I am delighted to let you know that our community has expanded. As of this week, we welcome new members to both our Science Directors and Management boards.
We now have a total of 20 Science Directors from across Canada and the world, representing a tremendous diversity of aquatic expertise and excellence. It is personally very exciting to myself to see young enthusiastic scientists joining our ranks - and for the first time, one of those new Science Directors is a former CRI student.
Dr. Jessica Orlofske is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Her research program areas include invertebrate biodiversity and conservation and biomonitoring and assessment of ecological integrity. She obtained her PhD from the University of New Brunswick under the direction of Dr. Donald Baird. Dr. Orlofske was also a post-doctoral fellow with the CRI before taking up her current position, making her the first CRI student to become a Science Director.
Dr. Scott Pavey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Science, Applied Science and Engineering at the University of New Brunswick - Saint John. He is a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Molecular Ecology and Ecological Genomics. Dr. Pavey uses state-of-the-art techniques in genomic sequencing to address questions in conservation, fisheries management, evolution and ecology. Dr. Pavey joined UNB and the CRI after a post doctoral fellowship at Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systems at Laval University and a PhD in Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser University.
The CRI Management Board has also now been rebuilt, though we will continue efforts to add new and dynamic individuals to the Management Board membership as the opportunity arises. It is my please to present Dr. Fred Whoriskey as the Board's Chair. Fred has had longstanding and enthusiastic participation the Management Board and is very active in the area of scientific expertise that the CRI excels in. We also welcome six new members:
Dr. Jean-François Blais, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Eau Terre Environnement
Dr. George Dixon, Vice President Research, University of Waterloo
Dr. Alex Bielak, United Nations University at the Institute for Water, Environment and Health
Dr. Jack Imhof, Director of Conservation Ecology, Trout Unlimited Canada
Dr. Stella Swanson, Swanson Environmental Strategies Ltd.
Dr. Frederick J. Wrona, Vice-President and Chief Scientist, Alberta Environmental Monitoring and Evaluation Agency
It has been a privilege and an honour to complete my first year of the Director of the CRI. After 15 years the CRI continues to grow as a dynamic team of individuals, as evidenced by the expertise and breadth of our new members. I am looking forward to continuing to work with all of you as we begin our next 15 years!
Michael
Michael van den Heuvel
CRI Director