$1.5
million funding enables Acadia University to lead world-class
research on climate change
For Release: September 24, 2003
(Wolfville,
NS) - Acadia University will be on the leading edge of
climate change research through $1.5 million in funding by the
Atlantic Innovation Fund. An announcement was made on behalf of the
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) by the Honourable Robert
G. Thibault, Minister Responsible for Nova Scotia and Member of
Parliament for West Nova this week.
"This funding will
enable Acadia to be at the forefront of climate change research,"
says Acadia University's president, Dr. Gail Dinter-Gottlieb. "It
appears that climate change is becoming a reality and research is
critical to understanding its impact on the global community."
Acadia University
researchers will develop the Atlantic Centre for Global Change and
Ecosystems Research (ACGCER), a multidisciplinary research centre
that will conduct studies of climate change on Atlantic Canada
ecosystems. ACGCER, a world-class facility, will allow researchers
to recreate, under controlled conditions, many ecosystems and study
the impact that changing climatic conditions have on invertebrates,
fish, birds, other animals and plants.
"We are excited that
ACOA has made this significant contribution to Acadia," says Dr. Cy
MacLatchy, acting Vice-President (Academic) at Acadia University.
"The Centre will be an important learning resource for students and
a catalyst for partnerships with industry and other researchers
regionally, nationally, and internationally."
The Atlantic Centre
for Global Change and Ecosystem Research will mean the construction
of five new laboratories where crucial research will be conducted,
including a water analysis lab and a microbiology lab. Dr. John Roff,
Acadia professor and a Canada Research Chair in Environmental
Science and Conservation, has been the lead proponent in the
proposal of these labs which will be used in conjunction with the
existing state-of-the-art research facilities at the K.C. Irving
Environmental Science Centre.
The Atlantic Centre
for Global Change and Ecosystem Research will generate significant
benefits to the Atlantic region as well as to the Annapolis Valley
region of Nova Scotia. Increased research activity will lead to job
creation and provide significant opportunities for the development
of research partnerships with the region's environmental industries
as well as resource industries, including agriculture.
Acadia University has
been named by Maclean's magazine as the best overall primarily
undergraduate university in Canada for the past nine years. It has
also been recognized as the most innovative. This tradition will
continue as Acadia embarks on a strategic initiative to situate
environmental research at the forefront of its objective to continue
as an innovative educational leader and research institution.
-30-
For more information contact:
Sheri Woodland
Communications Manager
Office of Public Affairs
Acadia University
(902) 585-1362
Acadia
Home
| Public Affairs |
News | Site Search |
|
