Office of Research and Innovation

Research Chairs

UNBC is very proud to be a partner in the Canada Research Chairs Program, intended to ensure that Canadian research and development is globally competitive. It is the objective of the federal government to help universities become centres of leading-edge research and research training. To assist in accomplishing these aims, research professorships—Canada Research Chairs—have been established in universities across the country. The positions enable universities such as UNBC to create outstanding opportunities to attract elite researchers. The British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund and the Canada Foundation for Innovation have also contributed to the success of the program at UNBC, by providing funds for the purchase of equipment critical to the research goals of the institution’s Canada Research Chairs. An enhanced research and development culture in Canada will contribute to improved international competitiveness in the knowledge-based economy, and ultimately to an improved standard of living for Canadians.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at UNBC

Public Accountability and Transparency Requirements

UNBC is also honoured to host BC Leadership Chairs, as well as a number of Forest Renewal BC Endowed Chairs and the Ian McTaggart Cowan Muskwa-Kechika Research Professor. The holders of these research chairs contribute to UNBC's success as a research-intensive university and enhance our ability to carry out locally inspired and internationally significant research in our strategic research areas.

BC Leadership Chairs

Henry Harder
Dr. Donald B. Rix BC Leadership Chair for Aboriginal Environmental Health

Thomas Tannert
BC Leadership Chair In Tall Wood and Hybrid Structures Engineering

Endowed Chairs

Phil Owens
FRBC / Endowed Research Chair In Landscape Ecology

Ellen Petticrew
FRBC / Endowed Research Chair In Landscape Ecology

Ché Elkin
FRBC / Slocan Mixedwood Ecology Chair

Oscar Venter
FRBC / West Fraser Growth and Yield Chair

Heather Bryan
Ian McTaggart Cowan Muskwa-Kechika Research Professor

Knowledge Mobilization Chair

Martha MacLeod
Northern Health - UNBC Knowledge Mobilization Research Chair

Industrial Research Chair

Déry, Dr. Stephen
BSc, MSc, PhD

Professor, Environmental Science
NSERC/RioTinto Industrial Research Chair in Climate Change
and Water Security

Phone: 250-960-5193
Email: stephen.dery@unbc.ca
Website: http://web.unbc.ca/~sdery/

Dr. Déry’s research focuses on cold regions hydrometeorology using a combination of field and satellite observations, various hydroclimatic datasets, and computer modelling. The long-term goal of the NSERC/Rio Tinto Senior Industrial Research Chair in Climate Change and Water Security is to better monitor and assess recent changes in weather and precipitation patterns affecting the Nechako Watershed, to establish their impacts on changing seasonal snowpack evolution and on the vast network of streams and rivers of the Nechako Watershed. More information can be found here.

Canada Research Chairs

de Leeuw, Dr. Sarah
BFA (University of Victoria), MA (UNBC), PhD (Geography, Queen's University at Kingston, 2007) Professor, Northern Medical Program and Geography Canada Research Chair in Humanities and Health Inequities Adjunct Professor, Geography
Phone:
250-960-5993

Email:
sarah.deleeuw@unbc.ca

Website:
http://healtharts.ca/

An award winning researcher and creative writer whose work focuses broadly on marginalized peoples and geographies, Sarah de Leeuw grew up and has spent most of her life in Northern British Columbia, including Haida Gwaii and Terrace. She is the Research Director of the Health Arts Research Centre and teaches in the areas of Indigenous peoples well-being and health humanities.
Gray, Dr. Sarah
Postdoctoral Fellowship University of British Columbia, Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Cambridge, PhD University Victoria, BSc University of Victoria Associate Professor, Northern Medical Program Canada Research Chair in Integrative Physiology of Diabetes
Phone:
250-960-5442

Email:
sarah.gray@unbc.ca

Dr. Gray joined the Northern Medical Program in 2007 and became a Canada Research Chair in the Integrative Physiology of Diabetes and Obesity in 2013. She completed a PhD in endocrine physiology at the University of Victoria, followed by postdoctoral training in at the University of Cambridge, and the University of British Columbia. She is a life science researcher examining the biological mechanisms of metabolism as it relates to obesity and type 2 diabetes and teaches endocrine physiology in the UBC undergraduate medical program. Dr.
Halseth, Dr. Greg
BA (University of British Columbia), MA, PhD (Queen's University at Kingston, 1993) Professor, Geography Canada Research Chair in Rural and Small Town Studies Co-Director, UNBC Community Development Institute
Phone:
250-960-5826

Email:
greg.halseth@unbc.ca

Fax:
250-960-6533

Website:
https://www2.unbc.ca/greg-halseth

Greg Halseth is a Professor in the Geography Program at the University of Northern British Columbia, where he is also the Canada Research Chair in Rural and Small Town Studies, and the founder and Co-Director of the UNBC Community Development Institute. His research examines regional development processes, rural and small town community development, and community strategies for coping with social and economic change.
Menounos, Dr. Brian
BA, MA (University of Colorado), PhD (University of British Columbia, 2002) Professor, Geography Canada Research Chair in Glacier Change
Phone:
250-960-6266

Email:
brian.menounos@unbc.ca

Website:
http://couplet.unbc.ca

Brian is a professor of the Geography Program at the University of Northern British Columbia and a Canada Research Chair in Glacier Change. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in 2003.
Pearce, Dr. Tristan
PhD University of Guelph; MA University of Guelph; BA University of Northern British Columbia Associate Professor, Global and International Studies Canada Research Chair in Cumulative Impacts of Environmental Change Adjunct Professor, Geography
Phone:
250-960-5766

Email:
tristan.pearce@unbc.ca

Website:
http://www.envchange.com

Tristan Pearce is an Associate Professor in the Global and International Studies Program at the University of Northern British Columbia, where he is also the Canada Research Chair in the Cumulative Impacts of Environmental Change. His research examines the cumulative impacts of environmental change for communities, using this understanding to identify and evaluate pathways for adaptation with a focus on the Arctic, Pacific Islands Region and BC.
Tannert, Dr. Thomas
PhD, PEng Professor
Phone:
250-960-6710

Email:
thomas.tannert@unbc.ca

Website:
http://blogs.unbc.ca/thomastannert

Thomas Tannert joined the University of Northern British Columbia in 2016 as BC Leadership Chair in Tall Wood and Hybrid Structures Engineering. Thomas received his PhD from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, a Master’s degree in Wood Science and Technology from the University of Bio-Bio in Chile, and a Civil Engineering degree from the Bauhaus-University Weimar in Germany. Before coming to UNBC, he worked in multi-disciplinary teams in Germany, Chile, and Switzerland and was Associate Chair in Wood Building Design and Construction at UBC.