McGill University
ER-16: Faculty Involved in Sustainability Research

Dr. David M. Green (Redpath Museum), Director of the Redpath Museum, is past Chair of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada and science advisor to DFO Science. This experience affords him outstanding expertise in effective science advice to government as well as the development of policy for species at risk. He studies landscape ecology, conservation biology, and range dynamics, primarily of amphibians. Dr. Green is the recipient of the Pimlott Award for 2006 from Nature Canada for outstanding service in the cause of conservation in Canada. Dr. Lauren Chapman (Dept. Biology), Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Respiratory Ecology and Aquatic Conservation, studies the selective pressures and evolutionary forces underlying patterns of distribution and movement of animals, integrating ecology, evolution, physiology, and morphology with natural history in field and laboratory experiments. Dr. Chapman is known for her work on the ecology and evolution of respiratory strategies in fishes related to oxygen gradients, and its application to conservation concerns. Dr. Colin Chapman (Dept. Anthropology/MSE), Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Primate Ecology and Conservation, investigates how ecological factors determine primate abundance and social organization. His most recent work examines how dietary stress may adversely affect resistance to parasitic infection. Under these conditions, poor nutritional status and high parasitism occurring together could amplify each other into stronger synergistic effects. Working with gastrointestinal parasites and a model E. coli system, he is quantifying the conditions under which diseases are transmitted between monkeys and humans. Dr. Andrew Hendry (Redpath Museum/ Dept. Biology), investigates evolutionary forces that influence the evolution of biological diversity, focusing specifically on how differences in natural selection lead to dynamic adaptive divergence and speciation. Dr. Hendry won the American Society of Naturalists’ Young Investigator’s Prize in 2001. His empirical work focuses on salmon, Trinidadian guppies, three-spine stickleback, and Darwin’s finches of the Galapagos. He is particularly well known for having shown how species can evolve rapidly when they colonize new environments. Dr. Hans Larsson (Redpath Museum), Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Vertebrate Paleontology, integrates skeletal evolution, development, and broad-scale ecological change using both field and laboratory studies. His work is directed toward elucidating the role of development in evolution, and understanding the dynamics of North American ecosystems during the Mesozoic Era 250 to 65 million years ago. Dr. Anthony Ricciardi (Redpath Museum/MSE), FQRNT Strategic professor, is a leader in studies of biological invasions. His research uses empirical modeling, meta-analysis, and field experiments to predict the ecological impacts of invasive aquatic species. In particular, his work links the rate of invasion to human activities, native species richness, and the physico-chemical environment. Dr. Irene Gregory-Eaves (Dept. Biology) holder of a CFI New Opportunities Fund grant, studies the impact of climatic and anthropogenic change on species dynamics. As a paleolimnologist, she is particularly well known for her work on sockeye salmon, in which she demonstrated that populations have been highly dynamic over the past 2,000 years. Dr. Brian McGill (Dept. Biology) holder of a CFI Leaders Opportunity Fund grant, studies factors that influence species ranges, population density across those ranges, and how species ranges provide an organizing principle for large-scale ecology. Using ecoinformatics, he has shown that most species ranges have one or a few small peaks of high abundance within a larger range of low abundance. He is currently focusing on how the environment interacts with dispersal and species interactions to generate this pattern. Dr. Brian Leung (Dept. Biology/Redpath Museum/MSE) studies biological invasions, merging mathematical models with high-quality empirical data. His research is geared towards determining which species will be invasive, where they will occur, what effect they will have, and what need to be done about them. Dr. Leung uses GIS and data collected by the other investigators to develop predictive models of the spread and impacts of invasive species. Other Science Faculty researchers involved in studies of biodiversity include Profs. Graham Bell, Martin Lechowicz, Michel Loreau, Gregor Fussman, Andrew Gonzalez (Dept. Biology) and Claire de Mazancourt (Redpath Museum). Professor Jane Glenn teaches and conducts research in property law, international development and land-use planning. She conducts research on land-use in developing countries, in particular the Caribbean with an interest for such topics as genetically modified foods. Professor Robert Godin teaches property law and the environment, with a strong emphasis on Quebec private law. His research deals with how the general law of property, and in particular between neighbours through nuisance principles, contributes to environmental regulation. Wainwright Senior Fellow Charles Gonthier (former Supreme Court Justice Gonthier) provides expertise on matters relating to the environment and sustainable development. Professor Richard Janda teaches environment and the law, sustainable development, and corporate social responsibility. Staff specializing in evolution are E. Abouhief (CRC Development & Evolution, Sloan Fellow; Science 297, 249), G. Bell (James McGill Professor, Prix du Québec, former Director of Redpath Museum; Nature 388,465; 408,961; 406,508; 420,810; 431,566; Science 293, 2413; 303,808), A. Hendry (Science 290,516), H. Larsson (CRC Vertebrate Palaeontology; Science 272, 986; 282, 1298; 244, 1516), and D. Schoen (Macdonald Professor of Botany, Steacie Fellow; Nature 379,780; Science 267, 226). The community ecologists are G. Fussmann (Nature 424,303; Science 290, 1358), A. Gonzalez (CRC Biodiversity; Science 281, 2045), Irene Gregory-Eaves (CRC Tier 2, nominee), F. Guichard, M. Lechowicz (Prix Michel-Jurdant de l’ACFAS, Director of Gault Estate), M. Loreau (Silver medal of CNRS, Max Poll Prize, leader of BIODEPTH project, Chair of scientific committee of DIVERSITAS www.diversitas-international.org; Nature 405, 340; 442,295; Science 286, 1123; 289, 1255; 306,1029; 310, 943), N. Price (Nature 441,341; Science 300, 944); B. McGill (Nature 422, 881; Science 314, 770) and C. de Mazancourt (joined this year). Conservation biology is represented by L. Chapman (CRC Aquatic Conservation, D. Green (formerly Chair of COSEWIC www.cosewic.gc.ca, Director of Redpath Museum), B. Leung, C. Potvin (founder of NEO program and partnership with STRI, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) and A. Ricciardi (FQRNT Strategic Professor; Science 313,298). The group is strengthened by behavioural biologists D. Kramer (former Chair of Biology) and L. Lefebvre (Director of Minor in Science for Arts) and by associated STRI faculty: E. Bermingham (Science 293, 2214; 294, 1522) and A. Herre (Nature 391, 685; 406, 510; 409, 510; Science 290,288). Several members of the Faculty of Arts contribute to the McGill School of Environment to provide expertise on issues related to socio-cultural and political and economical aspects of biodiversity. More specifically, Professors André Costopoulos, John G. Galaty, James Savelle and Colin Scott from the Department of Anthropology are lead SSHRC funded research teams which examine resource stewardship, the role of institutions and partnership building in determining resource conservation, land reform and environment protection. From the Department of Economics, professors Robert Cairns and Christopher Green examine Microeconomic foundations of environmental accounting and Technological and economic foundations for climate policy. Dr. Nathalie Tufenkji (Dept. Chemical engineering), Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) studies microbial or particle transport and attachment to surfaces to understand how colloid or biocolloid attachment to sediment grains predict the contamination potential of waterborne microbial pathogens or anthropogenic materials in the natural aquatic environment. In collaboration with Prof. Gaetan Faubert (McGill, Institute of Parasitology) and Prof. Chandra Madramootoo (McGill, Bioresource Engineering) she is examining the migration of selected microbial pathogens in different agricultural soils of Quebec in an effort to better understand the contamination potential of these organisms (funded by FQRNT and NSERC). In collaboration with Prof. Subhasis Goshal (McGill, Civil Engineering) she is studying the interactions between bacteria and hydrocarbons in an effort to develop improved remediation strategies for oil contaminated sites (funded by CBB and NSERC). Dr Viviane Yargeau (Dept. Chemical engineering) examines the fate of pharmaceuticals which are released into the environment and in particular into the water system. She has provided the first data on the level of contamination by pharmaceuticals of rivers located in Quebec and studied the variations of concentrations along the river with respect to types of municipal wastewater treatment used and volume of wastewater discharged. She has also conducted a critical review of the effect of ozonation on the degradation of antibiotics. Her work has made advances in the detection limits of several important man-made chemicals in the environment. In a second research stream she is investigating techniques to produce hydrogen as a fuel from biodegradation of waste. Dr. Susan Gaskin (Dept. Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics) - Professor Gaskin’s research concerns fluid flow in the environment and more specifically the modelling of pollutants released from a point source into surface waters. Research is aimed at increasing our understanding of the turbulent mixing processes and developing models to improve the prediction of the dilution and transport of the pollutants. Studies also aim to improve understanding for flow dynamics to reintroduce and maintain riverine habitat requirements for fish. Her work also extends to water resources modelling in the closed Basin of Mexico to predict water use subject to constraints (such as climate change) and demands (such as increased population). Dr. Van-Thanh-Van Nguyen (Dept Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics), Brace Professor in Civil Engineering. He is Associate Directors of the Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre and the Brace Centre for Water Resources Management. His work focuses mainly on Hydrology and Water Resources Management with expertise that includes: modelling and analyses of various hydrologic processes (rainfalls, temperature, floods, river flows, ice accumulations, reservoir inflows); modelling of river basin and urban storm drainage systems; assessment of climate change impacts on water resources; regional estimation of extreme hydrologic variables (extreme rainfalls, floods, icing storms); forecasting and simulation of hydrologic series (rainfall and streamflow forecasting); and management of water