lol My Thesis: IISD Experimental Lakes Area edition

lol informal (also LOL) UK  /lɒl/ US  /lɑːl/ abbreviation for laughing out loud: used, for example on social media and in text messages, when you think something is funny or you intend it as a joke.

 

While those three controversial little letters may have earned their place in the corridors of linguistic hell, lol my thesis proves to be a perennial source of humorous respite for academics around the world.

 

The concept? Simple. Anyone who has written a thesis submits their original title, and then comes up with a pithy, accurate and funny new title that better describes what they did and what they found.

 

The result? Academic research that is much more accessible to non-specialists and more honest about the work that we do.

 

Here at the world’s freshwater laboratory, we always like to bring you the latest (and most humorous) forms of science communication, so we set about asking our researchers, scientists, and collaborators to “lol” their theses (many of which were based on research conducted at IISD Experimental Lakes Area)—all to predictably comical effect.

 

Hang on to your funny bones folks, it’s going to be a wild ride…

 

Geoffrey Gunn

• The original title: Polynya Formation in Hudson Bay During the Winter Period (MSc. Environment and Geography, 2015, University of Manitoba)
• The lol my thesis title: Some Arctic Ice Moves Back and Forth, Back and Forth
• Geoff recently took to the Toronto Star to explain why we need high tech data to stop sewage overflows. Read that opinion piece here.

 

Richard Grosshans

• The original title: Cattail (Typha spp.) Biomass Harvesting for Nutrient Capture and Sustainable Bioenergy for Integrated  Watershed Management  (PhD Department of Biosystems Engineering, 2014, University of Manitoba)
• The lol my thesis title: You Can Cut Down and Burn Stuff to Save the Planet! Who Knew?
• Want to learn more about our work on cattail and how it can help keep fresh water clean? Click here.

 

 

Pauline Gerrard

• The original title: The Effects of Experimental Reservoir Creation on the Bioaccumulation of Methylmercury and Reproductive Success of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) (MSc. Department of Biological Sciences, 2000, University of Alberta)
• The lol my thesis title: How I Learned I Would Rather Fly Like a Tree Swallow Than Soar Like an Eagle
• Want to learn more about how Pauline has helped transform the face of IISD-ELA? Click here.

 

Scott Higgins

• The original title: Nitrogen Fixation in the Rocky Littoral Zone of Lake Malawi (MSc. Biology, University of Waterloo, 2001)
• The lol my thesis title: Mo Nitrogen Mo Green 
• Scott recently broke down what calcium does to fresh water, and what happens when there isn’t enough. Read more here.

 

 

Cyndy Desjardins

• The original title: The Impacts of Petrochemical Activity and Climate Change on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Deposition to Lake Sediments of Northwestern Canada (MSc. Biology, Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, University of Ottawa, 2015)
• The lol my thesis title: Open-Pit Oil Sands Mining Might Not Be Great for the Environment
• Want to learn all about Cyndy? Read more here.

 

Paul Fafard

• The original title: Nutrient Deposition on Arctic Fox Dens Creates Atypical Tundra Plant Assemblages at the Edge of the Arctic (BSc. Ecology and Environmental Biology, 2015, University of Manitoba )
• The lol my thesis title: Different Plants Grow Where Arctic Foxes Poop a Lot, Compared to Where They Don’t Poop Much
• Paul recently penned an awesome explanation of why lakes stratify and turn over. Want to read it? Sure you do. Here’s the link.

 

Ken Sandilands

• The original title: The Effects of Nutrients, Fathead Minnows, and Submersed Macrophytes on the Invertebrate Community and Habitat Quality of Delta Marsh. (MSc. Ecology and Environmental Biology, 2000, University of Manitoba)
• The lol my thesis title: Any Project That Involves Fish and Enclosures Is Doomed: Good Thing Underwater Plants Don’t Swim Away!
• Ken recently took part in some exciting oceanic sampling out on the coast of British Columbia. Join him on his journey.

 

Sonya Havens

• The original title: Assessing the Occurrence of Steroid Hormones and Hormone Metabolites From Cattle and Dairy Animal Feeding Operations (PhD Environmental Chemistry and Technology, 2011, University of Wisconsin – Madison)
• The lol my thesis title: Four Crappy Years of Ruminating on Cow Crap
• Want to learn more about what Sonya does in the chemistry laboratory? Learn more.

 

Lauren Timlick

• The original title: Effects of Model Freshwater Diluted Bitumen Spills on Wild Small-Bodied Fish (MSc. Environmental Science, 2020, University of Manitoba)
• The lol my thesis title: Oil Might Have Been Bad for My Fish But They Kept Dying of Stress First (And Quite Frankly, Same)
• Lauren just spoke to PBS’s Great Lakes Now show, explaining our research on oil spills. Watch the segment here.

 

Lauren Hayhurst

• The original title: Bioenergetic Evaluation of a Whole-Lake Nanosilver Addition on Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) (MSc. Biology, 2018, Lakehead University)
• The lol my thesis title: Adding Bacteria-Killing Silver Particles to a Lake Makes Fish Lethargic (They Eat Less Because They Move Less Or They Move Less Because They Eat Less?), But The Bacteria Were Fine
• Wondering what all this silver talk is about? Lauren explains all in her most recent blog post.

 

José Luis Rodríguez Gil

• The original title: Fate and Effects of an Alkylamine Ethoxylate Surfactant Mixture in Aquatic Systems: Pulsed Exposures, Recovery Capacity and the Importance of Sediment (PhD Environmental Biology and Toxicology, 2015, University of Guelph)
• The lol my thesis title: Some Toxic Things Are Not That Toxic When There Is Dirt Involved

 

Sumeep Bath

• The original title: Social Dissidents as the Kristevan Abject in Luis Puenzo’s La Historia Oficial (MA Latin American Studies, 2007, University of Cambridge)
• The lol my thesis title: SPOILER ALERT: 1970s Argentine Military Dictators Totally Weren’t Into Socialists

 

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