Contact & People

Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences
Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science
University of British Columbia Okanagan
1177 Research Road
Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7
Canada

Email: eegs.okanagan@ubc.ca
Please direct all general inquires to the above email address.

Find a Program Advisor

Find Our People

Role:
Disciplines:
Search Keyword:

Emmanuel Adoasi-Ahyiah | PhD Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | adoasi94@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Ecological connectivity; Landscape resilience; Sustainable resource management; Complex adaptive systems and complexity science; Natural resources management; Agroforestry; Modelling and GIS; Climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Daniel Austin | Adjunct Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | daustin@ecoscapeltd.com
Research Interests: Environmental and engineering providing GIS services in support of a multidisciplinary field of professionals ranging from Biologists to Engineers.
Deborah Barnett | Senior Department Assistant | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | deborah.barnett@ubc.ca | 250.807.8581 | SCI 305
Bernard Bauer | Professor Emeritus | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | bernard.bauer@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Process geomorphology; hydrology; environmental science; understanding how wind systems, water currents, and ocean waves pick up and transport sediments, leading to problems of erosion and sedimentation on beaches, dunes, and river (levee) banks.
Courses & Teaching: Geomorphology (introductory, fluvial, coastal), sediment transport mechanics, environmental science. Specifically: EESC 222/GEOG 222 Geomorphology; EESC 422/GEOG 422 Fluvial Geomorphology; EESC 436/GEOG 436 Coastal Geomorphology and EESC 434 Sediment Transport Mechanics.
Carl Beno | Post Doctoral Fellow | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | carl.beno@ubc.ca
Mathieu Bourbonnais | Assistant Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | mathieu.bourbonnais@ubc.ca | 250.807.8186 | SCI 315

Graduate student supervisor


Research Interests: Geographic information sciences; spatial analysis and statistics; movement ecology; remote sensing.
Courses & Teaching: Geographic information sciences; spatial analysis.
Kendrick Brown | Adjunct Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | kendrick.brown@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
Research Interests: Quaternary ecology; climatology and environmental change; paleofire reconstruction; water resource sensitivity to climate change; paleoenvironmental applications in landscape restoration.
Emily Browne | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | emily.browne@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Methane cycling; wetlands; methane emission pathways, stable isotopes; plant-mediated transport of soil gas; methane; biogeochemistry of methane production in anoxic soil.
Leif Burge | Adjunct Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | leif.burge@stantec.com
Research Interests: River stability; sediment transport; river patterns; stream restoration; dam breach floods; geohazards; pipeline stream crossings; sediment management. Supporting stream restoration projects in the Southern Interior of British Columbia by understanding the sediment dynamics of these systems.
Éowyn Campbell | Lecturer | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | eowyn.campbell@ubc.ca
Courses & Teaching: GEOG 108 001 | EESC 398 001 | 2023 Winter Term 1
Yuehao (Crystal) Chen | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | crystal.yuehao.chen@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Geological sources of methane emissions; thermal springs geochemistry; hydrogeology; stable isotope biogeochemistry; laser spectroscopy.
Yuan Chen | Associate Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | yuan.chen@ubc.ca | 250.807.9594 | SCI 213
Research Interests: Mineralogy; petrology; geochemistry and geologic resources; the environment; research used to predict the solubility, transportation and potential bioavailability of trace elements through surface processes and to establish environmentally friendly operating procedures for the mining industry.
Courses & Teaching: Physical geology; historical geology; mineralogy; optical mineralogy and petrology; geochemistry.
Jeff Curtis | Associate Professor Emeritus | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | jeff.curtis@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Biogeoclimatic control of water quality; inferring hydrologic flowpath from geochemical indicators; optical properties of natural waters; interaction of metals and natural organic ligands; scavenging of nutrients and trace elements in biogenic calcite; fate and transport of endocrine disrupters.
Fes de Scally | Associate Professor Emeritus | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | fes.descally@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Historical and modern tropical cyclone risks in the Cook Islands, South Pacific Ocean; differentiation of debris flow, streamflow and snow avalanche fans in mountain environments and implications for risk management in the Southern Alps, New Zealand.
Courses & Teaching: Physical geography; natural hazards management; mountain environments.
Brendan Dyck | Assistant Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | brendan.dyck@ubc.ca | 250.807.8934 | FIP 353