resources systems for sustainable development. He is author or co-author of over 150 papers in refereed scientific and engineering journals and conference proceedings. Dr. J. Nicell (Dept Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics), William Dawson Scholar. Pioneer in the development of processes based on the principles of “green chemistry” for the treatment of toxic contaminants that resist treatment through traditional means. These processes can be used to detoxify pollutants in many industrial wastes under a wide range of conditions and present many advantages over traditional treatment methods, particularly when treating highly toxic compounds or pollutants in trace concentrations. The method is also being applied to treat aqueous pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds, which have recently been identified as compounds of great concern to the health of human and aquatic organisms. This technology is the only method that is currently known that can directly target these compounds for treatment in waste mixtures. Reactors are being designed and tested with the intent of implementing the technology at a larger scale and ultimate transferring it to industry. Notably, his research findings in this area have been applied in many fields including clinical biochemistry, agricultural and biochemical engineering, microbiology, food preservation, biosensor development and research on aging and cancer. Professor Jaye Ellis (Faculty of Law/McGill School of the Environment) is an expert in public international law and the environment and the law of the sea, her research and teaching is centered on the international environmental law. She is one of this country’s leading experts on the precautionary principle in international environmental law. Dr. Patrick Selvadurai (Dept. Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics), James McGill Professor, has participated in research activities sponsored by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in the study of engineered and natural barrier systems being proposed for the deep geological disposal of heat emitting radioactive wastes. He has developed models for the thermo-hydro-mechanical response of engineered and natural barriers, and their computational implementation, and is conducting large-scale laboratory experimental simulations of heat and moisture movement. He recently introduced the concepts ‘stationary damage’ and ‘transient damage’ to computational modelling of geologic materials to examine the effects that fluid transport and deformability characteristics can have on the time-scales for the transient phenomena to reach a steady state. His work extends to geomechanics problems in the Arctic, using analytical and computational modelling of pipelines embedded in soil media to examine their behaviour during ground subsidence and frost heave development. Other investigations include the mechanics of interaction between moving ice masses and stationary structures. Several members of the department and Earth and Planetary Sciences (Faculty of Science) also are major contributor to this area of research: Dr. A. Mucci, (Dept. Earth and Planetary Sciences), is holder of a strategic NSERC fund examines ocean geochemistry and the sources and fate of contaminants in aquatic systems. Dr. J. Stix, (Dept. Earth and Planetary Sciences) is holder of a large NSERC strategic grant to examine transfer of gases from Earth's interior to the surface and the atmosphere and is also the author of a book entitled "The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes" which was award Best reference work (2000) by the Geological Society of America and the Association of American Publishers, Geography and Earth Science Division (1999). Dr. M. Riedel (Dept. Earth and Planetary Sciences, T. H Clark professor), studies the marine and terrestrial occurrences of gas hydrates. Dr. J. McKenzie(Dept. Earth and Planetary Sciences) applies numerical modeling, hydrochemistry, and field methods to study northern peatlands and pro-glacial systems. Dr. B. Wing (Dept. Earth and Planetary Sciences), Canada Research Chair , Tier 2) and holder of NSERC CFI CRC-Leaders Opportunity Fund (2006) uses high-precision stable isotope geochemistry to examine recovery of the geochemical memory of large-scale Earth system processes and global evolution of microbial ecology with isotopic tracers. Dr. P. Ariya, (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, William Dawson Scholar) is FCAR Strategic Professor-Scientist and member of the Centre for Climate and Global Change Research (C2GCR) as well as of the “Green Chemistry Network”. Dr. M. Bourqui (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) focuses on the coupling between chemistry and climate in the atmosphere and on the basic processes driving this interaction. He has been awarded a CFI New Opportunities Grant to understand and to model stratospheric chemical composition and climate change using a Linux parallel computational platform. Dr. J. Derome (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada) is the Principal Investigator of the NSERC funded (1 million dollars each year for 5 years) Canadian Climate Variability Research (CLIVAR) Network composed of 22 co-investigators from 10 Canadian universities and four government laboratories, to which are added graduate students, Postdoctoral Research Fellows and Research Associates. His research examines how the major ocean currents, the main mountain barriers and the traveling weather disturbances operate to determine the mean seasonal atmospheric state. Dr. C.Lin, (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences ) directs the FQRNT-sponsored Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre (GEC3) which currently receives 250K per year until 2010).His research focuses on regional modeling of the atmosphere with recent work on the comparisons of the precipitation simulated by a high resolution atmospheric model with values retrieved from the McGill radar with a view to couple the atmospheric model with the hydrological model for flood simulation. Dr. L. Mysak (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) is director of the Earth System Modeling Group which main goal is to develop and apply reduced complexity models of the Earth system to better understand decadal and longer term climate variability and change. He was awarded the Prix Michel-Jurdant of ACFAS in October 2005 as well as the Alfred Wegener Medal and Honorary Membership in the European Geosciences Union' as well s the “Prix du Quebec' and the 'Prix Marie-Victorin ' which are witness of exemplary achievements and contributions in the Natural Sciences Dr. Leighton (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences), is a physical meteorologist with an interest for the interactions between atmospheric aerosol particles and clouds and precipitation that have important implications for climate and air quality. Dr. Straub (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) demonstrates expertise in physical oceanography with a research focus on geophysical fluid dynamics applied to the ocean circulation. Dr. B. Tremblay (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) is interested in the high latitudes and their effect on global climate, and climate change. He is a co-author of an important paper on Arctic Climate, entitled ‘Future abrupt reductions in the summer Arctic Sea- ice’ that will be discussed by a joint press release among McGill University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and Columbia University. Dr. R. Stewart (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) is the NSERC Industrial Chair in Extreme Weather and is the network leader and Principal Investigator or the Drought Research Initiative (DRI) network funded by Canadian Foundation for Climate Atmospheric Sciences- CFCAS. His research group examines how extreme weather impacts on the environment. Dr. P. Bartello, (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) employs both theoretical and numerical techniques to study fluid turbulence in the atmosphere and oceans. Dr. Frédéric Fabry (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) has received the President’s Prize of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS; June 2005) for his very innovative and important contributions to radar meteorology. His research examines the microphysical and dynamical conditions that result in the formation and the maintenance of large amounts of supercooled liquid water in the atmosphere. Dr. J. Gyakum (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences), current research focuses on the dynamical processes associated with tropical cyclones that ultimately affect the Atlantic Canada provinces Dr. Peter Yau (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) is the leader of a Canada-wide $2.6 million CFCAS-funded research network (2001-2006) on precipitation. His research group has developed simple and complex models to study the interactions of various physical processes in convective clouds. Professor Peter Yau’s research on tropical cyclones is ranked third in the world in terms of citation numbers (http://esi-tropics.com/tropical/authors/bla.html). Dr. Isztar Zawadzki (Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) has led a Canada-wide CFCAS-funded research network on Extreme Weather and Nowcasting (2001-2006) for the total amount of $2.1 million. His studies combine radar observations and theoretical studies to understand and describe the interaction of electromagnetic waves with precipitation. His group was the fist in Canada to develop a system for the Montreal Urban Community by which the McGill radar data will be used in real time sewer management. Dr. Zawadzki is the recipient of the American Meteorological Society’s highly-prestigious Remote Sensing Prize for “pioneering contributions to the application of meteorological radar to the quantitative estimation and forecasting of precipitation.” Dr. P, Kollias is a NSERC- CRC Tier 2. Nominee) will soon be joining the Dept. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. He will bring additional expertise into the area of numerical simulations of climate and weather to examine the atmospheric components of the hydrologic cycle. Dr. G. Chmura is Past-President of the Canadian Quaternary Association and current Canadian delegate to the International Union for Quaternary Research Congress. Dr. T. Moore is leading a Can. Found. for Climate Atmos. Sci. (CFCAS) project on GHG exchange from forested ecosystems with collaborators in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Dr. M Lapointe is Scientific Director of CIRSA, the Centre Interuniversitaire de Recherche sur le Saumon Atlantique (with field station near Tadoussac), a 10 year collaborative effort of 9 active researchers in biology and earth sciences from 6 Quebec Universities. CIRSA is currently leading a Geoide NCE project in Quebec and BC using geomatics and fish tagging technologies to understand salmon ecology and ecosystems. Lapointe is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to Quebec’s Env. Dept. on the environmental impacts of Hydro-Quebec’s Rupert River Diversion. Dr. W. Pollard is currently funded by the Canadian Space Agency to create