Two New Environmental Research Clusters Funded by INRS

A total of $600,000 to support emerging and cross-sectoral research.

The Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) has released the results of the third edition of its internal competition for the recognition of emerging research clusters (ERCs). This year’s winners were the Consortium intersectoriel en écologie industrielle et agroalimentaire (CINÉIAG) and the Groupe intersectoriel de recherche pour une gestion durable et responsable de l’eau (GIREAU).

Initiated by the Scientific Direction and open exclusively to INRS researchers, this competition offers a three-year funding opportunity totalling $300,000.

The purpose of this funding is to encourage collaborative and synergistic research initiatives on priority issues with scientific, social, or economic spin-offs at the provincial, Canadian, or international level.

Since its launch, this competition has propelled a number of research clusters, including the Intersectoral Centre for Endocrine Disruptor Analysis (ICEDA), which today ranks as leaders in the ecosystem. This funding has enabled it to grow, consolidate its expertise on priority issues, and become well-established in the research ecosystem.

“The two winning groups are leveraging their research to improve the living conditions of citizens. This ties in closely with the purpose of INRS, which is to support the development and well-being of society through science. The Scientific Direction strongly encourages these emerging research initiatives that spring from the interdisciplinary networking of its community.”
Isabelle Delisle, Interim Scientific Director of INRS

What is an emerging research cluster (ERC)?

It is a team, group, network, or cluster of INRS faculty members who combine their expertise to carry out collaborative multidisciplinary and intersectoral research.

An emerging research cluster relies on the pooling of this diverse expertise to develop new knowledge as part of the INRS institutional scientific program. At the time of application, the emerging research cluster must not have already received funding from granting agencies for this project.

Members are spread across the four INRS campuses: Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Research Centre (AFSB), Eau Terre Environnement Research Centre (ETE), Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre (EMT), and Urbanisation Culture Société Research Centre (UCS). Collaborators from outside INRS may also join the emerging research cluster.

Mobilizing for industrial and agri-food ecology

The Consortium intersectoriel en écologie industrielle et agroalimentaire (CINÉIAG) is headed by Professors Kokou Adjallé of the ETE Research Centre and Philippe Constant of the AFSB Research Centre.

This research group combines the cross-disciplinary expertise of ten INRS faculty members: Eric Déziel, Monique Lacroix, and Étienne Yergeau of the AFSB Research Centre; Louise Hénault-Ethier, Louis-César Pasquier, and Tarek Rouissi of the ETE Research Centre; as well as Morgan Mouton, Leslie Touré Kapo, Julia Frotey, and Nick Revington of the UCS Research Centre.

CINÉIAG is working in a context where the concepts of bioeconomy and circular economy are gaining ground in Western societies. This cluster responds to current challenges in the agro-industrial sector by combining complementary specializations in microbiology, biotechnology, citizen mobilization, and renewable energy, among others.

The objectives of CINÉIAG are centred around four main research themes:

Sustainable and resilient agri-food system: adapting the system to climate change, developing regenerative agriculture, ensuring food security and autonomy for communities
Bio-refinery and energy transition: developing environmentally-friendly processes to convert agricultural and agri-food residues into bio-sourced products
Industrial biotechnology and bioprocessing: producing biological fertilizers (biopesticides, biofertilizers, bioherbicides) and other bioproducts (bioplastics, enzymes, biosurfactants)
Innovation through the mobilization of local resources: inclusion of the public and new municipal governance.

Discover their areas of expertise

Kokou Adjallé

Environmental biotechnologies

Looking for students or interns

Philippe Constant

Biogeochemical functions

Eric Déziel

Microbiology

Monique Lacroix

Sciences, applied to food

Étienne Yergeau

Microbial ecology

Louis-César Pasquier

Sequestration and use of CO2

Alain Mailhot

Urban hydrology

Looking for students or interns

Morgan Mouton

Urban Infrastructure

Looking for students or interns

Leslie Touré Kapo

Looking for students or interns

Julia Frotey

Cartography and geographic information systems (GIS)

Looking for students or interns

Nick Revington

Urban Development

In support of sustainable management

The Groupe intersectoriel de recherche pour une gestion durable et responsable de l’eau (GIREAU), headed by Professor Sophie Duchesne, is studying sustainable urban water management.

The GIREAU team is looking into the possibilities of achieving net zero water consumption with no impact on the environment, whether at the level of a building, a neighbourhood, a city, or a watershed. To achieve this, specialists are studying the implementation of a viable and sustainable cycle for drinking water, rainwater, and wastewater, as well as water from natural environments.

GIREAU places special emphasis on:

The urban water cycle
Urban water consumption
Wastewater treatment for reuse
Integration of water into buildings and the urban grid

Applying a new paradigm to water management calls for the development of new technologies and models. These must go hand in hand with reimagined concepts of water governance, in line with the expectations of citizens who demand water that has no negative impact on their health or the environment.

GIREAU draws on the expertise of some 15 INRS faculty members: Isabelle Plante and Cathy Vaillancourt of the AFSB Research Centre; Marc A. Gauthier and Dongling Ma of the EMT Research Centre; Geneviève Bordeleau, Patrick Drogui, Eva Enders, Louise Hénault-Ethier, Isabelle Lavoie, Taha B. M. J. Ouarda, Tarek Rouissi, and Alain N. Rousseau of the ETE Research Centre; as well as Sophie L. Van Neste, Morgan Mouton, and Nipesh Palat Narayanan of the UCS Research Centre.