Ashleigh Mes

Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS)

The Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USASK) is the top water resources research institute in Canada and one of the most advanced cold regions hydrology centres in the world. GIWS is dedicated to helping protect our precious freshwater resources needed for the world's growing demand for sustainable food production, mitigating the risk of water-related disasters such as floods, droughts, and fires, predicting and forecasting extreme global change through the use of advanced remote sensing and modelling techniques, and co-creating traditional knowledge with western science to empower Indigenous communities in protecting water health. GIWS is led by Executive Director Dr. Jay Famiglietti, Canada 150 Research Chair in Hydrology and Remote Sensing and Professor at USASK's School of Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Geography and Planning. GIWS also leads the largest freshwater research program in the world, the pan-Canadian Global Water Futures Program that includes partners from the University of Waterloo, McMaster University, and Wilfrid Laurier University.