Time flies, and the holiday season is around the corner. Looking back, the year of 2021 was full of accomplishments, despite our struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us reflect on the positive achievements from the past months:
Canadian Society for Bioengineering
2022 Annual General Meeting
July 24-27, 2022 | Charlottetown, PEI
“Agricultural Sustainability and Food Security through Precision Agriculture Technologies”
Dear Colleagues and Guests,
On behalf of the Canadian Society for Bioengineering (CSBE) and the local organizing committee, it is our great pleasure to welcome you to the CSBE/SCGAB 2022 AGM to be held on July 24-27, 2022. The theme for this year is “Agricultural Sustainability and Food Security Through Precision Agriculture Technologies”. We welcome contributions from various areas related to but not limited to: Agronomy, Bioenergy, Bioengineering, Biotechnology, Engineering Applications for Plant Pathology, Mechanized Systems, Renewable Energy, Soil and Water, Sustainable Management for Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation.
The CSBE/SCGAB 2022 AGM will be hosted in person in the historic and beautiful City of Charlottetown, which is the capital city of Prince Edward Island (PEI). The Province House National Historic Site hosted the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, spurring Canada’s birth. PEI’s pristine waters and beaches produce some of the planet’s finest seafood such as lobster. Easy access, excellence hotels, and top-notch cuisine are just a few of the many attributes that will make the Charlottetown experience unforgettable for you.
Please mark the CSBE/SCGAB 2022 AGM in your calendars and we look forward to seeing you in Charlottetown.
Important Dates:
Abstract submission opening: December 13, 2021
Abstract Due Date: March 15, 2022 March 31, 2022
Notice of Acceptance: April 15, 2022
Paper Submission: May 15, 2022
Online Registration Opens: June 1, 2022
Sincerely,
Aitazaz Farooque & Travis Esau (Chair/Co-chair)
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Read the Author Guidelines before submitting your abstract
Greetings, CSBE-SCGAB members - thank you for your continued membership and support of our Society! This is just a quick note to remind you that ASABE/CSBE-SCGAB membership dues run on the calendar year, so your 2022 dues are now payable.
If you are a current member, you may just log in to your online ASABE account to renew. If you are a previous member and would like to re-instate your membership, go to the ASABE portal: https://asabe.org/engage. This portal is also used for new memberships, so if you’ve encouraged any of your colleagues to join for the first time, they can be directed to the same portal.
Graduate students and post-docs joining CSBE-SCGAB for the first time have their first-year dues paid by the Society/Foundation. These applications will be made on paper, and the application form is available through the Regional Director in your area and/or through your campus Society liaison. Once completed they are sent to the Society Manager via email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for payment processing and submission to ASABE.
Undergraduate students – exciting news! Your 2022 ASABE/CSBE-SCGAB membership is free! You may apply directly online using the new member portal: https://asabe.org/engage.
Kelly Lund
Society Manager
Jan Adamowski
Jan Franklin Adamowski is a Professor in the Department of Bioresource Engineering in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill University. At McGill, he is a William Dawson Scholar (similar to a Canada Research Chair – Tier 2), the Liliane and David M. Stewart Scholar in Water Resources, and the Director of the Integrated Water Resources Management Program, as well as the Associate Director of the Brace Centre for Water Resources Management at McGill. Jan has published over 300 research papers in refereed journals, as well as numerous books and monographs. Jan came to McGill University in 2009 after working as a Post-Doctoral Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA. He completed his graduate studies in the US and Europe at several universities and his undergraduate degree in Canada at the Royal Military College of Canada. His interdisciplinary research includes collaborative, integrated and adaptive water resources management; participatory socio-hydrological and social-ecological modeling; artificial intelligence applications in hydrology; sustainable agriculture; and water and food security. This interdisciplinary research has been conducted in over 30 countries in close collaboration with diverse stakeholders. A particular focus of his recent research has been the development of approaches to improve the inclusiveness of stakeholder engagement processes and empowering marginalized communities in water resources and agroecosystem modeling and management.
Travis Esau
Dr. Travis Esau is an Associate Professor at the Department of Engineering in the Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University. Dr. Esau is both a Licensed Professional Engineer and a Professional Agrologist.
Dr. Esau is a mechanical engineer specializing in machine systems and automation engineering focusing on agricultural mechanized systems, digital agriculture, precision agriculture, data management, automation of agricultural operations and data-driven decision analysis for complex agricultural and biological systems. Traditional agricultural farming is not sustainable and severely requires new engineering advancements to remain competitive in both local and global markets. His research involving advanced mechanized systems increases farm efficiency and uses environmental resources more effectively. His research team at Dalhousie consists of Undergraduate, MSc, PhD, Postdoc, and technical research staff. Dr. Esau is also involved with graduate student supervision at University of Prince Edward Island where he holds an adjust position in Sustainable Design Engineering.
