捆绑SM社区

Human Resources Aspects of Tree Planting in Canada

Louis-Martin Dion

17 Sep. 2009, 10:05-11:25, Raymond 2-046

Over 500 million trees are planted every year manually by tree planters to replenish the forests that have been harvested for paper or lumber. Tree planting is one of the most challenging jobs both physically and psychologically in Canada. Receiving a salary based on production, tree planters will push their bodies to limits comparable to professional athletes. Indeed, one out of five planters will get injured during a season, which can add up to millions of dollars in workers compensation fees for some provinces and considerable reduction of work efficiency. A few researchers in Canada, specialized in nutrition, ergonomics and human kinetics, have observed the various physiological and biochemical responses of reforestation workers. Many recommendations are made to improve work efficiency and reduce injuries, but does what is seen in practice reflect the theory?

Reviewers: Candice Young, Baishali Dutta, Hiu聽Fung Chan

Pilot-Scale Reactor for the Study of Gaseous Emissions from Compost

Edsel Phillip

17 Sep. 2009, 10:05-11:25, Raymond 2-046

Composting can result in the emission of toxic and environmentally hazardous gases such as carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3), and nitrous oxide (N2O).聽 Consequently, there is a need to better understand the physical and microbial factors affecting these emissions in order to better control them. The objective of this research project was to construct a lab-scale compost reactor where several process parameters could be controlled in order to study the potential impact of these process parameters on the gaseous emissions from composting. The design, construction, and testing of a 200 L compost reactor that was built to study the gaseous emissions from compost using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry will be presented in this seminar.

Reviewers: David Giard

Slow Sand Filtration

Candice Young-Rojanschi

17 Sep. 2009, 10:05-11:25, Raymond 2-046

Though popular in the late nineteenth century, the slow sand filter was overshadowed through the twentieth century by the rapid sand filters in the field municipal water treatment.聽 However, the twenty-first century is seeing a revival of this ancient method as it evolves and re-markets itself for new applications.聽 This presentation offers an introduction to slow sand filtration and touches on some of the more recent developments in the field.

Reviewers: Olanike Aladenola, Fru Ngwa Felexce, Eric Huang, Yue Su