Volume 15 Issue 2 Fall 2008
DEPARTMENT OF RENEWABLE RESOURCES
Landmark News Honours & Awards for Renewable Resources Staff & Alumni John Acorn—Alberta Book Publishing Award
N A C T A Teaching Awards (North American Colleges & Teachers of Agriculture) Graduate Student Teaching Awards— Colin Bergeron Teaching Award of Merit—— Debra Davidson Ed & Peggy Tyrchniewicz Award for Innovation in Teaching— Robert Grant Submitted by Frank Robinson
John Acorn accepted the award for Best Illustrated Book for his “Ladybugs of Alberta” at the Alberta Book Publishing Awards ceremony May 9 at the Glencoe Club in Calgary. John was one of 6 authors who won awards with books published by the University of Alberta Press. In fact, UAP won top prize in every one of the six categories it entered. “Ladybugs” is the third book in the Alberta Insect series featuring John’s brilliant, detailed photographs and drawings. UAP contributes to the intellectual and cultural life of Alberta and Canada by publishing well-edited, research-based knowledge and creative thought.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Landmark Laurels
3
Alumni Trails
4
Academic Travels
5
Graduate Student News
12
Department Seminars
17
Contact Us
18
Faculty Awards Faculty Research and Innovation Award: Phil Comeau and Debra Davidson Faculty Teaching Award: Debra Davidson ALES Distinguished Service Award: Alex Drummond and Robin McClelland (Rural Economy)
Jim Robertson, CSSS Soil Science for Society Award Jim, Professor Emeritus with Renewable Resources, was awarded the Science for Society Award as a member who has made a contribution towards promoting soil science to the public. As we all know, Jim is a tireless soils spin doctor and is well deserving of the award presented at the CSSS Annual Meeting at UNBC in July 2008.
Submitted by Diane Lee
Canada Research Chair He, Fangliang Tier 2 Renewal—Natural Sciences and Engineering Canada Research Chair in Biodiversity and Landscape Modeling
Royal Society of Canada OTTAWA – Dr. Mel Tyree, Professor, Department of Renewable Resources joins 10 other U of A academic staff members as a newly appointed fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. The recently elected 72 new Fellows and 2 Specially Elected Fellows have diverse backgrounds and disciplines, in keeping with the motto of the Society, “Different paths, one vision”. They have been elected to the Academies of RSC by their peers in recognition of outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic achievement. Founded in 1882, RSC is Canada’s senior and most prestigious scholarly organization. Election to RSC is the highest honour a scholar can achieve in the Arts, Humanities and Sciences. While continuing to pursue its original mandate to promote excellence in research and learning, RSC is also recognizing its unique opportunity to bridge Canada’s brightest minds with Canadian youth nationwide. SC Press Release Sept 5/08 Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 1
Notes from the Chair—John R Spence The green and gold of our surroundings seem especially poignant and spectacular as we enter the autumn of the University’s Centennial. It is an exciting time on campus and I hope that our friends and alumni will all have the chance to visit. The Department of Renewable Resources has enjoyed an excellent 2008. Many department members, as you will discover in these pages, were recognized this year for their exceptional efforts. Of special note are Mel Tyree’s election to the Royal Society of Canada and the award of NSERC’s prestigious Michael Smith Prize for the Promotion of Science to John Acorn. In addition to celebrating the old, we have new things to celebrate. The Faculty changed its name to ‘Agricultural, Environmental & Life Sciences’ Dr. Simon Grove (Forestry Tasmania) and John during 2008 to emphasize our broader connection to environmental issues. Spence recording landscape metrics on forested We now call ourselves ALES (& Loggers ). We have welcomed three new landscapes near Wara in southern Tasmania. professors: Scott Nielsen (Conservation Biology), Tariq Siddique (Soil Chemistry) and Miles Dyck (Oct 1—Sustainable Agriculture), and look forward to another year of active faculty recruitment. I must report two sad passing's in this issue. The RenR family lost our long-time Graduate Secretary, Sandy Nakashima, and our wise and inspirational senior soil scientist, Fred Bentley, who both passed away during 2008. We remain inspired bySandy’s energy and positive attitude and by Professor Bentley’s shining example of scholarship. Professor Bentley was recognized this September with the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award and we will remember him fondly at the upcoming Bentley Lecture. The lecture is to be presented by Wes Jackson of the Land Institute in Kansas, one of the visionaries of modern approaches to sustainable agriculture and a speaker who would have been highly appreciated by Fred. If you have an opportunity to visit you will see that the Department is buzzing with activity. Several large initiatives are underway that will give me more pleasant things to write about in the next Landmark. In closing, I send best wishes for a glorious autumn and a great run up to the finish of this very special U Alberta year.
Bentley Lecture & Robertson Dinner — Dinner— Monday, Oct 6, 2008 Dr. Wes Jackson from The Land Institute, Salina, Kansas
Title: What Will the Ecosphere Require of Us? Time: 3:00 PM Location: Room: ETL E 1 - 003 University of Alberta campus Free admission For more information contact: David Chanasyk at david.chanasyk@ualberta.ca Also see www.landinstitute.org
Robertson Dinner 5:30 PM University of Alberta Ticket purchase required. For more information contact: Darlene Saunders at
darlene.saunders@ualberta.ca
Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 2
Notes from the Assistant Chair—Administration What’s Going On Here?? Important work, that’s what. And while all of our great teaching, research and community contributions keep on rolling, many people are making important supporting contributions during what seems to be a particularly busy time. Here’s a quick sampling of projects that many people are supporting, to move our department’s good work forward.
ALES Unit Review Self Study
School of Forest Science proposal
Assisting 3 new academic staff and 30 new grads to settle in
Interim staffing changes following Sandy Nakashima’s sad passing
Bentley and FILS Lecture Series
Covering Wolf Liu-Maynes’ duties following her return to school
Departmental Collections projects
New Service Lab equipment
…and many more.
Thanks to all involved in these and many other initiatives supporting the vital work of our department. Bob Longworth
Landmark Laurels—Patrick Asante, PhD Candidate I am not sure which comic book lost its super hero but we are
awfully lucky that Patrick Asante decided to land in our department! With his brilliant smile, infectious laugh, and welcoming hand, Patrick Asante has the heart of Superman, the versatility of Batman, and the class of James Bond.
ple to the office to buy tickets to the annual Christmas party last year. Though he is a very strong leader when need be, Patrick also has the heart and soul of a child and it is this combination that endears him to everyone he meets!
Since Patrick started as a PhD student in our department in 2005, he has been heavily involved in academic life. Though normally a student of Forest Biology and Management working on a forest modeling project under the supervision of Glen Armstrong and Vic Adamowicz, Patrick has also accepted the challenge of teaching in 2008.
