肉肉传媒

Water and energy are deeply connected, and both are under pressure. Known for its strength in both renewable energy and wastewater treatment, 肉肉传媒鈥檚 Faculty of Engineering just got a major boost in research from the lab next door.

Last fall, Dr. Mita Dasog was appointed the Faculty鈥檚 new Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Advanced Design for Water-Energy Sustainability, a joint position with Dal鈥檚 Faculty of Science.

After joining Science in 2016, she established a materials science lab focused on addressing major challenges in energy and water. Her team designs nanomaterials, tiny particles that interact with sunlight, to produce hydrogen fuel, clean water, and recover valuable minerals. She says the goal is to do more with less: less energy, fewer expensive materials, and a lower environmental impact.

For example, her lab is creating materials that can turn seawater into hydrogen fuel, a clean energy source that could work almost anywhere Now with her move into the Faculty of Engineering, there are new opportunities to take those ideas further.

Interdisciplinary Approach

Now she鈥檚 starting to look at the bigger picture, including how much energy it takes to produce materials, how to keep processes safe, and how the technology can be deployed outside the lab.

鈥淏eing part of Engineering, you really start thinking about scale-up,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about making a single unit. We have to think about the supply chain, the manufacturing, the social implications, and how it all works once it鈥檚 out in the real world.鈥�

Tackling these challenges requires more than science or engineering alone. It鈥檚 about bringing expertise together to move materials from the lab into the real world.

鈥淏eing jointly appointed gives us the opportunity to connect fundamental research with applications and focus more on higher-level integration, from materials design to applying them in real-world systems,鈥� she says. 鈥淓ngineering helps bring all of those pieces together.鈥�

鈥淓ngineering helps bring all of those pieces together.鈥�

Real-World Impact

This is exactly what drives the impact of her work: creating solutions that can be used in communities and industries. One current focus is green hydrogen, a clean fuel that could replace fossil fuels in energy-intensive processes. Traditional hydrogen production is expensive, energy-intensive, and often relies on ultra-pure water. However, 聽Dasog鈥檚 materials use sunlight and low-cost elements, offering a cleaner, more accessible alternative that could benefit everyone, not just a privileged few.

鈥淭he goal is to think cradle to grave,鈥� she explains. 鈥淔rom the materials we make in the lab to how they are manufactured, transported, used in the real world, and how can they be recycled and repurposed after their intended use. We want solutions that are practical, scalable, and sustainable.鈥�

Hands-on Opportunities

Although her lab on 肉肉传媒鈥檚 Sexton campus is still under construction, students will soon have the chance to tackle these challenges firsthand.

鈥淚n the past, we have hosted Engineering undergrads and co-op students to help scale up our prototypes and test real-world applications,鈥� she explains. Now, graduate students will also get the opportunity to explore how materials interact in complex systems and move closer to practical deployment.

Inspiring the next generation of leaders has always been important to Dasog, particularly women in STEM, who often struggle to find role models within the field.

鈥淎 lot of women in STEM are told, 鈥楳aybe math and physics isn鈥檛 the field for you; maybe you should try biology or medical sciences,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淚 heard that from teachers, family, all well-meaning people. I want to be there so others can see themselves in me. I enjoy interacting with women and girls, not to force them into STEM fields, but to show there鈥檚 a place for them here, if they choose.鈥�

Motivated by the Planet

For Dasog, mentorship is part of a much larger picture. She points out that the challenges facing the planet will only be solved by a diverse generation of scientists and engineers.

鈥淲e truly are at a crisis point,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need solutions, like yesterday.鈥�

But complex challenges require more than expertise in a single field. She says students often learn subjects in isolation, but real-world problems require collaboration across disciplines.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e thinking about answers, you really do have to take your training from different disciplines into consideration. You have to work with people in adjacent fields or even transdisciplinary topics to come up with more holistic answers.鈥�

Addressing these challenges though, isn鈥檛 just about research, it鈥檚 about the kind of future she鈥檇 like to leave behind for her children.

鈥淎t least for me, I would like my daughter to have a safe planet,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen she grows up, I want her to face fewer challenges than we are dealing with today. That鈥檚 part of what drives me.鈥