Uncovering the Fate of Microplastic Waste

Trent School of the Environment professor Dr. Julian Aherne and Environmental & Life Sciences Ph.D. student, Brittany Welsh’s research on plastic debris in global aquatic systems is shining a light on microplastic concentrations in freshwater systems. Their work, one of the first studies to provide a global perspective on concentrations of plastic debris larger than 250 microns, looks at plastic debris in surface water samples collected across 38 lakes and reservoirs located in 23 countries, across six continents, with varying population densities and environmental conditions. A truly collaborative project that was featured in the journal Nature and in The Globe and Mail, Trent’s researchers partnered with 79 researchers belonging to the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) to paint a picture of the fate of plastic waste in the environment. 

Greening Social Work Education

Due to urgent calls for global action in reversing climate change, Trent University Durham GTA Social Work professor, Dr. Susan Hillock, is aiming to empower social work students, professionals, and educators to integrate sustainability, climate change action, and environmental social justice topics into their curriculum and practice. Professor Hillock’s work incorporates climate literacy into education, leading to increased action in educators and their students – our future leaders. “I propose that what the social work profession needs most is to make radical paradigm shifts, start a revolution, and train students and educators to become ecological warriors,” says Prof. Hillock. 

Advancing Global Leadership in Healthy Aging

At the forefront of advancing knowledge and solutions in healthy aging in Canada, a delegation of leading researchers and aging experts representing the Trent Centre for Aging and Society (TCAS) – Dr. Elizabeth Russell, Dr. Liana Brown, Dr. Nadine Changfoot, Dr. Stephanie Tobin, and Dr. Raheleh Saryazdi – joined the 2023 G7 Research Summit on Healthy Aging. While highlighting Trent’s leadership and expertise in interdisciplinary aging scholarship, the multiday event provided participants an enriching opportunity to engage with a diverse community of researchers, scholars, and advocates of aging and aging studies. 

Crossing Disciplinary and Geographic Boundaries

This year, a research initiative with Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT) in Vietnam is laying the groundwork for future collaboration to tackle environmental challenges. Building on a collaboration through the International Institute for Environmental Studies (IIES), the idea is to create an international lab approach to investigating three environmental concerns: pollution, sustainable agriculture and carbon capture. 

To get the project moving, a team of Trent faculty – including Dr. Huy Dang as lead researcher, Dr. Karen Thompson, Canada Research Chair Dr. Ian Power, and professor emeritus Dr. Douglas Evans – as well as graduate students and alumni visited Vietnam in the fall of 2023. On this international field trip, the team collected samples from ecologically diverse landscapes including the Can Gio Mangrove and Cat Tien National Park, two essential UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Southern Vietnam. 

The partnership with HCMUT has now been extended to the Université Grenoble Alpes in France, as a third University, with the goal of providing students with enriching research opportunities and generating new scientific knowledge. 

Trent University Welcomes Fulbright Research Chair in Comparative Canada-US Studies

Trent welcomed Professor Kellen Zale as the 2023 Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Comparative Canada U.S. Studies. Prof. Zale joined Trent from the University of Houston Law Centre bringing her expertise and research focus in land use, housing affordability, and short-term rental markets while investigating the shared challenges between Canada and the U.S. and examining innovative solutions for treating short-term rentals under property taxation systems in different jurisdictions. 

Ontario University Partnership Drives Economic Development

The Northern and Rural Innovation Cluster – a growing partnership between Trent University, Laurentian University, Lakehead University, and Nipissing University – is leveraging the expertise of post-secondary institutions and industry partnerships for a wide array of projects related to intellectual property and entrepreneurship, research data management and security, policy development, course/ curriculum development, networking and joint symposia, and government relations. 

Through funding provided by Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON), and in alignment with Ontario’s Critical Minerals Strategy, the Cluster focuses on three key areas – critical minerals, electrification of vehicles, and cleantech – to accelerate both the development and adoption of new technologies in Ontario.