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The Office of Research supports the university community in its mission to "advance learning through the creative interaction of teaching and research of the highest quality." Responsible for achievement of Trent’s research goals and objectives, the Office of Research works in cooperation with other departments to implement the University’s strategic research plan. The Office of Research is responsible for the coordination and promotion of research and scholarship within the University.
In particular, the Office of Research works with local, regional, national and international members of the research community to promote and steward: excellence in research; a diversity of research; an emphasis on interdisciplinary research; responsible for provision of resources to researchers; the involvement of students in research, and training of highly qualified personnel; open accountable research practices.
Mailing Address
Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8
Office Location
Suite 344, Gzowski College at Symons, 2151 East Bank Drive
Telephone: (705) 748-1011 ext. 7050 E-mail: research@trentu.ca
Fax: (705) 748-1587 Web: www.trentu.ca/research
Associate Vice-President Research
J. D. A. Parker, B.A. (Simon Fraser), M.A., Ph.D. (York)
Co-ordinator, Office of Research
C. J. Smith, B.A. (Trent), M.Ed. (Toronto)
Research Project Officer (Pre Award)
C. Rigby, B.Sc., M.B.A. (Dalhousie)
Administrative Assistant
K. Mauro
RESEARCH CENTRES
Trent University has a number of interdisciplinary Research Centres which represent clusters of faculty and graduate students with shared research interests. These Centres foster academic discussions, support visiting speakers’ series and workshops, and conduct collaborative research. In some cases, they are heavily involved in graduate student training, from the selection of graduate students into programs to the delivery of graduate courses and evaluation of theses. In other cases, they are not directly affiliated with particular graduate programs, although graduate students are involved in research within them. Overall, the Centres provide an exciting academic environment for graduate students and faculty at Trent. For further information on Research Centres check Research Centres, Groups and Institutes.
Canadian Environmental Modelling Centre
Contact: D. Mackay, Environmental & Resource Science/Studies, E-mail: cemc@trentu.ca
The mission of the Canadian Environmental Modelling Centre (CEMC) is to contribute to improved management of chemicals in our environment, by acquiring and analysing appropriate data and developing, validating and disseminating mass balance models which describe the fate of chemicals in the environment. The objective of the CEMC is to understand and predict quantitatively the pathways of contaminant transport and the resulting exposure. When we can establish a quantitative link between sources, exposure and risk of effects, we are in a strong position to control sources to acceptably low levels, avoiding the problems of unacceptable contamination from excessive sources on the one hand, and uneconomic, unnecessary regulations on the other. Emphasis at the CEMC is placed on training undergraduate and graduate students in environmental science, on co-operation with the other faculty at Trent, and on providing research services relevant to current Canadian and International needs. The CEMC is a part of the larger, multi-university Canadian Environmental Modelling Network (CEMN) and actively collaborates with other researchers both nationally and internationally.
Centre for Health Studies
Contact: D. Kennett, Psychology, E-mail: DKennett@trentu.ca
The objectives of the Centre for Health Studies are to provide a focus for the different types of research conducted at Trent on various aspects of health, to assist researchers in obtaining research funding, to foster greater communication among health researchers within and outside the university, to serve as a link between Trent and other health institutions, to foster better communication to the general public of basic health research and its real-world applications, and to facilitate the training of students (both graduate and undergraduate) for careers and research in health-related fields. The Centre sponsors regular research colloquia and an annual lecture (or series) open to faculty and students, as well to health-care workers and others in the Peterborough community; occasional conferences, on different health-related themes (e.g., promoting healthy aging; issues in Aboriginal health-care delivery; psychological wellness and academic success); and workshops that support the continuing educational needs of health-care professionals.
Centre for the Study of Theory, Culture & Politics
Contact: V. Hollinger, Cultural Studies, E-mail: vhollinger@trentu.ca
The Centre for the Study of Theory, Culture & Politics encourages research and teaching guided by critical/theoretical orientations that have emerged from contemporary developments in the humanities and social sciences. These orientations test the limits of conventional disciplines and contribute to the study of the complex network of relations that links knowledge, culture and politics. The Centre is concerned with fostering substantive projects of research as well as fundamental reflection on conceptual and methodological issues. The Centre aims to integrate teaching and research, and to encourage the work of both emerging and established scholars. It promotes scholarly research and interchange through conferences, symposia, and speakers series as well as through specific research projects and publications. An M.A. program is an important activity of the Centre. The Centre is a member of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes. www.chcinetwork.org.
Frost Centre for Canadian Studies & Native Studies
Contact: J. Struthers, History, Canadian Studies, E-mail: jstruthers@trentu.ca
Established in 1982, the Frost Centre is named in honour of Leslie Frost, the first Chancellor of Trent University. The Centre encourages interdisciplinary research in Canadian Studies & Native Studies. It is administered by a Director, an Administrative Assistant and a Board composed of graduate students and faculty. The Board meets regularly to decide matters of policy and to monitor research initiatives. The Centre administers two graduate programs: the M.A. in Canadian Studies & Native Studies (p. 354), and the Ph.D. in Canadian Studies jointly administered by the Frost Centre and the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University (p. 359). The Frost Centre works closely with Trent’s established departments in the Humanities and Social Sciences as well as its interdisciplinary programs.
