DPES

J A N 2 0 1 9

D E P T . O F P H Y S I C A L A N D

E N V I R O NM E N T A L S C I E N C E

D I G E S T

Photo courtesy of

Professor Dan Weaver

C O N T E N T S

03C O N F E R E N C E

47TH SOUTHERN ONTARIO

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT

CHEMISTRY CONFERENCE

1004

M A S T E R O F E N V I R O N M E N T A L S C I E N C E

ALUMNI STORIES

ADMISS IONS

NETWORKING

R E S E A R C H / O U T R E A C H

CL@UT LAB IN THE NEWS

DPES OUTREACH

EPSA

CSU

The Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) will be hosting the 47th Southern Ontario Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference on Saturday March 30th 2019, co-organized by Dr Shadi Dalili and Dr Effie Sauer. We are honoured to welcome all undergraduate students who will be participating in the conference this year. SOUSCC provides undergraduate research students in chemistry, biochemistry and related areas with the opportunity to present their research to their peers, university faculty, and government and industrial researchers. This year's conference will begin with a plenary lecture by Prof. Myrna Simpson (University of Toronto Scarborough), followed by oral presentations in various themed symposia - including one in chemistry education, and one in green & sustainable chemistry. 03

There will be an afternoon poster session, as well as a banquet and awards ceremony to close the conference. Registration is now open until March 6th, 2019. Please visit our website at: https://www.fourwav.es/souscc2019 to register and submit an abstract. We are looking for faculty and graduate students to volunteer as judges and help with registration on the day of the event. Please contact the organizers if you would like to volunteer at SOUSCC47.On behalf of UTSC, we look forward to welcoming you here in March! Follow us on Twitter: @SOUSCC2019Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SOUSCC2019/Contact organizers: SOUSCC2019@utsc.utoronto.ca

SHADI DAL IL I

SUSTAINABLE CONCRETE

DEVELOPED BY ALUMNI MAY

SAVE DRINKING WATER IN

DEVELOPING WORLD

M A S T E R O F

E N V I R O N M E N T A L

S C I E N C E A L U M N I

S T O R I E S

A group of alum have been internationally recognized for their proposal to create a stronger, self-healing and more environmentally friendly concrete to help nations fight climate change, build sustainably, and save valuable drinking water in the process. While finishing the master program at U of T Scarborough, Aceituno-Caicedo and fellow alum Kimberly Asemota were inspired by two class topics. Through Maria Dittrich, associate professor in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, they were connected to Blandine Barthod, a master of environmental science student doing a one-year exchange program from the University of Geneva. The trio were invited to Geneva, Switzerland, for the award ceremony and to network with other global leaders. Their work will also be published on the Youth Solutions Report platform.

While in Geneva, the group networked with an array of people working on projects to tackle climate change — from those with architectural to economic backgrounds.“It was a good learning opportunity with like-minded individuals who have similar goals,” Asemota says. Their proposal used Cape Town, South Africa as a case study. The city is in the midst of a drought crisis, and Day Zero, the day when water levels are so low that the city’s taps will run dry and citizens will have to use communal water stations, is expected to happen in 2019. “We are dealing with issues of water scarcity and we are also tackling the issues of sustainable development for infrastructure,” Asemota says. “Our major goal was having more water available to the public in areas that are water stressed.”Their next steps are to continue networking, finding the best ways to mix the concrete and start working on a pilot project. For more information see: https://utsc.utoronto.ca/news-events/our-community/sustainable-concrete-developed-alumni-may-save-drinking-water-developing-world

K i m b e r l y A s e m o t a ( f a r r i g h t ) , B l a n d i n e B a r t h o d ( r i g h t ) a n d D a v i d A c e i t u n o - C a i c e d o ( l e f t ) a r e p i c t u r e d w i t h N a n e A n n a n , w i f e o f t h e f o r m e r U N s e c r e t a r y g e n e r a l , r e c e i v i n g t h e S D S N Y o u t h S p e c i a l P r i z e i n G e n e v a . ( P h o t o p r o v i d e d b y K . A s e m o t a )

004404

04

Neera Sundaralingam’s first formal job interview, she landed a permanent position in a job she loves as an environmental scientist with AECOM, a multinational engineering firm.“Every day is always very exciting and interesting, because I really never repeat the same day,” says Sundaralingam, now part of the firm’s contaminant remediation team.After submitting her resume, Sundaralingam finished a phone interview, a video interview, attended a mixer with other candidates and an in-person interview. She says her interview skills were built in the master of environmental science program at U of T Scarborough. The program features three internship co-ordinators who work one-on-one with students to prepare them for job hunting. Sundaralingam says she frequented mock interviews for feedback until she was comfortable.