On any given day you may find Patrick discussing politics in the lunch room, supporting a friend at a thesis presentation, or watching cartoons with your kids. He is ALWAYS positive and he gives great hugs! So, if you need a friend, a confidant, a role model, a fashion consultant, an advisor, a laugh, a babysitter, a dance partner, or a one-man support network, you cannot do better than Patrick. He is truly a superhero!
Somewhere in the middle of the serious business of being a good student, he also finds time to be a great friend to the whole department!
P.S. Patrick, for purely selfish reasons, please don’t graduate any time soon. I will miss you too much!
Patrick is one of the strongest supporters of every department social event, going as far as personally walking peo-
Submitted by Andrea McGregor
Silent Auction—Friday, November 21 Shawna Kereliuk— Welcome to Shawna, who joined our Administration team mid August as interim receptionist in the GSB main office. Shawna comes from U of A Interim Staffing Solutions (ISS) and has been on campus since 2005.
760 GSB
9 a.m.—3 p.m.
All monies raised will be donated to the memorial bench for
Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 3
Sandy Nakashima, Devonian Botanic Garden
Alumni Trails— Dr. Myrna Simpson, University of Toronto Myrna Simpson (née Salloum) joined the Department of Renewable Resources in 1994 as a graduate student under the cosupervision of Professors Marvin Dudas and William McGill. Prior to this, she completed a BSc in Chemistry (Faculty of Science, U of A) and worked as an Analytical Chemist at Raylo (now Laporte) Chemicals in Edmonton. After completing her PhD in Environmental Soil Chemistry in 1999, she embarked on a 2 year NSERC-funded postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Chemistry, Ohio State University with Professor Patrick Hatcher, a world renowned environmental chemist. In 2002, Myrna joined the faculty at the University of Toronto where she is currently an Associate Professor of Environmental Science as well as serves as the Associate Director of the Environmental NMR Centre. Myrna’s research is reshaping the fundamental understanding of soil organic matter structure and environmental reactivity. She has already become internationally recognized for her achievements, is the recipient of numerous awards and research grants, and has published nearly 60 peer reviewed papers and book chapters since 2001. Her research program at the University of Toronto draws heavily on her unique and combined strengths in chemistry and environmental science and her long-term goal is to push the limits of the current understanding of environmental processes at the molecular-level.
dedicated to the study of natural organic matter. This instrument is also one of the few NMR spectrometers in the world capable of the analysis of complex mixtures by hyphenation with chromatographic separation and MS. Later this fall, the Centre will add a second high field NMR instrument capable of microimaging (“mini MRI”) and solid-state applications. Myrna hopes to one day create a National facility for students and researchers to visit and immerse themselves in the use of NMR technology for studying soil processes. “I didn’t fully understand NMR until I received hands on experience during my postdoctoral fellowship. It isn’t the same when someone else runs the sample for you so training students and researchers how to use this powerful technology properly is critical for future advancements in environmental science.” adds Myrna. Myrna looks back at her time in Renewable Resources “very fondly”.
“I remember being confused for the first few months because I hadn’t Myrna’s research focuses on the developtaken many soil science courses but ment of innovative mass spectrometry (MS) I was drawn to the department for my and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) graduate work because of my intermethods to obtain molecular-level informaMyrna at Yellowstone est in environmental science” says tion which is used to formulate accurate Myrna. At that time, formal environmechanistic information that can then be mental science programs were not as prolific as they are now. applied to processes observed on a larger scale. In 2003, “The faculty and staff in the department were very welcoming”. Myrna co-founded the Environmental NMR Centre which houses the only high field NMR instrument in Canada solely Myrna also credits her success and ability to pioneer new research programs to her PhD co-supervisors (Professors Dudas and McGill). “They were both brilliant in different ways so I had the best of both worlds”. Myrna also says that she learned to keep an open mind and has modeled the way she supervises her own students after her experience in Renewable Resources. “I had depth in Chemistry when I came to the department but what I lacked was breadth and an understanding of competing environmental processes. I am indebted to my co-supervisors for teaching me how to be a solid scientist and how to develop good research questions”. Friends of the Pedon also helped Myrna embrace graduate student life in Renewable Resources and she served as “Jock FOP” one year which required her to co-ordinate the intramural softball team (called the Dirtbaggers) and the women’s intramural hockey team (called the Dirtbags). “Our hockey team placed dead last every season but we had a great time!”. Submitted by M Simpson
Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 4
Academic Travels
Lee Foote lined up a 17,500 km motorcycle trip across Canada and down the East
Coast of the US while on sabbatical this past summer. He travelled across the Dakotas, over the Great Lakes, up and down the rocky Maine coast, to Conferences in Burlington, Vermont and Washington DC, to USGS offices in Maine, several universities and to visit friends and family. The following acdemia related venues showed up on his itinerary: May 2008—Lectured at North Dakota State for Mac Butler; visited the Maine Fisheries Branch, Halawell, ME; delivered a lab presentation at Yale, CT. June 2008—Met with Pekin’s grad lab, University of New Hampshire, Durham , NH; visited Rob Jackson’s lab at Duke University , NC; Tom Caceci’s lab at VPI, Blacksburg, VA; Rick Kranich’s lab, Logan, UT.
Robert Grant
Scott Chang
Climate Impacts on Canadian Arctic Tundra 2nd AnnualGeneral Meeting, Ottawa 13 – 16 April 2008 Presentation— Grant, R.F. 2008. Modeling needs and possibilities in studying climate impacts on arctic tundra ecosystems. Canada Carbon Project Annual General Meeting. Calgary, AB 13 – 16 March, 2008 Presentations— Metivier, K.A., Grant, R.F. and Pattey, E. 2008. Using the Ecosys mathematical model to simulate spatial and temporal variability of nitrous oxide emissions from fertilized agricultural soils.
Scott Chang and students (Baojing Gu, Craig Neufeld, Sarah Pattison and Yang Lin) traveled to Lethbridge in February to attend the 45th Annual Alberta Soil Science Workshop where they gave four presentations. Sarah won the second best oral presentation award at the Workshop. Scott serves as the Treasurer for the Alberta Soil Science Workshop and he chaired the Forestry/Riparian/Wetland technical session and a volunteer session. Between March 26-27, Scott traveled to Hangzhou (China) to present an invited talk on “Riparian management in western Canada and the Whitemud Creek soil quality case study” at the International Workshop on Sustainable Watershed Research and Management. He also co-chaired a session on “San Joaquin River Watershed Research”.
