Canada Research Chair in Cold Regions Ecosystems Science (NSERC - Tier I)

WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY & ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Canada Research Chair (NSERC) Teir 1 in Cold Regions Ecosystems Science

The Department of Geography & Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University (Laurier) invites applications for a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) (NSERC) in Cold Regions Ecosystem Science.  Applicants for Tier 1 Chair positions must be full professors or associate professors expecting promotion within two years of the nomination. Alternatively, if they come from outside the academic sector, candidates must possess the qualifications necessary for appointment at these levels. The CRC Program is a key component of a strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top countries in research and development (www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca).

Anticipated Salary Range:

Associate Professor:    $140,000 to $190,000.  Actual salary to be commensurate with experience.  

Full Professor:              $160,000 to $210,000.  Actual salary to be commensurate with experience.  

Position Summary

Tier 1 Chairs are intended for outstanding established scholars. To meet the criteria of the program, nominees must be outstanding and innovative world-class researchers whose accomplishments have made a major impact in their fields; be recognized internationally as leaders in their fields; have superior records of attracting and supervising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows (taking into account different practices in the relevant field or discipline) and, as Chairholders, be expected to attract, develop and retain excellent trainees, students and future researchers; and be proposing an original, innovative research program of the highest quality. 

The Tier 1 CRC (NSERC) in Cold Regions Ecosystem Science will develop a leading-edge research and graduate training program focused on understanding and predicting ecosystem changes in the Canadian Arctic at local and regional scales and the consequent implications for resources on which Arctic communities depend. Cold regions ecosystem science in this context refers to changes in hydrology, lakes, energy and water fluxes, permafrost, snow, carbon fluxes, tundra vegetation in the vicinity of the Arctic tree line, and wildfires, among others. The successful candidate’s research program will focus on one or more of these types of ecosystem change.  The successful candidate must have established experience integrating field observations, remote sensing, and high-resolution numerical and data driven models to understand past and future changes in Arctic/sub-Arctic ecosystems due to changing climate.

As part of their role, the successful candidate will become Director of the Trail Valley Creek (TVC - https://www.trailvalleycreek.ca/ ) Research Station, a world class research infrastructure that has been established over the past decade by Laurier in the Inuvik/Trail Valley Creek region of the Northwest Territories. Experience managing a large research station or facility would be an asset.  The research station infrastructure includes housing for up to 15 researchers in all weather conditions. This robust station provides resources (heating, electricity and internet access) that allow researchers to carry out detailed field observations that supplement data recorded continuously by multiple weather stations, eddy covariance towers, permafrost stations, soil moisture and snow observations, lake observations, and discharge from multiple watersheds.

Research activities conducted at the TVC facilities take place as part of a formal agreement between Laurier and the Government of the NWT and in collaboration with Inuvialuit organizations. Additional support for the Trail Valley facilities is provided by the Laurier Yellowknife research office and the Waterloo-based Laurier Office of Research Services. Researchers operating out of TVC – which include scientists from Laurier and other universities, Canadian and territorial government agencies and international collaborators – have collected many decades of hydrological, climatological and biogeochemical research data sets developed by scientists at Laurier, other universities, Canadian and territorial government agencies and international collaborators. In addition, there are many sets of Earth observations from drones, aircraft and satellites for the study region. All these data sets will be fully available to the successful applicant through publicly available data repositories and at Laurier.

The Tier 1 CRC will be based at Laurier’s Waterloo campus in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, which provides modern equipment staging facilities for northern field research, wet and dry labs for data analysis, and experienced departmental lab and field technical support. The successful candidate will also be affiliated with and have access to Laurier’s Cold Region Research Centre, a leading hub for cold regions research that supports interdisciplinary studies in high-latitude and high-altitude environment. Depending on their scientific background and research interests, the successful candidate may be cross appointed to one or more other departments in Laurier’s Faculty of Science.

The successful candidate will have an established leading-edge research program focused on understanding and predicting ecosystem changes in the Canadian Arctic/sub-Arctic at local and regional scales and the consequent implications for resources on which Arctic/sub-Arctic communities depend.  They will have a clearly established track record of attracting and managing large research grants from Tri-Agency and other sources of funding. A track record of research grants focused on Arctic/sub-Arctic regions will be beneficial. The successful candidate will also have a clearly established track record of scholarly publications and other impactful outputs, on subjects directly pertaining to Arctic/sub-Arctic ecosystems.

