Ph.D. Student, University of Guelph
Supervisor: Dr. Kari Dunfield
About Navdeep Saini
Growing up on a farm, Navdeep developed a love for the land. She came from Punjab, the Province of India, with agricultural experience. She obtained her master’s degree in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, specializing in Soil Science, from Guru Nanak Dev University in September 2019. In her master’s research, she assessed different carbon fractions, aggregate-associated carbon, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in different soil aggregate sizes with elevations and under different cropping systems. Later, she moved to Canada, began working as an assistant grower, and obtained hands-on Canadian farming experience. Over the course of her academic career, she developed a sustained interest in soil-based solutions for climate resilience, which paved her path to a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph. Navdeep’s doctoral research project will determine the efficiency of manure additives in reducing CH4 emissions from swine manure and digestate. She is carrying out her experimental analysis in Dr. Kari Dunfield’s lab and in collaboration with RDC-Ottawa and IRDA-Quebec. Her research will help in the development of management practices for carbon neutrality with a zero-emission concept. Navdeep’s goal is to contribute through her research to cost-effective farming, global food security, and mitigating the adversities due to climate change by cutting GHG emissions.