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 Trent Professor Awarded Ireland Canada University Foundation ScholarshipFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dr. Julian Aherne to use Funds to Visit Ireland and Initiate Collaborations in Research Tuesday, July 25, 2006, Peterborough Dr. Julian Aherne, a professor in the department of Environmental Resource Studies at Trent University, has been awarded the $8,000 Ireland Canada University Foundation (ICUF) Scotia Capital Bank Scholarship to fund a research visit to Ireland to initiate collaborative work with Irish researchers involved in forest ecosystem monitoring. "I am hoping this visit will grow to become an important component of my research at Trent," said Professor Aherne. "I have been working towards initiating collaborative research with colleges in Ireland; this is hopefully the first step towards longer-term (funded) research. This project will also further contribute to the international reputation of research at Trent." The project, entitled "A comparative study of the hydrogeochemistry of Irish and Canadian forests", aims to investigate the potential influence of climate variations and harvesting practices on the cycling of water and nutrients in Canadian and Irish forests. The ICUF scholarship will provide the resources to initiate the sharing and synthesis of Canadian and Irish forest hydrogeochemical monitoring data-sets and further establish a solid foundation for the development of ongoing research toward the application of predicative modelling tools. According to Dr. Aherne, this type of collaborative work is essential for synthesizing the results of individual monitoring sites and for providing a coherent message to the public, and to industry and policy makers. Professor Aherne came to Trent in 2001 after completing his Ph.D. in Environmental Resource Management at the University College Dublin in Ireland. He also holds a B.A. in Natural Science: Chemistry from Trinity College in Dublin, and a M. Appl. Sc. in Environmental Science from the University College Dublin. In 2005, Dr. Aherne was awarded a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Environmental Modelling at Trent. His research to-date has focused on the application of models as a means of investigating the impacts of human perturbations, such as pollution and land-use change, on aquatic and terrestrial (forested) ecosystems and the immediate and long-term consequences on their sustainability. The ICUF is a non-profit organization established in 1993 for the purpose of encouraging and facilitating links between scholars in Ireland and institutions and scholars in Canada. Its concern is particularly focused upon emerging scholars, and its operation is primarily directed towards the provision of scholarships covering travel costs and short-term visits. -30- For more information, please contact: |
