Nearly 30 students from across Canada gathered at the University of Waterloo this summer for the first Climate Mathematics CREATE Summer School, a five-day program exploring the mathematical tools used to understand and address climate change.
The program, part of a six-year NSERC CREATE grant co-directed by Dr. Marek Stastna (professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo), brought together undergraduate and graduate students from mathematics, engineering, physics and environmental sciences. Participants attended lectures and seminars from faculty across multiple institutions, took part in hands-on workshops and joined a field trip to Crawford Lake.
The summer school featured six speakers — three from within CREATE and three external partners — spanning mathematics, engineering, oceanography, and geography. Internal talks included Stastna’s own overview of the program, Dr. Andrea Scott (Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo) on remote sensing and satellites; and Dr. Katja Fennel (Oceanography, Dalhousie University) on carbon sequestration and ocean chemistry. External speakers included Dr. Laura Bianucci (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) on climate modelling and fjords, Dr. Peter Crank (Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University) on urban climate modelling; and Dr. Chris Subich, a Waterloo PhD graduate now with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Stastna says he wanted the program to give students not only tools but also perspective. “Climate’s a pretty depressing space, if you’re perfectly honest about it. Because we know what the problem is, we know what causes the problem, we know how to make the problem better, and we have systematically done nothing about it. We’ve in fact chosen to make it worse for [Gen Z] and the kids’ generation and all the rest of it.” The goal of the summer school was to give students the skills and connections to do better.
Participant Jacob MacDonald presents his research to Dr. Stasna
“CREATE is an NSERC program, which is meant to change how we teach,” says Stastna. “I thought it was a very low chance that we’d get the funding, but we got it — and that makes this summer school possible."
While faculty delivered the lectures, much of the logistical and organizational effort came from Dr. Alain Gervais, a postdoctoral researcher funded through CREATE. “Alain’s done tons of work, and he deserves a huge amount of credit,” says Stastna. “Half of his role is research, but the other half is everything that makes the program run — building the website, managing mailing lists, organizing the summer school, paying for lunches and arranging the Crawford Lake trip.”
Participants said the program offered both technical training and valuable networking. “I feel like I’ve gotten a lot out of it in terms of the communication and computer programming workshops,” says Hannah Herston, a master’s student at Dalhousie University. “Above all, just meeting other people in the field who care a lot about climate change and are using such a diverse toolbox of mathematical techniques has been inspiring.”
Aiden Joyce an undergraduate student in Mathematical Physics at the University of Waterloo, agreed, “It’s been a very interesting experience, for sure – definitely a change of pace from the day-to-day of doing research. This was a great opportunity to meet people from different universities and really hear about the different research that’s being done in the field rather than just specifically what you are working on. An event like this really helps broaden your horizons.”
CREATE participants took a field trip to Crawford Lake
For others, the program provided a chance to test new skills. “I wanted to network with grad students from different universities,” says Maksym Veremchuk, a PhD student at the University of Waterloo. “I found it very interesting to learn a lot about different fluid equations since I’m mostly in AI. I did the project about shallow water and found out a lot of new things. It’s really good training.”
Meixin Zhou, a PhD student in Oceanography at McGill University, said the interdisciplinary aspect was a highlight, “The field trip was really nice. We had a lot of lectures and seminars from professors, and it was beneficial to hear things from different perspectives.”
Faculty also recognized the impact on students. “It’s been really nice to see all these students come together,” says Dr. Christine Dow, co-PI of the program and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at Waterloo. “This was designed to target areas students aren’t getting access to. As a first iteration, it has gone really well, and I think it’s evolving quite a lot. The breadth of knowledge was really valuable for the students to see.”
Scott supported this sentiment, “I think it’s great for the students to meet each other — math students talking to engineers, to people in the science faculty, from different schools. Some of these students will be future colleagues, so that’s really important.”
The success of this first summer school provides a solid foundation for more opportunities for collaboration, creativity, and connection in the year to come.