MacRae Library Grows Agricultural Research Connections at Student Research Poster Competition

March 18, 2025 Kristy Leave a Comment

By Jaclyn Chambers Page, Copyright Librarian + Faculty of Agriculture Liaison Librarian, (refined with the aid of Claude.ai)

The MacRae Library at Dalhousie University’s Agricultural Campus hosted its Second Annual Student Research Poster Competition on March 12, 2025 The competition showcased innovative agricultural research from Dalhousie students and postdocs. The event featured 27 submissions—a significant increase from last year’s inaugural competition—highlighting the growing interest in agricultural research.

Left to right: Venkatraman Manikandan, Yashan Dhaliwal, Nandhini Krishnamoorthy (Photo by Elaine MacInnis)

Following careful evaluation by students, faculty, and community members, three researchers were awarded prizes for their outstanding work:

First Place ($100): Nandhini Krishnamoorthy for “From Waste to Growth: Harnessing Compost CO₂ in Greenhouse Agriculture”
Second Place ($50): Yashan Dhaliwal for “Bimodal Data Analysis for Early Detection of Lameness in Dairy Cows using Artificial Intelligence”
Third Place ($25): Venkatraman Manikandan for “Unlocking Poultry Vocalizations – Artificial Intelligence for Welfare Monitoring and Sustainable Farming”

The competition invited agricultural researchers at all academic levels—from undergraduate to postdoctoral—to submit research posters. During the evening event, participants engaged with attendees in one-on-one discussions about their research. Attendees evaluated each presentation using a standardized rubric, with the three highest-scoring posters receiving prizes.

The variety of research presented is a testament to the exciting possibilities of agricultural research as students rise to the challenge of climate change, harness the power of artificial intelligence, seek to protect and improve the health and well-being of plants and animals, and more. Key themes included:

Climate Change Adaptation: Several projects explored carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas mitigation, and sustainable farming practices
Artificial Intelligence Applications: Multiple researchers leveraged AI for animal welfare monitoring, communication analysis, and farming optimization
Plant and Animal Health: Innovative approaches to disease prevention, nutrition, and well-being for various species
Sustainable Resource Use: Converting agricultural waste into valuable products and developing eco-friendly materials

Dalhousie librarians Erin MacPherson and Jaclyn Chambers Page organized and hosted the competition with the support of Elaine MacInnis, Head of MacRae Library and Associate Dean, Library Services.

The organizers would like to extend their gratitude to the students, faculty members, and community members who came to support our student researchers, including Dean of Agriculture and Campus Principal, Dr. Heather Bruce, and Faculty of Agriculture Associate Dean Academic, Dr. Dian Patterson.

Special thanks to Alison Brierley, former Dalhousie Libraries multidisciplinary intern for designing the event marketing material, Michael Vandenburg, Dean of Libraries, and Elaine MacInnis, Associate Dean Library Services and Head of MacRae Library, for their continuing support of this event.

Full list of poster submissions:

Bao Ho Dinh: From the assessment of forest biomass to carbon sequestration under climate change crisis: a comparative study of Daklak (Vietnam) and Atlantic Canada

Bolappa Gamage Kaushalya Madhavi: Effect of Hydro-Thermodynamic Processing (HTD) on the Physicochemical, Techno-Functional, Nutritional, and Structural Properties of Protein Isolates from Defatted Camelina Meal

Bubacarr Jobarteh: Carbon-Smart Poultry – Leveraging Satellite Data & Artificial Intelligence for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Canadian Farming

Hanqing Bi: Evaluating the impact of Environmental Enrichment on Turkey Behavior and Activity Levels Using Accelerometer Data

Cullen MacDonald: Developing novel anti-browning agents from defatted wheat germ

Damith Costa: Enhancing haskap (Lonicera caerulea) anthocyanin utilization: Development of a scalable extraction and stabilization Process.

Devasena Mahesh: Effect of wood preservatives on soil and plants

Kappeeran Venkatesan: How Climate change shapes the future of Late Blight Disease?