Graduate student supervisor


Research Interests: Metamorphic petrology; tectonics & microstructure; evolution of planetary lithosphere and electron-beam microscopy.
Courses & Teaching: Introduction to metamorphic petrology; introduction to graduate studies.
Emory Ellis | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | emory.ellis@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Using stable water isotopes to understand better how thinning changes forest water uptake strategies. Thinning is a method of decreasing stand water use and increasing tree growth. By quantifying surface water groundwater uptake in lodgepole pines, this study determines how water uptake changes based on forest density and seasonal water availability.
Rob Friberg | Lecturer | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | rob.friberg@ubc.ca
Courses & Teaching: SUST 100 001 | EESC 101 001 | 2023 Winter Term 1
Graham Giles | Teaching Technician | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | grock1@mail.ubc.ca
John Greenough | Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | john.greenough@ubc.ca | 250.807.9520 | SCI 216

Graduate student supervisor


Research Interests: Mantle composition and evolution; diamond indicator minerals; lunar mantle composition; volatiles in lava flows; geochemical fingerprinting of gold; archaeological artefacts; and agrifood products; the concentrations of elements in lava flows to determine the composition of the interior of the Earth.
Courses & Teaching: Igneous petrology; geochemistry; biogeochemistry; mineralogy; evolution of the Earth and mantle.
Kevin Hanna | Associate Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | kevin.hanna@ubc.ca | 250.807.9265 | FIP 246

Graduate student supervisor


Research Interests: Environmental impact assessment; natural resources management; energy and mining development.
Courses & Teaching: Environmental impact assessment; energy systems and resources.
Ed Hornibrook | Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | ed.hornibrook@ubc.ca | 250.807.8059 | SCI 313

Graduate student supervisor


Research Interests: Biogeochemistry; stable isotopes; biosphere-atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases; natural and restored wetlands; lakes; soil; groundwater; trace gas analysis; automation of monitoring equipment.
Courses & Teaching: Environmental science; research skills; science communication.
Yiping Hou | PhD Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | yiping.hou@ubc.ca
Research Interests: The cumulative effect of forest disturbance and their impacts on hydrology in large watersheds is a hot topic in forest hydrology. This project will investigate how hydrological processes have been affected by cumulative effect of forest disturbance induced by logging, wildfire and mountain pine beetle (MPB) in forested watersheds in the interior of British Columbia.
Jinyu Hui | PhD Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | jyhui@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Investigate how interactions between climate change and forest disturbance affect hydrological processes at the watershed scale; and simulate possible future hydrological responses under different climate change and forest disturbance scenarios.
Alessandro Ielpi | Assistant Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | alessandro.ielpi@ubc.ca | SCI 311

Graduate student supervisor


Research Interests: Earth and planetary geomorphology; watersheds, rivers, and floodplains; basin analysis; fluvial biogeochemistry.
Courses & Teaching: Geomorphology (EESC / GEOG 222); Stratigraphy and Sedimentology (EESC / GEOG 356).
Trudy Kavanagh | Associate Professor of Teaching | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | trudy.kavanagh@ubc.ca | 250.807.8754 | ASC 448
Research Interests: Biogeography; treeline ecology; abiotic controls on vegetation dynamics; examination of the water-repellent soils that develop after severe wildfire, which modifies the soil micro-environment and subsequent vegetation establishment.
Courses & Teaching: Biogeography; environmental science; field methods; physical geography.
Dawn Kellett | Adjunct Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | dawn.kellett@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
Research Interests: Geochronology and thermochronology; tectonics of collisional and accretionary orogens; structural and metamorphic petrology.
Renee Larsen | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | renee.larsen@ubc.ca
Research Interests: The aim of the project is to develop a spatial model of the Okanagan landscape that characterizes the socio-ecological dynamics of wildfire management and predicts the potential environmental outcomes of wildfire mitigation strategies. For this research, input from local stakeholders and experts will be sought on what mitigation strategies might be acceptable, and what key concerns exist regarding the impacts of wildfire.
Kyle Larson | Department Head, Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences, Fipke Laboratory for Trace Element Research (FiLTER) | kyle.larson@ubc.ca | 250.807.8564 | SCI 398

