Trent University Professor Granted Second Term as Canada Research Chair in
Terrestrial Ecology
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dr. Dennis Murray Receives $500,000 to Continue Research into Ecological
Relationships between Predators and their Prey
Thursday, November 29, 2007, Peterborough
The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, announced today that
Trent University professor Dr. Dennis Murray will receive $500,000 over five
years as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Terrestrial Ecology for a
second term.
Prof. Murray is among 100 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs announced
today in Montreal by the federal government, a $104 million investment in
the intellectual capital of Canada's researchers. As a Tier 2 Chair, Prof.
Murray will receive $100,000 annually for five years in recognition of being
an exceptional emerging researcher with the potential to be a leader in his
field.
"Today's announcement continues a trend of success in research funding for
Trent," said Dr. James Parker, associate vice-president of research at the
University. "Having Prof. Murray's Canada Research Chair position renewed
for a second term is testimony to the strength of his leading-edge research
and ensures that it will continue to make an impact here at Trent, in the
wider research community and the world. It also affirms Trent's solid
reputation for research in the environmental and biological sciences * and
as an important research centre for wildlife ecology and conservation."
Prof. Murray came to Trent from the University of Idaho in 2002. His program
as Canada Research Chair in Terrestrial Ecology aims to bridge the gap
between the ecology of individual animals and that of their populations,
with an emphasis on wildlife conservation. Working in a variety of systems
in Canada and beyond, Prof. Murray studies the role of predator-prey
relationships on the behavioural ecology and population dynamics of animals.
He is also evaluating the determinants of southern range limits in mammals
and amphibians, including the role of climate change, habitat loss, and
disease; and patterns of density dependence and population regulation in
animals, towards developing more effective population projection models and
tools for conservation and management.
"I am honoured to be named a Canada Research Chair in Terrestrial Ecology
for a second term," Prof. Murray said. "The CRC not only allows me to
continue training excellent graduate students in the fields of ecology and
conservation but also to pursue basic questions related to animal population
limitation and to contribute significantly to issues of wildlife management
and conservation in Ontario, Canada, and abroad."
The Canada Research Chairs Program aims to enable Canadian universities,
together with their affiliated research institutes and hospitals, to achieve
the highest levels of research excellence and to become world class research
centres in the global, knowledge based-economy. Chairholders work to advance
the frontiers of knowledge in their fields, not only through their own work,
but also by teaching and supervising students and coordinating the work of
other researchers. Trent University is home to ten Canada Research Chairs.
"As demonstrated in Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage,
the Government of Canada is committed to improving Canada's international
reputation for research excellence," said the Honourable Jim Prentice,
Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the Canada Research Chairs
Program. "By investing in the Canada Research Chairs Program, we are helping
universities recruit and retain the most brilliant and promising
researchers, and contributing to enable these institutions to become leaders
in the fields of advanced science and technology."
Canada Research Chairs at Trent
- Professor Julian Aherne, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Engineering
- Professor James Conolly, Canada Research Chair in Archaeological Studies
- Professor Céline Guéguen, Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Sciences and
Biogeochemistry
- Professor Marrie Mumford, Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Arts and
Literature
- Professor Dennis Murray, Canada Research Chair in Terrestrial Ecology
- Professor Bryan Palmer, Canada Research Chair in Canadian Studies
- Professor Davide Panagia, Canada Research Chair in Cultural Studies
- Professor Jim Parker, Canada Research Chair in Emotion and Health
- Professor Bradley White, Canada Research Chair in Conservation Genetics and
Biodiversity
- Professor Paul Wilson, DNA Profiling, Forensics and Functional Genomics
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For more information, please contact:
Dr. Dennis Murray, Canada Research Chair in Terrestrial Ecology, Trent
University, (705) 748-1011 x7078