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Professors in the Faculty of Environment conduct impactful research that transcends disciplinary boundaries in addressing complex environmental and social issues. Some of our recently appointed faculty members are included in the photograph above. For a more complete listing of faculty researchers, please expand the selection below.
School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability
Management and governance of aquatic systems (coastal-marine and freshwater); human dimensions of environmental change; social-ecological systems; resilience
Jennifer Clapp, Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability
Global environmental politics; environment and development; trade and environment/agriculture; agricultural biotechnology and implications for developing countries; transnational corporations and environment
Global land and agricultural governance; gender, development, and global political economy; land politics; transnational agricultural investments; public-private partnerships in agriculture and nutrition
Simon Courtenay, Scientific Director Canadian Water Network (CWN)
The uses that fish and other animals make of aquatic environments and how human activities change that ecology. Part of this is the design of appropriate monitoring programs that can detect impacts of particular human activities and cumulative effects.
Rob de Loë, University Research Chair in Water Policy and Governance
Water governance and water policy: Water security, water allocation, drinking water source protection, and adaptation to climate change
Fitness of animal populations: Conservation issues, concepts and theory in ecology and evolution, habitat selection, landscape genetics, and social behavior
Environmental assessment, planning and development; environmental politics; history of attitudes to nature; public participation and democratic theory; environmental journalism; sustainability ethics.
Metaphor; environmental science and society; social dimensions of invasion biology
Systems thinking; resilience; social innovation and learning; First Nations; environmental assessment; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserves
Ecological restoration and rehabilitation; invasive species ecology and management; conservation and environmental management; agroecology; environmental education
Agroforestry and soil ecosystems, especially in tropical regions
Energy and civilization; human ecology; eco-cities; long term processes of social-ecological development; Eliasian civilizing processes; enchantment, ontological and behavioural change; open source ecology; open source fabrication; open architecture and collective action problems
Sustainable energy management and strategy; Ontario electricity policy; smart grids; renewable electricity in Canada and the U.S.; global environmental governance; corporate sustainability
How environments affect ecological processes and patterns. Whether through eco-cultural legacies associated with long-term human settlements or more recent effects of climate change on species distributions or biodiversity, disentangling the drivers of these changes
The role of social factors in water resource management. Exploring ideas about social capital, decision-making and organization processes; private sector initiatives related to water efficiency and sustainability
Department of Geography and Environmental Management
Transportation geography; road safety; risk assessment; and global change
Governing responses to climate change (both adaptation and mitigation) in urban spaces. Exploring triggers of transitions toward more sustainable development pathways, and strategies for engaging a variety of actors in conversations about desirable futures
Perspectives from cultural, economic, feminist geography, and contemporary social theory and philosophy. This includes how people manage and conceptualize their work in the context of 'new media' startup firms that develop websites and applications for smartphones and tablets
Geographic information systems; natural resources management; common pool resources; computer modelling and simulation; artificial intelligence; recreation management; landscape architecture
Resource and environmental management, with emphasis on developing countries; environmental impact assessment; sustainable development; capacity building; waste management; natural hazards
Glacier hydrology and ice dynamics using methods including numerical modeling and insitu data collection; ice sheets and valley glaciers; assessing the impact of a warming climate on global ice masses
Remote sensing in northern hydrology, numerical modelling of ice growth and the thermal regime of lakes and reservoirs, and the study of climate-lake interactions, with specific interests in northern Canada (Quebec, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory) and Alaska
Medical geography, with primary research foci in the area of environment and health, the global environment, urban social geography, and philosophy and method in the social sciences
Using numerical models to investigate large-scale climate processes and climate change
The application and evaluation of geospatial technologies, especially agent-based models (ABM), geographic information systems (GIS), and the Geospatial Web 2.0 (Geoweb), for decision support systems
Human factors and education within the aviation industry; e-learning in aviation; competency-based education in aviation; international aviation; aviation safety; safety management systems
Remote sensing of the cryosphere, especially snow and ice environments, using ground, aircraft and satellite earth observation data
Arctic dynamic meteorology and atmospheric synoptic studies; remote sensing of sea ice and snow cover; micrometeorology; remote sensing of corals and impact of climate change and variability on coastal ecosystems
Global warming; climate control; development of technologies for greenhouse gas reduction
3D city modeling; feature extraction from image and LiDAR data; impervious surface mapping; digital terrain modeling and analysis; environmental visualization; multi-sensor data fusion; spatial sensor web; Internet GIS for risk and disaster management; informal settlement management in Southern Africa