Koushika Kumaresan

Mackenzie Tapp: Adapting the Cool Farm Tool for Net Zero Poultry Farming in Atlantic Canada – A Survey on Poultry Farms in Canada

Marianna Rampaul: Insights into the frontline antiviral defence of Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis

Mayuri Kate: AI–Powered Bovine Communication ~ Enhancing Sustainable Livestock Farming

Nandhini Krishnamoorthy: From Waste to Growth: Harnessing Compost CO₂ in Greenhouse Agriculture

Prajesh Padmanabhan Jagannathan: Accelerating Climate Action – High Resolution Methane Mapping in Canadian Poultry Farms

Prakhar Talwar: Waste-to-Biofuel: Innovations in Thermochemical Valorization of Agricultural, Forestry and Plastic Residues

Rosemarijn van Schaik: Pen Optimization for Farmed Mink

Savio Augustine: Survey of the traditional plants used by Mi’kmaq people in and around Dalhousie University’s Agricultural Campus

Senari Wijesooriya Arachchige: Development of antifungal-biodegradable mulch film for controlling verticillium wilt in strawberries

Shreya Rao: Advancing Dairy Cow Management Digital Twin Technology for Precision Nutrition

Shubhangi Mahato: Dairy DigiD ~ A Deep Learning-Based, Non-Invasive Biometric Identification System for Dairy Cattle Using Detectron2

Shuqiang Zhang (Reimagining Dairy Cow Well-Being through Video-Based Pain Detection)

Sibi Parivendan: Social Dynamics in the Digital Pasture: Advanced Vision-Based Tracking of Dairy Cow Interactions

Sukhjinder Singh: Triboelectric Nanogenerators For Smart Agriculture Technologies

Venkatraman Manikandan: Unlocking Poultry Vocalizations – Artificial Intelligence for Welfare Monitoring and Sustainable Farming

Yashan Dhaliwal: Bimodal Data Analysis for Early Detection of Lameness in Dairy Cows using Artificial Intelligence

Yiru Wei: Bridging Health and Sustainability: The Role of Traditional Health Beliefs in Food Consumption

Zohreh Fazelan (Insights into the American lobster defence mechanisms against Anophryoides haemophila infection)

For more information about the competition, please contact the MacRae Library at macrae.library@dal.ca

2nd Annual MacRae Library Research Poster Competition

January 13, 2025 Kristy Leave a Comment

Showcase Your Research

Attention all students and post-docs from the Truro Campus! The MacRae Library Student Research Poster Competition is returning on March 12, 2025, for its second year, promising another exciting opportunity for students to showcase their innovative research.

This event is a fantastic platform for budding researchers to present their work, engage with the academic community, gain valuable feedback, and possibly win a gift card prize.

Whether you’re a participant or an attendee, the competition is an excellent chance to explore diverse research topics, network with peers, and celebrate the achievements of student researchers.

Submit Your Application

To register for the competition, complete the online application form by March 5 and prepare a digital or print version of your research poster* to share with other students, faculty, and staff from the Truro campus on March 12 from 6-8pm.

Please note that digital posters will be presented to attendees as QR codes so your poster should be scalable for mobile devices. If you want to showcase a print version of your research poster, it must be submitted to the MacRae Library front desk by 3 pm on March 7. Posters will be displayed on the Library’s top floor from March 10-14, 2025. This competition is open to all Truro Start, undergraduate, graduate students, and post-docs on the Truro Campus and no previous publishing or presentation experience is required. Research can explore any topic and does not need to be new.

Vote for the Winners

On March 12, 2025, from 6-8 pm, researchers will engage with event attendees to discuss their posters in the MacRae Library Program Rooms (218/219). Audience members will vote for their favourite poster using a scoring rubric and the top three posters will receive a gift card. The event is open to everyone, including community members from Truro, Bible Hill, and surrounding areas.

