30.05.12 - Liat Margolis participates in The Water Workshop
On May 28th, Daniels Assistant Professor Liat Margolis participated in “The Water Workshop.” This day-long event, held at the University of Toronto, brought together academics and stakeholders from the Southern Ontario water sector.
The goal of the workshop — organized by a team from U of T’s Department of Civil Engineering — was to develop scenarios that may play out within Southern Ontario’s water sector over the next 50 years. Rather than give formal presentations, participants instead shared their knowledge with each other to create a broader understanding of the sector and the role that individual entities play within it. By improving our understanding of the challenges the water sector may face in the future, those participating in the workshop will make it easier for the sector to prepare creative, innovative, and meaningful solutions to solve the problems that may lie ahead.
Margolis' recent research has focused on evaluating the environmental and ecological performance of Green Roofs relative to stormwater management and urban heat island effect within the Southern Ontario climate and in relation to the City of Toronto Green Roof Bylaw, which was launched in 2009. She heads a new, trans-disciplinary research initiative called GRITlab (Green Roof Innovation Testing Laboratory) along with co-researchers Daniels Associate Professors Robert Wright, Ted Kesik and John Danahy, Carleton Professor Liam O'brien, UofT Civil Engineering Professor Brent Sleep, PhD student in Biology at York University Scott MacIvor, and assistant researchers Benjamin Matthews (MLA) and Curtis Puncher (MLA). The laboratory facility is located on the Daniels rooftop and includes 33 test beds, a weather station, and 264 sensors that measure thermal and water flow performance in real-time. (Check out the live webcam here.)
GRITlab is supported through grants by the City of Toronto, Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), RCI Foundation, Connaught and LACF, as well as through the generous contributions of its industry partners: Bioroof Systems, Campbell Scientific Canada Corp, Carl Stahl - Decorcable, DH Water Management, IRC Building Sciences Group, Siplast, Toro, and Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance.
Margolis has also been collaborating with Daniels Assistant Professor Aziza Chaouni on an ongoing research project entitled Out of Water, which included a conference in 2011 of the same name. This forum brought together water experts in the fields of design, engineering, and natural and social sciences to discuss methodologies with respect to water scarcity in arid regions.
For more information on The Water Workshop, including the full list of participants and facilitators, visit: http://www.thewaterworkshop.ca