The pet project of two U of T scientists dedicated to peace and the environment is receiving international attention.
Dr. Biswajit Ganguly and Dr. Roger Hansell founded International Innovation Projects in 2000 to “coordinate environmental research and applied natural technologies for the benefit of humanity, with particular emphasis on reducing poverty and enhancing an understanding of the processes of peace.”
“I have known many educated people, with a lot of degrees, who don’t think about how to save the world,” said Dr. Ganguly. “We are a part of the environment, our body is part of the environment, we breathe the air, we drink the water, so for our own benefit we have to clean the environment, we have to change our activities,” he said. “We have all sorts of new technologies, but we have to implement them in the right way, not simply create destructive instruments. Technology should be used for the people, it should be used to help the environment.”
Dr. Ganguly was born and raised in India, in a family of consulting engineers. There he obtained degrees in Engineering and Environmental Science. When he first came to Canada five years ago, despite his academic background, he was only able to find employment selling flour.
Fortunately for Dr. Ganguly, a chance meeting with Dr. Hansell of the Zoology department at the University of Toronto landed him a job.
“I’m a morris dancer, which is a type of old British folk dance,” said Dr. Hansell. “Dr. Ganguly happened to be in attendance at one of my performances. He introduced himself, saying that he had admired my dance. And as he himself is a singer of folk and popular music in India, we got to talking, and discovered that we had many similar interests academically.”
Through Dr. Hansell, Dr. Ganguly was able to get a position as a postdoctoral fellow in Environmental Studies at U of T and begin academic work again.
“My specialization is in practical inventions,” said Dr. Ganguly. “I not only innovate but I also implement. I want to do something, not just to put formulas and sketches on a blackboard-I try to bring something to the people.”
Dr. Ganguly’s first invention, which is patented and currently used by several multinational corporations, is a gas purifier, or a low-cost catalytic conversion device to reduce automobile emissions. The invention has three parts: the first portion adds oxygen to the fuel chamber to increase fuel efficiency by helping to burn up any unused fuel. The second part consists of a gas purifier that converts toxic gases into non-toxic gases, such as turning carbon monoxide (the gas that kills people left in a locked garage with the engine on) into carbon dioxide. The third part is a chamber that converts this carbon dioxide into salts, keeping carbon dioxide emissions down in accordance with the Kyoto protocol.
Dr. Ganguly has a patent on this gas purifier, and has applied for patents on twelve other inventions. He has designed an air purifier, which uses organic plant material to remove harmful toxins from the air-a prototype of this invention is already in use at Malvern Collegiate. His other inventions include a natural air conditioning system, which uses a resevoir of water and clay walls to cool the air, efficient solar heating devices, and efficient arctic clothing.
Dr. Hansell and Dr. Ganguly also founded the Journal of Environmental Peace, a forum for discussion of the “relationship between human behaviour and natural resources.” The editorial board consists of a number of scholars from around the world, including four Nobel Laureates. Last year’s Rhodes Scholar from Trinity College at U of T, Zinta Zommers, was a volunteer for this project.
Dr. Hansell and Dr. Ganguly’s work has not gone unrecognized. They were featured on Indian television for their projects in that country. More impressive, they have received support and congratulatory remarks from a huge list of international scholars, including six Nobel laureates, and internationally known mathematician Dr. Stephen Hawking.