Steven Davis completed his internship as an environmental project intern with the Port Hope Area Initiative, helping clean and contain radioactive waste.The initiative finds and transports this radioactive waste to a long-term waste management facility to make the Port Hope area safer for residents.“There are a lot of master programs where you’re doing a thesis and writing papers, but this was a unique program that offered an internship.”After finishing his internship, Davis was given a full-time, permanent job with the initiative. Davis adds that the practical, hands-on course content, the internship and the guidance of the program-specific internship co-ordinators were a major benefit to him in starting his career.“I came into this program because I wanted a job and I have a job now,” he says. “It’s pretty cool to see what you learned and apply that directly to your career.”

M A S T E R O F E N V I R O N M E N T A L

S C I E N C E A L U M N I S T O R I E S

MASTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ALUMNI FIND

DREAM JOBS POST-GRADUATION

F A L L D P E S

M I X & M I N G L E

04

“There was a big gap in people’s understanding of policies versus that of policymakers,” she says. “The policies just weren’t being translated that well and I wanted to learn ways to bridge the gap.”Kukadia says she was drawn to the the master’s program because of its reputation, and the chance to learn about conservation management by working alongside professionals in the field.ey go to eat, mate and hibernate in the park.Kukadia plans to work with environmental consulting companies on the conservation side of the business. She says what she learned from the program is invaluable. “There’s so much selection in terms of courses, you can pretty much choose whatever you want depending on what you’re interested in and where you see yourself in the future,” she says.  “The faculty are also so supportive … they’re really there for you and want to see you succeed. I can’t say enough good things about how encouraging they are.”

D e v a n s h i K u k a d i a r e c e n t l y c o m p l e t e d t h e M a s t e r o f E n v i r o n m e n t a l S c i e n c e p r o g r a m a t U T S C w h e r e s h e d i d h e r w o r k t e r m w i t h t h e T o r o n t o Z o o ( s u b m i t t e d p h o t o )

M A S T E R O F E N V I R O N M E N T A L

S C I E N C E A L U M N I S T O R I E S

Kukadia is a recent graduate of the master of environmental science program, a one-year, course intensive program offered at U of T Scarborough. She completed the internship option of the program (it also offers a research option and part-time studies) in the conservation and biodiversity stream, where she did her work-term as part of the Toronto Zoo’s Adopt-a-Pond Wetland Conservation Program.Before coming to Canada to study Kukadia was working on a marine mammal protection project in India, but she found many of the official policies in place were not being communicated effectively to the public. Illegal fishing and capturing of wild animals continued in protected natural areas.

For more information see:https://utsc.utoronto.ca/news-events/our-community/india-rouge-environmental-science-student-works-close-conservation

During her work-term with the Adopt-a-Pond program, she worked on a range of conservation-focused projects aimed at research, restoration and outreach, most of it in the Rouge National Urban Park. She tracked Blanding’s turtles (part of the zoo’s Headstarting Project), tagged and tracked turtle species native to the Rouge, conducted road surveys and snake surveys, logged frog calls and participated in public outreach. Gathering information like length, weight and height of turtles is important to get a better sense of how populations of each species of turtles are doing in the area,

FROM INDIA TO THE ROUGE: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE STUDENT WORKS UP

CLOSE WITH CONSERVATION GRADUATION

W I Z A R D I N G W O R L D I N

T H E B U R R O W

M A S T E R S O F E N V I R O N M E N T A L

S C I E N C E A D M I S S I O N S

Applications to the MEnvSc are reviewed on a rolling

basis and we strongly recommend all interested to

apply well before the deadline :

Early Deadline : February 1 , 2019 (supporting

documentation due February 15)*

International applicants and for Entrance Scholarship

consideration

(value = domestic tuition) applicants MUST apply by

this deadline

Final Deadline : April 30 , 2019 (supporting

documentation due May 15)

G i s e l a A l v e s B e n t o

M E N V S C I E N C E I N F O A N D N E T W O R K I N G

S E S S I O N S

08

On Jan 12, 2019 the Master of Enviornmental Sciences held their annual MEnvSc info session. They had an amazing turnout, as The Catalyst Center was packed with prospective applicants from all over Southern Ontario, who came on a cold Saturday to learn more about the program and hear from the Students and Alumni, program directors, Internship coordinators, andadmin staff. Everyone in the Environmental Sciences program would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all who made this event a success. On Jan 21, 2019, the MEnvSc, in collaboration with the undergraduate Arts & Science Co-op, hosted an Employer Networking Event here at UTSC. This provided a platform for MEnvSc Internship students to meet employers hiring for Summer 2019, and for employers to "pre-screen" our students. More details and highlights can be found at the LinkedIn event spotlight: <https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6475822842834407424>