and maintain a Mars environment analogue research site on Axel Heiberg Island. He also has research partnership with the NASA’s Ames Research Center and the Johnson Space Center to test emerging Mars drill technologies in the Canadian High Arctic and is a member of the ArcticNet NCE which is concerned with the impact of climate change on Arctic coastal environments. Dr. N. Roulet, (Dept. Geography), James McGill Professor, is PI on the Canadian Global Coupled Climate Carbon Model (CGC3M) network (CFCAS funded ~$1,800,000 over 5 years), a five university collaboration across 4 provinces with three government agencies (Environment Canada; Department of Fisheries and Oceans NRCan. Roulet is also CI on the Fluxnet Canada Research Network (NSERC/CFCAS/ BIOCAP Canada funded ~$12,000,000 over 5 years) which has now lead into a new CFCAS funded (~$4,000,000) network, Canadian Carbon Project (CCP); and has just started a CFCAS funded (~$330,000 for 3 years) partnership with HydroQuebec to examine the affect of reservoirs of GHG exchange in collaboration with I. Strachan. Dr. I. Strachan is the current President of the Canadian Society of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. Dr. B. Lehner was responsible for 'EuroWasser – a Model-based assessment of European water resources and Hydrology in the face of global change. He also recently led various World Wildlife Fund projects on climate change, water resources and aquatic habitats in Amazonia, the Guianas, Mongolia and USA. Dr. G. Peterson (Dept. Geography), Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in social-ecological modeling, working on improving environmental governance by considering the dynamic interaction of people and nature at regional scales. He has received CFI support to explore the dynamics of social-ecological systems and he is the sole Canadian member of the Resilience Alliance,an international, transdisciplinary research network and maintains strong ongoing collaboration with Swedish social-ecological researchers at Stockholm university, Stockholm Environment Institute, and the Beijer International Institute for Ecological Economics. Dr. N. Ramankutty, (Dept Geography) Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) is a member of the Committee on "Scientific Accomplishments of Earth Observations from Space" of the National Research Council of the US National Academies who contributed to writing the new science plan as Member of the transition Team of the Global Land Project (GLP) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. Ramankutty is also lead author of the Cultivated Systems chapter in the Conditions and Trends report of the Millennium Assessment. Coomes, Oliver T. (Dept Geography), leads a SSHRC funded research team to examine the linkages and implications for conservation and development, with a particular emphasis on Western Amazonia rain-forest livelihood and conservatism. Dr. T. Meredith is Director of the Canadian Field Study in Africa/African Field Study Semester. He is also Principal Investigator in the McGill Project on Community Based Environmental Decision Support (CBED) and Director of the CIDA funded Academic Community Cooperation for Environmental Sustainability (ACCES). Dr. G. Peterson’s (CRC – Tier 2 was highlighted under core are 2. Dr. R. Sieber, recipient of a CFI grant entitled “Ecommerce for Community Economic Development” examines how internet technologies affect social and community empowerment and decision making. Dr. R. Sengupta collaborates with US colleagues on a US$ 450 000 grants to incorporate agent based models within environmental management decision support tools, under the aegis of the NSF program ‘Biocomplexity in the Environment: Coupled natural-human systems’. Drs. Sengupta, Sieber and P. Brown (McGill School of the Environment and also Dept. Geography) participate with colleagues from other universities in three SSHRC Aboriginal Research Grants totaling over $1M to conduct research on cultural continuity and environmental protection in Cree Communities affected by Hydro developments in Northern Quebec. Dr. N. Ross (Dept. Geography), CIHR New Investigator and a FRSC Professeur Stratégique (2002-2005). She is also a Core Member of the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research (CIAR). Ross has a number of CIHR funded including an Institutional Capacity Enhancement Grant with Dr. J Lynch (CRC tier 1) in the Department of Epidemiology, to examine the effects of air pollution and social vulnerability with Dr. Goldberg in the McGill School of Environment and Epidemiology). Dr. O Coomes is editor-in-chief of “World Development" which is the leading development studies journal in the field. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the International Geographical Union's "Commission on Land Use and Land Cover Change" and of the Poverty and Environment Network (PEN) which is sponsored by CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia). Dr. S. Turner, along with colleagues at U de M, UBC, Toronto and York is a member of the Steering Committee of a Major Collaborative Research Initiative (MRCI) with $2.5 million SSHRC funding: ‘The Challenges of the Agrarian Transition in Southeast Asia’. This major initiative involves 23 co-investigators and collaborators, 3 partners (Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam) and multiple stakeholders. Dr. J. Unruh is part of a large USAID funded US$900,000 research and policy application project on biodiversity conservation in postwar and fragile states in Africa as well as a US $200,000 NSF grant to study "Migration, deforestation, and land tenure in Southern Zambia".