The successful candidate will be expected to engage actively with Indigenous communities as part of their research and generate scientific data and products that may be utilized for environmental planning, policy and decision-making at local, territorial and national/international levels. They will also be expected to collaborate with these communities to train community members and develop the next generation of northern scientists. Experience collaborating with Indigenous communities including conducting community-based research and training will be advantageous. An important element of this position will be the training and mentoring of undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates, and early career scholars and the successful candidate must demonstrate a superior record if this. The Laurier Faculty of Science offers master’s and PhD programs in geography, biology, chemistry, and other disciplines relevant to the research and teaching responsibilities of this CRC. The successful candidate must demonstrate experience with collaborations between physical and social scientists. As part of their appointment, the successful candidate will be expected to teach two courses annually at the graduate or senior undergraduate level. Science communication across a range of media platforms will be an important aspect of this position. 

Qualifications:

To be considered, applicants must have a PhD in Geography, Earth and Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry or another discipline directly related to cold regions ecosystem science.

The successful candidate will be nominated for a Tier 1 CRC and will be appointed as a tenured faculty member at the Associate Professor or Full Professor level in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, conditional on CRC application approval.

How to Apply

Applicants must submit:

• cover letter summarizing qualifications for the position as described above
• CV
• research dossier including:
• summary of past/current funded research projects and collaborations
• future research plan
• three sample scholarly publications and/or outputs accompanied by a 300-word summary of how these have had an impact
• teaching dossier, which may include:
• statement of teaching/training philosophy
• summary of past teaching and/or graduate mentorship
• similar evidence of experience/expertise
• contact details for three potential referees who may be contacted if the applicant is selected for interview

Application packages should be combined into a single PDF document and electronically submitted to:

Dr. Robert McLeman,

Chair, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies

Email address: rmcleman@wlu.ca

Applications will be accepted until May 22, 2026.

The anticipated start date is July 1, 2027 subject to the successful candidate’s availability, and the timeline for the Tier 1 CRC nomination process.

In keeping with Laurier’s best practices in recruitment, and in accordance with the CRC’s Requirements for Recruitment Guidelines, applicants are required to complete the applicant equity survey. 

It is recognized that life circumstances such as illness, disability, family and community responsibilities (e.g., maternity leave, parental leave, leaves due to illness, leaves due to caring for family members, or slowdowns due to chronic illness or disability) are expected to have an impact on a candidate’s record of research achievement, and that these impacts will be taken into careful consideration during the assessment process. Therefore, candidates are encouraged to explain in their cover letter how career interruptions may have impacted them.

Core values at Laurier are equity, diversity and creating a culture of inclusion, as is our commitment to moving towards pathways for reconciliation, Indigenization and decolonization. These values are central to the Laurier Strategy, and our goals and actions aligned with these commitments can be found in the Strategic Plan for EDI as well as the Indigenous Strategic Plan.  For more information on Laurier’s CRC equity, diversity and inclusion commitments, please visit Laurier’s CRC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. Candidates who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are also welcome to contact the Office of Indigenous Initiatives at indigenous@wlu.ca and/or Employment Equity and Accessibility at equity@wlu.ca.

As part of this work, Laurier is committed to increasing the diversity of all employees. We welcome applications from candidates who identify as Indigenous, racialized, having disabilities, and from persons of all minority sexual and/or gender identities.

Laurier strives to make our application process accessible and provides accommodations for both applicants and employees as outlined in Policy 8.7 (https://www.wlu.ca/about/governance/assets/resources/8.7-employment-accommodation-policy.html). If you require assistance applying for this position, would like this job posting (or links referenced) in an accessible or alternative format, would like to discuss accessibility and accommodations during the recruitment process, or if there are any questions concerning the recruitment process, please contact Dr. Robert McLeman (rmcleman@wlu.ca).

The Department of Geography & Environmental Studies wishes to thank all applicants for their interest. All applications shall be reviewed and considered under the criteria established by the Search Committee and a short list of candidates shall be interviewed. Only those applicants selected for the short list will be contacted.