Science Advisory Panel
Macdonald, Ellen
Dr. Ellen Macdonald is a Professor of Forest Ecology and Chair of the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta. She holds a B.Sc. in Environmental Biology and a Ph.D. in Plant Ecology, both from the University of Calgary.
Dr. Macdonald’s research interests include the influence of natural and human-caused disturbances on the ecology and plant biodiversity of the boreal forest, as well as regeneration processes and successional dynamics of dynamics of boreal mixedwood forests.
Dr. Macdonald is the recipient of several awards including The University of Alberta University Cup, International Union of Forest Research Organisations Scientific Achievement Award, and the Canadian Institute of Forestry Scientific Achievement Award.
Schnell, Russell
Dr. Russell Schnell is the recently retired Deputy Director of the Global Monitoring Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Boulder, Colorado, USA and now a senior scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He holds first class honour’s degrees in Biology from the University of Alberta, and Chemistry from Memorial University, Newfoundland, and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Wyoming, in Atmospheric Science.
Dr. Schnell’s current research includes monitoring greenhouse gases, ozone-depleting gases, aerosols, solar and infrared radiation at Baseline Observatories. He has 126 reviewed scientific publications, nine of them in Nature in five different scientific fields. He has conducted research in 92 counties.
Significant contributions made by Dr. Schnell include the discovery of biological ice nuclei, first used in snowmaking, food preservation, and preserving human organs for transplant. While working at the NOAA, Dr. Schnell was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He also received a honourary Doctorate from the University of Alberta in 2015.
Merrill, Evelyn
Dr. Evelyn Merrill is a Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta. Dr. Merrill’s research focuses on large mammals with emphasis on foraging and nutritional ecology of ungulates, plant-herbivore interactions, and landscape modifications on wildlife populations. Current interest lies in modeling predator-prey interactions and disease spread and transmission in heterogeneous landscapes.
Jenkins, Alan
Dr. Alan Jenkins is the Deputy Director and Director Science at the United Kingdom Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH). He holds a B.Sc. and a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds in England.
Dr. Jenkins research interests in water modelling, particularly the application of models, methods and data to address hydro-meteorological problems and underpin hydroclimate services.
Dr. Jenkins also serves as the Chair of the UK Committee for National and International Hydrology, Head of the UK Delegation to the UNESCO International Hydrology Programme, Hydrological Adviser to the UK Government with the World Meteorological Organization, UK representative to the European Network of Water Research Centres (EurAqua). Dr. Jenkins is an Honorary Professor at the Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, a Visiting Professor at the Department of Geography, University College London and an Honorary Research Fellow of the James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen.
Creed, Irena
Dr. Irena Creed is a Professor of the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan. She holds a B.Sc. in Zoology, M.Sc. in Botany and Environmental Studies and a Ph.D. in Geography all from the University of Toronto.
Dr. Creed’s research focuses on understanding the impacts climate change the intensification of human activities have on landscape hydrology, biogeochemistry, ecology and ecosystem services.
Dr. Creed is a recipient of The Royal Society of Canada’s Bancroft Award for outstanding contributions in earth sciences, and was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Kidd, Karen
Dr. Karen Kidd is the Jarislowsky Chair in Environment & Health and a Professor at McMaster University. She holds a PhD in Environmental Biology and Ecology from the University of Alberta.
Dr. Kidd’s research focuses on the fate and effects of contaminants in fresh waters from the tropics to the Arctic.
Dr. Kidd has served on several national and international scientific boards including ones with the International Joint Commission, the United Nations Environmental Programme, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Her expertise has been recognized with a Canada Research Chair and she is the recipient of several national and international awards including Fellow of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, the Recipharm International Environmental Award, and the Society of Canadian Limnologists’ Rigler Award.
Cooke, Steven
Dr. Steven Cooke is a Canada Research Professor of Environmental Science at Carleton University in Ottawa and Director of the Canadian Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation. He holds a B.ES. and M.Sc. from the University of Waterloo and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana.
Dr. Cooke’s research focuses on recreational fisheries science, fish biology, aquatic ecology, restoration ecology, and evidence-based conservation and management of natural resources.
Dr. Cooke has been the recipient of several awards, including, Robin Welcome Fellow in Inland Fisheries at Michigan State University, T.D. Water Bean Visiting Professor in the Environment at the University of Waterloo, Fellow of the American Fisheries Society, and Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.