Stories

The Navigator helps connect experts in state-of-the-art Canadian facilities with leaders in business, academia and government. Explore our success stories to find out how, and delve into what else is happening in Navigator-listed facilities through stories from our partners.

A farmer's field with corn stalks and snow

Partner story

September 12, 2022

Using compost instead of nitrogen as fertilizer in Canada can slow global warming

Soil Ecosystem and Water Dynamics Laboratory

A new study led from the University of Waterloo discovered greenhouse gas production is significantly less when biobased residues like compost replaces widely used nitrogen fertilizer during spring freeze-thaw events in...

Aerial view of green summer forest with spruce and pine trees

Partner story

July 4, 2022

Reforesting agricultural wildland: a false good idea?

Dendrochronology Laboratory

The federal government has committed to planting 2 billion trees by 2030 in order to reduce the amount of atmospheric CO2 and slow down global warming. From this perspective, the idea of using abandoned agricultural...

Partner story

May 2, 2022

Brock launches national facility for virus-free grapevine plant material

Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI)

A facility that maintains high-quality, virus-free plant materials and eliminates viruses and other pathogens of concern in grapevines is up and running at Brock University

Partner story

April 11, 2022

Food scientists developing plant-based cheeses that melt, stretch, spread

Canadian Light Source Inc. (CLS)

As growing numbers of consumers look for more environmentally sustainable food alternatives, University of Guelph food science researchers in the Ontario Agricultural College are working to create the same appetizing...

Partner story

March 8, 2022

Turning CO2 into shampoo and lawn furniture? U of T startup doing what ‘no one has done before

Sinton Lab

CERT uses water and electricity to turn waste CO2 into ethylene and other carbon-based fuels using an electrocatalyst operating at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The catalyst is able to break and reform CO2...

Partner story

February 22, 2022

Tracking the North Atlantic right whale

Ocean Tracking Network (OTN)

When the North Atlantic right whale seemingly vanished from its spring/summer foraging grounds near the Gulf of Maine in 2010, scientists and conservation groups were alarmed and mystified. “After 30 years of coming to...

Partner story

February 17, 2022

Promising new approach to rebuild bone tissue

Canadian Light Source Inc. (CLS)

Over the last 30 years, the scientific community has been working to develop a synthetic alternative to bone grafts for repairing diseased or damaged bone. McGill University researchers used the Canadian Light Source...

Partner story

February 14, 2022

Researchers taking to the ice to uncover the mysteries of the Great Lakes in the winter

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research

Mike McKay, executive director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, GLIER and School of the Environment professor Ken Drouillard, and GLIER field technician Aaron Newhook will be hitting the ice on...

Partner story

February 8, 2022

The road to net zero: U of T research group takes on decarbonization of transportation

Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR)

Marianne Hatzopoulou has collaborated with Greg Evans, a professor in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry, and Jeff Brook, an assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the...

Pipette dispenses drop of fluid into petri dish sitting in front of beaker

Partner story

January 7, 2022

3D bioprinting tissues to personalize treatments for neurological diseases

Willerth Laboratory

The idea of 3D printing a patient’s stem cells to develop and test personalized treatments is one step closer to becoming a reality. In her pioneering study, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher...

Partner story

December 21, 2021

SMU-TRIUMF Research on Rare Isotope of Helium Challenges Traditional Rule of Nuclear Structure

IRIS : ISAC Charged Particle Reaction Spectroscopy Station

From the wood in your desk to the stars in the sky, atoms and their inner core – the nuclei – are building blocks of the matter we see around us. Yet the traditional knowledge of the structure inside an atomic nucleus...

Facility feature

Gregory Pilsworth and Olivia Carey, November 10, 2021

Watch: How experts at the ACE Climatic Wind Tunnel help businesses achieve their R&D goals

ACE – Climatic Wind Tunnel

Ontario Tech University's $120 million facility simulates harsh environments for product and process testing.