CURRENT STUDENTS

CURRENT STUDENTS AND FELLOWS

Nicole Bamber joined the Food Systems PRISM Lab in 2017 as an MSc student, studying the environmental impacts of bark mulch on Okanagan orchards and vineyards, using life cycle assessment. She has a BSc in nutritional science from the University of Toronto. She has a passion for sustainability and nutrition and aims to combine the two in her research. When she’s not in the lab, you can find Nicole curled up with a book, or out on a hike in the woods.

Yang Li is a MSc (Biology) student at UBCO. Yang graduated from Beijing Normal University with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering in 2016. From 2013-2016, she worked as a research assistant in the State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Stimulation, Beijing, China, researching bioaccumulation of PFASs in water and pollution control technologies for high concern organic chemicals such as Bisphenol A. In 2018, she joined the Food Systems PRISM Lab. Her research uses life cycle assessment to evaluate net zero energy housing for poultry production in order to estimate mitigation potentials and identify technology optimization opportunities.

Shiva Zargar received her B.Sc. in agricultural mechanization engineering in Iran. In addition, she received her first MSc degree in biosystem mechanics engineering in the field of renewable energies. Currently, Shiva is an MSc student in the Department of Biology at UBC Okanagan. She joined the Food Systems PRISM Lab in 2018 to undertake a project involving life cycle assessment of nitrogen use efficiency strategies for the Canadian egg industry. Her research aims to identify potential technologies and management strategies for optimizing life cycle nitrogen use efficiency, while reducing resource use and emissions. Shiva’s research interests include but are not limited to life cycle assessment (LCA), Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE), Environmental Impact Assessment, and Sustainability Management Strategies.

Alyssa Smart has lived in the Okanagan for the better part of four years while obtaining a BSc in Zoology at UBCO. Her time at UBC Okanagan has fostered academic interests in conservation biology and industrial ecology, while also exposing her to new interests in life cycle thinking. Beyond the academic setting, the Okanagan has offered the opportunity to discover passions in rock climbing, cycling and, hopefully, skiing (once she stops wiping out). These outdoor passions continually foster her dedication to conserving biodiversity and helping build a sustainable future. She believes that working in the PRISM lab on an MSc in biology is an appropriate avenue for the change she hopes to create. Her project focuses on the GHG emissions and energy costs associated with irrigation in the Okanagan Valley using life cycle assessment, and will contribute novel data to the Canadian Agri-food Life Cycle Data Centre. In this way, she hopes to highlight areas for improvement within the agri-food industry at a local level and supply feasible ways of improving the sustainability of food systems. Unfortunately, all of her interests leave only the occasional evening free to dress her cat up for holiday themed photoshoots (though I’m sure he prefers it that way).

Vivek Arulnathan is a PhD student in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies at UBC Okanagan. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from SASTRA University, India in 2014. He then pursued a Master’s in Environmental and Resource Management at the Brandenburg Technical University, Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany. In fulfilling the requirements for his master’s, he submitted a thesis on the sustainability assessment of tea production in South India using three methods - Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Social-LCA), which he combined into a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment. His current research in the Food Systems PRISM Lab focuses on developing and implementing a life cycle-based Sustainability Assessment Platform (SAP) for the Canadian egg industry. This tool will serve as a decision support mechanism for Canadian egg farmers by enable them to assess their sustainability performance across various relevant indicators and in relation to different industry benchmarks. The platform will also help farmers analyse the mitigation potential associated with different sustainability best practices and green technologies and help the EFC in developing national-level sustainability initiatives for the Canadian egg industry

Ian Turner is an MSc student in the PRISM Lab. Ian graduated from the University of Toronto in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree, majoring in Animal Physiology and Genome Biology. He has pursued research opportunities covering many disciplines, ranging from large mammal ecology and physiology, to food systems sustainability. In 2018, Ian joined the PRISM Lab to aid in the development of the Canadian Agrifood Life Cycle Data Centre (CALDC), a comprehensive, Canada-specific life cycle inventory database for use by LCA practitioners country-wide. Ian is also especially interested in the integration of animal welfare measures into sustainability management practices. When not working, he enjoys sports, cooking, and classical music.

Farah Kanani is from Tanzania and is pursuing her PhD in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies at UBC Okanagan. Farah has a BSc (Hons) degree in Environmental and Sustainable Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc degree from King’s College London in Environmental Monitoring, Modelling and Management. For her MSc dissertation, Farah applied remote sensing techniques to quantify the changes in size and land cover of the Omo River Delta that stretches from Ethiopia to Kenya. Her current research in the Food Systems PRISM Lab aims to use the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology in order to identify opportunities and strategies for renewable energy and waste valorisation technologies for the Canadian egg supply chain.
This will involve development of regional best-fit technology deployment scenarios to evaluate industry level gains associated with wide-spread implementation of these technologies. The results from this study will feed into a decision support tool for Canadian egg farmers to develop sustainable practices. Outside of academia, Farah loves dogs, and enjoys running, hiking and cooking. She is a member of the intra-mural outdoor soccer league on campus as well as the Latin ballroom dancing club. Farah also works at Geering Up Engineering and Science for Kids at UBC as an after-school clubs instructor where she teaches children about the variety of career opportunities for STEM students and supervises STEM related activities with the children.

Cecilia Wang joined UBC Okanagan as an MSc student in Biology in 2018, studying spatially resolved LCA modelling of Canadian field crop production systems. She received her BSc (Hons) in Earth Sciences from University College London (UCL). She is passionate about human-environment interactions, and wants to answer the question of how to unpack human society and communicate impacts in order to make the best decisions for the present and future of people living on Earth. Having grown up in Singapore and lived in London, Beijing, Tianjin, and now Kelowna, she loves traveling. When she's not trying to be precise, she enjoys ambiguity through music, stories, artsy stuff, and other life things.

Matt Fritter is currently completing an MSc degree in Computer Science. He joined the PRISM Lab in September, 2017. Matt is developing the architecture and interface for the Canadian Agri-food Life Cycle Data Centre, which will provide a publicly available database hosting life cycle inventory data sets for activities in the Canadian agri-food sector.

Dr. Davoud Heidari joined the Food Systems PRISM Lab in 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow, following a first postdoc appointment at Université de Sherbrooke (Quebec) where he worked on regionalized life cycle modelling of innovative bio-based materials in the construction sector. He has a BSc, MSc and PhD in Agricultural Mechanization Engineering from the University of Tehran. His passion is working on sustainability projects in agriculture. When not working, he enjoying walking, sports (swimming) and cooking.

Dr. Baishali Dutta obtained a M.Sc. and Doctoral degrees (Ph.D.) in Bioresource Engineering at McGill University, which involved the design of a sustainable biochar production system to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through process optimization and a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Dr. Dutta’s professional history also includes positions as a NSERC post-doctoral fellow at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto. She has extensive research experience evaluating the impacts of land management on agricultural GHG emissions, conducting agricultural LCAs (in particular, for biofuel feedstocks), and refining process-based models such as DNDC for use in agricultural life cycle assessment, particularly in the context of climate change scenarios and proposed policy implications.