Hello Everyone,

As school comes to an end all over North America, the focus goes to the upcoming summer break. For two months people from all over the continent will enjoy warm temperatures and the beautiful summer climate, often in places where cold temperatures and snow dominate the weather for majority of the year. However, this summer will be a busy one for me. From working on my scientific studies regarding climate change and natural systems, to embarking on a once in a lifetime Arctic Expedition to see the true effects of climate change, this summer promises to be one which will inspire me to go even further and do even more to ensure environmental awareness among youth both within my community and beyond.

Firstly, this summer I will be continuing my work related to the effects of climate change on natural disasters. Continuing on with the work I started on developing COMPEL, my aim over the next year will be to transform COMPEL into a software form and increase accuracy and efficiency and make it easy to use for people in landslide prone areas all over the world. Computational modeling is truly a branch of science which is versatile and fuses together a diverse range of interests.

Often times, people consider computational models to have an element of fiction to them. However, I believe that computational models are perhaps one of the most refined forms of science: transcending a multitude of fields and fusing together various techniques and practices in the sciences. In computational modelling, scientists have a unique opportunity to take everything we know about a particular phenomenon and apply it in attempt to recreate it to understand it. Therefore, though sometimes computational models may be incomplete or have a degree of uncertainty to them, they are ultimately simply a reflection of what we know.

COMPEL was one such effort: an initiative which attempted to bring together the various pieces of knowledge that we as a scientific community have developed over the decades. By fusing together two current streams of research within the field of landslide dynamics, COMPEL evolved into a novel approach to landslide modelling. However, after taking this idea, developing it, discussing it with peers and mentors and ultimately bringing in front of experts at the Canada Wide Science Fair, where the innovation won me a silver medal, this year has been a really inspiring one. I have truly been able to see that it is possible to combine all of one?s interests into one project.

However, the ultimate question which comes now it what next? Often times at the end of a long journey, we tend to stop. Though COMPEL is unique and novel, there is room for improvement – as with most other things in life.  I plan to make COMPEL into a fully functional, user friendly software. I also plan to increase accuracy and performance as well as increase the features which the code can perform. Using computational modelling, we will be able to study the various effects of climate change upon landslides.

In short, my message: it is completely possible to combine all of your interests into one project. As members of this platform, we are already youth who are inspired to make a difference when it comes to the environment. However as young leaders, scientists and enthusiasts it is completely possible to do work which incorporates our vast range of interests. We never need to narrow ourselves into a single ?field?, however we will have the greatest impact if we do work which involves all of our interests. For me this means to work in environmental sciences – harnessing the power of computational models to explore the true effects of climate change.

Meanwhile, I would really like to hear of work that you have done which has incorporated climate change or an aspect of the environment with your other interest. Also, if you have any questions or comments about my initiatives please feel free to ask. I truly hope that this summer is safe, enjoyable and productive for all of my peers in Tunza.

Kindest Regards,                                                                     

Nitish

 Photo Courtesy

web.ccis.edu