Graduate Program in Geography Biannual Lecture

The Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change and the York University Geography Alumni Network (YUGAN) invite you to join us for our Geography Graduate Program Annual Lecture.

Event Details
Date: Thursday, Nov. 20
Time: 3-5 p.m., Reception to follow
Location: Room 140, Health, Nursing and Environmental Studies (H.N.E.S.) Building

Guest Speaker: William L. Quinton, Professor, Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University Director, Scotty Creek Research Station

Title: The Dehcho Collaborative on Permafrost: Working with Communities to Manage Permafrost Thaw

William (Bill) Quinton is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada. Quinton has studied in the Canadian Arctic since 1987, and in the Mackenzie River valley region since 1991. He established the Scotty Creek Research Station in 1999 and since then has led several major research studies in the southern NWT focused on the impacts of permafrost thaw on hydrological processes.

As part of these studies, Quinton has drawn to Scotty Creek, a world-class interdisciplinary research team to address complex scientific questions on how climate warming affects northern systems. Quinton served as the Canada Research Chair (CRC, Tier 2) in Cold Regions Hydrology for the period 2005-2015, and while in that position, he envisioned and proposed the development of the Laurier-GNWT Partnership Agreement, the Laurier Institute for Water Science, and other key initiatives that helped Wilfrid Laurier University emerge as a leader in cold regions research and education.

He also raised significant resources in support of these initiatives. Since 2015, he has served as the Director of the Cold Regions Research Centre, President of the Canadian Geophysical Union-Hydrology Section, National Representative to the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, Chief Delegate to the Northern Research Basins Working Group, and other positions of leadership. Close collaborations with Indigenous communities is central to Quinton’s work.