À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ

For Michael Houston, PhD ’93, BSc ’87, the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ is more than his alma mater. For a good chunk of his youth, the campus is where he called home.  

When it comes to hibernation, conserving resources is key for an animal’s survival. For bats of Western North America, water may be the key to assessing a bat species’ ability to thrive during hibernation.

New research that comes as part of a larger project to understand the potential impact of white-nose syndrome in the West found that bats are adept at finding similar hibernation conditions across their large geographic ranges, despite a variety of climates in these areas.

Establishing and supporting innovative research projects is an important priority for the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ. The Canadian Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund has recognized four Faculty of Science researchers to embarking upon research or technology development that is innovative, high quality and meets international standards.

From using microbes to breakdown contaminates in landfills to learning how to conserve our amphibian populations in the face of climate change, the Government of Ontario has awarded three À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Science researchers $140,000 each to advance ‘Ontario made’ research and innovation. 

Early Researcher Awards 

To a scientist, trial and error is common in laboratories to refine new tests and methods, and look for potential problems on the small scale. But what happens when these techniques are meant for human tissues, such as for surgeries, medical tests, and treatments, where multiple different trials are not possible?

Last Friday, Professor Jenine McCutcheon from Earth and Environmental Sciences was featured on CBC's Quirks and Quarks podcast, talking about her recent research on the Greenland Ice Sheet.