The 12th Western Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research was held on June 17, 2025, at the University of Alberta, hosted by the Faculty of Engineering. This year’s symposium featured six technical sessions covering topics, including Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment, Emerging Contaminants: Fate, Transport, and Mitigation, GHG Emissions, Climate Resilience, and Sustainability, as well as Circular Economy: Energy and Resource Recovery. The symposium showcased over 40 oral and poster presentations from researchers across Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Québec, and international contributors from Japan, Australia, Türkiye, and Italy.
“Among the many water-related conferences and symposiums, CAWQ events always stand out for being specifically dedicated to supporting students and young water professionals. In that spirit, over 90% of the presentation slots this year were reserved for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early career professionals.” said Dr. Bipro Dhar, Conference Chair. This year’s keynote speakers included Dr. George Nakhla from Western University and Dr. Frank Gu from the University of Toronto. Additionally, the symposium featured five invited speakers from leading universities, government agencies, and industry, providing broader perspectives and expertise to develop innovative engineering solutions for the water and wastewater industries.
Award Winners
Philip H. Jones Award
🥇 First Prize: Tae Hyun (Calvin) Chung, University of Alberta
“Biogas upgrading and desulfurization via microbial electrosynthesis system”
🥈 Second Prize: Maha Dassouki Dit Tahan, Middle East Technical University, Türkiye / Toronto Metropolitan University
“Characterization of Polyethylene Microplastics Following Aerobic and Anaerobic Bio-Aging”
Best Poster Award
🥇 First Prize: Sunanda Paul, University of Alberta
“Immune cell bioassays identify receptor-mediated inflammatory effects of Oil Sands Process Waters and Naphthenic Acids: Implications for water quality assessment”
🥈 Second Prize: Shivani Sonkar, University of Alberta
“Plasma activated water mist: a promising surface disinfection technology”
Congratulations to all presenters and award recipients, and thank you to everyone who made the symposium a success!
For more information about the Western Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research, including access to the 2025 program and abstracts, visit : https://www.cawq.ca/en/?event=12th-western-canadian-symposium-on-water-quality-research&event_date=2025-06-17