BIORESOURCE ENGINEERING SEMINAR

BIORESOURCE ENGINEERING SEMINAR


Item 1: Seminar by Alba Boluwade
Common Errors in Using GIS

The advancements and discoveries in Geographical Information System (GIS), Spatial Database Management System (SDBMS) and Remote Sensing have been capitalized on in other fields such as military surveillance, animal tracking and localization, transport management, disease modeling, geospatial intelligence, agriculture, economics, judiciary, etc. Being aware of the inherent errors and uncertainties associated with spatial data will affect how spatial descriptions are interpreted.  In this presentation, several sources of error in GIS will be examined and their consequences examined.

Boluwade obtained his MSc (2010) in Geospatial Technologies, Institute of Geoinformatics, University of Muenster, Germany, University of Juame I, Spain and University of New Lisbon, Portugal with a scholarship from the European Union. His work was focused on Hydrologic modeling and Uncertainty Analysis. Prior to this, he had worked in consultancy and several educational institutions after obtaining his BEng (1997-98) and MSc (2003) degrees from,  respectively, the Faculty of Engineering, Universities of Ilorin and Ibadan, Nigeria. Currently, Boluwade works towards a PhD degree in the areas of Spatial Heterogeneity and Subsurface Phosphorus modeling under the supervision of Prof. Madramootoo.


Item 2: Seminar by Julie Gagné
The Absorbance Spectrum of Plant Leaves

The spectral properties of plant leaves have been correlated to water content, internal structure, concentration and composition of pigments, surface optical properties, and photosynthetic efficiency.  The absorption spectrum of light by leaves is a typical measure obtained in surveys of photosynthetic light use efficiency in plants. It tells us what fraction of light leaves will absorb for use in photosynthesis at each frequency. We are aiming to redefine the PAR curve for higher light intensities of narrow waveband light. This presentation will look at the why, how, and what of plant leaf absorbance spectral data.

Montreal born and raised, Julie Gagné obtained her BSc (AgEnvSc) in Microbiology at Mac before working on an agricultural soil microbiology research project in Sorel, QC, for a few years. Next, she worked for Genome Quebec for two years and then returned to academia to re-focus her career on environmental topics. Julie is working on her MSc under the supervision of Dr. Mark Lefsrud.


Item 3: Seminar by Pavithra Sellaperumal
A Shortcut to Death – Smoking

Every year hundreds of thousands of people around the world die from diseases caused by smoking tobacco. One in two lifetime smokers will die from their habit. Half of these deaths will occur in middle age. Tobacco smoke contributes to a number of cancers and smoking can cause heart attacks and stroke. In younger people, three out of four deaths from heart disease are due to smoking. Since smoking slows the blood flow, cutting off oxygen to the hands and feet, some smokers end up having their limbs amputated. Although most people are well aware of the facts, they tend to ignore them and continue to indulge in their habit. Bringing awareness to youngsters is the need of the hour.

Pavithra comes from India where she completed her Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology at Anna University, Chennai. Pavithra recently the research team of Professor Raghavan.


Item 4: Seminar by Yamuna Sampathkumar
Gateway to the Diverse Flavours of India

Indian cuisine is one of the most popular across the globe because food is an important part of Indian culture.The cuisine can be split into five main categories: Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and North-eastern. This presentation will attempt to describe the general ideas behind Indian Cuisine, especially that of Tamil Nadu. The focus will be the food culture, spices and the wide assortment of dishes available.

Yamuna Sampathkumar was born in India where she completed her Bachelor’s of Technology degree in Biotechnology at SASTRA University. She is currently completing her first year as a Master’s degree student under the supervision of Dr. Raghavan. Yamuna loves to explore different types of foods and cuisines.


Item 5: Seminar by Hui Huang
Hyperspectral Imaging in Food Processing