Grant, R., Wang, Z., Kurz, W., Arain, A., Chen, J., Govind, A., Guindon, L., Hember, R., Price, D., Stinson, G. and Trofymow, J. 2008. Historical C Modeling Project – using process models to estimate climate effects on forest C stocks in inventory models.
Between May 10-12, Scott traveled to China to give an invited presentation “Effects of land-use change and sensitivity to temperature” at the 11th National Conference of Young Soil Scientists in Yangling, Shaanxi Province. The last half day of the conference was interrupted by the Sichuan Earthquake.
Grant, R.F., Margolis, H.A., Bernier, P.Y. and Bergeron, O. 2008. Changes in net ecosystem productivity of a boreal black spruce forest under historical rises in atmospheric CO2 concentration and N deposition.
Scott attended the 10th North America Forest Soils Conference, June 22-26, 2008. Blacksburg, Virginia. Scott is serving as a co-guest editor for the special issue from this conference that will be published in Forest Ecology and Management.
Dimitrov, D.D., Grant, R.F., Lafleur, P.M., Roulet, N.T. and Humphreys, E. 2008. Hydrological effects on ER and GPP of a northern bog: can near-surface hydrology help in explaining interannual variability of the bog NEP.
Scott attended the Joint Meeting of the International Grassland Congress and the International Rangeland Congress, 29th June – 5th July, 2008, Hohhot, China, and presented a poster paper on “Interactions between defoliation, warming, and drought in a native northern grassland in Alberta, Canada”. While in Inner Mongolia, he also took the opportunity to visit Inner Mongolia Agricultural University and University of Inner Mongolia and presented a seminar at each institution.
Wang, Z., Grant, R.F., Arain, A., Bernier, P., Chen, J., Coops, N., Govind, A., Guindon, L., Hember, R., Kurz, W.A., Price, D., Stinson, G., Trofymow, J.A. and Yeluripati, J. 2008. Modelling of Disturbance Effect on Forest Above Ground Biomass and Net Biome Productivity in Oyster River and Chibougamau Sites.
14th meeting of the International Boreal Forest Research Association in Harbin, China on 22 - 27 September - Robert Grant, Ziyu Wang and Kimlin Metivier attended the meeting, where Robert co-chaired one of the sessions. Robert has accepted an invitation to join the editorial board of Agronomy Journal as an Associate Editor. He remains on the Science Committees of the Canada Carbon Project (CFCAS) and the Climate Impacts on Canadian Arctic Ecosystems (IPY).
Sarah Pattison, Baojing Gu, Behnaz Attaeian, Zheng Shi and Scott Chang attended the Canadian Society of Soil Science 2008 annual meeting in Prince George, British Columbia, July 6 - 10, 2008 and made seven presentations. Scott also chaired a session on “Biogeochemical Cycling in Forest Soils” and served as a judge of student presentations for the Bentley Awards. In August, Scott traveled to Vienna and attended EUROSOIL 2008: Soil - Society - Environment, 25 - 29 August, 2008. He presented a talk on “Recovery and retranslocation of 15N-urea in a drained minerotrophic peatland 13 years after application. Scott also co-chaired a session on “Nitrogen”.
Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 5
Phil Comeau
U of A and U Laval Group in Rome
International Forestry FOR 456 – Forestry in Italy – April 29-May 1, 2008 This spring Phil Comeau led a visit to Italy as part of the International Forestry Course (FOR 456). This visit was hosted by Professor Pietro Piussi (Univ. of Florence), with help from Chiara Calabrese, Prof. Renzo Motta (Univ. of Torino) and several others. Forests cover 37.5% of the land area of Italy, with 65% of the forest under private ownership. Forest area is increasing at a rate of about 1.1% annually. Each year Italy produces about 8 million m3 of roundwood and imports about 9 million m3. In addition, Italy imports about 13.5 million m3 of lumber each
the opportunity to visit several sites of historical and artistic interest, and to sample some terrific food and good wine. They discovered that many famous paintings were painted on wood (Poplar they were told)! Phil’s group teamed up with a group from Laval University for the first 5 days of the visit, and with a group from Univ. of Moncton and Fleming College for two days in the Dolomites. During the first 2 days in Rome they visited the Forestry Department and the Library at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Program, Biodiversity International, and the Castel Porziano Presidential Estate.
From Florence they visited Mediterranean pine and hardwoods forests at San Rossore, Oak coppice (for charcoal and fuelwood production) near San Gimignano, and the Great pines (Stone Pine) of Rome National Forest Reserve of Valambrosa (where they visited the arboretum, and saw silver fir (Abies alba), beech year and the majority of its pulp is imand mixed forests. They stayed at ported. Wood and wood waste acPaneveggio in the Dolomites for 3 nights counted for about 5.6% of energy supwhere they learned about management of plies in 2005, but there is substantial Norway Spruce from page stands using effort being invested in increasing enstrip shelterwoods, strip selection, and ergy production from renewable group selection systems. This region is sources, including forestry. believed to have provided the wood for In hilly and mountainous regions of Italy Stradivarius violins, and continues to pro– forests play an important role in slope duce resonance wood for guitars, violins and pianos. stabilization and aesthetics and also provide wildlife habitat, recreational arThe group visited the forests of Val eas, and numerous other ecological services. During the visit the group took Naona to see application of the uneven-
aged management systems in a mixed silver fir-beech-Norway spruce forest. During the day in the Consiglio Forest they saw Karst topography, application of shelterwood systems for beech and Norway spruce regeneration and visited beech stands which had been managed using a coppice with standards system from the 17th Century to the 1960’s. Field trials are underway that are exploring the use of this system for bionergy production. Historically, the Consiglio forest was an important source of lumber for Venetian ships. After a short stop in Venice, the group returned home from their 2 great weeks in Italy with a heightened awareness of the linkage between forests, history, and culture.
A value added forest product (Violin blank from Norway spruce)
Be sure to mark you Calendar for the International Forestry (FOR 456) trip to Mexico February 13-22, 2009. Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 6
Phil Comeau’s Sabbatical Visit to Britain Phil Comeau spent 2 weeks in Britain in May (after his visit to Italy), in preparation for about 2 months of research this fall. While in Britian, Phil was awarded the Scottish Forestry Trust Fellowship for 2008. This award supports his involvement in continuous cover forestry research in the UK. He is collaborating with Forestry Commission staff in development and evaluation of indirect methods for estimating light availability to understory regeneration in the transformation of Sitka spruce and Douglas-fir stands to continuous cover forestry in Great Britain and in the evaluating the potential application of site occupancy measures in the development of CCF prescriptions.
cover structures. A major challenge in the application of these systems is to find levels of canopy retention which are amenable to establishment of regeneration of desired species while at the same time achieving timber production, ecological, and visual objectives.
