top of page

Search Results

185 results found with an empty search

  • Natalie Slawiski | FOCI

    Natalie Slawiski Lead (WP7), Co-investigator (IWP3) Dr. Natalie Slawinski has significant experience working with community partners on teaching, research, and knowledge dissemination activities relating to social enterprise in Newfoundland and Labrador. For example, PI Slawinski has worked closely on research and outreach activities with Shorefast, a registered charity that runs social enterprises and whose mission is cultural and economic resilience for Fogo Island, since 2016 as part of a SSHRC partnership development grant. In 2018, PI Slawinski co-organized a Community Resilience Workshop on Fogo Island, with her research team in partnership with Shorefast. The Fogo Island Workshop, which became the first of a series of ongoing “PLACE Dialogues”, brought together 40 community champions from across Newfoundland and Labrador to discuss the lessons learned from research on the role of Shorefast’s social enterprises for community development on Fogo Island. Building on the lessons from the research, and the dialogue from the Workshop, our research team developed a PLACE framework of community development. With Research Partner Kimberly Orren, co-founder of Fishing for Success, PI Slawinski has collaborated on several knowledge mobilization initiatives including co-organizing the PLACE Dialogues in Petty Harbour Workshop in October 2019. In addition, PI Slawinski is an academic advisor for the Centre for Social Enterprise (CSE) at Memorial University, and a Research Fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation (CCSI) in the UK.

  • Lorenzo Moro

    Lorenzo Moro Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Lorenzo Moro is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He received a Ph.D., a M.Sc., and a bachelor’s degree in Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture from the University of Trieste, Italy. His research is primarily situated in ship design methods and maritime safety, focusing on noise pollution from ships, noise exposures of seafarers, and ship structural dynamics. He is technical member for Canada in the Technical Committee II.2 Dynamic Response of the 21st International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress, and chair of the Canadian Atlantic Branch of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. His research has been funded by government and private agencies, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) through the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI).

  • David Molyneux

    David Molyneux Co-investigator (WP1, WP3) Dr. David Molyneux is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering at Memorial University and Director of the Ocean Engineering Research Centre. He had a long career in private and public sector marine research organizations before joining Memorial in 2015. His research specialized in several aspects of ship stability (static and dynamic), ship safety and ship performance, including ship performance in ice. Many of these research projects included a combination of numerical simulation, model experiments or full-scale trials. He has been an active member of organizing committees for several conferences, including OMAE (2015 to 2021), Arctic Technology Conference (2012 to 2018) and AUV 2020.

  • Work Package 9 | FOCI

    INCLUSION, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY IN URBAN AND RURAL COASTAL COMMUNITIES (WP9) FOCI’s Work Package on ‘Inclusion, Social Justice and Equity in Urban and Rural Coastal Communities’ carries out research activities to support the design of infrastructures in changing urban and rural coastal communities in ways that are oriented towards inclusion, social justice and equity. This Work Package examines the question, how do we create sustainable coastal communities that are inclusive, safe, just and equitable places to live and work in contexts of climate, ocean and coastal community change? Furthermore, the Work Package is divided into sub-projects that focus on the intersections of ocean and coastal changes with (i) the global and local movement of people, (ii) community responses to existing coastal land and ocean infrastructures, (iii) and fishing livelihoods and our relationship to marine animals and life. MEET OUR TEAM Nicole Power Lead Nicolas Lynch Co-Investigator Julia Christensen Co-Investigator Robert Mellin Co-Investigator Madeleine Gustavsson Co-Investigator Yolanda Pottie-Sherman Co-Investigator Christine Knott Co-Investigator Roza Tchoukaleyska Co-Investigator HIGHLY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL (HQP) Mirella de Oliveira Leis Research Assistant 2021 Christine Knott Postdoctoral Fellow 2020-22 Maryam Foroutan Master's Student Alumni Judyannet Muchiri Research Assistant 2024 Nelson Graham Research Assistant 2023-24 Sinnika Okkola Research Assistant 2021-22 Bryhanna Greenough Research Assistant (Undergraduate) 2021 Ophelia Ravencroft Research Assistant 2024 OUR PARTNERS