Biogeochemical cycling in natural and impacted systems (agriculture, wetlands, forest) under variable climatic regimes and following disturbance or land use change
Population growth, counterurbanization and heritage tourism within Canada's non-metropolitan settlements
Exploring the links between biodiversity conservation and tourism, particularly in areas of resolving conflicts between wildlife agencies and local communities, tourism impacts on the environment (in parks and protected areas, and remote communities), community participation, and local level development through tourism. Current research focus is in Nepal, Thailand and Western Canada
Energy efficiency; renewable energy policy; Japan and the Pacific; local economic development; ecological footprint assessment
Developing a further understanding of soil – vegetation – atmosphere interactions, especially as influenced by hydrologic and climatic conditions
Surface water and groundwater relations in wetlands; peatland restoration; forest hydrology
Land use, land management, and the carbon cycle
Daniel Scott, Canada Research Chair in Global Change and Tourism
Climate change impacts and adaptation, in particular the effects of climate change on tourism and recreation; protected areas and biodiversity conservation
Agro-food system sustainability; small-scale producers; local food systems; organic and ecological food production; environment-development interfaces; East Asia and Canada
Environmental planning; water quality; sediment/water interactions; water resources management
Interactions between ecology, hydrology, biogeochemistry and soil properties in wetland ecosystems. In particular, her research focuses on feedbacks between wetlands and climate by investigating controls on peatland greenhouse gas exchange in natural, disturbed and restored ecosystems
Geomatics and spatial data analysis with diverse application areas within both physical and human geography
Economic geography; urban and regional economic development and policy; creative and cultural economy of cities; labour market dynamics and workforce development; design, innovation and technological change
The critical relationship between humans and the environment and specifically addresses vulnerability and adaptation assessments in relation to climate change
Feminist economic geography; (un)paid work, housing, precarity, social reproduction, inequalities, age and generations, and feminist theory
School of Planning
Planning and social justice; political economy of housing; gentrification, displacement, and neighbourhood change; urban redevelopment and the politics of social mix; inequality, poverty, urban marginalization; qualitative research methods
Settler colonialism and contemporary planning practice; treaty settlement lands, urban reserves and Indigenous-municipal planning relations; planning institutions and governance; interpretative and critical policy analysis; community-engaged teaching and research
Jeff Casello (jointly appointed to Planning and Civil Engineering)
Urban transportation systems; public transport system planning, design and operation; multimodal transportation modeling; transportation and land use impacts; urban spatial analysis; GIS applications
Urban and regional land use planning; strategic policy planning; growth management; planning for rapid transit; economic development; community consultation; project and program management; community development
Social and environmental determinants of health; population and public health; planning healthy communities; building inclusive cities; social equity in vulnerable populations; community-based research; qualitative research and ethics
Nature and applications of scientific and non-scientific knowledge in natural resource management and planning; socio-economic dynamics as drivers of cascading ecological effects across trophic levels in coupled human-natural systems; composition, structure and dynamics of forests and grasslands with special interest in disturbance dynamics, succession, alternate stable states, and cross-scale spatial pattern; behaviour and population dynamics of large herbivores in forests and grasslands
Geographic information systems; multi-criteria analysis methods for land use planning; spatial decision support systems; public facility systems; development and resource management issues in small island states
Downtown and inner city planning; metropolitan region planning; socioeconomic change; land use-transportation interaction
Urban stream daylighting/deculverting; Community climate change adaptation; Community engagement, participatory planning, and urban governance; Knowledge transfer and mobility; Historic preservation and cultural resource management
Jane Law (jointly appointed with School of Public Health and Health Systems)
Environment and health; diet and health; determinants of health, crime, and education outcomes; applications of GIS with advanced spatial statistical analysis; neighbourhood/ community studies; spatial statistical modelling and analysis; probability mapping; measurement error, data uncertainty, and missing data adjustment; multilevel modelling; spatial-temporal analysis; spatial cluster analysis; land information systems; automated mapping/facilities management; spatial data capture, conversion, integration, and management
Spatial and regional analysis; strategic planning and policy development; emergency planning and management; decision support systems; natural resources inventories, classification and management systems; computing applications in Planning and the Faculty of Environment (modelling, statistics, graphics, simulation)
Food environment assessment; population and public health; population health intervention research; food access in cities; planning for healthy food access; social determinants of health; health geography; quantitative methods
Climate change and cities; gendered effects of urban services provision; resilience theory and its application in urban planning
Urban housing markets; residential location and commute patterns; the economy and social structure of Canadian cities; urban governance and planning; labour market restructuring; sustainability policy and social justice in cities