Continuous cover forestry is an approach which involves using alternatives to clearfelling to maintain continuous cover of forests by establishing regeneration in the understory of retained forest cover. This may involve regeneration of even-aged stands through the application of shelterwood systems or the creation of multi-aged stands using irregular shelterwood or selection systems. Between 500,000 and 750,000 ha of British conifer forest are potentially suitable for transformation to continuous
This photo illustrates successful natural regeneration obtained using a shelterwood system in a 55 year-old even-aged Sitka spruce stand. The stand has a history of previous thinnings which, together with protection from wind, make this stand windfirm.
John Spence Hobart, Tasmania (February) IUFRO meeting ‘Old For- cumpolar Institute to assist with building human capacity ests, New Management. It was marvelous to see the in the North. largest living deciduous trees on Earth and to engage in Pretoria and Durban, South Africa (July) Participated creative work with colleagues (see photo-Page 2). in an IUFRO meeting focused on forest entomology in Pretoria, where I presented a paper St Johns, Newfoundland (April) jointly with Jan Volney (Adjunct Served as the external assessor for Professor) about our work on forest Memorial University’s excellent and tent caterpillar. Participated in the newly proposed PhD program in EnInternational Congress of Entomolvironmental Sciences. In addition to ogy in Durban along with doctoral meeting some great folks and MUN students Colin Bergeron and and learning about their interesting Esther Kamunya. Collectively, our and exciting work, it was the perfect group presented 5 papers in Durtime to become an iceberg watcher. ban and I organized a major symToronto, Ontario (May) Participated posium in the forest entomology in a meeting of the Canadian Forestry section. Accreditation Board to finalize the first phase of the ‘inclusivity project’ Fredericton, New Brunswick (September) Participated the 100th that was undertaken to broaden the range of curriculum recognized as Anniversary Meeting of the Canasufficient for program accreditation. dian Institute of Forestry and the Our group, including Peter Blenis, implementation session for the Alex Drummond and Uldis Silins, have been involved CFAB ‘inclusivity project’. Furthermore, Alex Drumin this from the start and we are optimistic about the new mond and I took a group of 15 undergraduate students guidelines. to the CIF meeting and on a pre-conference tour of forestry highlights in New Brunswick. Our program put two Whitehorse, Yukon (June) Together with Faculty Dean teams in the first Canadian Quiz Bowl competition at the John Kennelly, we participated in meetings with Yukon CIF meeting and both teams made it to the semi-final College aimed at eventually offering our ENCS program round. Our students had a great experience and we in Whitehorse and on developing a further joint program were proud of them. with the Faculty of Native Studies and the Canadian CirLandmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 7
Naeth, Chanasyk & Jobson travel to Germany
Bruce Dancik
Drs. Naeth, Jobson (Adjunct Professor) and Chanasyk traveled to Germany the first two weeks of May 2008 to explore collaborative research opportunities. The first stop was Berlin where they joined former Departmental employee and Berlin resident, Jeff Thurston. After a great tour of Berlin with the group travelled to Cottbus, about 1 hour southeast of Berlin and only 20+ km from the Polish border, to visit the Brandenburg Technical University. This area is the heart of eastern Germany’s coal fired generating plants. The visit included a seminar presented by Dr Naeth, discussions with researchers there on reclamation research (largely soils based), a visit to their (constructed) research watershed, a visit to one of the coal mines, a visit to a sister department in Pottsdam (1 hour away), and a great afternoon workshop with graduate students on reclamation. Then it was off to Munich via train where meetings were arranged at the Munich Technical University. For a week in July David and Anne hosted their German colleagues in Alberta, showing them Fort McMurray and the Highvale coal mine and continuing their collaboration planning. Submitted by David Chanasyk
Bruce Dancik was a participant in the Oxford Round Table on “Sustainability: the ultimate quest. An interdisciplinary perspective” over a week in early August. The Round Table consisted of five days of presentations and intense discussions in Rhodes House and St. Anne’s College. The 30 invited participants, mostly academic but including a few from agencies and the private sector, came from around the world. To provide welcome breaks and to keep the discussants from coming to blows, our Oxford University hosts wisely scheduled a few tours and history lessons around and about Oxford University, its many colleges, the city and region, and World-Heritage-Site Blenheim Palace, along with some wonderful receptions and banquets in several other colleges at Oxford. While at Oxford, Bruce also toured the Oxford Botanic Garden (oldest botanic garden in Britain), and visited with Jeff Burley, retired Director of the former Oxford Forestry Institute. Bruce also arranged for day-long visits of the Millennium Seed Bank (partner of the Devonian Botanic Garden on several projects) at Wakehurst Place (and its lovely garden) and Kew Gardens before proceeding to Oxford.
A Research Assistant, Dr. Thomas Raab (red), Anne Naeth, with Al Jobson at Cottbus Coal Mine
Forest Industry Lecture Series Lecture No. 60 Will Forests Survive the Use and Abuse of Humans?
Dr. James Beck, Professor Emeritus, Renewable Resources Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta
Lecture: 3 p.m. Thursday
November 6, 2008
Myer Horowitz Theatre, SUB, University of Alberta (Spring FILS Lecture No. 61 and Poster Presentation—Thursday, March 5, 2009) Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 8
Noorallah Juma—Dr. Noorallah Juma and four members of his group, Elisa Verma, Sajjad Khandker, Dr. Shanjida Khan and Dr. Baldev Chhabra, made four oral and one poster presentations at the annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Soil Science held in Prince George, B.C. in July 2008. Elisa Verma was the second runner up for the Bentley Award for her oral presentation titled "Sorption and net die off of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis in uncontaminated soil samples' and received a cheque for $200.00.
Undergraduate Student News
New Trees for Breton Plots In conjunction with the University of Alberta’s centennial anniversary, employees of Brazeau County and University of Alberta Breton Plots, Kristen Range and Erika Strande, planted twenty new rows of trees at the Breton Plots on May 13 and 14, 2008. These new trees were generously donated by Brazeau County (special thanks to Connie Kappler), who coordinated the tree orders through the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) and Alberta Nurseries. Hawthorn, Bur Oak, Raspberry bushes, Saskatoon bushes, Chokecherries, Manitoba Maple and Green Ash were planted adjacent to the existing trees that were planted thirty years ago. Additional tree types will be planted in 2009 to complete the demonstration area. In time, harvesting efforts at the Breton Plots will be rewarded by the produce from these trees!
Alicia Entem—Alicia, member of the ALES undergraduate class of 2008 June convocation, not only graduated with the Dean’s Medal for our Faculty as the most outstanding student, she also received the Governor General’s Silver Medal.
