SSTI Grand Challenge call for Notices of Intent, (NOI)
In December 2016, the ‘Sustainability Sciences and Technologies Initiative’ (as the MSSI was then called) asked the McGill community to submit short proposals (Notices of Intent) for the major research programs to be funded by the Initiative. Research areas (‘Grand Challenges’) were to be unique and original, capable of being developed into programs, attracting significant long-term funding, and placing McGill at the forefront of sustainability research on the Canadian and international stage. A critical criterion was that, to be successful, the research would require input from a variety of disciplines such as social sciences, law, management, and humanities, as well as the natural sciences and engineering. The MSSI Executive Committee, with advice from the Advisory Committee, would then select a small number of NOIs for further development into research programs.
The response was overwhelming. Instead of the expected 6 – 8 submissions, the MSSI received 40 proposals which included more than 180 named researchers.
With such a high level of interest from across McGill, the plan to select a small number of NOIs for development was revised. Instead of focusing on a small number of NOIs, the lead authors - along with Lightning Talk presenters - were invited to participate in a facilitated 3 h workshop to further explore potential areas of research. These workshops, and their outcome, would be based on the NOIs and individual research interests.
The list of NOI titles can be found below and further information on the MSSI Workshops can be found here.
NOI Title | Lead Author |
---|---|
Sustainable Energy Production – Exploiting the Potential of Advanced Materials | Akbarzadeh, Hamid |
Aerosols: Key players in air pollution, weather, climate change, health research & sustainable technology | Ariya, Parisa |
Valorizing Lignin: Sustainable Approaches to High Value Electronic Materials and Pharmaceuticals from Biomas | Arndtsen, Bruce Lumb, Jean-Philip Perepichka, Dima |
Transforming Education for Sustainable Future | Asghar, Anila |
Transforming Urban Infrastructure | Barrington-Leigh, Chris |
Respecting Planetary Boundaries: Synthesizing Opportunities for Sustainable and Healthy Environments from an Interdisciplinary Approach to Chemical Risks |
Basu, Nil |
Agricultural bio pesticides against insects and nematodes (ABIN) | Bede, Jacquie |
Ecosystem services in working landscapes | Bennett, Elena Humphries, Murray Hickey, Gordon |
Breaking Through the Technology and Policy Barriers to Enable Low-Carbon Energy Systems | Bergthorson, Jeff |
McGill Urban Agriculture Hub | Bhatt, Viikram |
Electric Utility for a Low Carbon Energy Future | Bouffard, Francois |
Earth economics for the Anthropocene | Brown, Peter |
A “One-World” BRIDGE to Food Convergent Innovation: Harnessing the power of science and integrative digital technology for sustainable development |
Dubé, Laurette Orsat, Valérie |
Biodiversity Conservation in the Anthropocene | Elliot, Kyle |
Chemistry 2.0: Solvent-free Chemistry for the Sustainable Creation of Materials | Friščić, Tomislav |
Innovative Technologies and Approach for Sustainable and Effective Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) | Gaskin, Susan 1 |
Toxicology of agricultural inputs: Research to improve regulation | Gaskin, Susan 2 |
McGill Centre for Sustainable Agricultural, Food and Environmental applications of Nanotechnology (SAFE-Nano) | George, Saji |
Sustainable Materials and Molecules Accelerator Project | Ghoshal, Subhasis |
Biodiversity and adaptive systems science for sustainability | Gonzalez, Andrew |
Energy and 21st Century Material Science & Engineering | Grutter, Peter |
Dynamic Earth System Monitoring Line (DESyML) | sustainable ecosystem management | Larsson, Hans |
Smart Environment & Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Water & Transportation Management | Le-Ngoc, Tho |
Recycled materials – better materials | Lessard, Larry |
Possible Futures Project – the Panama Research and Integrated Sustainability Model (PRISM) | Leung, Brian |
"Closing the loop" on reactive nitrogen and phosphorus | MacDonald, Graham |
Sustainable Urban Transport: Meeting the transport needs of growing urban populations while minimizing |
Manaugh, Kevin |
Sustainable development of ‘appropriate’ biophysical technologies | Mauzeroll, Janine |
Sustainable Energy and Northern Climate Centre (SENCC-McGill) | McKenzie, Jeff Stix, John Gyakum, John |
Retrofitting food processing systems for sustainability: protein, water and energy | Ngadi, Michael |
Sustainable landscapes in an interconnected world: decision-making across scales | Robinson, Brian |
Positioning crop production in a changing world: New paradigms for sustainable agricultural intensification and processing | Singh, Jaswinder |
Sustainable Global Food Security – Feeding the World in the Long Term | Smith, Don |
Climate Smart Agriculture: Addressing the Problems of Climate Change, Agricultural Sustainability, and Food Security. | Thomassin, Paul |
Innovative Technologies for Affordable and Sustainable Water Management | Tufenkji, Nathalie |
Large scale uses of cellulose | Van der Ven, Theo |
Centre of research and education in sustainable livestock farming | Vasseur, Elsa |
Carbon pricing: practical and theoretical evaluations of Canada’s strategy to combat climate change | Vetta, Adrian |
Moving Toward Sustainable Agroecosystems: A Trans-Disciplinary Approach to Increasing Nitrogen Use Efficiency | Whalen, Joann |
Harnessing microbial biodiversity to enhance sustainability in human health, food, and agriculture | Whyte, Lyle |