Congratulations to two Macdonald Profs who have received funding through the New Frontiers in Research Fund Exploration stream, which supports high-risk, high-reward and interdisciplinary research: Hamid Akbarzadeh (BRE) for Origami-inspired deployable sensoriactuator soft robots and Mehran Dastmalchi (PltSci) for Plant-derived biosynergists to enhance pesticide efficacy.
On January 17, two McGill teams, InSpira Photobioreactor and the Cricket Rearing, Collection, and Transformation System (CRCTS) competing under the McGill Advanced Bio-Regenerative Toolkit for Long Excursion Trips (MARTLET) umbrella, presented their prototypes to the NASA/CSA Deep Space Food Challenge’s jury.
Read the story in the McGill Reporter.
The Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund, administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), is investing more than $4 million in three McGill-led projects through the Climate Awareness and Action Fund (CAAF).The projects will fill knowledge gaps about the environmental and economic impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen Canada's capacity to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Three projects will fill knowledge gaps about the environmental and economic impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen Canada's capacity to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Hydroponic strawberry growers and Co-founders of Vertité, Ophelia Sarakinis (FMT’19) and Phillip Rosenbaum (B.Sc.(AgEnvSc)’19, MSc.’21) and their partners have just won the first phase of the Homegrown Innovation Challenge, a “six-year, $33-million initiative from the Weston Family Foundation to future-proof food production in Canada.”

Through the International Youth Internship Program (IYIP), a joint program with the Government of Canada and the United Nations Association in Canada, young Canadians are given the opportunity to gain professional experience in international development work. Natalie Wu, a Bioresource Masters student, was selected as part of the 2021 cohort. She was a Junior Professional Consultant (JPC) and was remotely placed for six months at the World Food Programme’s (WFP) headquarters in Rome.
In a new study, our team of climate scientists, economists and engineers (including BRE’s Mohammad Reza Alizadeh and Jan F. Adamowski]) found that the poorest parts of the world are likely to be two to five times more exposed to heat waves than richer countries by the 2060s. By the end of the century, the lowest-income quarter of the global population’s heat exposure will almost match that of the entire rest of the world.
NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have named the winners of the first Deep Space Food Challenge, an international contest that sought novel food technologies for future astronaut missions, as well as for use in resource-scarce regions on Earth.
Celebrity chefs Martha Stewart and Lynn Crawford joined former astronauts Scott Kelly and Chris Hadfield in making the announcements in a video aired by NASA on its television channel on November 15th.

“It becomes so easy to do your part when everyone around you is doing their part to live sustainably.”
Hailing from around the world, McGill’s valedictorians are a diverse, multitalented group. When they came to the University, they brought with them their unique backgrounds, passions and ambitions. While they all praise the education they received at McGill, one thing is certain, the University has benefitted just as much for having them as valuable, contributing members of our community.

Forest fires have crept higher up mountains over the past few decades, scorching areas previously too wet to burn, according to researchers from McGill University. As wildfires advance uphill, a staggering 11% of all Western U.S. forests are now at risk.
MatrixSpex Solutions, founded by Bioresource Engineer and James McGill Professor Michael Ngadi, is the first funding recipient of The Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN) for its project: Optimizing Hyper-Eye: An Integrated Solution for Assessment of Fertility and Gender of Pre-Incubated Eggs.

To mark World Water Day (March 22), Bioresource Engineering Professor Chandra Madramootoo a member of the steering committee of the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture – expands on the theme of this year’s World Water Day: Valuing Water, and describes the goals of the federal government’s Canada Water Agency, which is in the process of being created. He is contributing to this effort.

Bioresource engineering prof cited for research excellence and role as mentor for women entering the field

Bioresource Engineering professor Michael Ngadi has spent his career trying to help solve some of the world’s most pervasive food problems. Recently, Ngadi and his research team traveled to remote communities in Bolivia, Laos, Zambia, Malawi and Ethiopia to examine elements of the local diets, assess their nutritional status, and build programs that would introduce nutrient-dense foods into local cuisines.

John R. Ogilvie, BScAgr’54, PhD, FCSBE, FASABE, P.Eng., P.Ag (Dist), 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, a leader in agricultural and bioresource engineering, died on March 20, 2020 at the age of 90, in Guelph, Ontario.