Development of integrated socio-economic and biophysical models of land-use change; agent-based modeling; complexity theory; geographic information systems; environmental and resource economics
Environmental policy and governance in the Anthropocene; landscape- and seascape-scale approaches to planning; human communities in an interconnected world; social-ecological connectivity
Comparative urban planning and policy; land use planning and urban form; land use reform and policy in China; heritage conservation and planning in China
Urban and regional planning; mid-size cities; monitoring, evaluation and indicators; local economic development; public administration; federal land use planning; strategic planning
Freight transportation and logistics - policy and practice, urban transportation policy issues, climate change and transportation, regulation/deregulation of transportation provision, urban freight planning and city logistics, transportation demand management, integrated spatial methods (GIS/RS/ESDA)
School of Environment, Enterprise and Development
Sustainable development strategies; corporate environmental management; campus environmental management; collaborative strategic management; cross-sector partnerships; regional sustainable development; local agenda 21s and youth-led environmental initiatives
Public and regulatory law, with a focus on international environmental law, domestic and comparative environmental law, natural resources law and municipal and planning law. Current research examines bi-lateral and tri-lateral environmental governance structures in North America, with a particular focus on the impact of federalism on transnational regulatory activities and the regulatory role of private transboundary environmental litigation
Sustainability assessment of dietary patterns, using Life Cycle Assessment and other tools; foodshed analysis and conventional/organic agriculture; food and fuel trade-offs; sustainability performance of agricultural and food certification systems
Identifying the additive value of sustainable development on an industry-specific basis, communicating the additive value of sustainable development to the capital markets (primarily financial analysts, retail and institutional fund managers, and institutional money management consultants), and identifying emerging drivers for corporate sustainable development
Sustainable cities, and encompass the three related areas of human migration, urbanization and food security, with a regional focus on Sub-Saharan Africa
Social innovation; social entrepreneurship; social finance; social innovation labs; youth employment; peer-based pedagogy; non-profit and co-operative governance; voting systems in decision-making; and participatory governance.
Exploring resource dependency of future clean energy systems with a focus on metals, material and energy flow analysis, resource criticality assessment, waste management, and life cycle assessment
Innovation and entrepreneurship in rural and northern regions; regional economic development planning, policy and practice; community readiness and community impacts related to natural resource development; planning in slow-growth and declining communities
Corporate greening; green and social entrepreneurship; energy efficiency/green buildings; sustainable transportation; waste minimization
The understanding of complex human-environment connections (or disconnections) with particular attention to change, its drivers, their influence and possible ways to deal with them
Paul Parker (cross-appointed with Geography and Environmental Management)
Energy efficiency; renewable energy policy; Japan and the Pacific; local economic development; ecological footprint assessment
Research on understanding the metabolism of local rural systems and their long-term dynamics using biophysical variables, such as material and energy flows, land use, and time-use
Africa; water management; environmental politics; the south in globalization; natural resources governance
Innovative strategies designed to reduce the economic impacts of extreme weather and climate change within the financial sector
Tara Vinodrai (cross-appointed with Geography and Environmental Management)
Economic geography; urban and regional economic development and policy; creative and cultural economy of cities; labour market dynamics and workforce development; design, innovation and technological change
Environmental and sustainable finance with a focus on sustainable credit risk management, socially responsible investment, social banking, and the link between sustainability and financial performance of enterprises
Social innovation; strategies for sustainable development; strategic change; visionary leadership and inter-organizational collaboration
Business sustainability; resilience; scale; decision-making; environmental performance
Resource efficiency and business sustainability including: life cycle assessment, supply-chain analysis, corporate social responsibility, environmental performance evaluation of products and technologies, technical and policy foundations for greenhouse gas management (e.g., carbon neutrality and carbon credits)
Department of Knowledge Integration
The design of actuators made of shape memory alloys (SMA), for everything from car door locks to subtle next-generation actuation systems for responsive architectural environments
Social network analysis, computational social science, science policy and evidence-informed policymaking, environmental governance and policy, social movements and political sociology, cognitive social science, research methods (quantitative, qualitative, computational)
Philosophy of the behavioral sciences and the public understanding of science
Collective decision-making. This includes many processes such as articulating aspirations and values, exercising foresight, confronting uncertainties and risks, and negotiating tradeoffs
Permanent teaching staff in the Faculty of EnvironmentKaren Hammond, School of Planning
Urban design and re-development; landscape design; community design; visual resource planning; view protection
Ian McKenzie, Dept. of Geography and Environmental Management
Regional field studies; earth science assessment; regional planning and groundwater energy systems; groundwater heat pumps; quaternary; shore zone mapping and classification; zebra mussels