On Earth

Brett Gilley has been teaching geoscience in the Vancouver area for almost 20 years. He has worked at several institutions in the Metro Vancouver area and was part of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative for 7 years before becoming a Professor of Teaching in Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. His research focuses on improving Geoscience education and making Geoscience more accessible fo...

Roger Beckie, P.Eng. FEC, is a professor and geological engineer in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He holds a B.A.Sc. degree in Geological Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and an M.A. and PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Princeton University. At UBC he was a Director of the Geological Engineerin...

Colin Rowell is a PhD Candidate at the University of British Columbia working with Prof. Mark Jellinek, researching explosive volcanic eruptions and their interaction with the Earth's atmosphere, ice sheets, and climate system. In particular, he studies how conditions at the eruption source govern where and how ash and climate-altering gases are delivered into the atmosphere. Outside of research,...

Sophie is a MSc student in geology whose current research broadly focuses on volcanoes that erupt under ice, and more specifically examines the formation of the alteration product palagonite. She did her undergraduate studies at Middlebury College in Vermont, where she conducted research on cinder cone volcanism in the Cascades. She is interested in the use of volcanic records in paleoclimate reco...

Under the supervision of Dr. Dominique Weis, I am exploring the impacts of environmental pollution using honey bees as bioindicators. Trace element and isotopic fingerprints of honey samples (and other bee products) from the greater Vancouver area can serve as a proxy for chemical snapshots of ~2 km-diameter regions (the range of a typical honey bee). Thus, we can assess small-scale variations in...

Dominique Weis is a leader in the innovative use of trace elements and isotope geochemistry, and is widely respected “for the elegance, precision and impact of her geochemical studies of the Earth from large igneous provinces to the environment." Specifically, her research aims to (1) improve our understanding of planetary evolution and the Earth’s environment, (2) model the geochemical and isotop...

Katherine Raymond works as a research scientist with Professor Uli Mayer in EOAS. Using the reactive transport modeling code MIN3P, she builds conceptual models using high performance computing to look at different environmental solutions related to the mining industry.

Sara Harris is a Professor of Teaching in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of British Columbia. She typically teaches climate science, environmental science, and oceanography, which she will continue after she finishes serving in the Faculty of Science Dean's Office as Associate Dean Academic.

Anthony Di Stefano is a PhD student in the Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Anthony is an atmospheric scientist whose work aims to improve the representation of clouds and precipitation in weather forecast models. His goal is to produce higher-accuracy precipitation forecasts in British Columbia. In the new normal brought on by the COVID-19 p...

Daniel Gowryluk is the Education Outreach Coordinator and Assistant Curator at the Pacific Museum of Earth. Daniel joined the PME team in 2018 following a successful career path through several other science museums—from Manitoba to British Columbia. He has a passion for inspiring curiosity and wonder in all museum visitors and has fundamentally reshaped the museum’s outreach voice through his whi...

Mitch D’Arcy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Mitch joined the faculty at UBC in March 2020, making him one of the newest faculty members. He is a geomorphologist who studies how climate change influences surface processes on Earth. Originally from London in the U.K., Mitch has been in Germany for the past yea...

Stuart Sutherland is a micro-paleontologist and Professor of teaching in the Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Originally from the U.K., Stuart has been in Vancouver since 2000 when he joined the faculty at UBC. He is an award-winning educator and currently serves as a member of the Pacific Museum of Earth advisory committee.

Tara started in marine biology, but has since moved into studying how the non-living aspects of the ocean affect its ecosystems and the wider planet. This has given her an appreciation for the interconnected nature of Earth’s systems. Her research focussed on paleo-oceanography – the study of ancient oceans. She teaches full time at the University of British Columbia, and is an advocate of environ...

Philippe is currently the head of the Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences. He is an avid promoter of his students’ research, as well as incubating a curiosity of the ocean in the next generation. His research takes him as far away as the subarctic Pacific, and as nearby as Saanich Inlet. He studies plankton, seasonal chemical variations in the ocean, and atmosphere-altering bacteria.

Brian is a biological/ ecosystem oceanographer. His research focuses on the interactions between the different factors in the aquatic environment, and how the affect each other. He has a strong focus on the fundamental role phytoplankton plays in aquatic ecosystems. While his research has taken him to oceans around the world, he’s currently concentrating on B.C.’s coastal aquatic environments. Bri...

Lisa is an independent palaeontologist who specializes in footprints & early bird evolution. She’s made some spectacular discoveries in B.C., and around the world. While footprints may not sound like the most exciting of fossils, Lisa is an expert in explaining why they’re some of the most fascinating fossils out there!

Marianne is co-owner of Gopher Productions, an entertainment production company. She has an active piano teaching practice that has thrived for more than 20 years. Among other credits, Marianne has produced a short film, two music recordings, and written and performed music for film. In 2015, Marianne developed a passion for palaeontology while digging for fossils in Dinosaur Provincial Park in Al...

Laura is a PhD student at SFU who is using mammoth remains to track glaciation in B.C. She’s experimenting with carbon dating those remains to determine when parts of the province were under ice. Recently, she even tested some specimens in the PME’s collection! Laura straddles the line between archaeology and palaeontology, and as a result, has to be very nimble in her research.