News Update September 2016

University of Saskatchewan awarded $77.8M for Global Water Futures; the official announcement of Global Water Futures takes over the news cycle; Phil Loring awarded $70,000 in SSHRC funding.

News

Announcements

Elite honours for GIWS member
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) is honouring GIWS' Markus Hecker as a new member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Hecker, The Canada Research Chair in Predictive Aquatic Ecotoxicology, has distinguished himself as one of the world’s pre-eminent environmental toxicologists. The heralded researcher, who joined the U of S in 2011, is a leading expert in environmental and chemical risk assessment, water quality assessment, and the effects of chemicals on aquatic wildlife. 

Global Water Futures funding gains widespread media attention
The Sept. 6 announcement of $77.8M in funding for the Global Water Futures project — the largest university-led water research program ever funded worldwide and the most sizeable award ever granted to the U of S — has been met with enthusiastic coverage from both local and national media. A complete breakdown of articles published since last week's GIWS this Week can be found in the Announcements and Media sectionbelow, but some highlights include the Saskatoon StarPhoenixPlant Magazine and Water Canada.

Phil Loring Awarded SSHRC Funding
GIWS member Phil Loring has received $70,890 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council's (SSHRC) Insight Development Grants program. The funds are in support of Loring's "Risk, Resilience, and Innovation in Gulf Islands Food Systems" project, of which the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve and the Clam Garden Network are partners. 

U of S Library Consultation
The master planning process for the University Library (including all seven branches on campus) is now underway and will help the U of S to map out the future of library spaces on campus – whether that is for study, research, collaboration, display, etc. – and the steps needed to get there. This is all part of the larger University Library Transformation Project, which has seen deliberate, incremental change to campus libraries since 2004. 

Consultation will include many ways to give feedback including meetings, online surveys, pop-up booths, social media and online through the Library Planning website. The majority of the campus consultation will take place from now through mid-October, with the result being a set of architectural drawings that visually represent how the library may change over the next 10 years.

U of S awarded $77.8M to lead Global Water Futures research program
The University of Saskatchewan has been awarded $77.8 million from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) to lead the “Global Water Futures: Solutions to Water Threats in an Era of Global Change” initiative — the largest university-led water research program ever funded worldwide.

The prestigious award is one of only 13 across the country, and is the largest ever awarded to the U of S. For full details, please visit the GIWS website