Graduate student supervisor


Research Interests: Structural geology; tectonics; petrology; microstructures; geochronology; the geology of the Himalaya-Tibet-Karakorm system; tectonics of Southwestern British Columbia.
Courses & Teaching: Structural geology; regional geology/tectonics.
Evan Laye | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | evanlaye@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Environmental impact assessment; biodiversity protection and promotion; Indigenous knowledge and consultation; Canadian environmental policy/law.
Norah Lloyd-Ellis | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | nlloydel@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Developing empirical 3D estimates of forest fuel load and structure; testing their application for wildfire risk mapping based on fuel connectivity and burn probability. This research uses airborne LiDAR data acquired for the Okanagan Valley, which will be used to develop voxel-based 3D estimates of vertical and horizontal forest fuel structure.
Saoirse MacKinnon | Laboratory Program Manager | Earth and Environmental Sciences | saoirse.mackinnon@ubc.ca | 250.807.8405 | SCI 307
Troy McMillan | PhD Student, IGS | Earth and Environmental Sciences, Engineering | troy.mcmillan@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Urban resilience is a concept which can be used to examine the readiness for urban centres to withstand, adapt to, absorb, respond to, and recovery from acute or chronic stresses. To help cities improve their resilience, several multidisciplinary frameworks have been developed in academe and the non-profit sector. This research will explore how urban resilience is being implemented within Canadian cities.
Vikas Menghwani | Assistant Professor of Teaching | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | vikas.menghwani@ubc.ca | 250.807.8278 | FIP 339
Research Interests: Renewable energy ; Energy transitions; Sustainable development; Educational technology; Interdisciplinary education; Sustainability pedagogy;
Courses & Teaching: Application, Practice and Management Approaches (in Sustainability) (SUST 200) ; Environmental Impact Assessment: Techniques and Practice (EESC 315).
Schafer Montgomery | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | ssmontgo@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: The examination of groundwater and stream interaction through alluvial fans in the Okanagan water-shed. Incorporation of water isotope, radon and trace element analysis will be implemented to determine the extent of interaction and assess groundwater recharge. Groundwater and Stream interaction; Isotope Geochemistry; Water Characterization.
Emily Moore | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | emoore02@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Forest disturbance and watershed dynamics; climate change and streamflow; forestry and aquatic habitat; kokanee salmon habitat requirements
Garth Mowat | Adjunct Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | garth.mowat@gov.bc.ca
Research Interests: Population biology of carnivores with a focus on applied problems; investigates factors limiting density and population growth of grizzly bears; isotopes to investigate diet through time and space; test inventory methods for cougars and wolves.
Tamika Mulders | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | tmulders@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: My research looks at how food security is addressed in environmental assessment processes in northern Canada. The work is collaborative with the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. Environmental impact assessment; food security; resource management; traditional harvesting; Arctic; Northern Canada; cumulative impacts assessment
Natasha Neumann | Adjunct Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | natasha.neumann@gov.bc.ca
Research Interests: Surface and groundwater interactions; land use and wildfire impacts on hydrology; low flow monitoring and regionalization; environmental flow needs; snow accumulation and melt processes.
Craig Nichol | Associate Department Head, Associate Professor of Teaching | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | craig.nichol@ubc.ca | 250.807.8087 | SCI 306

