Trent University is receiving $16 million in federal funding to bring two internationally recognized researchers back to Canada to lead new programs focused on environmental and community challenges.
Dr. Don Lafreniere and Dr. Ryan Sullivan will each receive $8 million over eight years through the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs program, formerly known as the Canada Impact+ Research Chairs program.
Both researchers are returning from universities in the United States and will join Trent’s Peterborough campus.
“Securing two Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs is an extraordinary achievement and a testament to the University’s research excellence and leadership,” Trent president and vice-chancellor Dr. Cathy Bruce said.
Lafreniere, formerly a professor at Michigan Technological University, will become the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair in Community Geography.
His work uses geographic information science, geospatial technologies and historical data to study how natural, built and social environments shape communities.
At Trent, Lafreniere plans to develop a national program that trains and employs disadvantaged youth in geospatial technologies. Participants will work alongside communities on issues including sustainability, climate change, land use and community resilience.
Sullivan, who spent 15 years as a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, will become the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair in Environmental and Sustainable Chemistry.
His research focuses on understanding and removing pollutants affecting water, climate, ecosystems and human health, including persistent contaminants such as PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals.”
Sullivan will use the funding to expand advanced instrumentation and research capacity at Trent while developing new environmental technologies and methods for identifying and removing contaminants.
The appointments are also expected to create research and training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and other researchers.
The federal Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs program is part of a $1.7-billion initiative aimed at attracting international research talent to Canada.
Lafreniere and Sullivan are among the first intake of 64 research chairs being brought to Canadian institutions through the program.
