News

By Emma Geldart

Despite female students typically not being interested in this particular discipline, Emily Merks always knew that she wanted to be a mechanical engineer.

“I am fascinated with science and math related topics so becoming an engineer seemed to be the best option for me,” she explains.

Growing up on a poultry farm in Grand Pre of the Annapolis Valley, NS, Emily came to Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture because of the good things she had heard about the campus. After hearing about the knowledgeable professors, the small class sizes, and the opportunity to play sports, Emily knew that the Faculty of Agriculture was for her.

“I’ve heard so many positive things about the atmosphere and people here on campus,” Emily says. “Everyone I knew who had come to the AC kept telling me how nice the faculty, staff and students are.”

Not only does Emily enjoy her program, she’s excelling at it too. After completing her first year in engineering, Emily was awarded an Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA). USRA’s are awarded to undergraduate students who are interested in natural sciences and engineering. Students who are interested in a career in their field of research are encouraged to apply. The USRA’s allow students to work with researchers over the summer and gain experience in their area of study. USRA’s also allow for financial support.

“It means a lot to me to receive an Undergraduate Student Research Award,” Emily says. “It’s a dream come true to already be working in the field after completing only the first year of my diploma program.  This award has provided me with an opportunity to study a growing worldwide problem.”

This summer, Emily is working alongside Dr. Tri Nguyen-Quang and his team of researchers in the Biofluids and Biosystems Modeling Lab (BBML). They are researching the possible causes of abnormal and toxic, blue-green algal blooms in Mattatall Lake.

“I am focusing on the land use within the watershed to try and make links to it and various chemical patterns in and around the lake,” she explains.

Emily explains that algal blooms are a rapidly growing problem, not only in Nova Scotia, but worldwide. Algal blooms, which are large accumulations of algae cells in a body of water, typically occur in freshwater and marine environments. The blooms are becoming more and more frequent and are threatening safe drinking water supplies.

“Unfortunately, Nova Scotia has little research being done on this problem compared to other provinces,” Emily says. “An abundance of specific nutrients, like phosphorous, is considered to be a major contributing factor to the occurrence of algal blooms. This summer, I want to help locate and address the major contributing sources of nutrients to Mattatall Lake.”

Through her and her coworker’s research at BBML, Emily hopes to find what is causing the occurrence of algal blooms in Mattatall Lake. They then want to propose a solution that will help the residents of Mattatall Lake prevent future algal blooms. On a personal level, she would like to sharpen her sample taking and analysis skills.

Emily is set to graduate next spring from the engineering diploma program. After she graduates, she plans to move on to Dalhousie’s Halifax campus to pursue a bachelor’s degree in engineering. With her degree in hand, Emily would eventually like to be involved in the research and design of renewable energy systems or some other project focused on improving our environmental state. Emily’s passion and determination for engineering and improving the environment has lead her on a successful path so far. And her journey has only just begun.