WINNIPEG, MB – Up to 100 scientists from across Western Canada are gathering at the University of Winnipeg on Friday, June 24, 2011 for a full day of discussions on the interplay between climate change, and environmental chemistry and toxicology. The 2nd annual Prairie Northern Chapter’s Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) conference will be held in part at UWinnipeg’s new Richardson College for the Environment & Science Complex as a lead-off event to the facility’s ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, June 27.
The University of Winnipeg’s Dr. Charles Wong, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Toxicology, Associate Professor, Chemistry and Environmental Studies, is co-hosting the conference, along with Dr. Mark L. Hanson, Associate Professor, Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba.
Some of Dr. Wong’s current research focuses on treating wastewater to get rid of chemicals that can cause algae blooms in bodies such as Lake Winnipeg, through experiments with pilot-scale wetlands to eliminate wastewater contaminants. He is director of the Thomas Sill Analytical Laboratory for Water Research Technology (STALWART), housed in the new Richardson College complex.
Dr. Hanson’s research focuses on the response of freshwater organisms to various types of stressors, with a special emphasis on aquatic plants and invertebrates.
Keynote speakers at the conference, themed Pole to pothole: Ecotoxicology in a changing climate are: Dr. Paul Hoekstra (Sygenta Crop Protection); Dr. Markus Hecker (University of Saskatchewan); and Dr. Feiyue Wang (University of Manitoba).
SETAC is a nonprofit, worldwide professional society comprised of individuals and institutions engaged in the study, analysis, and solution of environmental problems; the management and regulation of natural resources; environmental education and research and development.
“We are working to build the SETAC Prairie Northern Chapter to become an authoritative voice for sound environmental science for the Canadian Prairies,” Dr. Wong said, “and for its conference to be a voice towards this end.”
Details about the conference, including agendas, and registration to attend, are available at: http://www.usask.ca/toxicology/.
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
