC) and having biological activity. This is important for setting the foundation […]

Designing, building, and verifying highly energy efficient buildings presents complex challenges. Environmental factors such as the local weather, temperature swings, angle of the sun, etc. impose conditions on the building which itself has unique characteristics like its particular construction method, materials used, geometry and orientation, windows of specific properties, and so on. Then, there are […]

The goal of the research is to determine which genes in microbes of the genus Burkholderia allow them to cross a barrier in stinkbug guts which blocks any other microbes. Mutant clones of the microorganism will be prepared to deactivate genes suspected of playing a role in allowing passage of Burkholderia in the gut. These […]

Les changements climatiques en cours devraient affecter la composition, la structure ainsi que fonctionnement des écosystèmes forestiers au Québec. Ces changements devraient être particulièrement importants pour les peuplements feuillus qui se retrouvent aujourd’hui à leur marge de distribution nordique au contact de la forêt boréale mixte. En effet, les peuplements marginaux de feuillus d’érables (Acer […]

The intern will work with McGill University researchers Dr. Danielle Donnelly and Dr. Stan Kubow to identify potato cultivars with better processing quality and less inclination to form dark-colored compounds after they have been cut (enzymatic browning) or cooked (after-cooking darkening or ACD). ACD is related to content of certain minerals, the polyphenolic chlorogenic acid, […]

This project will aim to convert a commercially available variable rate sprayer into and intelligent sprayer able to precisely spray the pests and weeds in the potato seeds only when needed. The detection of the pests and seeds will take place by cameras equipped with algorithms able to detect each target. The team members will […]

L’aménagement du territoire en zone boréale pose des défis environnementaux importants. Le maintien de la conservation d’écosystèmes sains et résilients dans un contexte d’aménagement de la forêt pour des fins commerciales requiert un effort de coordination entre les parties-prenantes de la gestion du territoire. Les compagnies forestières qui planifient l’aménagement du territoire, les communautés autochtones, […]

Coastal communities and fishermen in British Columbia are facing a suite of issues, that can challenge the continuity of the livelihoods of individual fishers and influence community development outcomes. Some of the challenges facing fishers in BC include changing markets, climate, ecological and governance conditions. One significant and growing challenge that has been identified in […]

Indigenous communities, especially those in remote locations, experience much higher rates of energy poverty than the rest of British Columbians. Energy poverty occurs when an individual allocates a disproportionately high percentage of their income towards household energy costs. The negative repercussions of energy poverty are not only economic, but also social, physical and environmental. Activities […]

Currently, petroleum-based water resistance membranes are used in the construction industry in order to create a barrier against water. These make recycling a challenge during building demolition, as well as create a significant carbon footprint of their own. The purpose of this project is to develop a paper-based water barrier to replace the petroleum-based alternatives. […]