The series of encounters entitled “The travelling Genius : Italians Art, humanities, science … in the world”, is a space for discussion and cultural dialogue that the Italian Cultural Institute has developed especially for young Italians in world. Italians who, beyond any orientation, are the bearers of knowledge accumulated in Italy and diffuse the following, even without their knowledge, a provision or a vocation of ancient origin: the generous exchange of culture, comforted by a keen sense of human comprehension.
If we’re taking it, we’re also drinking it: painkillers, blood thinners, hormones, chemotherapy agents, even cocaine and amphetamines. Whatever goes into us also comes out of us, through our own biological effluent, every time we flush the toilet. Right here in Canada, a recent study reported record-breaking levels of pharmaceuticals in river water. There are traces of acetaminophen, codeine, antibiotics, hormones, steroids, and anti-epileptic compounds, and dozens of other chemicals. There are neuro-active compounds, including antidepressants, antiseizure compounds, and mood stabilizers. The real problem: sewage treatment plants are not currently designed to remove pharmaceuticals from water. The consequences of poor wastewater treatment include acute and chronic intoxication of fish and wildlife populations, oxygen depletion, eutrophication, restrictions on recreational water use, and drinking water consumption
June 14, 2017 – 6:30pm Free Admission
Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Montreal
1200 Av. du Dr Penfield
Marta Stucchi got her PhD in Industrial Chemistry at the University of Milan in 2017. She possesses a deep knowledge of manufacturing processes and properties of TiO2 based materials to improve air quality through pollutants abatement. She focused on indoor environments and the presence of ubiquitous volatile organic compounds, which are dangerous for human health. She worked on the scale up of the incorporation of TiO2 into building materials. Since January, she is a post-doctoral researcher in the team of Prof. Daria C. Boffito, who is a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Intensified Mechano-Chemical Processes for Sustainable Biomass Conversion. Together, they aim at finding new photocatalytic pathways for wastewater treatment, always with the ambition to developing technologies applicable on large scale.
Reservation no longer available