Submitted by Dick Puurveen
The Silver Medal was one of only three given out to undergraduate students convocating in all disciplines from across campus. She also received the CD Howe Fellowship given to the most outstanding graduating student from all U of A undergraduate Faculties. This is the first time in recent memory that one of our own has received both the Governor General's award and CD Howe Fellowship. Submitted by Brad Wuetherick
Forest Society Executive 2008—09 Academic Year President:
Ryan Hee
Vice President:
Ryan Sherritt
Treasurer:
Kirk Hawthorn
Secretary:
Lee St. Arnaud
Tree Sales:
Robert Farrell & Ryan Scheelar
Senior CIF Rep: Jenn Platz Junior CIF Rep:
Sarah Railton
Men’s Sports Rep: Beaumark Annunziello
Environmental and Conservation Sciences Students Association Executive 2008—09 Academic Year President:
Dan Heinrichs
Vice President:
Catherine Cocks
Treasurer:
Yvette Thompson-
Secretary:
Tory Culen
Conference Coordinators: Jesse Hahn & Anna Vesala Social Conveners: Matthew Watson & Austin Schumacher
Women’s Sports Rep: Amanda Horning Grad Reps:
Fran Ferster & Jarred Bone
Yearbook Rep: External Rep:
Jewel Yurkewich Richard Gish
Social Convenors: Brian Hennesy & Darrick Brochu 3rd Year Rep:
Colin Germsheid
2nd Year Rep:
David Zurevinski
1st Year Rep:
Andrew Cook
Grad Reps:
Laura Neden & Ian Levitt Con Bio rep:
Tory Culen
Land Rec Rep:
Erin Belva
Econ Policy rep: Marcus Peterson Wildlife and Rangeland Rep: Brett Pa gacz Intramural Rep:
Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 9
Penny Wizniuk
Memories.......
Sandy Nakashima
( August 22, 1948—September 9, 2008) I was wondering if many of you are feeling the same as I am—somewhat shell-shocked and detached from the reality of Sandy’s passing. We still kid around, do what needs to be done, come and go just as before-- and then something hits you. Hard. I was eating some peaches and suddenly I was flooded with thoughts of how much Sandy liked it when I gave her the bag of home-made dried fruit I used to make for her. Her whole face would light up with that truly great smile and then the inevitable laugh she had. She would be so grateful. I was reminded of the delicious pies she used to make and how she always went out of the way to ensure I had a piece. I remember the jars of jam she used to give my wife and her laughter at Halloween—the little things that shape the memories of a person in our mind. Happy memories. Sandy, with Peter Blenis, AssociMy only regret is that in the 21 years she worked here, I never adequately told her just what a damn good employee I thought she was—diligent, hard working (did she EVER ate Chair, Grad Studies, Renewtake a coffee break?), reliable, efficient—oh yes, impatient because she had such high able Resources standards. I didn’t say these things to her because, like many of you perhaps, I was too busy chasing the clock, rushing past sunny windows, taking things for granted. Frankly, until the last couple of weeks, it always seemed to be a sheer impossibility that someone like hyper Sandy, with her boundless energy, enthusiasm and vitality, could ever, no matter what we knew of the corrupt cells eating away at her sadly shrinking shape, actually be beaten. Perhaps, she never was. Her gift to me is the reminder to slow down, not wait until the windows go dark. So I hope you’re up there Sandy,--laughing, whacking a golf ball, eating some fruit and having the fun that was cruelly robbed from you down here. I hope you can hear me whisper what I should have yelled before you went silent: Good work, lady. I’ll really miss you.”
Fred Bentley
Submitted by Mike Abley
Fred Bentley, former Dean, long-time member of our Faculty, and a committed advocate of environmentally sustainable agriculture, passed away on Saturday evening, April 12, 2008 at the age of 94. Dr. Bentley was Professor Emeritus with the Department of Renewable Resources.
He obtained his BSc (Ag’ 39) and his MSc (Soil Science ’42) from the University of Alberta and his PhD in Soil Science from the University of Minnesota in 1945. In 1990, Dr. Bentley received his Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Alberta. Dr. Bentley’s academic career, mainly at the University of Alberta, spanned over 36 years and included Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture from 1958 to 1968. Fred’s research interests centered around sustainability of agriculture and protection of the environment. He was a department member from 1946-1979. Focusing on soil fertility and nutrient quality, Dr. Bentley conducted his research on gray luvisolic soils at the University of Alberta’s Breton Plots located near Breton, Alberta. Earlier this year, Dr. Bentley was honoured by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India when they renamed their conference centre. Dr. Bentley served for ten years as the first Chairman of the Board of Governors of ICRISAT. ICRISAT was established in 1972 to help developing countries in semi-arid tropical regions around the world apply science to increase crop yields and improve farming systems for small farmers, reduce poverty and protect the environment. Fred was the driving force behind the establishment of the Bentley Lecture, held every fall as major event in the Department of Renewable Resources. Lectures focus on topics current and relevant to environmentally sustainable agriculture. Dr. Bentley was posthumously honoured with a Distinguished Alumni Award at the September 18 Alumni Awards ceremonies at the Winspear Centre. The Award recognizes the outstanding achievements of University of Alberta alumni who have brought honour to themselves and their alma mater in a multitude of ways. Donations in Fred’s memory can be made to “The Agriculture in High Schools Program”, 2-14 Agriculture Forestry Centre, University of Alberta or “The Helen and Fred Bentley Fellowship in Cropping Systems International Development Research Centre”, Box 8500, Ottawa ON CA K1C 3H9 Submitted by Bob Longworth
Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 10
Rocky Mountain House Agriculture Theme Park On Thursday May 8, 2008 Jim Roberston, Dick Puurveen, and Erika Strande were presenters at the Agriculture Theme Park in Rocky Mountain House. Throughout the course of the day there were eleven different elementary classes from surrounding schools that attended the display to learn more about soil.
three different sizes of soil particles. Water was added to two different kinds of soil and the students got to touch the soil to discover that the more sand that was in the soil the more gritty it felt and the more clay that was in the soil the more it felt like plastic or play dough. Table 3— decomposition of organic matter, with samples of leaves and straw that could be found on the ground, as well as Petri dishes with bacteria, fungi, and small animals. A crucible was filled with a sample of soil and put over a flame to demonstrate that when the organic matter is burnt off, the soil turns a lighter colour because all that is remaining are the mineral particles.
Within the display, there were four different tables set up and each table featured different soil information: Table 1— interactive display of soil profiles and horizons. Different colours of soil at different levels were put on display. It was explained to the students that the darker the soil colour meant more humus was present.