Graduate student supervisor


Research Interests: Hydrogeology and vadose zone processes; regional groundwater resources; surface water and groundwater interactions; agricultural irrigation efficiency and nitrate leaching; agricultural greenhouse gas production; acid rock drainage and mine reclamation; soil physics. Geoscience education.
Courses & Teaching: EESC 111 Earth and Environmental Sciences; EESC 121 Earth History; EESC 342 Hydrogeology; EESC 335 Field Techniques; EESC 350 Exploration Geophysics; EESC 429 Contaminant Transport; EESC 551 Advanced Soil Physics; EESC 551 Groundwater Contamination and Transport; EESC 551 Groundwater Chemistry
Jeffrey Nishima-Miller | PhD Student, IGS-Sustainability | Earth and Environmental Sciences | jeffrey.nishima-miller@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Integrated environmental and natural resource management; environmental impact assessment; wildlife management and conservation
Christa Nyarko Osei | Senior Department Administrative Assistant | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | christa.nyarkoosei@ubc.ca | 250.807.9529 | SCI 305
Alix Osinchuk | PhD Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | alix.osinchuk@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Microstructure analysis and paleopiezometery; thermodynamic phase modelling; deformation events; orogenesis; tectonic evolution of Precambrian Earth
Darcelle Paquette | Department Manager | Computer Science, Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics | darcelle.paquette@ubc.ca | 250.807.8405 | SCI 307
Ian Parfitt | PhD Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | iparfitt@student.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Geomatics; climate change; biodiversity conservation; traditional ecological knowledge; forest management; remote sensing; unoccupied aerial systems; artificial intelligence; open data. Ian is a keen cartographer and his maps can be found in magazines, books and online. He is also a certified Project Management Professional.
Lael Parrott | Professor | Biology, Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | lael.parrott@ubc.ca | 250.807.8122 | ASC 406
Research Interests: Understanding ecosystems and landscapes as complex systems in which human and biophysical processes are coupled across multiple scales of space and time; incorporating complexity into natural resource management approaches; regional-scale landscape modelling; social-ecological networks; agent and individual-based modelling approaches; landscape science and scenario building.
Courses & Teaching: Dynamic modelling of coupled human-environment systems.
Ehsan Pashanejad Silab | PhD Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | ehsan.pashanejad@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Ecosystem Service Mapping & Modeling, Social-Ecological System Resilience, Spatial Analysis. The project deals with a landscape-specific ecosystem service dynamic modelling framework to explore the interactions of multiple ecosystem services such as agricultural food production, pollination, water supply, and water quality, and services related to habitat (wetlands and grassland) in the prairie landscape under different future scenarios.
Michael Pidwirny | Associate Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | michael.pidwirny@ubc.ca | 250.807.8758 | SCI 376

