Environmental Research Western: More Than Just A Name Change

The grand opening of Environmental Research Western (ERW) on January 28 was a celebration of transition. As Director Dr. Bob Bailey says, “The change from WESERI (Western Environmental Science & Engineering Research Institute) to Environmental Research Western is a step to maintain the original mandate of the institute, but to expand partnerships in research and teaching.”

The new centre is located in Rooms 208 and 209 of the Collip Building and is available to participants for seminars and meetings. In his speech, Dr. Bailey elaborated on how the multidisciplinary focus of ERW went beyond that of the Faculties of Science and Engineering, “We wanted to bring in a wider range of researchers of the environment… from all corners of campus.” Such partnerships include the Faculties of Medicine & Dentistry, Social Science and Arts. “What this institute does,” says Bailey, is to “act as, what I call an intelligent bridge, we’re a bridge among the environmental researchers here at Western. We’re a bridge between them and industry partners and government partners that are out there looking for collaborators in environmental research and education.” The renovations have even extended to the establishment of a new dynamic web site at: www.uwo.ca/enviro, where people can explore the initiatives in research and education the institute offers as well as regular updates on environmental issues.

Dr. Bailey, whose research concerns the environmental assessment of human activities such as mining and farming on stream ecosystems, holds the directorship of ERW with two Associate Directors: Dr. Moncef Nehdi, from the Faculty of Engineering, studies the sustainable development of the construction industry and the recycling of industrial and mining by-products in construction materials. Dr. Robert Schincariol, from the Faculty of Science, is a hydrogeologist whose expertise lies in the study of how contaminants are transported with the subsurface movement of water.

In his address, the Dean of Engineering, Franco Berruti said, “This is an historical moment, we were dreaming about this for a while… a real place where people from different faculties could work together on environmental issues…. We have a tremendous opportunity,…to take advantage of the expertise that exists across campus and develop strong synergies…. Here we can offer to industry an approach that is much more comprehensive and we can tackle projects that are much more challenging than the very narrow projects that are highly specialized.”

The Dean of Science, Fred Longstaffe, added that the ERW was in line with one of the Faculty of Science’s research themes of environmental science, “we’ve been working at setting up groups, of which this is one, to drive the themes. One of the things that I’ll be looking from this group to do for Science and Engineering is to help Franco and I as Deans establish what ought to be the things in which we invest in for the future…. We’re looking to this group to provide that sort interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary link so that this will be the face of environmental research at Western."

Representatives from industry were also there to show their support for ERW. Dr. William L. Cairns, Chief Scientist from Trojan Technologies attended. Based in London, Trojan Technologies is a leader in developing ultraviolet light systems for disinfecting drinking water. Also present was Richard Laughton from the environmental consulting service Censol Inc.

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