{"id":51782,"date":"2018-11-12T16:52:48","date_gmt":"2018-11-12T21:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=51782"},"modified":"2025-10-17T18:10:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T22:10:01","slug":"open-doors-celebrating-research","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/open-doors-celebrating-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Doors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Open Doors\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Pacific salmon conservation and the role of the fish in Canada\u2019s economy and First Nations culture. Snow fencing and road maintenance costs along the North\u2019s Dempster Highway. Passive solar heating and the future of energy-efficient housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A trio of Carleton University graduate students showcased the range and impact of their research during a panel discussion at the launch of Open Doors, Open Knowledge<\/a>, a national celebration of federal government support for research organized by Universities Canada<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The breakfast gathering at Carleton on Nov. 12, 2018 served as the kickoff for a weeklong series of university open houses across the country, when parliamentarians and other elected officials visit campuses to see first-hand the impact of investments in research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hull-Aylmer MP Greg Fergus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hull-Aylmer MP Greg Fergus<\/a>, a Carleton alumnus, attended the event along with newly installed<\/a> Carleton President Benoit-Antoine Bacon<\/a> and Pari Johnston<\/a>, vice-president of policy and public affairs at Universities Canada and also another Carleton graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, this is very much a homecoming,\u201d said Fergus, who earned a degree in international relations at Carleton. \u201cThe educational experience at Carleton, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, is remarkable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday is a great opportunity to come to campus to meet students and researchers \u2014 our bright new stars \u2014 and see what they\u2019re contributing to Canada and to the world,\u201d he added. \u201cThese things are at the cutting-edge of what research is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs Prime Minister Trudeau has said, our government is committed to investing in scientists and the institutions that support them. Investing in science and the arts drives innovation and prosperity and will help us build a modern Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Flexibility to Focus on Research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Chemistry Prof. Maria DeRosa<\/a> \u2014 who does groundbreaking research<\/a> that has applications in areas such as health care and agriculture \u2013 she\u2019s also associate dean (Recruitment and Retention) in Carleton\u2019s Faculty of Science \u2014 moderated the student panel discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cFrom the north end of campus to the north of this country, we will show you the breadth of what we\u2019re doing,\u201d she said in introductory remarks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe second I got to university and saw that this was something I could pursue as a career, I jumped at it,\u201d said Andrea Reid<\/a>, a conservation biologist who felt a strong connection to fish growing up in Prince Edward Island and has embraced her Nisga\u2019a heritage<\/a> in her PhD research, which blends ecology, physiology and anthropology to explore how Pacific salmon fisheries can become more sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chemistry Prof. Maria DeRosa, conservation biologist and PhD student Andrea Reid, and Geography PhD student Jennifer Humphries<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt gives me the flexibility to focus on research,\u201d Reid said of the support she has received from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC<\/a>) throughout her graduate studies. \u201cI don\u2019t need to have another job. I devote my summers to getting into rivers and following fish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This past summer, Reid travelled throughout British Columbia to talk to First Nations elders about traditional fishing practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are practices that have developed over millennia and we can learn from them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cMaking space for different knowledge systems to co-exist is one of the keys to reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Geography PhD student Jennifer Humphries\u2019 research is evaluating the effectiveness of snow fencing to improve maintenance along the Dempster Highway, which connects the road network in the Yukon (and southern Canada) to Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintenance costs have been rising rapidly over the last two decades, Humphries said, which is both an economic issue and a safety issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Dempster provides important access for communities along the route,\u201d she said, noting that her work is funded by Transport Canada\u2019s Northern Transportation Adaptation Initiative Program<\/a>, as well as NSERC and the Yukon and NWT governments, both of which are heavily supported by Ottawa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Humphries’ research is evaluating the effectiveness of snow fencing to improve maintenance along the Dempster Highway, which connects the road network in the Yukon (and southern Canada) to Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk\u00a0in the Northwest Territories.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of research in Canada is done by graduate students,\u201d added Humphries. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine professors doing all this work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Brown<\/a>, who is working on a PhD in Sustainable Building Energy Systems<\/a><\/u>, does much of her research in the Urbandale Centre for Home Energy Research<\/a>, a full-scale house-like lab just off Bronson Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to replace conventional space and water heating with solar,\u201d said Brown, explaining that these two uses account for 81 per cent of household energy consumption in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Passive solar heating could reduce this consumption \u2014 which would have tremendous environmental and economic benefits \u2014 in a significant way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to implement these changes in my house someday,\u201d said Brown, who has also received funding from NSERC and credits support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation<\/a> with making the Urbandale Centre a reality. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing that we can do research on this things in a lab that\u2019s just like a house. I couldn\u2019t get access to a facility like this anywhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to design traditional HVAC systems. I want to do innovative things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Open Doors: Investing in Canada’s Future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen you work at a university in Canada, when you study at a university in Canada, you\u2019re deeply aware of just how important federal funding is for research and discovery,\u201d Bacon said in his opening remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re living in an era of unprecedented geopolitical change and changes to the labour market. Our ability to adapt is the key to Canada\u2019 success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInvestments in hands-on learning, next-generation research talent and leading-edge research and training facilities will allow us to compete on the world stage. Federal funding is absolutely critical to the research we do at Carleton in so many key areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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