Dr. Esau is excited to help build the Canadian Society of Bioengineering (CSBE) membership especially with new undergraduate and graduate student members. He is looking forward to co-chairing with Dr. Aitazaz Farooque, the 2022 CSBE annual general meeting and technical conference being held in the Maritimes.
Message from the Ontario Regional Director Pradeep Goel
Dear Colleagues,
I just can’t believe that we are in to the final days of the year and ready to welcome the New Year with a renewed sense of a healthy and bright future. Despite all the challenges we faced in last few months due to Covid-19, thankfully, we have successfully navigated through this time and were able to fulfill our professional and personal commitments. I would like to convey my admiration to all the members.
I would like to extend my warmest wishes to all the members and their families for a Happy Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!
Regards,
Pradeep Goel
Submitted By: Dr. Ashutosh Singh, Associate Professor, University of Guelph
Project: The Characterization of Novel and Traditional Plant Proteins
Dr. Saipriya Ramalingam, Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Jamshid Rahimi, Process Engineering Scientist, Griffith Foods
Dr. Ashutosh Singh, Associate Professor
The Food Research Lab in the School of Engineering at University of Guelph is working on characterization of novel and traditional plant proteins in a funded project by Mitacs Accelerate Program in collaboration with Griffith Foods. The interest in the study stems out of the on-going research on development of plant-based protein meat alternatives. The interest in plant proteins, such as soy, pea and rice proteins are steadily increasing as the positive ethical, environmental, and health impacts have captured the interest of the public. Despite the global agreement on the advantages of plant-based proteins, these ingredients have not yet successfully made their way onto consumer’s plates.
In their study the research team is going to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of various plant-based proteins and gain insight into their molecular structure and how processing impacts their functional properties.
Submitted By: Dr. Pranesh Paul & Dr. Jaskaran Dhiman, University of Guelph
Active Research at University of Guelph’s
Water resource Engineering Group
The research team at University of Guelph is working on a study funded by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MOECP). The primary aim of the study is address a critical knowledge gap concerning the impact of Best Management Practices (BMPs) on hydrological processes, soil properties, and phosphorus losses during the winter and early spring periods in agricultural watersheds in the Canadian Lake Erie Basin to facilitate science-based decision-making processes for water quality related problems. One postdoc and two master students are working on this project. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) watershed model has been selected for this study. The model will be modified to suit Southern Ontario conditions by improving reservoir and routing algorithms. Dr. Pranesh Kumar Paul is looking after the whole research, as a postdoc, with Dr. Prasad Daggupati and Prof. Ramesh Rudra, as advisors.
The research group is also working to improve a watershed scale hydrological model (SWAT) for improved winter hydrology simulation in Canadian winter settings. The team has identified key areas of the model that may be improved, and they are now working on it. For one of the agricultural locations identified in Southern Ontario, researchers were able to compare the findings of multiple field scale and watershed scale models (EPIC, SHAW, DRAINMOD, SWAT). The models are being fine-tuned to increase the findings' accuracy and allow for a more effective comparison. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MOECP) is funding the study effort. The organisation is actively publishing the results to ensure that knowledge is effectively disseminated throughout the community.
Group members:
Ramesh Rudra, Professor
Pradeep Goel, Adjunct Professor
Prasad Daggupati, Associate Professor
Rituraj Shukla, Postdoctoral Researcher
Jaskaran Dhiman, Postdoctoral Researcher
Pranesh Kumar Paul, Postdoctoral Researcher
Amanpreet Kaur, Graduate Student
Manpreet Kaur, Graduate Student
Avneet Singh, Graduate Student
The Canadian Society for Bioengineering (CSBE) partnered with the Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture Engineering Society to organize a Networking Pizza Party on Tuesday November 30th, 2021, from 4:30pm-6:00pm.
Dr. Travis Esau, P.Eng., Atlantic Regional Director CSBE and Dr. Peter Havard, P.Eng., Engineering Department Chair helped to introduce the CSBE to the students. Discussions included highlighting the societies mission, potential career opportunities and other activities such as the newsletter, student awards, technical meetings, and society journals. The event also featured 7 presentations from MSc and PhD graduate students who are active with CSBE. Research topics focused on precision agriculture, variable rate technology, machine development and artificial intelligence for crop detection and monitoring. The event helped to spark keen interest in the society and build excitement for next years AGM taking place in Charlottetown – Prince Edward Island. A great time was had by all participants, with plans to host another event again in the new year.
For more information contact:
Dr. Travis Esau, P.Eng.
Associate Professor – Dalhousie University
Atlantic Regional Director CSBE
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Congratulations to Claude Laguë! The UCDavis Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medal was awarded to him in 2021 by the College of Engineering at the University of California, Davis.
Additional information available at: https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/alumni/get-involved/deam