The RSVP page which contains more info on the event: <https://mailchi.mp/e91730992a6f/jan-networking-event>

W E L C O M E T O

P R O F E S S O R S

D A N W E A V E R

A N D J I M

M A C L E L L A N

S H A D I D A L I L I

A N D J A M I E

D O N A L D S O N

As we start the new year and new semester, we would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to new members of our department, who have started as of January 1, 2019. Professor Jim MacLellan changed his status with us to that of AssistantProfessor-Teaching Stream, and is part of the EES group. His office is EV 446. This semester, he takes on the teaching of ESTD18/EESD18 and EESD16/ESTD16. He is also the Environmental Studies Program Director. Professor Dan Weaver also joins us as an Assistant Professor-Teaching Stream, associated with the Physics and Astrophysics group. Professor Weaver is interested in atmospheric physics and physics education research. Aside from scientific endeavors, he is also a photographer and drummer. He is excited to have joined an interdisciplinary department located next to a large forest! This term Professor Weaver is teaching PHYA22 and PHYC11. He may be found in the P&A space in the Science wing, in SW506H. Please join me in welcoming our new colleagues and wishing them a highly successful start to their careers at DPES!

Welcome to

our Department!

C L I M A T E L A B A T U O F T

( C L @ U T ) I N T H E N E W S

MEGAN S H E R EMA T A & RAU L S A L A S R E Y E SN

08

Dr. William Gough’s climate lab has been busy! Ana Žaknić-Ćatović, PhD candidate, traveled to Pheonix Arizona in early January, 2019, to present on an upcoming paper at the American Meterological Society’s 32nd Conference on Climate Variability and Change. Her presentation, A New Approach to Air Temperature Analysis, detailed a novel approach to air temperature analysis that provides unique insights into the evolution of temperature-time trends. Slavomir Kowal, PhD candidate, presented on a portion of his thesis research at the Ontario chapter of the Canadian Association of Geographers (CAGONT) in October, 2018. In his presentation,Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Hudson Strait Sea Ice (1971-2017), Kowal presented on his analysis of seasonal sea ice trends in Hudson Strait, where earlier sea ice break-up and later freeze-up are both evident. Fifth-year PhD candidate Megan Sheremata published a paper, Listening to relational values in the Inuit Nunangat, in the December 2018 special issue of Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1YFmG6gsyPXvWE ), co-edited by Dr. Kai Chan, a recent guest speaker at the UTSC Graduate Student Seminar Series. Also in December, Megan received an Associated of Polar Early Career Scientist travel award to attend the Arctic Net Annual Scientific Meeting in Ottawa, where she joined the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) T-MOSAIC steering committee workshop to review their Science Plan. Megan will continue contributing to IASC as an Early Career Research Fellow and the newest member of the IASC Social & Human Working Group. Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Ng co-authored a paper, Ontario’s managed forests and harvested wood products contribute to greenhouse gas mitigation from 2020 to 2100. The paper was published in the Forestry Chronicle online in December 2018, (https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2018-040) and will appear in print this spring.

C L I M A T E L A B A T U O F T

( C L @ U T ) I N T H E N E W S

08

Climate Lab and Environmental Science and Society Lab Represented at the COP 24!PhD candidate, Raul Salas Reyes, a member of both the Climate Lab and the Environmental Science in Society Lab, attended the 24th annual session of the UNFCC Conference of the Parties (COP) in Katowice, Poland. Raul participated as an observer for his research on differentiation under the Paris Agreement. Raul noted striking messages delivered throughout the two weeks of the COP. While the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presented on the critical importance of keeping the global average temperature rise to 1.5 ºC degrees to avoid severe impacts caused by a changing climate, the message of the IPCC was unfortunately blocked by various countries. Fortunately, the foundation to implement the Paris Agreement, the ‘Paris Rulebook’, was—mostly—adopted. The Rulebook includes common guidelines for the operationalization of an Enhanced Transparency Framework for action and support, an accounting mechanism that promotes compliance, and the rules for a Global Stocktake, among others. The extensive work hours were not sufficient for Countries’ representatives to come to an agreement on the rules under Article 6 that refers to a mechanism to contribute for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and support sustainable development. Climate Lab at UofT (CL@UT) has a brand-new website that is managed by PhD candidate Conor Anderson and Postdoc Yukari (Hannah) Hori. Come check us out! www.utsc.utoronto.ca/people/gough/

MEGAN S H E R EMA T A & RAU L S A L A S R E Y E SN

L A T O R N E L L C O N F E R E N C E A N D

U T S C ' S A N N U A L G R A D U A T E

N E T W O R K I N G E V E N T

E L A I N E P I C K AND G I S E L A A L V E Z B EN TO

08

Two DPES PhD graduate students attended and presented at the Latornell Conference in November 2018.These two students are currently being supervised by George Arhonditsis. Congratulations Ariola Visha and Cindy Yang!

