Assistant Professor Benjamin Goldstein
Benjamin joined the Department of Bioresource Engineering in January 2021 after completing graduate and post-graduate studies at the Technical University of Denmark and the University of Michigan. He develops models to understand the multi-scalar environmental impacts of cities and to explore issues of environmental justice. Research domains include food systems, energy use, and corporate sustainability.
MSc Student - William Gagnon
William lives on Chief Drygeese Territory (Yellowknife, NT) where he witnesses the climate emergency on a daily basis: thawing permafrost, higher precipitations leading to buildings collapse, thinner ice shelf, erratic fish population, and more. A building engineer (Concordia University ’17), advocate and campaigner for climate (Cornell, ’19), he specializes in green buildings and decarbonization of the building sector (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, ’18). He likes working at the intersection of design, engineering, climate advocacy, sustainability and research.
William’s research interests currently lie in climate mitigation, biochar, pyrogenic carbon capture and storage, hydrogen energy storage, green buildings, renewable energy production, decarbonization, decolonization and energy storage solutions for northern locations.
MSc Student - Felicity Meyer
When Felicity was five years old, her dream was to be a farmer in New York City. Today, she is thrilled to study urban metabolism and sustainable development as a master’s student in the Department of Bioresource Engineering. Through her work in the SURF Lab, Felicity aims to provide actionable support to make cities greener, more efficient, and more equitable.
Prior to studying at McGill, Felicity worked at several early-stage startups on projects ranging from nutrient analysis in fresh produce to laboratory design and operations. Felicity holds a B.S. in Chemistry and B.S. in Physics from Simmons University in beautiful Boston, Massachusetts, US.
MSc Student - Estefany Cabanillas
Estefany completed her bachelor's degree in industrial engineering at Cetys University and enrolled as a master's student in Bioresource Engineering at McGill. She is passionate about technology, social sustainability, community engagement and is currently working towards finding environmentally friendly ways to create innovative solutions for an efficient urban food system. She is interested in optimizing food production with a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) system and satisfying society's food demand without endangering future generations' resources.
Research Assistant - Sadie MacDonald
Sadie is a third-year undergraduate student studying Bioresource Engineering at McGill. She is interested in using engineering thinking to sustainably manage the Earth's natural resources and to better understand the environmental and social problems facing humanity. This summer she will be working in the S.U.R.F. lab, looking at the environmental impacts of food produced by Advanced Plant Factories (technologically advanced urban farming systems).
Sadie is a recipient of the 2022 NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award.
When: Summer and Fall '21
Project: Carbon footprint of Montreal urban agriculture.