Nothing is simple about phosphorus. The agricultural fertilizer that makes it possible to feed the world is poison for many of the world's rivers, lakes and coastal systems. And now, concern is rising that future supplies of the mineral may not be adequate to meet demand. University of British Columbia (UBC) civil engineer Donald S. […]

Dr. Marc-André Sirard: The Science of Bacon and Eggs The life of all mammals, including humans, begins with the largest and most extraordinary cell of the body – the egg. Few people know that Canada is a world leader in mammalian egg research, much of it conducted on domestic pigs and cows. For breeders and […]

Dr. Gilles Brassard: The ABC's of Quantum Magic Quantum mechanics is perhaps the most spectacular scientific theory of all time. Yet, more than one hundred years after its discovery, few people have even the most basic grasp of what it means. Professor Brassard will describe in simple terms how quantum mechanics is being harnessed to […]

Dr. John Pomeroy: Water prescriptions for a dry land - how the West can prepare for drought With large parts of Western Canada facing the driest conditions in decades, the public is increasingly turning to scientists for answers. For hydrologist John Pomeroy, sleepwalking to disaster is not an option. Pomeroy has been at the forefront […]

Dr. Eugenia Kumacheva: Turboscience - Supercharging Discovery and Innovation Faster and lower cost medical diagnostics and drug development. Rapid generation of novel, high value materials. Remarkable new insights that cut through the complexities of living organisms and changes in the environment. These are all the results of recent and extraordinary progress in the development of […]

Dr. Graham Bell: Understanding Biodiversity: the next Big Science Project and how it will change politics Natural ecosystems are large, complex biological machines that provide essential services to all life on the planet. Humans are now altering and simplifying these machines on a grand scale – removing many species, adding others and changing inputs. Dr. […]

Dr. Daniel Pauly: Fisheries and global warming, and their impacts on marine ecosystems and global food security Over the last half century, the reach of industrial fisheries extended down into deeper waters and spread out across the oceans, past the developing nations of the Southern Hemisphere, all the way to Antarctica. Almost everywhere, massive catch […]

Dr. Denis Mitchell: Failure is not an option: lessons for making Canada's buildings and bridges safer Many of Canada’s urban regions are at risk of a moderate or severe earthquake. Preventing loss of life and major damage to infrastructure depends on correctly anticipating the degree and type of shaking, as well as understanding what makes […]

Dr. Allison Sekuler: The Amazing, Changing, Aging Brain The "greying population" is the fastest growing group in Canada. Age-related changes in perceptual and neural function have implications for virtually every aspect of our lives—from recreation to transportation, health care and the work force. Recent research, shows that although aging leads to declines in some abilities, […]

Dr. Philip Jessop: Switching to Green Chemistry The old way to prevent pollution was to capture pollutants before they left the factory, which is always a financial burden. The Green Chemistry approach—design the process so pollutants aren’t made—can reduce environmental impact while making industries more economically competitive. Economic benefits occur because designing processes to reduce […]

Dr. Liuchen Chang: Bringing Power to the People - Smart Grids and the Future of Renewable Energy For many small-scale wind and solar power generators to displace carbon fuels, they have to work seamlessly with sophisticated power systems built around large and predictable point source generators. Matching the power supply with demand, when the sun […]

Dr. Sophie D'Amours: Green forests, green dollars: rebuilding Canada’s forest products industry leadership through innovation Innovation and knowledge are the centerpieces of a remarkable transformation of Canada’s forest products industry. The old vision of exporting logs and pulp is being swept away by a new paradigm of sustainable forest management, innovative and value-added products, integrated […]