Environmental Scientist of the Year

Prof. Miriam Diamond (BSc 1976 Innis, PhD 1990) of the department of geography was named Environmental Scientist of the Year by Canadian Geographic magazine in June. Diamond’s Environmental Chemistry Research Group at U of T brings together graduate students of geography and chemical engineering to investigate environmental contaminants in air, water and soil. With Diamond’s research focus on urban areas, the lab’s findings are important to understanding how humans can protect themselves and their environment from toxins.

Professor Thomas Homer-Dixon’s book The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization won the $20,000 National Business Book Award in May. Homer-Dixon’s book diagnoses the social, environmental and economic stresses that are threatening societies, and suggests action that can limit our risk of collapse and help rejuvenate global civilization. Homer-Dixon is director of U of T’s Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and a Governor General’s Literary Award winner for non-fiction.

The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation has awarded two U of T doctoral students $150,000 each to support their research. Myles Leslie, a PhD student in criminology, is studying how coroners and investigators determine which deaths require investigation, public inquest or remedial legislation, and the risks surrounding those decisions. Kate Parizeau, a PhD student in geography, is investigating the environmental and health risks facing waste-collection workers in Buenos Aires during such tasks as curbside waste-gathering and recycling. Fifteen Trudeau Scholar prizes were awarded this year; they are Canada’s largest doctoral scholarships in the social sciences and humanities.