The teams in our Centre for Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Integrated Agriculture Technology Centre have continued moving their research programs along even with the challenges posed by the pandemic. To read detailed descriptions of their recent work, check out www.lethbridgecollege.ca/news; but for a glimpse of their creative and collaborative projects, here are some headlines.
LETHBRIDGE COLLEGE AWARDED SIGNIFICANT GRANT TO SUPPORT EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION: The Government of Canada awarded Lethbridge College a two-year, $400,000 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Institutional Capacity-Building Grant in March, which will help the college identify and overcome systemic barriers that impede the career advancement, recruitment and retention of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. The college is one of just 12 Canadian post-secondary institutions out of 60 applicants chosen to share close to $4.8 million in funding as part of the 2020 EDI Institutional Capacity-Building grant.
COLLEGE, FARMING SMARTER STUDY WAYS TO BOOST CANOLA YIELDS: Southern Alberta canola producers stand to benefit from a joint research project by Lethbridge College and Farming Smarter. The project will study the effects of strip tillage and precision planting on canola crops. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) partly funds this three-year, Applied Research and Development (ARD) grant with $75,000 per year. The research aims to increase crop emergence and seed yield in canola under western Canadian climate conditions by using improved crop production practices.
INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP TAPS COLLEGE RESEARCHERS FOR AGRICULTURE DATA: When Calgary companies Jadler Industries and Random Acronym were looking to test out new technology for monitoring soil moisture in agriculture, there was only one place to go: Lethbridge College. “Lethbridge College has built a reputation with the agriculture industry in southern Alberta for getting research out into the real world,” says Jadler Industries President Brad Smith. “When you tell clients that you’re working with the college, they know exactly what that means.”
AQUAPONICS MICROCREDENTIAL COURSES NOW OFFERED: The expert scientists in Lethbridge College’s Aquaculture Centre of Excellence have launched a new series of courses that will provide training in the area to everyone from high school students to interested amateurs to experienced greenhouse technicians. While the college has offered aquaponics courses in the past as part of its academic programming, microcredentials allow flexible learning that can be accessed at any time and completed at the user’s own pace.
STUDY FINDS FERTILE GROUND FOR SUBSURFACE IRRIGATION RESEARCH: A Lethbridge College research project is breaking new ground in the study of subsurface drip fertigation. The two-year study is led by Dr. Rezvan Karimi Dehkordi, research associate on the Mueller Applied Research in Irrigation Science team, and is funded by a grant from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. It explores how using SDF, a method that applies water and fertilizer directly to the rootzones of plants, affects the uptake of nutrients in crop yields.
RANKINGS OUT: LC IS ONE OF CANADA’S FASTEST-GROWING RESEARCH COLLEGES: Lethbridge College has been recognized as one of Canada’s fastest-growing research colleges while earning its highest ever placement in the annual ranking of Canada’s top 50 research colleges. The college placed 26th on the top 50 list released by Research Infosource and ranked third in research income growth.
RESEARCHERS OFFER SOLUTION TO A LOOMING ANTIBIOTICS CRISIS: Lethbridge College researchers are doing their part to address the looming antibiotic crisis by working to discover and develop new antibiotics by testing plants native to Alberta for antibiotic molecules. The work of microbiology senior research scientist Dr. Sophie Kernéis and lab technician Leanne DuMontier received a boost as their lab was recently federally certified to handle Level 2 pathogens – the bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that cause disease. Previously, the lab was only able to work on non-pathogens.