  • Alexis McGill

    Memorial University Alexis McGill Doctoral Candidate (IWP1) My name is Ali McGill. I’m a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies at Memorial University working with the research team on IWP 1, Fore sighting Sustainable Coastal Community Infrastructure. My work as it relates to FOCI is to further examine methodological approaches that can be used by FOCI for fore sighting, process mapping, and performance management. My professional background is in healthcare where I have worked as a Registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioner for over 20 years in Saint John, New Brunswick. My PhD work is focused on the use of the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM), a Systems Engineering methodology to examine and analyze complex socio-technical processes and systems. I am using the FRAM to examine how the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) process varies under everyday conditions of work in Eastern Health, Newfoundland. I will apply the FRAM to this complex care process to: 1. Produce a functional model of the everyday activities and interdependencies of the CGA process in the community-based system. 2. Develop scenarios from data collected in semi-structured interviews with system stakeholders that depict variability in the CGA process. 3. Determine how variability can create challenges or generate opportunities for delivery of integrated healthcare services to older adults. 4. Provide process improvement recommendations to enhance positive variability and dampen negative variability and nudge the community based CGA process towards a more integrated approach to service delivery. In addition to my empirical research campaign using the FRAM, I have published “The Functional Resonance Analysis Method as a health care research methodology: A scoping review” in the peer reviewed journal, JBI Synthesis. I have also completed two other publications which are currently under review, “Building a Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) Model: Practical Guidance on Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis” and “Establishing Trustworthiness in Health Care Process Modelling: A Practical Guide to Quality Enhancement in Studies Using the Functional Resonance Analysis Method.” I hope to contribute my knowledge of the FRAM and its applicability to transdisciplinary research processes to the greater FOCI team.

  • Catherine Potvin

    Catherine Potvin Co-Investigator (IWP3) I am a Professor in the Biology Department, McGill University, who specialises on climate change mitigation. Since its inception in 2014, I have led Sustainable Canada Dialogues (SCD), a voluntary network that mobilizes over 80 researchers from every province in Canada, including 20 research chairs, 16 directors and seven members of the Royal Society of Canada, from geography to engineering to sociology. SCD scholars share the concern that governments should steer the course of economy and social development towards sustainability in order to mitigate the future consequences of extreme climate change. We have identified points of consensus, priorities and key policy orientations to guide achievable action and empower decision-makers and citizens alike. Since 2014, the scholars have hosted meetings with up to 70 civil society members and 150 policymakers to consult with them on their needs and interests and give feedback on climate policy. We have produced five reports, written seven open letters to decision-makers and 17 editorials, edited one special issue in a magazine and published two journal articles (with another submitted). I gave 18 English and 62 French interviews—10 print, 65 radio and five television—for SCD. From 2018–2019, I sat on the Ministerial working Group on Ecological and Cultural Integrity in National Parks for Parks Canada. From 2005–2011, I was Panama’s main REDD+ negotiator at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. From 2005–2009, I was the advisor to Panama’s Vice-Minister of the Environment for forest-related issues. I am designated by the World Bank as a core member of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Technical Advisory Panel.

  • Robert Brown | FOCI

    Robert Brown Lead (WP3) Dr. Robert Brown is a research scientist in offshore and maritime safety at the Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland. His expertise is human factors and equipment performance in maritime and offshore emergency situations (evacuation, survival and rescue). Dr. Brown works both in laboratory environments and at full scale during field trials at sea and uses results to mathematically model the processes and validate models developed. Prior to joining the Marine Institute, Dr. Brown was an ice engineer at C-CORE where he developed Monte-Carlo-based probabilistic risk models for ice impact with offshore structures and pipelines.

  • Fatima Hodroj

    Memorial University Fatima Hodroj Master's Student (WP1) My name is Fatima Hodroj, and I am a registered nurse. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in 2018 (Lebanon), where I got the first rank in the Faculty of Nursing. I have a strong nursing and health education background, particularly in women's health and childcare. I have always loved helping people and making a difference in their lives, and it is an honor to be able to do so. I am also passionate about providing quality care to all patients, and I believe every aspect of an encounter should be considered when providing care to patients. My goal is always to achieve the best possible positive outcomes for patients' health goals. I believe that being compassionate can help us treat our patients better. Currently, I'm pursuing my graduate degree of Science in Medicine (Community Health) at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), where I'm working on the thesis: "Seafarers' Perceptions and Attitudes towards Occupational Noise Exposure and Its Health Impacts in Canada: A Mixed-Methods Study," which is a part of my master's degree. Hoping this research study will make a difference in seafarers’ health and life. Finally, I am a big fan of giving back to the community by volunteering at events and campaigns that aim to help people and raise their health awareness.