Our graduate students have also been invited to participate in the UTSC's Annual Graduate Networking Event on February 7, 2019 from 5pm-8pm on campus. This event is offered by UTSC's Centre for Teaching & Learning and is opened to MEnvSc Alumni from all graduating years. For more information please see the event website at: https://ctl.utsc.utoronto.ca/booking/graduate/register.php?sessionID=730&type=graduate The keynote speaker for the event is Mike Schreiner, leader of the Ontario Green Party and MPP for Guelph--the first ever Green MPP elected to the Ontario Legislature.

N I RU SHA T H A V A R A J AH

On Wednesday, November 28th, the Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences hosted a science rendezvous event for high school students in our very own EV Building. The intent of the event is to inspire students to pursue science by exposing them to chemistry and environmental sciences. EPSA worked closely with Professor Nirusha Thavarajah to plan the logistics behind the event. With the assistance of undergraduate and graduate volunteers, the high school students were able to perform chemistry experiments in the chemistry labs. For the environmental sciences side, the faculty demonstrated the process of coring a tree, weather instruments.

D P E S S C I E N C EO U T R E A C H E V E N T

Jananthini Sivabasgaran, Chemistry and French Immersion Teacher at Bill Hogarth S.S. commentated “creating meaningful learning opportunities for high school students outside the classroom is only possible with proper support. The learning that occurs outside of a school’s walls always holds tremendous value. Campus tours during high school days only gave us a taste of our future. Many of us did not have the opportunity to experience what university truly feels like until we stepped foot into our first year. The opportunity that UTSC created during the Fall Science Rendezvous was simply unforgettable! Partnering with the Environmental and Physical Sciences Department at the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, to allow my Grade 11 Chemistry students to have a firsthand experience of a university science program was such an incredible, unique experience! As an alumnus of this campus and of this program, showcasing it to my students was a jubilant encounter! Thank you very much to UTSC, DPES, the Admissions Office, and all the faculty and staff and student volunteers who made this such an incredible learning opportunity for my students.”

A Student Testimony from Bill

Hogarth Secondary School:

“On Wednesday, November 28, chemistry students and I were given the opportunity to go on a field trip to UTSC (University of Toronto, Scarborough) and experience what it is truly like to be a chemistry and/or environmental science student there. Upon arrival, many students and I were amazed at the architectural beauty of the campus. The geometric nature of many buildings reminded me of Bill Hogarth's! The large campus felt homely, as the walls were seldom left bare of student messages and work. There were university students everywhere and food available for purchase around every corner. After being given a warm welcome by staff and students, we were directed to our first lab. In it, we were given a demonstration about heat circulation throughout the Earth and the forces that cause it. Once this was completed, we moved on to our next lab which was my personal favourite. In small groups, with one university student helper per group, we separated casein (a protein) from milk using chemicals. It was incredible to be able to work under a high-grade fume hood in a professional chemistry lab! Soon after the lab experiment us Bill Hogarth students were given a campus tour. My tour guide detailed her experiences at UTSC as she took us around. Following the tour was an environmental science demonstration in which we extracted cores from trees. By doing this we were able to tell how old each tree was! This was the final activity of the day. The trip to UTSC was a fascinating learning experience through which us high school students were given useful insight into how university truly is. On behalf of all Bill Hogarth chemistry students, I thank the faculty, staff and students of UTSC.”

T H I N K , S HOO T . CH ANG E

V I D E O COMP E T I T I O N

CATCH PHRASE

Text placeholder

05

The University of Toronto is well-known for its dynamic research environment, and U of T Scarborough is committed to fostering opportunities for undergraduate research experiences. As part of this commitment, the U of T Scarborough Office of the Vice-Principal Research and the UTSC Library launched two research initiatives in 2016: the UTSC Undergraduate Research Poster Forum and the UTSC Undergraduate Research Prize. A third opportunity for recognition exists through the U of T Library system's Research Prize.

B R I N G I N G I N T H E

H O L I D A Y S P I R I T

W I T H E P S A !