Can’t make the event? Posters will be on display for asynchronous viewing at the MacRae Library from March 10-14, 2025.

Let’s come together and celebrate the incredible work of our student researchers and their future global impact. We look forward to receiving your submissions and hearing more about your work.

Important Dates

March 5 – Competition registration deadline
March 7 – Deadline to submit print posters (3 pm)
March 12 – Competition night (6-8pm)

If you have any questions, please contact Jaclyn Chambers Page at jchamberspage@dal.ca.

*Curious about how to prepare a poster presentation? Sign up for Research Camp, an online, asynchronous program created by Dal Libraries with support from the Writing Centre. It covers all the elements of research, from basic to advanced skills, with video lectures, interactive exercises, and more, including a special module on Poster Presentations in the “Presenting and Publishing Research” section. Self-register in Brightspace by clicking Academic Support > Self registration > Online Community – Research Camp 2024-2025. You can enroll anytime and complete as many modules as you wish.

Call for 2025 OER Development Grant Applications

January 9, 2025 Kristy Leave a Comment

The Council of Atlantic Academic Libraries has called for applications for AtlanticOER Development Grants. Funding is provided by the four Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island).

AtlanticOER Development Grants provide financial support to instructors in the Atlantic Region creating and adapting new Open Educational Resources. The goal is to support instructors to increase the availability of quality, free, openly licensed resources to support student learning. You can apply for three different funding tiers, depending on the scope of your project. The tiers are:

Tier 1: Creating an Open Textbook (up to $7,000) – This funding is intended for the development of a new open textbook. The topic should not be covered in an already existing open textbook. This tier is meant for creation projects at a larger scale.

Tier 2: Adaptation of an Existing Open Textbook (up to $4,000) – This funding is intended for substantive adaptation projects. Sometimes it can be possible to find an open textbook that covers foundational knowledge but needs to be adjusted. For example, the textbook might require adjustments to ensure it adheres to local educational standards, or adjustments might be made to make it relevant to the local context (eg, an American business textbook may need adjustments to make it suitable for a Canadian business context), or new examples and interactive elements may be added to a book.

Tier 3: Creation of Ancillary Materials (up to $1,000) – This funding is intended for smaller creation projects. Ancillary materials can be defined as course materials that are meant to supplement and support a textbook. Examples of ancillary materials include: slide decks, interactive tutorials, and quiz and test banks. Often, ancillary materials can enhance student learning.

The application period closes on February 14, 2025.

Planned DalSpace Repository Updates & Outages

October 8, 2024 Kristy Leave a Comment

The DalSpace theses repository will undergo updates during October 15-22. These updates will address issues and ensure ongoing functionality.

From October 15-22 users will experience outages. Please avoid uploads and deposits until the update is completed after October 22.

If you have any questions about the update, please contact dalspace@dal.ca.

May 5 is Red Dress Day

May 5, 2024 Marlo MacKay Leave a Comment

The Red Dress Day exhibit in the Ko’jua Okuom in the Killam Memorial Library.

May 5 is Red Dress Day, a day of honouring missing and murdered Indigenous people.

Learn more about Red Dress Day.

Learn more about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) by reading the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Students Shine at MacRae Library Research Poster Competition

April 3, 2024 Kristy Leave a Comment

By: Jaclyn Chambers Page, Copyright Librarian + Faculty of Agriculture Liaison Librarian

The research achievements of students from across Dalhousie’s Agricultural campus are on display after MacRae Library’s first research poster competition.

Held on March 27, the competition welcomed Dalhousie students, faculty, staff, and members of the surrounding community to engage with Agricultural campus student research, forge connections, and learn from each other.

Participants were invited to submit print or digital posters highlighting their research projects, which were then evaluated by the event audience. Poster presentations were followed by a poster fair where attendees could interact with researchers individually and provide feedback using a rubric.

The breadth of topics covered during the competition was impressive, ranging from the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on lactating dairy cows to toxic algal blooms. The diversity of topics underscored the impactful research happening on the Agricultural campus and demonstrated students’ commitment to fostering a healthy and sustainable future.