James McLean Oliver Ecological Centre
Contact: J. Parker, Associate Vice President, Research, E-mail: jparker@trentu.ca
The James McLean Oliver Ecological Centre, is located on Pigeon Lake, 45 minutes north of Trent’s main campus. The 270-acre waterfront property serves as an Ecological Field Station and is being established as a national focus for long-term ecological and environmental research, in collaboration with other universities, government agencies, and local groups. A major focus is on climate change, on responses of ecosystems to pollutant stress and on aspects of biodiversity. The property contains a number of terrestrial and aquatic habitats with a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Accommodation is available on site for researchers and for undergraduate classes. The Centre is being developed carefully with areas set aside for long-term research over periods of five, 10, 25, and 50 years. This presents a unique research opportunity as researchers often have difficulties finding sites for even three- to five-year studies.
Trent Centre for Materials Research
Contact: A. J. Vreugdenhil, Chemistry, E-mail: avreugdenhil@trentu.ca
The Trent Centre for Materials Research fosters research at Trent leading to an improved understanding of the properties of materials of potential benefit to industry, and the training of highly qualified personnel in these areas. To do this, the Centre brings together Trent faculty with research interests in applied materials research, currently in the departments of Chemistry and Physics & Astronomy. Its goals are to improve communications and cross-fertilization of research among the faculty and their graduate students, develop research collaborations, and expose all of the participants to a broad spectrum of research, both experimental and theoretical, in the materials area. The Centre holds research seminars as part of, and in addition to, the weekly Physics/Chemistry seminar series. For more information, see www.trentu.ca/TIMR
Trent International Political Economy Centre
Contact: M. Neufeld, Politics, Director, E-mail: mneufeld@trentu.ca; A. Pickel, Politics, Deputy Director, E-mail: apickel@trentu.ca
The Trent International Political Economy Centre aims to strengthen Trent University’s research capacity in the area of international political economy (IPE). We are particularly interested in critical approaches to the study of global order focussing on power relations produced by economic globalization. Critical perspectives include a questioning of assumptions underlying mainstream perspectives in both academia and the larger political debate. TIPEC activities will include the sponsoring of an annual workshop, various academic talks, visiting scholars, a working paper series, and other publications. We are committed to a cross-disciplinary approach to the analysis of global political economy, inviting participation from various disciplines.
Trent University Archaeological Research Centre
Contact: J. Conolly, Anthropology, E-mail: jconolly@trentu.ca
Housed in a restored 19th-century historic log cabin located on the east bank of the Symons campus, the Trent University Archaeological Research Centre (TUARC) is dedicated to the interdisciplinary investigation and understanding of past cultures through studies of material culture, analysis of field, laboratory, and archival data, and the education of students and interested community members by publications and lectures. TUARC is a unique research centre which manages academic and research facilities for professional archaeologists, researchers, graduate students, and volunteers. It sponsors conferences, workshops and courses on archaeology. Research facilities include specialized laboratories for Human osteology, Mesoamerican archaeology, Ontario archaeology, Paleo-DNA studies, South American archaeology, and Zooarchaeology and a computer laboratory dedicated to the analysis of archeological data. In addition, a Pre-Columbian Aboriginal Art Resource Room and library is maintained. TUARC assists with the publication of the findings of associated scholars, and organizes public lectures on recent archaeological discoveries and advances. TUARC also works closely with Trent’s M.A. program in Anthropology providing a forum for graduate students and professional archeologists to meet and discuss current research in the discipline.
Worsfold Water Quality Centre
Contact: P. Dillon, Chemistry/ Environmental Research Studies, E-mail: pdillon@trentu.ca
The mission of the Trent University Water Quality Centre is to develop new analytical approaches to emerging issues in water protection and analysis. The Centre develops and refines techniques to the point where they can be used by end users, including industries, government agencies and analytical service providers. The Centre is not a routine analytical laboratory; rather it provides new tools to partners and clients to allow them to deal with emerging issues in a timely and cost-effective fashion. In order to accomplish this, the Centre seeks to form strategic partnerships with individuals and groups from many industrial, governmental and NGO sectors.
Watershed Biogeochemistry Centre
Contact: P. Dillon, Environmental & Resource Science/Studies, E-mail: pdillon@trentu.ca
The research program in Watershed Biogeochemistry was designed to evaluate the role of anthropogenically-induced stresses including sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) emissions and deposition, climate change, trace metal contaminant inputs and excessive nutrient inputs on the chemistry and biology of ecosystems. The Centre focusses on lakes and their catchments located in the Muskoka-Haliburton region of south-central Ontario. One of the projects at the Centre is intended to improve our understanding of how biogeochemical processes in lakes’ watersheds control their rate of degradation when the deposition of strong acids increases and how they recover when acid deposition rates decline. Research considers the effects of specific climate perturbations such as summer droughts on the chemical and biological response of aquatic ecosystems, and attempts to differentiate between those effects mediated by changes in acid deposition and those brought about by a varying climate.
Watershed Science Centre
Contact: C. Metcalfe, Biology, E-mail: cmetcalfe@trentu.ca
The Watershed Science Centre is a partnership of Trent University, Fleming College, and the Ministry of Natural Resources. Its goal is to further the understanding of physical and ecological processes governing watershed function and to develop and transfer this knowledge, associated methods, and tools to support water management decision making. The Centre fosters multi-disciplinary collaboration using the significant research expertise in watershed ecosystem science of Trent University, extensive resource management and GIS (Geographical Information Systems) expertise of Sir Sandford Fleming College, and the applied research, management and policy expertise of the Ministry of Natural Resources. Complementing this partnership is collaboration with other government agencies, academic institutions, non-government organizations, and the private sector. The Centre efficiently transfers watershed science knowledge and methods to water management practitioners through publications, courses, workshops, and conferences.
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