Thursday, November 17, 2022, Peterborough

Dr. Andrew Tanentzap has been appointed Tier II Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Climate Change and Northern Ecosystems in the Trent School of Environment (TSE) – contributing to the University’s long-standing reputation as a leading environmental institution.

“The Trent School of Environment, and other schools of study at Trent, are academic and research incubators with interdisciplinary perspectives at the core of inquiry,” said Dr. Cathy Bruce, vice-president, Research and Innovation at Trent University. “Professor Tanentzap’s expertise in ecology and environmental science will benefit faculty and students in the School of Environment, especially with the endorsement and support from one of Canada’s leading research funding programs.”

Ten CRCs at Trent University

Ten CRCs at Trent University Prof. Tanentzap is the tenth CRC at Trent and among seven CRCs at Trent with an environmental focus to their research. His work looks at the big and small picture related to how humans impact microorganisms and carbon across all levels of life, from genes to landscapes. Prof. Tanentzap comes to Trent from the University of Cambridge, bringing expertise and research focused on foundational knowledge about the benefits that nature provides to people—from the cycling of carbon and nitrogen to water quality to wildlife health—and how climate change is impacting those benefits.

“One of the things that brought me to Trent was the impressive resources at the Water Quality Centre,” said Prof. Tanentzap. “The Canada Research Chair position will give me the opportunity to leverage the equipment and expertise at the Water Quality Centre to advance my research projects and help train the next generation of environmental leaders. A highlight will be establishing the Trent Organic Matter Research Opportunity (“T-OMRO") Fellowship, a global competition to host visitors at the Water Quality Centre from groups that have been typically underrepresented in our research field.”

Prof. Tanentzap is also lending his expertise to Trent’s innovative new Climate Change Science & Policy B.Sc. degree, which builds students’ understanding of climate change and provides hands-on experience working on solutions to this global issue.

Dr. Ian Power awarded a second term as CRC in Environmental Geoscience

Part of the federal CRC announcement, Trent School of Environment professor Dr. Ian Power was also awarded a second term as the first-ever Tier II CRC in Environmental Geoscience. As CRC, Professor Power continues to advance his research program collaborating closely with mining companies to develop and implement geochemical CO2 removal technologies.

“We hear a lot about needing to reach carbon neutrality, which we do, but my work is focused on taking us beyond that,” said Prof. Power. “We need to become carbon negative, and minerals have sequestration properties that can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”

In Prof. Power’s environmental geochemistry lab at Trent, undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral fellows work with state-of-the-art instrumentation to investigate Earth materials and perform carbon dioxide removal experiments.

Learn more about Trent’s Canada Research Chairs.

Advancing Trent’s environmental leadership

The CRC appointments are the latest proof points for Trent’s reputation as a long-standing leader in the environment. Other recent announcements and initiatives include: the University’s confirmed position as one of Canada’s top three environmental universities, according to the 2021 UI GreenMetric World University Ranking; Trent’s ESG investment strategy for our endowment funds, prioritizing assets in sectors, companies or projects that are taking active steps to address climate change; energy performance upgrades, including an on-site Battery Energy Storage System to further reduce our carbon footprint and support the provincial energy grid and the addition of a new electric vehicle charging station at Trent University Durham GTA; and opening of the award-winning Forensic Crime Scene Facility – a first of its kind professional forensics training building constructed on a Canadian university campus which also aims to be Canada’s first zero-carbon building certified by the International Living Future Institute.