Two Carleton professors received prestigious awards from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for their scientific research.
Associate professor Steven Cooke received the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship and assistant professor Richard Amos was the recipient of the Synergy Award for Innovation.
“It feels great—I’m very excited about the next two years,” Cooke said. “It will help us primarily focus on research with my undergraduate and graduate students and fully develop the research program.”
Cooke is a fish ecologist and studies how they interact with humans and their environment. He has been working on his project for 15 years and currently has 25 members on his team.
His research focuses on how fish respond to specific stressors or challengers, such as climate change, reproductive changes, winter, and fishers. The project looks at fish from all around the world, including India, the Bahamas, Norway, Brazil, Australia, and Canada.
Along with the honour of being a recipient of the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship, Cooke will receive $250,000 between a two-year period to fund his research project, teaching relief, and the hire of additional undergraduate, graduate, and post doctorial students.
“Carleton is very supportive,” Cooke said. “The university helps provide resources for professors to develop strong research programs. It would be hard to accomplish my goals if I was in an environment that wasn’t supportive.”
Cooke said he hopes by understanding these thematic issues and solving them, it would guarantee having fish for future generations.
“Our program as a whole is very solution orientated. By understanding the complex world, we understand contemporary challenges related to climate change,” Cooke said.
Amos, who recently transferred from the University of Waterloo, dedicated his research on developing and helping mining companies find better solutions to manage their waste stock and protect the environment in a cost effective way.
Amos’ research is based in the Northwest Territories at Diavik Diamond Mine, and he was given $200,000 to help fund the project.
“Mining is a necessary part in the way we live our lives,” Amos said. “We need resources but there is definitely some environmental impact on the mining process. So by doing the research we are finding more efficient ways in waste management.”
Amos said when a mining company extracts valuable material, they find a lot of waste rock. When it is piled outside the mine it is exposed to water, eventually contaminating it and lowering its quality.
Amos said when he won the award, at first, he was at a loss for words.
“It’s a great honour to win the award, as the team has worked hard on the project and its good to be recognized for the work we do together,” he said.
