onnecting with YPs L
ast October, I began transitioning into the Young Professional Chair position, which was previously held by Lindsay Anderson (now Membership Involvement Director). Over the past four years, Lindsay has done an excellent job creating a YP program that connected water professionals across Atlantic Canada through social, networking, and leadership development events – thanks for all your work, Lindsay! That being said, I’m hoping to build off of her legacy during my time as the YP Chair and am looking forward to getting the chance to work with all of you! Now that you’ve learned a bit about what I want to do, you’re probably wondering who I am. My name is Isobel DeMont and I’m a PhD student in Civil and Resource Engineering at Dalhousie University. I have an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill, after which I switched disciplines and completed my MASc in Environmental Engineering at Dalhousie. I loved Dalhousie and Halifax so much, I decided to stick around for a few more years for a PhD. My research interests are drinking water treatment optimization, but I’m particularly drawn to tackling the challenges we’re facing in the industry due to climate change. I’ve been a member of AWWA/ACWWA since 2018, but this is my first time in a leadership role. There were some dramatic changes to the 2020 Annual Conference and YP seminar because of the pandemic. Instead of the typical Fresh Ideas competition, we opted for 3 Minute Thesis style presentations. This style of presentation is especially beneficial for early researchers, giving them a chance to take a step back from the small details and consider the motive of their project and the story they want to tell. At our first virtual annual conference, we had six YPs present their work on topics ranging from the use of artificial neural networks to predict drinking water advisories, to pilot plant optimization studies for drinking water and wastewater plants. Dalhousie MASc student Gillian Stanton said of the experience, “The 3MT program gave
me the opportunity to think of my future research and communicate quickly why it is important for everyone to be interested! My presentation was more of a ‘pitch’ than a summary of data and work. It allowed me to take a step back, simplify my objectives, and motivate me to start the project.” Overall, we received such amazing feedback from the event that we’re planning additional 3 Minute Thesis events in the near future. If you would like to present, please contact me at isobel@dal.ca. We welcome YPs from all backgrounds to participate in these events! In terms of additional upcoming events, World Water Day falls on Monday, March 22 this year. This is an important day to reflect on our privileged and easy access to safe and clean drinking water. On average, women and girls in developing countries walk 6km every day to collect water. The YP and Water For People committees are challenging ACWWA members to help support this cause by walking/running 6 km every day for six days, starting on March 22. More information on this event will be posted on the ACWWA website (www.acwwa.ca), Twitter (@ACWWA and @ACWWAyp), and Facebook (@TheACWWA) accounts. On April 21, WEFMAX – in partnership with the ACWWA, the Pennsylvania Water Environment, Association, and the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association – is hosting a virtual YP Summit open for water professionals across North America. The summit will focus on leadership and the pathways for YPs into larger roles within their organizations. It’s shaping up to be an exciting event, so I highly recommend all YPs to tune in! A registration link will be sent out to our members and posted on our website, Twitter, and Facebook accounts when it becomes available. While we do have some exciting events coming up, we’re always looking for new ideas – especially activities that can connect our YPs from across all of the Atlantic provinces! If you’re interested in volunteering with the committee, or have some suggestions for future programming, please reach out to me at isobel@dal.ca!
“We received such amazing feedback from the event that we’re planning additional 3 Minute Thesis events in the near future.” Click HERE to return to Table of Contents
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