Table 4— soil management along with free gardening advice to students and teachers; it was discussed how plants need four main macronutrients to reach their full growth potential; demo of soil erosion from wind and rain. The Agriculture Theme Park concept is unique and provides the students an opportunity to learn about agriculture outside of the classroom, in an increasSubmitted by Erika Strande ingly urban society.
Table 2— different parts of soil with the
NRAL
Natural Resources Analytical Laboratory Accurate & Affordable Analysis addition of a second Costech 4010 EA instrument. We now offer total sulfur and total hydrogen analysis in addition to total nitrogen and carbon in soils and biological materials.
What’s new in the NRAL?
Renewable Resources department research service laboratories have undergone several positive changes over the last few years. Other new equipment includes a GasBench II for δ 13C in The High Volume Lab and the Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometry gas samples. This instrument is currently in the method delabs merged in late 2005 to form the Natural Resources Analytical velopment phase. Laboratory (NRAL). The lab has welcomed new lab staff, new lab equipment, and have significantly improved the Quality Assurance throughout the lab.
New QA/QC Program
The lab’s Quality Assurance program has been revamped to include several new measures, including scheduled balance calibrations using N.I.S.T. certified Class I calibrated weights, daily storage area temperature monitoring, and process monitoring via Shewhart Control Charting of external reference standards. These are designed to ensure our clients receive the accurate and precise data they require. The NRAL continues to include analytical QC checks like blanks, duplicates, external reference standards, continuing calibration checks, and matrix spike samples with each sample batch as appropriate. Although our method references are posted on the NRAL website, we also have documented standard laboratory operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistency and provide analytical reliability over time.
New Staff Changes Monica Molina, who formerly supervised lab staff and performed lab analyses, has moved out of the lab and serves as client liaison and technical resource person.
New Equipment A recent successful collaborative NSERC RTI grant application provided funding for a SmartChem Discrete Wet Chemistry Analyzer. This instrument, located in the NRAL, will substantially streamline ammonium and nitrate analysis, with enhanced reliability, precision and sample throughput. It also allows staff to offer a greater number of sample parameters in addition to those formerly analyzed using the Technicon Autoanalyzer.
Allan Farrell joined our group in April of 2007 and completes routine analyses and sample preparation procedures. Allan Harms and Jean (Xin) Zhang continue to play key roles in the operations of the lab, building on their many years of experience working in the department.
Sample capacity has increased for Elemental Analysis with the Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 11
Submitted by Donna Friesen
Graduate Student News Welcome! We have a lot of new graduate students joining us for fall 2008 term:
Name
Degree
Supervisor
Name
Degree
Supervisor
Alana Clason
MSc
Ellen Macdonald
Jessica Snedden
MSc
Silins
Lindsay Colgan
MSc
Erbilgin
Kevin Solarik
MSc
Lieffers
Kyle Drennen
MSc
Lieffers
Yanyan Song
MSc
Kachanoski
Evan Esch
MSc
Spence
Preston Sorenson
MSc
Quideau
Sithara Fernando
MSc
Zwiazek
Xiaomei Sun
MSc
Kachanoski
Devin Goodsman
MSc
Lieffers
Tibor Egri
PhD
Erbilgin
Kimberley Ives
MSc
Foote
Stephen Hart
PhD
Chang
Kyle Lochhead
MSc
Comeau
Seung-Il Lee
PhD
Spence
Laura MacPherson
MSc
Foote
Claudia Lopez
PhD
Hudson
Candace Nemirsky
MSc
Naeth
Mohammad Mexbahuddin
PhD
Grant
Javier Rodriguez Alvarez
MSc
Lieffers
Lenka Plavcova
PhD
Hacke
Marie-Claude Roy
MSc
Foote
Stefan Schreiber
PhD
Hamann
Janet Scott
MSc
David Chanasyk
Cory Kartz
Qualifying
Kachanoski
Darin Sherritt
MSc
Naeth
Takahiro Kato
Visiting PhD Kachanoski
Award Winner Darin Sheritt Tours Range and Pasture Management Activities in Western Canada Darin Sheritt, a new Renewable Resources graduate student and ENCS undergrad, is good at identifying North American rangeland plants, even some from places where he has never set foot. This skill, combined with the knowledge he gained from his Rangeland Management major in the Environmental and Conservation Sciences program, won him a week-long tour of range and pasture management activities in Western Canada. The prize came as a result of his participation in student contests at the annual Society for Range Management meeting last January. During the last week of July, Darin visited the Manitoba Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in southeastern Manitoba and the Grasslands National Park in southwestern Saskatchewan, as well as two research stations, two ranches, a decommissioned military training facility and a federal community pasture. Mae Elsinger, another Renewable Resources Master Student , on education leave from Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA), arranged and accompanied Darin on the tour. The tour was hosted by Range and Biodiversity Division of the PFRA, a branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. In-kind contributions were made from the De’Athe family of Sidney, Manitoba, and Mae Elsinger. Many employees took time from their jobs to discuss and demonstrate range and pasture management: Christie Borowsky from the Nature Conservancy, Claire, Doug and Signe of the De’Athe family, Clayton Robins and Alan Iwaasa from Research Branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Bev Dunlop, Dan MacDonald, Kerry LaForge, and Don Millar from PFRA, Darcy Henderson from Environment Canada – Canadian Wildlife Service and Etienne Soulodre from Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, and Glen Ekert from Pipestone, Saskatchewan helped to make Darin’s trip a memorable experience. Submitted by Mae Elsinger Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 12
Graduate Student Awards Student
Award
Supervisor
Amanda Schoonmaker
President's Doctoral Prize of Distinction
Lieffers/Landhausser
Andrea McGregor
President's Doctoral Prize of Distinction
Foote
Candace Nemirsky
Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship – Master’s
Naeth
Charlene Wood
Walter H Johns Graduate Fellowship
Spence
David Roberts
Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship – Master’s
Hamann
Guillaume Blanchet
Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship – Doctoral
He
Guillaume Blanchet
Margaret (Peg) Brown Award
He
Guillaume Blanchet
W H McCardell Memorial Scholarship
He
Jaime Pinzon
Killam Memorial Scholarship
Spence
Jessica Snedden
West Fraser
Silins
Joceyln Howery
Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship – Master’s
Silins
Kevin Renkema,
Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship – Master’s
Leiffers
Kimberley Ives
Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship – Master’s
Foote
Lenka Plavcova
Provost
Hacke
Mohammad Mezbahuddin
Provost
Grant
Peggy Desserud
Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship – Doctoral
Naeth
Preston Sorenson
Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship – Master’s
Quideau
Richard Caners
Dissertation Fellowship
Macdonald
Seung-Il Lee
Provost
Spence
Shari Clarke
Walter H Johns Graduate Fellowship
Foote/Krogman
Varina Crisfield
NSERC PGSM
Macdonald
Varina Crisfield
Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship – Master’s
Macdonald
Varina Crisfield
Walter H Johns Graduate Fellowship
Macdonald
Fall Convocation Ceremonies Undergraduate Degrees Wednesday, Nov 19 2008 3 p.m. Faculty of Graduate Studies & Research Thursday, Nov 20 2008 Master of Science Degrees 10 a.m. PhD Degrees 3 p.m. Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 13
Graduate Student Profiles
