Media Update
June 2013
$6.4 million funding infusion supports critical and groundbreaking research into
water and environment
One of the world’s premier facilities for environmental contamination research, Trent
University’s Water Quality Centre (WQC) in Peterborough, Ontario is receiving $6.4
million to reach new horizons for research using high resolution mass spectrometry.
The WQC will receive new investments from the Ontario Ministry of Research and
Innovation through the Ontario Research Fund-Research Infrastructure program, and
the Government of Canada through the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The Water
Quality Centre is also receiving additional support from 14 partner organizations and 20
per cent of the project funding is being provided through private industry support.
The new investments will allow for upgrades and expansions at Trent’s WQC that will
facilitate many internal and external research projects, resulting in environmental
pollution reduction and a better understanding of the fate and impact of aquatic
pollutants. It will also provide specialized training for environmental scientists.
New WQC projects enabled by the funding include fingerprinting materials via their
trace element composition; generating forensic evidence of the sources and fate of
contaminants in the environment; and measuring radioactive elements in the
environment quickly and accurately. The new equipment will be also used to determine
emerging contaminants and identify their degradation products, and to measure the
response of organisms to chemical stress by analyzing changes in the distribution of
their proteins and other biomolecules.
In partnership with the Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment (CAWT) at Fleming
College in Cobourg, Ontario, wastewater treatment procedures for the resource and
mining sectors will be developed and optimized, in order to reduce environmental
contamination arising from these industrial processes effectively and cost-effectively.
Similarly, treatment technologies developed through the WQC/CAWT collaboration will
help protect the drinking water of rural and remote communities.
In addition to the improved environmental quality and the reduced cost of wastewater
treatment and environmental clean-up, the proposed research and infrastructure will
also benefit Ontario and Canada by training a large number of highly qualified
personnel. These new professionals will strengthen the workforce in industry,
government and academia with their specialized knowledge and experience in
instrumental analysis and aquatic sciences after their graduation.
Dedicated to the development and application of innovative new techniques for the
analysis of organic and inorganic contaminants at the isotopic, elemental and molecular
scale, Trent University’s Water Quality Centre is a multidisciplinary facility that utilizes
state-of-the-art instrumentation. The focus of the Centre is the determination of trace
quantities of inorganic and organic substances in aquatic environments.
QUOTES
“Trent University prides itself on a strong commitment to environmental research,
understanding, and protection at a regional, national and global scale. Grants such as
these allow Trent faculty and students to continue their critical and groundbreaking
research into water and our environment. Trent’s Water Quality Centre is an example of
the successful regional partnerships that Trent University and Fleming College have
forged with our community partners and agencies, putting the Peterborough, Ontario
and the Kawartha, Ontario regions on the map as leaders in water quality research and
education.”
- Dr. Steven E. Franklin, president and vice-chancellor, Trent University
“The research at Trent’s Water Quality Centre would not be possible without strong
support from the Governments of Canada and Ontario, alongside our industry and
community partners. With this new funding, the Water Quality Centre is expanding its
role as a world leader in water research and innovation by applying existing water
analytical expertise with the new equipment capabilities to support innovation
developments in the health sciences, agriculture and food industries.”
- Dr. Holger Hintelmann, lead researcher, professor and dean of Arts & Science Science, Trent University
LEARN MORE
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Ontario Research Fund: Research Infrastructure
Trent University’s Water Quality Centre
Ontario’s clean water industry
For further information please contact:
Patricia Pytel
International Public Relations
Patricia.Pytel@ontario.ca
(416) 314-8704