Gwenn Flowers
{{short description|Glaciologist}}
{{Infobox academic
| name =Gwenn Flowers
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| image_size = 230px
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| birth_place = USA
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| education =BA, Physics, University of Colorado
Ph.D, Earth and Ocean Sciences, 2000, University of British Columbia
| thesis_title =A multicomponent coupled model of glacier hydrology.
| thesis_year =2000
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| workplaces = Simon Fraser University
}}
Gwenn Elizabeth Flowers is a Canadian/American glaciologist. She is a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and an adjunct professor at the University of Iceland. As a Canada Research Chair from 2005–2014, she established a research program dedicated to the geophysical study of glaciers.
Early life and education
Flowers was born and raised in the United States,{{cite news |last1=Kaljur |first1=Lauren |title=Measuring the melt of Yukon's mighty glaciers |url=https://www.yukon-news.com/business/measuring-the-melt-of-yukons-mighty-glaciers/ |accessdate=September 1, 2020 |publisher=Yukon News |date=May 13, 2016}} and she credits her father and a few teachers in junior high and high school for encouraging her interests in science, math, and nature.{{cite web |title=CC5.0 Women in STEM Spotlight: Dr. Gwenn Flowers, SFU Faculty of Science |url=https://www.sfu.ca/wwest/WWEST_blog/cc5-0-women-in-stem-spotlight--sfu-faculty-of-science.html |website=sfu.ca |accessdate=September 1, 2020 |date=March 22, 2017}} She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of Colorado in 1994 and travelled to Canada to earn her PhD in Earth and Ocean Sciences from the University of British Columbia.{{cite web |title=Gwenn Flowers |url=https://www.sfu.ca/earth-sciences/people/faculty/flowers.html |website=sfu.ca |accessdate=September 1, 2020}}
Career
After four years of postdoctoral work at the University of Iceland and UBC,{{cite web |title=Gwenn Elizabeth Flowers CV |url=http://www.sfu.ca/~gflowers/media/Flowers_CV_abridged.pdf |website=sfu.ca |accessdate=September 3, 2020}} Flowers joined the faculty at Simon Fraser University (SFU) where she continued to study glaciers in western Canada.{{cite web |last1=Branda |first1=Erica |title=New chairs provide strong leadership |url=http://www.sfu.ca/archive-sfunews/sfu_news/archives/sfunews12010511.shtml |website=sfu.ca |accessdate=September 1, 2020 |date=December 1, 2005}} She was appointed a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in 2005 to study how glaciers and icecaps were affected by global warming and other climate changes. The position allowed her to travel to the Saint Elias Mountains and study the variability of glacial change in neighbouring mountain ranges with different microclimates.{{cite web |last1=Thorbes |first1=Carol |title=Flowers focuses on glaciers |url=http://www.sfu.ca/archive-sfunews/sfu_news/archives/sfunews02100502.shtml |website=sfu.ca |accessdate=September 1, 2020 |date=February 10, 2005}} As a result of her research, Flowers received one of three 2006 Outstanding Young Scientist award from the European Geosciences Union.{{cite web |title=Gwenn Elisabeth Flowers |url=https://www.egu.eu/awards-medals/arne-richter/2006/gwenn-elisabeth-flowers/ |website=egu.eu |accessdate=September 1, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Boxall |first1=Michael |title=Snowflakes, ice and glaciers |url=http://www.sfu.ca/archive-sfunews/print/sfu_news/archives/sfunews05040604.htm |website=sfu.ca |accessdate=September 1, 2020 |date=May 4, 2006}} She studied the Saint Elias Mountains for five years with a team of four to six researchers, taking turns staying at the Traditional Territory of the Kluane First Nation, in the co-managed Kluane National Park and Reserve for two to four weeks.{{cite web |last1=Martel |first1=Lynn |title=Glaciologist's presentation to highlight Yukon research |url=http://www.usask.ca/ip3/download/Rocky%20Mountain%20Outlook%2025%20Feb%202010%20-%20Glaciologist%20presentation%20to%20highlight%20Yukon%20research.pdf |website=usask.ca |accessdate=September 1, 2020 |date=February 24, 2010}} In 2010, Flowers' Canada Research Chair was renewed for another five year term{{cite web |title=Three Canada Research Chairs renewed |url=http://www.sfu.ca/archive-sfunews/news/three-canada-research-chairs-renewed.shtml |website=sfu.ca |accessdate=September 1, 2020 |date=April 8, 2010}} and she was recruited by Dr. Gifford Miller to conduct research on the melting of the Barnes Ice Cap.{{cite web |title=University of Colorado at Boulder: Last remnant of North American ice sheet on track to vanish |url=https://www.marketscreener.com/news/University-of-Colorado-at-Boulder-Last-remnant-of-North-American-ice-sheet-on-track-to-vanish--24073832/ |website=marketscreener.com |accessdate=September 1, 2020 |date=March 20, 2017}}
In 2018, she was appointed Chair of the International Glaciological Society's Publications Committee{{cite web |title=News Bulletin of the International Glaciological Society |url=https://www.igsoc.org/ice/2018/178/ice178_web.pdf |website=igsoc.org |accessdate=September 1, 2020 |page=16 |date=2018}} while continuing her research in southwest Yukon. Her research team began mapping the Kaskawulsh Glacier and its reaction towards warming climate and diminishing snow cover. Her research team used a radar box to send signals into the glacier's core to find ice within it.{{cite web |last1=Ormiston |first1=Susan |title=Dry lakes and dust storms: Dramatic changes to Yukon glaciers are warning for planet, researchers say |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/national-yukon-glaciers-climate-change-kaskawulsh-1.4873035 |website=cbc.ca |accessdate=September 1, 2020 |date=October 28, 2018}}
References
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External links
- {{Google Scholar id | id= QRUSH7gAAAAJ}}
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Category:American glaciologists
Category:Academic staff of Simon Fraser University
Category:University of Colorado alumni
Category:University of British Columbia alumni
Category:Canada Research Chairs