Anayansi Cohen Cohen--Fernández – PhD Candidate Anayansi was born in Mexico City and spent her teenage years in Panama. While working as an interpreter at the Metropolitan Natural Park, she began her undergraduate studies on biology. After moving back to Mexico City in 1989, she earned a BSc in Biology at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana. To urban life fans, Mexico City is a great place to live in but Anayansi loves wilderness and open spaces so deAt Lake Louise cided to head south to the Yucatan Peninsula where she earned an MSc in Conservation and Management of Natural Tropical Resources from the Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan. Her thesis involved developing a model for sustainable use of natural populations of the tree Bursera simaruba (L) Sarg, in semidesciduos tropical forests of Campeche, Mexico. After completing her MSc, Anayansi worked for several years as an environmental consultant in touristy, fast growing Cancun. During her time there, she realized that the development of a city often causes severe land disturbances associated with the extraction of materials to support the development of urban infrastructure and housing. Limestone, the principal component of cement and aggregates for construction, has been extracted for centuries in the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as around the world. Looking at the number and magnitude of the limestone open pits, it became clear to Anayansi that she wanted to learn At work on research plots about and research ways to rehabilitate these extraction sites. Her research aims to develop soil building techniques and the establishment of a diverse native plant community in a limestone quarry. Her field site is located in Exshaw, Southern Alberta. In 2005 she was awarded a scholarship from the MexiExshaw Limestone Quarry can Agency for Science and Technology, CONACyT, for Doctoral Studies in the Land Reclamation and Remediation Program at the University of Alberta. Anayansi was awarded the Donald A. Shaw Memorial Graduate Scholarship 2007, the Canadian Land Reclamation Association Academic Merit Award 2008 and the GSA International Student Award 2008.. She is supervised by Anne Naeth. Besides her research work, Anayansi is a member of the U of A Festival of Teaching Steering Committee. She had a great time in January 2008 performing together with other grad students from Renewable Resources as one of the Wandering Scholars during the inaugural Festival of Teaching. She is very interested in international land reclamation, soil building, plant ecology, natural resources management and teaching. She loves a whole bunch of things, among them her family and friends, movies (good ones more than bad ones) and travel to new places, which right now means anywhere north of Edmonton. Tree in Barro Colorado Panama Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 14
Grad Student Profiles (cont’d)
Tim Antil —MSc Student Antil— After a number of years working as an environmental consultant, specifically as a fisheries biologist, Tim decided to return to university in 2007 to pursue a MSc degree in land reclamation under the supervision of Dr. Anne Naeth. Although a slight divergence from his past work experience, the program ties in well with his other interests in the natural environment. With a holistic approach to resource management, Tim is particularly interested in the field of ecosystem restoration. This is one of the reasons why he considers himself very fortunate to be associated with a project in Jasper National Park which has so many interconnected relationships among plants, wildlife, and human activity. The primary focus of Tim’s project is to determine the effect of Russian thistle (Salsola kali), a non-native plant species, on native montane grassland habitat for wildlife. Specifically, this study will address how Russian thistle impacts wildlife forage by altering native plant communities and the role wildlife grazing has on Russian thistle establishment and persistence. Invasion of non-native plant species can have a significant impact on the function and integrity of natural ecosystems. In Jasper National Park, large areas of Russian thistle have been observed in native montane grassland communities used for winter grazing by bighorn sheep and other ungulates. These areas of invasion have been increasing in size. Due to a large sheep population, it is believed that critical areas may be overgrazed. This reduced range condition may be permitting Russian thistle to become established and compete with already stressed native plant species, potentially reducing wildlife forage. Components of the project include examining the mechanisms of Russian thistle invasion, the role wildlife grazing has on Russian thistle establishment, how Russian thistle impacts the native plant community, and strategies that may aid in managing this species. Tim is hopeful that the research results will not only benefit park managers, but other land managers throughout the province involved with ungulate grazing and invasive species. Tim spent much of the summer in a small rustic warden’s cabin near the Snake Indian River, northwest of Jasper Lake. His days were spent scouring the montane grasslands of the Athabasca River Valley looking for Russian thistle, and collecting field data for the first of two field seasons. This winter Tim will be conducting a series of greenhouse experiments and analyzing data collected during the 2008 field season. Tim is originally from British Columbia. He has worked and lived throughout the province but considers the small northern town of Fraser Lake home. In 2004 his girlfriend decided to move to Edmonton to attend the U of A. Up for a change, he figured that he would tag along. Tim spends many of his weekends hiking in the mountains or canoeing the rivers of Alberta. One of Tim’s great passions is travelling. With the exception of Antarctica, he has been to every continent. Possibly one of his favorite trips was a journey across Russia on the Trans Siberian Railway in the dead of winter. He can still feel the effects of the frostbite on his ears. As a reward to himself after completing his MSc, Tim plans to cycle around Iceland. Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 15
Welcome to New Academic Staff - Scott Nielsen, Assistant Professor, Conservation Biology Welcome to Scott Nielsen, wife Charlene, daughter Natalie, and son, Jorgen, who joined our Renewable Resources family September 1, 2008. As our new Assistant Professor of Conservation Biology, Dr. Nielsen’s research will focus on predicting the effects of landscape change on species of concern and biodiversity, identifying management alternatives to mitigate their impacts, and to test key concepts in conservation biology using mesocosm experiments and local natural model systems. Dr. Nielsen grew up in Wisconsin, where he obtained a BSc in Biology at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. With an undergraduate emphasis in ecology, Scott quickly became interested in efforts to evaluate the ecology, conservation, and restoration of endangered oak/pine savannas in the Midwestern USA. He earned an MSc in Natural Resources on the same topic under the direction of Dr. Alan Haney. After his MSc, Scott worked as an ecologist with the Sand County Foundation in Madison, Wisconsin, promoting the Land Ethic of North America’s first and arguably most famous Wildlife and Conservation Professor, Aldo Leopold. He also assisted with the management of the Aldo Leopold Memorial Reserve and continued his research on oak/ pine savannas. Following his ENGO work, Scott pursued his PhD with Dr. Mark Boyce at the University of Alberta (Biological Sciences) where he worked on development and application of a habitat-based population viability model for grizzly bears in Alberta. He continued his training at the UofA as a PDF with Dr. Boyce (grizzly bears) and Dr. Erin Bayne (Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Initiative). Scott recently held a PDF at the University of Saskatchewan, working with Dr. Marc Cattet on evaluating linkages between landscape change and grizzly bear health (stress hormones and measures of growth). He also has worked with the Foothills Research Institute in Hinton, the Conservation Planning Institute in Oregon and at the USGS Fort Collins Science Center in Colorado. Scott brings skills in plant and wildlife ecology, landscape and restoration ecology, conservation planning, ecological monitoring, GIS, and scenario planning and risk assessment. Scott enjoys spending time with his family, paddling a canoe, and tinkering with sustainable agriculture and conservation principles on his small, 5th generational farm established in 1882 and made up mostly of pasture with rock gardens, wetland, and woodland. He believes that land ownership offers important lessens in natural resource management and science. As Leopold would say, “Whether it is a 100 acre farm or a 1,700,000 acre Forest doesn’t matter–it’s all the same principle.”