Graduate student supervisor


Research Interests: Anthropogenic climate change impact assessment and adaptation; use of climate databases in assessing climate change; historical climate change at North American ski resorts; forecasts of future climate change at North American ski resorts.
Courses & Teaching: Physical geography; anthropogenic climate change physical science; climate change impact assessment and adaptation; statistical techniques in geography and earth science.
S.M. Talha Qadri, PhD | Sessional Instructor | Earth and Environmental Sciences | talha.qadri@ubc.ca
Courses & Teaching: Credential: MSc Earth and Environment Sciences, University of Toronto | PhD Universiti Brunei Darussalam | Teaching: GEOG 106 001 | 2023 Winter Term 1
Ming Qiu | PhD Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | qiuminh2@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Watershed Hydrology; Landscape Ecology; Dynamic Hydrological Modelling
Ian Saunders | Associate Professor Emeritus | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | ian.saunders@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Climatology; glaciology; and mountain environments.
Courses & Teaching: Climatology; meteorology; cartography and remote sensing.
Marcus Savery | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | marcus.savery@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Biogeochemistry; soil methanotrophy; stable isotopes; tracing of natural greenhouse gas emission and uptake and implications on climate change; automation of gas sampling and monitoring equipment using microcontrollers
Mike Scinocca | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | mscinocc@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Spatial riparian ecosystem modelling, vegetation structure influences on stream processes, LiDAR and spectral data applications.
David Scott | Associate Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | david.scott@ubc.ca | 250.807.8755 | SCI 314
Research Interests: Hydrological effects of forest management and land use change; the effects of wildfire on hydrology and erosion; the effects of fast-growing timber plantations on stream flow (water yield and low flows); analysis of paired catchment experiments.
Courses & Teaching: Soil science; land-use hydrology; environmental assessment. Specifically: EESC 456/GEOG 466 Soil Science; EESC/GEOG 205 Introduction to Hydrology; EESC 101 Environmental Science; GEOG 316 Geography of Natural Hazards.
Ellen Simmons | PhD Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | ellen.simmons@alumni.ubc.ca
Research Interests: I am looking into developing a better understanding of the complexities around socio-ecological systems as they relate to grizzly bears / huckleberries and forest practices through the lens of Indigenous and western science approaches. The research will contribute to a collaborative research-based model between Indigenous and academic communities.
Sheena Spencer | Adjunct Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | sheena.spencer@ubc.ca
Cameron Spooner | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | cgspoon@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Sustainable water resource management; Climate change and hydrology; Integrated watershed management; Hydrological impact assessment.
Isabelle Therriault | Sessional Instructor | Earth and Environmental Sciences, Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | isabelle.therriault@ubc.ca
Courses & Teaching: Teaching: EESC 303 001 | 2023 Winter Term 1
Kyle Tollefson | PhD Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | tollefkt@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Structural geology; tectonics & microstructures; geochronology; geothermobarometry; igneous and metamorphic petrology; evolution of shear zones.
Marni Turek | Watershed Management Research Extension Facilitator, Career and Personal Education Program Coordinator | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | marni.turek@ubc.ca
Jonathan Van Elslander | MSc Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | jonnyvan@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Research aims to understand variation in bear diet across the province and associated environmental correlates. Broader research interests include habitat biology, landscape ecology, forest ecology and forest management.
Janna Wale | MSc Student, IGS | Earth and Environmental Sciences | jwale@mail.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Complex social-ecological systems; Climate resilience and climate adaptation; Indigenous research methodologies and ways of knowing.
Ian Walker | Professor Emeritus | Biology, Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | ian.walker@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Environmental change; chironomid palaeoecology; quaternary palaeoecology and paleoclimatology; dynamics of arctic and alpine tree-line ecosystems; aquatic insect ecology; and biomonitoring; use of aquatic insects (living and fossil) as indicators of environmental change.
Courses & Teaching: Quaternary palaeoecology; limnology; freshwater plants and animals; non-vascular plants.
Adam Wei | Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | adam.wei@ubc.ca | 250.807.8750 | SCI 309

Graduate student supervisor


Research Interests: Eco-hydrological processes; in-stream wood ecology and its relations with channel morphology, aquatic habitat and carbon budget; forest disturbance and watershed processes; application of GIS and remote sensing on watershed hydrology and management; surface water and groundwater integration; long-term soil productivity; and forest ecosystem modeling (FORECAST).
Courses & Teaching: Forest hydrology; watershed ecosystem processes and management. Specifically: EESC 213 Introductory Forest Science and Management; EESC 313 Management of Forested Watersheds; EESC 413 Analytical Methods in Hydrology
Robert Young | Associate Professor | Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences | robert.young@ubc.ca | 250.807.9523 | SCI 214
Research Interests: Glacial and fluvial processes; landforms and landscapes; environments of the quaternary, as determined by physical and biological systems.
Courses & Teaching: Quaternary glacial environments and geomorphology, sedimentology and stratigraphy, historical geology. Specifically: EESC/GEO 222 Geomorphology; EESC/GEOG 356 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy; EESC 431 Quaternary Glacial Environments; GEOG 317 Environments of BC
Yiduo (Harry) Zhang | PhD Student | Earth and Environmental Sciences | harry.zhang@alumni.ubc.ca
Research Interests: Work with regional stakeholders, especially Okanagan Nation, to take an agent-based modeling approach in exploring grizzly bear habitat management options and conservation strategies on traditional Okanagan territory.