B Y E E N S Y E D A

Tex t

T h e H o l i d a y P o l a r o i d P i c t u r e d r o p i n w a s a n o t h e r s u c c e s s f u l e v e n t f o r E P S A ! S t u d e n t s a t U T S C w e r e e n c o u r a g e d t o

c o m e t o t h e E P S A o f f i c e a n d m a k e s o m e h o l i d a y m e m o r i e s . I t w a s a l s o a

c h a n c e f o r s t u d e n t s t o b e c o m e f a m i l i a r w i t h o u r e x e c u t i v e t e a m . W e w e r e a b l e

t o u s e t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y t o n o t i f y t h e s t u d e n t s a b o u t w h o a r e a s a D S A a n d s h a r e a l l t h e r e s o u r c e s a n d u p c o m i n g e v e n t s t h a t E P S A h a s i n s t o r e . T h i s

e v e n t c r e a t e d a w e l c o m i n g e n v i r o n m e n t w i t h t h e s t u d e n t s o f U T S C a n d t h e

e x e c u t i v e t e a m . I t w a s r e a l l y n i c e t o s e e s t u d e n t s t a k i n g a b r e a k f r o m

s t u d y i n g a n d c o m i n g u p t o o u r o f f i c e f o r a l a u g h a n d t a k e s o m e g r e a t p h o t o s ! A h u g e t h a n k y o u t o e v e r y o n e w h o c a m e

o u t ! W e h o p e t o s e e y o u a g a i n !

17

T H E C H E M I S T R Y S O C I E T Y

U P D A T E

T h e a b o v e p i c t u r e s h o w s t w o s e l f -d a n c i n g O t t o b o t s t o t h e s i d e a n d f o u r 2 W D s e l f - d r i v i n g c a r s i n t h e c e n t e r . T h e s e r o b o t s w e r e p r o g r a m m e d a n d b u i l t l a s t y e a r b y a g r o u p o f u n d e r g r a d u a t e s . T h i s i s C h e m i s t r y S o c i e t y ’ s s e c o n d y e a r r u n n i n g t h e C h e m i s t C r e a t i o n C o r n e r i n p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h D r . R o n a l d S o o n g . T h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f c o m p u t e r s c i e n c e i n t o t h e d i s c i p l i n e o f c h e m i s t r y h a s f u e l e d m o r e r a p i d d i s c o v e r i e s t h r o u g h t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a u t o m a t e d s y s t e m s , b u t i t a l s o p u s h e s f o r t h e n e w g e n e r a t i o n t o l e a r n a b o u t r o b o t i c s . T h e u p c o m i n g e v e n t w i l l b e a s e t o f t w o w o r k s h o p s t h a t p r o v i d e s s t u d e n t s w i t h a n i n t r o d u c t i o n t o b a s i c c o d i n g w i t h A r d u i n o a n d 3 D p r i n t i n g p r o v i d e d a t U T S C ’ s o w n M a k e r s p a c e . A r d u i n o i s a n o p e n - s o u r c e e l e c t r o n i c s p l a t f o r m t h a t i s u s e r - f r i e n d l y t o a n y b o d y n e w t o c o d i n g . S t u d e n t s w i l l g e t t h e c r e a t i v e f r e e d o m t o d e s i g n t h e i r o w n r o b o t s a n d p r o g r a m i n t e r e s t i n g c o d e s .   I f y o u h a v e a n y q u e s t i o n s o r w o u l d l i k e t o g e t i n v o l v e d , p l e a s e e m a i l : u t s c . c h e m . s o c i e t y @ g m a i l . c o m .

The Chemis t Creat ion Corner

Dr . Rona ld Song and Susannah T r an

T h e C o v a l e n t N e t w o r k P r o g r a m o f f e r s m a n y g r e a t v o l u n t e e r o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o C S U m e m b e r s . W h e t h e r i t ’ s v o l u n t e e r i n g a t C S U e v e n t s , v o l u n t e e r i n g a t a l a b o r a t o r y t o m e n t o r h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t s , o r e v e n h e l p i n g o u t w i t h s c i e n c e d e m o n s t r a t i o n s t o l i t t l e k i d s , i t i s a n a w e s o m e w a y t o g a i n e x p e r i e n c e a n d n e t w o r k w i t h o t h e r p r o f e s s o r s a n d s t u d e n t s w i t h s i m i l a r i n t e r e s t s . I f y o u h a v e a n y q u e s t i o n s , f e e l f r e e t o m e s s a g e u s o n o u r F a c e b o o k p a g e o r c o n t a c t s u s t h r o u g h e m a i l a t c s u @ u t s . u t o r o n t o . c a