Grant is embarking on his PhD at the University of Victoria, and will be co-supervised by Dr. Trevor Lantz of the Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab, and Dr. Robert Fraser of the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, alongside collaboration with the NWT Geological Survey. Grant’s research will increase the accuracy and capability of semi-automated detection of permafrost thaw disturbances using multispectral satellite imagery and aims to use these mapping techniques to determine the biophysical parameters that contribute to terrain sensitivity in the Western Arctic.
Stemming from a background in physics and a passion for the natural world, he completed a Master in Climate Physics from the University of Utrecht with a research emphasis on the detection and identification of organics and nanoplastic pollution in the cryosphere. As an accomplished climber and always eager to work with his hands, Grant has conducted his own field campaigns in the French and Austrian Alps, and has worked as a laboratory assistant for both the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht. Now at the University of Victoria, he looks forward to continuing field work and pushing the boundaries of scientific computing for climate research.