The organizers extend their gratitude to all participants for their dedication and courage in taking part in the event:

Zohreh Fazelan, Exploring immune gene expression patterns in American lobster (Homarus americanus) during Aerococcus viridans var. homari infection
Zahra Ghiasvand, From Ocean to Gene: Investigating the Lobster’s Immune Battle Against Profilicollis botulus
Hamza Jawad, Utilizing omics approaches to enhance parasite resistance in sheep through molecular diagnostics and genomic selection
Baillie Lynds, Effect of Enhanced Efficiency Nitrogen Fertilizers on Agronomic and Environmental Performance in Grain Corn
Staci-ann Morgan, The physiological and Behavioural effects of COVID-19 restrictions on lactating dairy cows
Olufemi Osonowo, Optimizing Feed Intake Test Period in Sheep Production
Marianna Rampaul, Cracking the enigma: Exploring the potential of the egg development protein vitellogenin as a bioindicator of female American lobster (Homarus americanus) maturity
Devleena Sahoo, Worldwide Toxic Algal Blooms and Human Health issues

Dalhousie librarians Erin MacPherson and Jaclyn Chambers Page hosted the event and presented prizes to the top three overall scoring posters in a very close competition:

Marianna Rampaul
Baillie Lynds
Devleena Sahoo

All posters are available for viewing in the SLC (top floor) of the MacRae Library until April 5, 2024.

The organizers would also like to thank the students, faculty members, Acting Dean Dr. Wang-Pruski, Associate Deans, and community supporters who came out to encourage the participants and engage with the judging activity. Special thanks to Alison Brierley, Dalhousie Libraries Multidisciplinary Intern for helping with the event preparations, Michael Vandenburg, Dean of Libraries and Elaine MacInnis, Associate Dean Library Services and Head MacRae Library & Acting Head, Killam Library for their support of this project.

8th Annual Dalhousie Agricultural Campus Fine Arts & Craft Show

March 26, 2024 Kristy Leave a Comment

Dalhousie Agricultural Campus is currently hosting its 8th annual Fine Arts & Craft Show, showcasing an array of talent from both the campus community and beyond. Despite gaps due to COVID-related interruptions and space constraints due to the Cox fire, the event has returned again this year, building on its inaugural exhibition in 2013.

Founded by alumna Crystal Fullerton, who submitted her own entry this year all the way from Alberta, the show has continued to evolve under the stewardship of Stephanie Peach, another dedicated alumna who took over as Curator in 2019. Stephanie loves bringing the art community together. “Giving the Agricultural Campus community a venue to display and appreciate the work of others brings me so much joy. It is something I look forward to each year. I love to meet the artists and guests and adore getting to arrange these amazing pieces of work in a way that flows.”

This year’s exhibition features 27 artists displaying 79 pieces, encompassing a wide variety of mediums. Visitors can admire fiber art, photography, wood turnings, oils and acrylics, wool felting, watercolors, handcrafted glass beads, innovative mixed media pieces, quilting, polymer clay sculptures, rug hooking, beach glass art, and even taxidermy.

The diversity of art on display reflects the unique perspective of the Agricultural Campus community, with contributions from current and retired faculty and staff, as well as students and alumni. Some pieces are available for purchase, with contact information provided for interested buyers.

The exhibit, which highlights the connection between art and nature, will conclude on Friday, March 29th (Good Friday), with the Library open from 12:00 to 5:00 on that day. Visitors are encouraged to explore the captivating creations on display and leave their thoughts in the guestbook.

MacRae Library Research Poster Competition

March 7, 2024 Kristy Leave a Comment

By Alison Brierley

Attention all students! You are invited to take part in the first-ever MacRae Library Research Poster Competition. This is an opportunity to share your work with others, learn more about research, and win one of three gift card prizes.

