Oliver LoveOliver Love was named Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology during an announcement in Calgary yesterday.

Biologist appointed to Canada Research Chair position

An important new appointment for a biology researcher will help him connect with colleagues from around campus and around the world to tackle some of the most pressing environmental problems in the Great Lakes and the Canadian Arctic.

Oliver Love, an assistant professor in Biological Sciences was named a Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology yesterday. The position brings $500,000 in research funding to the university over the next five years.

“This is a way to bring people together and it’s an important accolade for the university,” said Dr. Love. “It shows that we’re doing high level research that’s important for Canada and the rest of the world. Having that “CRC” next to your name really means something special. It brings a great deal of credibility to the university.”

The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 to attract some of the world’s most promising minds. Chairholders aim to achieve research excellence in engineering and natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences. They improve our depth of knowledge, strengthen Canada's international competitiveness, and train the next generation of highly skilled people through student supervision, teaching, and the coordination of other researchers' work.

Most of Love’s work is focused on birds and how environmental stress from climate change affects their physiology.

“Physiology is the great interpreter of how we are influenced by the environment,” said Love, who joined the university in 2009 after completing his PhD in 2007 at Simon Fraser University, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at the Université du Québec à Rimouski.

Love and his team of graduate students monitor stress hormones in a variety of Arctic birds as an indication of how they adapt to changing conditions like receding ice. He plans to spread his wings and apply his work in Great Lakes ecosystems, through working with geneticists and ecologists – both here on campus and from around the world – to better understand the effects of everything from human disturbances, invasive species and eutrophication on those environments.

“We do fundamental science, but we can use that information to effectively solve applied problems,” he said. “Working collaboratively is the only way to get a truly holistic picture of these complex systems and how to address these problems.”

Minister of State (Science and Technology) Greg Rickford announced almost $109 million in funding for all of the new Canada Research Chairs at the University of Calgary yesterday. Love’s appointment brings to 14 the number of Canada Research Chairs at the University of Windsor.

Narayan Kar, an associate professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Canada Research Chair in Electrified Transportation Systems, had his position renewed for another five years, bringing in an additional $500,000. Most of his work is focused on maximizing the electrical portion of hybrid-electric vehicles.

“We’re extremely proud of these appointments and all of our Canada Research Chairs,” said Michael Siu, VP Research. “Together they are building our research capacity at the University of Windsor and contributing to a body of knowledge that will ultimately make the world a much better place.”

Read the federal government’s announcement.