The Lorne Trottier Public Science Symposium is organized in the Faculty of Science through the generous support of Dr. Lorne Trottier "to hold a public forum to inform, inspire debate and raise public awareness on contemporary issues confronting society today." Each year a new host unit is chosen based on the topic. The host plays an important role in the assembling of leading scientific experts and the organization of the Symposium.
Current host unit
Earth System Science (ESS) is a unique inter-disciplinary, inter-departmental program in the Faculty of Science offered by the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and the Department of Geography. ESS concentrates on the linkages between the biological, chemical, physical and human subsystems of the Earth. This new, integrated, and holistic approach is needed to tackle the complex and challenging global problems facing the Earth today. [Earth System Science website]
Organizers
Professor John Gyakum is Chair of the Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences. His research is in the area of synoptic and dynamic meteorology. One axis of his research programme investigates extratropical transformations and extratropical cyclone, and more specifically, the dynamical processes associated with tropical cyclones that ultimately affect Atlantic Canada. A second line of inquiry relates to heavy precipitation events and water vapour transport to extratropical latitudes, examining the roles of especially strong poleward moisture transports on the dynamics of precipitating high-latitude weather systems, such as the 1998 Ice Storm.
Dr. Nigel Roulet is a James McGill Professor in the Department of Geography and an Associate Member of the McGill School of Environment. He was the Director of the Centre for Climate and Global Change Research at McGill University from 1996 until 2002, and Director of the McGill School of Environment from 2003 to 2008. He is currently the Group Chair for grants and scholarship programs in environmental science for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and is one of eleven scientific advisors for the Government of Ontario’s Far North Act that is to preserve the biodiversity and climate regulation function of over 250,000 km2 of the Boreal Forest biome. Professor Roulet’s research focuses on the interaction of ecosystem hydrology, climatology, and ecology of the temperate, boreal, and arctic ecosystems. He was a lead scientist in the Fluxnet-Canada and Canadian Carbon Project research networks and co- principal investigator of the Canadian Global Coupled Climate Carbon Model (CGC3M) network. Professor Roulet has participated in the last three scientific assessments of climate change with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The Symposium is grateful for the assistance of the Department of Geography and its Chair, Professor Tim Moore, as well as the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences and its Chair, Professor John Stix.
The Coordinator is grateful to the professors who cancelled their classes on the day of the symposium so that we could use Leacock room 132.
A special acknowledgement goes to the members of the organizing committee — Dr. Lorne Trottier, President and co-founder, Matrox; Martin Grant, Dean of Science; Kathryn Peterson, Director of Administration, Faculty of Science; and Carole Kleingrib, Director of Development (Major Gifts), Faculty of Science — who have given of their time and talents to the Symposium over the last few months.
Special thanks go out to Victor Chisholm of the Dean of Science's Secretariat who put together our web page, and to all the volunteers who helped out on the day of the Symposium.
Julia Langdale
Trottier Symposium Coordinator
trottiersymposium.science [at] mcgill.ca (Email)