  • Ajith Raj

    Grenfell Campus, Memorial University Ajith Raj Doctoral Candidate (IWP1) Ajith Raj is a graduate student in the Transdisciplinary Sustainability program at the Grenfell campus of the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Ajith is part of the FOCI (Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructures) Integrated Work Package-1 which is about the foresighting future ocean infrastructure. Before joining FOCI, Ajith lived in the western Indian islands called Lakshadweep and worked with the pole and line fisher community to develop a co-management system for the fisheries on the islands. His research focuses on the political economy of the blue economy, foresighting the future of sustainable ocean infrastructure for island communities and fisheries resource management. Ajith completed a Master’s in Development with a sustainability specialization and worked for a Fisheries conservation NGO in India.

  • Joe Daraio

    Joe Daraio Co-investigator (WP2) Dr. Joe Daraio is an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He has research experience in ecology, environmental hydraulics, and hydrology, and his primary research interests are in the integration of natural and built environment towards climate change adaptation and resilient design of civil infrastructure. His recent work has focused potential climate change impacts on storm water system design parameters, including peak flows, at local scales, and on development of relatively simple methods for design engineers to incorporate climate change impacts on flow frequencies using flow duration curves. He is principal investigator on a project funded by Natural Resources Canada working with the provincial government on Building Climate Resilience (BCR) to train professional engineers and planners to incorporate climate change into design and planning of infrastructure. This work provides a means to directly apply his research on climate change impacts into practice, and will identify important knowledge gaps for design of storm water infrastructure under climate change. The current proposal will expand on this ongoing work though the direct inclusion of coastal aspects of infrastructure, and by reaching beyond professionals directly to stakeholders and members of the public who have an important part to play in developing resilient and sustainable coastal communities. Dr. Daraio will co-lead with Finnis on WP2.2 (Utility of Climate Guidance)

  • Natasha Olekshy

    Grenfell Campus, Memorial University Natasha Olekshy Research Assistant (Core/IWP1) To learn more about Tasha Olekshy – Environmental Policy Institute (grenfell-epi.com)

  • Barbara Neis | FOCI

    Barbara Neis Lead (IWP4), Co-investigator (WP2, WP5, IWP2), Advisory Chair Professor Barbara Neis is a John Lewis Paton Distinguished University Professor, Department of Sociology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is a member of the Order of Canada (C.M.), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (F.R.S.C.), corecipient of the Vanier Institute of the Family’s Mirabelli-Glossop Award for Distinguished Contribution, member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Council of Canadian Academies and a former Fellow of the Trudeau Foundation. She co-founded and co-directed Memorial’s SafetyNet Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Research over much of the period from 2001 to 2019. She is a former member of the Ocean Frontier Institute research management committee and co-leads the work package on aquaculture OHS within Module M. Over her career, a central focus of Professor Neis’ research has been the relationship between work, community and larger-scale societal and environmental change with a particular focus on rural and remote, resource dependent coastal communities. She has extensive experience in designing, securing funding for and completing major interdisciplinary programs of research using a community-engaged, partnered framework. Many of her research programs have focused on diverse aspects of marine and coastal communities ranging from sustainability, through governance, to local knowledge and science, health and safety, gender and fisheries and work-related mobility.

We acknowledge that the lands on which Memorial University’s campuses are situated are in the traditional territories of diverse Indigenous groups, and we acknowledge with respect the diverse histories and cultures of the Beothuk, Mi’kmaq, Innu, and Inuit of this province.

To learn more about Memorial University's Strategic Framework for Indigenization please visit the Office of Indigenous Affairs.

Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructures is administered in partnership by the St. John’s and Grenfell Campuses of Memorial University 

Research funding was provided by the Ocean Frontier Institute, through an award from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.

bottom of page