McMaster is committed to supporting sustainable
research, teaching and learning. We are pleased
to share highlights from new McMaster research
that address big sustainability challenges. We also
share examples of how our students have been
active partners in developing a living laboratory
for sustainability on campus during the 2023/24
academic year.
ANALYSIS: Nuclear energy would be a clean win for remote and northern communities
What if northern communities were able to access clean, reliable energy year round? As Canada and the world strive to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the need to take urgent action is clear.
Greater use of nuclear power – especially small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors – is key for Canada, particularly for our remote and northern communities, where traditional grid options are not feasible.
That’s why it’s so welcome that the Ontario government made recent commitments to boosting the province’s nuclear energy portfolio by expanding Bruce Power’s generating capacity; building a total of four SMRs at Darlington; and refurbishing the province’s existing nuclear facilities.
The decision to move Ontario toward a more modern, carbon neutral energy grid and to create the infrastructure that can drive electrification across all sectors will help to ensure a robust economy and our net-zero future. These forward looking steps will help provide stable, clean, safe and reliable electricity for decades.
That’s great news for those in populated areas where electricity is readily available. But what about the nearly 300 remote and northern communities across Ontario and Canada that are not connected to the electricity grid and are suffering from energy poverty?
Many of these communities rely on dirty and limited power from diesel generators that are proven to be detrimental to human and environmental health. These communities need to be central to the country’s national energy agenda. The addition of nuclear energy would be transformative for them.
Information Box Group
Sustainable Research: Cleaning our oceans and air Read More
Oceans play a major role in cleaning the world’s air, absorbing about 30 per cent of the atmosphere’s CO2 emissions and protecting life on land. However this process changes the pH balance of water, which is damaging to marine ecosystems. That’s where Charles de Lannoy, associate professor of chemical engineering, has come in to help.
Through a process called Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis (BMED), acidity can be removed from
ocean waters, allowing it to filter CO 2 out of the air further, while minimizing damage to life underwater.
In 2024, McMaster chemical engineering students were enlisted to perform a technical analysis of the process as part of their final capstone project, engaging future researchers in fighting climate change.
Digital Learning and Environment: Using AI to protect cities Read the whole story here
McMaster researcher and instructor in the department of civil engineering, Moustafa Naiem Abdel-Mooty, has been working to develop an artificial intelligence program which predicts the effects of extreme weather events on civil infrastructure.
Alongside his former PhD advisor from McMaster, Wael El Dakhakhni, he has founded Resilio Climate Solutions, a “digital twin” model in which real-world factors are input, and the potential damage to infrastructure from weather events are output with up to 85 per cent accuracy. At minimum, this technology could save billions of dollars’ worth of damage to cities, and at best, has the potential to save lives.
Interdisciplinary Learning: Reducing food waste and illness Read the full paper
Since 2018, McMaster engineers and biochemists have been developing several new methods of detecting and/or preventing food spoilage, including Sentinel Wrap, handheld tests, lab-on-package tests and bacteria eliminating sprayable food-safe gels.
In April 2024, these researchers released a paper published in Nature Reviews Bioengineering to compare
the efficacy of these new methods to the calendar-based expiration date system.
They found that the latter was much more arbitrary, resulting in more illness and unnecessary food waste. Implementing these newer methods could save hundreds of billions of dollars globally in healthcare costs, time-loss costs from illness and food waste costs. Researchers are now focused on promoting these detection methods to government regulators.
Campus as a Living Laboratory: Storing and reusing excess heat Read about our first plant parade
The McMaster Learning and Discovery Greenhouse adds 1,059-square metres of new space for biology research and explores the potential for sustainable year-round heating and cooling with its geothermal heating system.
The new greenhouse is a hub for faculty immersed in pivotal ecology, physiology and molecular biology research, as well as the students who seek an education that contributes to safeguarding our planet.
When open to the public in 2025, students from all faculties will be encouraged to visit, study and relax in the new facility. Whether they are performing experiments in one of the eight climate-controlled research cells or studying at an atrium desk that overlooks the tropical plant collection, this stunning new greenhouse is designed for students, faculty and plants to thrive in an energy efficient, carbon-free space.