Media releases

• Community invited to Brock’s World Water Day celebration

  Thursday, March 14, 2024 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: March 14 2024 – R0031

  Water — and all that it means to the world — will be celebrated at an upcoming community event hosted by Brock University.

  Brock’s Water Resilience Lab and Department of Geography and Tourism Studies will host the inaugural World Water Day Celebration on Friday, March 22 to showcase the many ways people study, appreciate and engage with water at the University and across the Niagara region.

  The free public event, funded in part by the Council for Research in the Social Sciences, brings to life a long-term goal of Julia Baird, Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience.

  “Water touches so many aspects of our lives — what we learn and the research that happens at Brock, as well as issues of water management, water conservation and the well-being of our community and ecosystems in the broader Niagara community,” says the Associate Professor in the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre and the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies.

  Baird has worked closely with Samantha Morris, Academic Advisor and Communications Co-ordinator in Geography and Tourism Studies, and graduate student volunteer Hannah Marlen Lüebker to bring together the community to share the myriad of ways that water is important.

  The World Water Day Celebration will open at 10 a.m. in the Rankin Family Pavilion on Brock’s main campus. Students can learn about the many water-related courses on offer and the community can discover some of the dynamic water research being undertaken at Brock.

  Between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., attendees can peruse water-themed informational and research posters from graduate and undergraduate students, an array of artistic submissions, featured course highlights or displays that combine all of these features, such as a PhotoVoice exhibit from one of Baird’s courses and the VISA 2P90 exhibit currently on display in the Matheson Learning Commons and Thistle display cases on  “Women, Water, and Words: An Exploration of Visual Culture in Niagara.”

  The James A. Gibson Library has also curated a featured collection of print and e-books entitled “Exploring Deep Waters” to highlight ways to learn more about water.

  From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., interactive booths will open featuring Brock researchers and community groups and organizations, including the following:

  • Niagara Region
  • Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
  • Niagara Parks Commission
  • Niagara Geopark
  • Soaring Eagles Indigenous Elementary School
  • Brock’s Department of Geography and Tourism Studies
  • Water Resilience Lab

  Researchers will share their projects and community organizations will highlight their work as well as volunteer and student job opportunities that may be available. Visitors present during the interactive portion of the day can enter a prize draw, which includes a $50 gift card for Someday Books. The draw will take place at 1:30 p.m.

  All members of the Brock and wider communities are invited to drop in and enjoy this all-encompassing tribute to water.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications, Brock University mstdenis@brocku.ca or 905-246-0256

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  Categories: Media releases

• Giant bamboo may be the future of sustainable construction, says Brock researcher

  Wednesday, March 13, 2024 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: March 13 2024 – R0030

  A Brock researcher is aiming to shape the future of sustainable construction by turning to an unconventional material: engineered bamboo.

  With funding from a Government of Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s (NSERC) Discovery Grant, Associate Professor of Engineering Amir Mofidi is using advanced techniques to fabricate new forms of engineered bamboo as a suitable economical and practical alternative for construction purposes.

  “When thinking about construction materials, the industry predominantly relies on steel and concrete, which are high in carbon emissions, and faster growing soft wood timber, which requires 30 to 40 years to grow,” he says.

  In this context, a common sustainability approach in the construction industry is to prolong the lifetime of existing buildings, bridges and other structures, says Mofidi, who is internationally recognized for rehabilitating existing concrete structures.

  “The construction industry moves quickly, so it’s important to innovate the supply chain with alternatives for fabrication with highly renewable resources,” he says.

  Giant bamboo is a fast growing, strong and durable material. It comes in the form of hollow cross sections that can be as wide as 250 millimetres and can grow to minimum heights of three to four metres. Some species can grow as fast as one metre a day and may only need four to five years before they are mature enough to harvest.

  But bamboo’s hollow shape limits its use in construction, says Mofidi, who is engineering bamboo to create cutting-edge composite materials.

  Mofidi is also pursuing the possibility of growing non-invasive bamboo species in a laboratory that can survive in -20C to -30C weather with the goal of finding a species strong enough for construction that can be grown locally outdoors.

  “We are mindful of the need to protect surrounding agriculture and have selected varieties that have their own root structures,” Mofidi says. “Ultimately, we want to develop partnerships with the Niagara farming community and provide an economically justifiable crop.”

  These crops are not to be confused with bamboo species commonly planted in residential yards, which have a reputation for invading neighbouring properties.

  In fact, Mofidi highlights that in many countries, farmers will plant a row of non-invasive bamboo around their fields to protect against insects and flooding.

  “The giant bamboo is an impressive plant with potential that is not fully recognized yet,” he says. “There are even varieties with roots that can purify contaminated water.”

  While modern kitchens and bathrooms frequently use engineered bamboo for cabinetry in the form of tiny strips shaped together, bamboo has been used in traditional architecture in China and East Asia for thousands of years.

  “The realization that giant bamboo has the potential to become the construction material of the future came to me a few years ago while in discussion with two undergraduate students,” Mofidi says.

  The students approached Mofidi because they wanted to do research relevant to their backgrounds in Hong Kong and Central Africa, areas known for the use of bamboo in construction.

  “I knew concrete and timber, but bamboo was a new field of research for me,” Mofidi says. “Sustainability in construction is something that fascinates me, and I quickly realized there is huge potential here.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications, Brock University mstdenis@brocku.ca or 905-246-0256

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  Categories: Media releases