Submit Your Research

To register for the competition, complete the online application form by March 15 and prepare a digital or print version of your research poster* to present at a lightning talk event on March 27.

Your digital posters will be presented to lightning talk attendees as QR codes so be sure to create your poster so that it is scalable for mobile devices. If you would like to showcase a print version of your research poster, it must be submitted to the MacRae Library front desk by 12 pm on March 22.

This competition is open to all undergraduate, graduate students, and post-docs on the Truro Campus including Truro Start students. No previous publishing or presentation experience is required and your research can explore any topic.

Vote for the Winners

On March 27, from 6:00-8:00 p.m., researchers will present their posters at a lightning talk event in the MacRae Library program rooms (218/219). Audience members will vote for their favourite presentations using a scoring rubric and the top three posters will receive a gift card! A celebratory reception with food and refreshments will follow.

Can’t make the event? Posters will be on display at the MacRae Library from March 22 – April 5.

We want to bring together students and postdocs from across the Truro campus to share their knowledge and help to build community. We look forward to your submissions and hearing more about your work!

Important Dates

March 15 – Competition registration deadline
March 22 – Deadline to submit print posters (12 p.m.)
March 27 – Lightning talks and reception (6-8 p.m.)

If you have any questions, please reach out to Jaclyn Chambers Page at jchamberspage@dal.ca.

*Curious about how to prepare a poster presentation?

Sign up for Research Camp, an online, asynchronous program created by Dal Libraries with support from the Writing Centre. Research Camp covers all the elements of research, from basic to advanced skills with video lectures, interactive exercises, and more. Included is a special module on Poster Presentations in the “Presenting and Publishing Research” section.

Self-register in Brightspace by clicking Academic Support > Self-registration> Online Community – Research Camp 2023-2024. You can enroll anytime and complete as many modules as you wish.

Contest Terms and Conditions:

The competition submission form opens on March 1, 2024, at 8 a.m. and closes on March 15, 2024, at 11:59pm. A digital or print copy of the entrant’s poster must be received by the MacRae Library by March 22, 2024, at 4 pm. The lightning talk is from 6 – 8 pm. Entrants must have reached the age of majority in their province of residence and must be an active full- or part-time Dalhousie University students at the Truro Campus.

Three (3) Prizes are available to be won. All entries must be submitted before 11:59 pm March 15, 2024, via submission form ( https://forms.office.com/r/VL3TUGmqLn). Three (3) winners will be selected from all entries based on the scoring rubric attached to the full Competition Rules in Appendix A by 8 p.m. March 27, 2024. The winners will be contacted in person at the event, or via their provided contact information if they are no longer present. Odds of winning are dependent on the number of eligible entries received and the quality of an entrant’s poster based on their score as determined using the scoring rubric. No purchase is required. First prize is a $100 Amazon gift card. Second prize is a $50 Amazon gift card. Third prize is a $25 Amazon gift card. Winners must claim their prize between the time of notification and April 5 or will forfeit their prize.

View full contest terms and conditions (login required).

A Glimpse into Canadian Soldiers’ Educational Journey During WWII

November 9, 2023 Kristy Leave a Comment

A Canadian Legion Educational Services publication series was identified while processing historical government documents at the MacRae Library. They appear to be unique, with very few copies found elsewhere in Canada.

The University of Fraser Valley’s online resource, The Encyclopedia of Canadian Adult Education, indicates that these items were under the care of the Canadian Legion Educational Services from 1939 to 1946. The series at the MacRae aligns with the Encyclopedia’s records, with imprints of 1945 and 1946.

The text on the back of the series instructs students enrolled in courses to carry their textbooks with them while traveling overseas. Upon arrival at their new stations, they were encouraged to promptly connect with the Education Officer or Naval Schoolmaster.

These agricultural textbooks were not just academic resources; they were intended to travel with soldiers during the peak of World War II. They provide powerful insight into the hopes and dreams these students had for their futures.

Visit the MacRae Library to view this publication series.

Category: Agriculture