Meet Dal's new Canada Research Chairs

Dal’s newest Canada Research Chairs will be studying the formation of fog and the fortunes of rural Atlantic Canada.

The Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program, funded by the Government of Canada, invests $300 million per year to attract and retain some of the world's most accomplished and promising minds. This year, Dal is welcoming two new exciting researchers to its contingent of 50 Canada Research Chairs.

Focused on fog

Rachel Chang, a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Atmospheric Science, has travelled the Northwest Passage and even to the North Pole in her quest to enhance our understanding how ocean emissions affect particles in the air, particularly fog.

“What I hope to determine is how the origins of an air mass affect the visibility we experience in fog — if the air mass comes from a polluted region versus a clean region versus a marine source versus a continental source,” she explains, noting these links will help better predict fog formation and movement, aiding industries like transportation.

As you might expect, Halifax is an ideal place for Dr. Chang’s work, and not just because it’s foggy. It’s also one of the few places in Canada with a strong contingent of atmospheric scientists, and the region’s depth of ocean knowledge was also a huge draw. Dr. Chang, a native Torontonian earned her PhD from the University of Toronto then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University.

Dr. Chang also receives funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation with matching funds from the Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Trust.

Considering communities

Karen Foster is a new Tier II Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Rural Futures in Atlantic Canada.

“I’m looking at how, in certain rural communities in Atlantic Canada, people are questioning whether or not their survival really depends on economic growth’, says Dr. Foster, who is located in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Many of these communities are exploring innovative “de-growth” strategies like work sharing, local currencies, “re-localizing” production and consumption.

“Some of these initiatives really fly in the face of how people think about work,” says Dr. Foster, “so I am interested in how they affect the way people approach their daily lives and whether there are generational differences in how these ideas are received.”

Originally from Waverley, N.S., Dr. Foster earned her doctorate at Carleton University in Ottawa, followed bya post-doctoral fellowship at Saint Mary’s University.

Dalhousie has 50 Canada Research Chairs: 17 Tier Is and 33 Tier IIs including Dr. Chang and Dr. Foster. Tier I Research Chairs are outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their field. For each Tier 1 Chair, the university receives $200,000 annually for seven years. Tier II Research Chairs are exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field. For each Tier II Chair, the university receives $100,000 annually for five years.

Learn more about the Canada Research Chairs program at its website.