Tariq Siddique– Assistant Professor, Soil Chemistry Tariq joined Renewable Resources academic staff on July 1, 2008. Tariq grew up in Vehari, a small city in Punjab province of Pakistan where he completed his school and college education. He received his Bachelor and Master degrees with honors in Soil Science from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF), Pakistan. In his undergraduate and graduate Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 16
(Siddique—Cont’d) research, he studied salt-affected soils and nutrients’ uptake by agricultural crops. He was selected by the Public Service Commission for Research Officer and appointed in Soil Chemistry Section, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan where he worked for about 8 years studying role of trace elements in crop production. The Government of Punjab nominated him for his Ph.D.
as a Postdoctoral Researcher at UCR for one year studying biotransformation of selenium (a heavy metal) in agricultural drainage water and sediments. He moved to Canada in 2004 and joined the University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, as a Postdoctoral Fellow where he worked with Dr. Joselito Arocena (Canada Research Chair in Environmental Science- Soil Science) studying biogeochemistry of selenium in coal mine sediments. He also studied mineral transformations He started his Ph.D. studies at the UAF and joined the under the biochemical activities of lichens. Dr. Siddique research group of Dr. Muhammad Arshad, a well-known finally moved to Edmonton in 2005 and took up his authority in microbial production of phytohormones in NSERC PDF award at the University of Alberta in the soils. After completing his Ph.D. course work, Tariq Department of Biological Sciences working with Dr. Julia moved to the University of California, Riverside, USA Foght studying biodegradation of petroleum hydrocar(UCR) in the Department of Environmental Sciences bons and characterization of microbial populations in oil where he conducted and completed his Ph.D. research sands tailings. Dr. Siddique's current research focuses under the supervision of Dr. William Frankenberger, a on biotransformation of heavy metals and biodegradation world-renowned Soil Microbiologist and Biochemist in the of organic pollutants in water, sediments and soils. field of bioremediation. Tariq’s Ph.D. work was on the biodegradation of chlorinated pesticides in soil and water. Tariq loves sports especially cricket. He used to play He isolated microorganisms from California soils that cricket in Pakistan and was a member of his college and were capable of degrading toxic pesticides. He pubuniversity teams. Here, he occasionally plays squash. lished five peer-reviewed papers from his Ph.D. research. Tariq, along with wife, Aqeela Almas, daughter Sarah Almas (11 years old) and twin sons, Muhammad Mujtaba This research achievement was highlighted by the Chan- Siddique and Muhammad Maaz Siddique (9 years old). cellor of the UCR in her public speeches including her love sports, hiking and long road trips. own inauguration and at a UC Regents meeting highlighting UCR’s accomplishments. Dr. Siddique also worked Welcome to the department Tariq.
Department Seminar Series Moderator: Dr. Francis Yeh Place: ESB 2-36 (on Saskatchewan Drive, next to the Tory Turtle)
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Scheduled Speakers (please visit the Renewable Resources Website for seminar topics) Oct 9
David Chanasyk, U of A
Oct 16
Feng Yongsheng , U of A
Oct 23
Karen Haugen-Kozyra, Climate Change Centre
Oct 30
Marty Alexander , Northern Forestry Centre, Forestry Canada
Nov 6
Jim Beck, Professor Emeritus, U of A, Forest Industry Series
Nov 13
He Fangliang, U of A
Nov 20
Tariq Siddique. U of A
Nov 27
Ron Hall, Northern Forestry Centre, Forestry
Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 17
Other new faces in REN R ......
Janusz Zwiazek Sept 1, 2008—Aug 31, 2009
Pei Yu Chen—Research associate with Andreas Hamann to December 31, 2009. Pei-Yu will we working in the SIS lab
Kimlin Metivier—PDF with Robert Grant Sept 1, 2008—Aug 31, 2009 Ina Meier—PDF with Janusz Zwiazek Sept 15, 2008—Sept 14, 2009
Shibi Chandy—PDF with Andreas Hamann April 1, 2008— Feb 28, 2010 Eckehart Marenholtz—Research Assistant with Simon Landhausser. April 28, 2008—April 30, 2009 Yeong Sand Jung—Visiting Professor with Robert Grant. June 23, 2008—June 2009
Stephane Bourassa—Spence Lab Technician Sept 1, 2008—Aug 31, 2012 Francois Teste—PDF with Vic Lieffers. June 1, 2008—May 31, 2009 Derek MacKenzie—Research Associate with Sylvie Quideau. July 1, 2008— June 30, 2009
Seong Hee Lee—Research Assistant with Janusz Zwiazek Man Lang—Visiting Student with Scott Chang Sept 1, 2008—Aug 31, 2009 Emmanuel Mapfumo—Contract instructor Sept 1, 2008—Dec 31, 2008
Monica Calvo Polanco—PDF with
Excellence in the discovery, dissemination and application of knowledge about natural and managed ecosystems
We’re on the Web! www.ales.ualberta.ca/rr/
Department of Renewable Resources University of Alberta 751 General Services Building Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1 Phone: 780-492-3554 Fax: 780-492- 4323
This newsletter is published in April & Oct each year For copies and/or contributions, please contact the Editor, Rochelle Jackson at rochelle.jackson@afhe.ualberta.ca phone 780-492--3554. Submissions for the next issue of Landmark should be sent in by March 31, 2009
Landmark News, Volume 15 Issue 2—Page 18