Research and Scientific Expertise

Ecological engineering

Ecosystems can be enhanced with technology to provide sustainable services and solutions. Conversely, the study of energy and material flows through ecosystems inspires innovative and efficient technological designs. Diverse knowledge systems underpin and help to  advance this field of study, from traditional indigenous agriculture, to contemporary science and engineering.

Organic waste management

Commercial agriculture and urbanization tend to impose linear flows of nutrients from the field, to cities, to the environment. Our lab group is exploring ways to recycle nutrients used in cities and return them to agricultural production, using alternative organic waste management technologies such as composting and anaerobic digestion.

Urban ecology

Urban trees are stressed by traffic, pollution, poor soil and, in temperate climates, the salt used to melt snow and ice on the streets. A collaborative study between McGill University and the City of Montreal, Canada, improves tree health and runoff water quality by using a specially designed soil mixture in tree pits to remove water pollutants and improve tree health.

Computer applications

Computational tools, such as modeling and simulation, machine vision, and artificial intelligence, help to optimize the performance of the systems that we design.

We greatly appreciate the support of our research sponsors and partners!