TORONTO, November 12, 2002 -- York University today announced new Canada Research Chairs that will advance the engineering of Space-based technology to study climate change and ozone depletion, and enhance research on the effects of the loss of Canadian forests on declining migratory bird populations.
"The Canada Research Chairs Program is key to Canada’s competitiveness in the knowledge economy," said Industry Minister Allan Rock in St. John’s today. "Each of these new Chairholders moves us closer to our goal of being one of the top five countries in research and development by 2010." The federal government awarded a total of $5.2 million, for four new Chairs at York, including $1.4 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, which provides infrastructural support to the Chairs.
The Canada Research Chair in Space Engineering and Atmospheric Science has been awarded to Prof. James Whiteway in the department of Earth and atmospheric science, Faculty of Pure and Applied Science (FPAS), and the Canada Research Chair in Ecology and Conservation Biology has been awarded to Prof. Bridget Stutchbury in the department of biology, FPAS.
Prof. James Whiteway
Canada Research Chair in Space Engineering and Atmospheric Science (Tier II)
Prof. Whiteway has been in the forefront of atmospheric research on the role of cirrus clouds and tropical thunderstorms in the prediction of climate change and ozone depletion, and the use of advanced laser-radar technology to measure these phenomena.
Whiteway is currently running a measurement campaign in Darwin, Australia to study the cloudy air that flows from the tops of tropical thunderstorms. This involves two aircraft: one carrying a laser-radar to probe the clouds from below; the other one flying inside the clouds and directly sampling the cloud particles, air motions, water vapour and ozone. The influence of these storms on the distribution of water vapour is one of the main causes of uncertainty in predicting changes in the global climate at the ground and also changes in ozone in the stratosphere.
York University is a leader in Canada in the study of Earth and Space science and has a well-developed program in laser-radar observations of the middle atmosphere in collaboration with the Centre for Research in Earth and Space Technology (CRESTech), and the Meterological Service of Canada. Whiteway’s skill in the development and use of laser-radar and his probing of clouds with highly instrumented aircraft will open up new territory that relates to existing research at York in cloud physics and meteorological research, and space-based measurements and modeling of the atmosphere. This will also bring York into a powerful consortium involving four universities in the United Kingdom, and collaborators in Germany, Australia and the United States.
Whiteway will use new funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation to build a laser-radar for measurements of ozone, water vapour and clouds, to be installed on board an aircraft called the Egrett, owned by Airborne Research Australia. The new laser-radar will also be designed for ground-based measurements and the development of technology for Space-based laser-radar systems. York is home to the Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science (CRESS) and its companion research unit, the Centre for Research in Atmospheric Chemistry (CAC). CRESS is a founding member of CRESTech, a Centre of Excellence established by the Province of Ontario to bring together Canada’s leading experts in Space science and technology, space astronomy and astrophysics, and atmospheric science. Contact: Prof. Whiteway, phone: 011-44-1970-624490, email: jjw@aber.ac.uk.
Prof. Bridget Stutchbury
Canada Research Chair in Ecology and Conservation Biology (Tier II)
Prof. Stutchbury is internationally respected as an innovative researcher in the fields of ecology and conservation biology. Her recent studies on Canadian migratory forest birds are the first to follow bird movements between fragmented forests using radio tracking technology. Migrant birds breed in their northern habitats, not in the tropics. One of the key missing links in our knowledge is the extent to which forest fragmentation has affected their breeding habits. As the main predators of leaf-eating insects, forest birds are crucial to maintaining the integrity and health of our forests. But extinction rates, currently at one of the highest levels in history, represent a stunning loss of biodiversity that will have a huge impact on our forest ecosystems. Extinction rates are being driven by severe loss of habitat due to human encroachment. In many regions of the Americas few large tracts of natural forest remain, and instead, small forest fragments dominate the landscape. Despite the huge public interest in migratory birds and concern about shrinking natural habitats, broad gaps in our knowledge remain about the patterns of movement between forest fragments.
Stutchbury’s research focuses on the Carolinian Forest Region of southern Ontario, an area with a large human population and extensive industry and agriculture. The forest contains more rare and endangered species of plants and animals than any other part of Canada. Her project will be one of the few research programs in Canada to study migratory birds on both their breeding and wintering grounds, to determine the level at which forest fragmentation impedes movement and survivability for some species. The research addresses the issue of sustainability of forest ecosystems that have been degraded and fragmented by human activity. Environmental sustainability is arguably our single most important area of scientific and social concern. York University has a strong research base in ecology, evolution and conservation biology based in the department of biology. A leader in the field of Sustainability, York is home to the first faculty in Canada devoted entirely to Environmental Studies. Contact: Prof. Stutchbury, phone: 416-736-2100, ext. 66637, email: bstutch@yorku.ca.
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For further information, please contact:
| Susan Bigelow |
| Media Relations |
| York University |
| 416-736-2100, ext. 22091 |
| sbigelow@yorku.ca |
YU/102/02
