Employment & Opportunities

2-Year Postdoctoral Fellowship - Queen's University

The Department of Civil Engineering, Queen’s University at Kingston, invites applications for a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship (PDF) position in Environmental Fluid Mechanics. The PDF will work on the numerical modelling component of a large interdisciplinary multi-agency project.

We will combine molecular genetics (Chris Wilson/Yingming Zhao, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry), laboratory experiments (Josef Ackerman, University of Guelph) and numerical simulations (Leon Boegman, Queen’s University; Dan Shan, Royal Military College) to discriminate larval origins, identify spawning grounds, and estimate larval production for two commercial fishery species (i.e., walleye and lake whitefish) in Lake Erie.

Qualified candidates should have a doctoral degree in a relevant subject (Engineering, Physics/Oceanography, Mathematics, Physical Sciences), working knowledge of Reynolds-averaged lake/ocean models and familiarity with Matlab. Salary to be commensurate with experience. The application should include:

• a brief statement of research interests and experience (~250 words)
• a curriculum vitae including a list of publications
• names and contact information for two academic referees.

The deadline for applications is 9 April 2021. It is anticipated the starting date for the PDF will be in late 2021. Please send your application via email to:

Leon Boegman
Associate Professor & Graduate Coordinator
Department of Civil Engineering - Queen’s University at Kingston, ON Canada
- https://civil.queensu.ca/Research/Hydrotechnical/Leon-Boegman/

News & Events

WW Hutchinson Virtual Lecture Tour

Title: The Cretaceous Nanaimo Group, B.C.: A Complicated Depositional History on an Active Margin

Date & Time: Thursday, March 11th at 2:00pm

Lecturer: Dr. Shahin Dashtgard (SFU)

Location: Zoom Room!

Abstract:

The Nanaimo Group consists of Cretaceous sedimentary strata that infills the Georgia Basin in southwest British Columbia. Exploitation of Nanaimo Group coal deposits drove European colonization of Vancouver Island, and made the region a major port for the global shipping trade in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Historically, the Nanaimo Group was interpreted using a lithostratigraphic framework, which has been revised multiple times over the past 120 years. A robust sequence stratigraphic framework for the lower Nanaimo Group was only recently developed, and reveals a complicated depositional history that existed during the early stages of basin development. In this talk, we explore the newly developed sequence stratigraphic framework and the data used in its development (i.e., facies analysis, detrital zircon, biostratigraphy). Like many forearc basins globally, development and infilling of the Georgia Basin was controlled, in part, by variable subsidence rates, steep topography, and both regional and localized active faulting related to the position of this basin along an active margin.

The Nanaimo Group also resides at the heart of the controversial Baja BC hypothesis, which purports that Vancouver Island was situated at a paleo-latitude equivalent to northern Mexico during the Late Cretaceous. The new sequence stratigraphic framework provides the means to sample strata chronologically, and thus better constrain the timing of Vancouver Island movement relative to North America. This research is ongoing.

MSc Thesis Defense: Vanessa Zahner

Title: Strategies for coexisting: Juvenile pink and chum diets and interactions in a challenging section of coastal migration

Date & Time: Monday, March 15th at 12:00pm

Place: Zoom

MSc Thesis Defense: Maximilian Goetz

Title: Regional Groundwater Conditions in Northeast BC: Results from a Monitoring Well Network in an Area of Historical and Ongoing Unconventional Natural Gas Development

Date & Time: Monday, March 15th at 3:00pm

Place: Zoom

Energy Transitions - How do we power humanity in the future?

Date & Time: Monday, March 15th at 6:45pm

Speaker: Dr. Brad Hayes, Outreach Director at Canadian Society for Unconventional Resources

Place: Zoom Room!

Abstract:

Modern humanity needs energy to survive. Energy networks that support us today are complex, having been built up over decades, and they are foundational to key global challenges such as sustainable development, energy poverty, and climate change. In the coming decades, humanity will transition to more diverse energy sources to support prosperity and address these challenges.

How do we move forward in the Energy Transition? We will examine two competing “Realities” used by people to support their viewpoints. Reality 1 sees measured change largely governed by market forces, while Reality 2 demands urgent change driven by climate crisis concerns. Many people in developed countries identify strongly with one of these Realities, but it’s important to remember that Energy Transition is a global issue, and motivations for change are very different in different parts of the world.

And it’s equally important to realize that aspirations or goals for change need to be supported by pathways to realize that change, showing how we can conceptualize, test, plan, finance, and build new energy sources.

Whatever one’s viewpoint, the pace of Energy Transition will be driven by our ability to create diverse alternative energy sources that are reliable and affordable. Today we’ll have a look at some of the alternatives, highlighting both limitations and the exciting potential of new ideas.

Energy supply controls humanity’s future, and needs to be addressed with clear, critical, balanced thinking and action.