Cold Regions Research Centre

10/05/2026

📣 Save the Date! The 2027 Annual CRRC Student Conference is coming to Waterloo on January 21–22, 2027! 🎉

Stay tuned for more information, including abstract submission and registration details, coming soon.

We’re looking forward to an exciting conference filled with great research, engaging discussions, and opportunities to connect with fellow students and colleagues.

Mark your calendars—we can’t wait to see you there!

10/02/2026

The Northern Student Training Program (NSTP) 2027-28 competition is now open for students planning to conduct northern fieldwork between April 1, 2027, and March 31, 2028. Please note that our internal deadline is October 30, 2026. Applicants must be student researchers and Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Postdoctoral fellows and Research Assistants are not eligible. Please consult the NSTP manual for complete eligibility requirements.

The CRRC will be holding a virtual Q&A session on October 20, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., to answer questions about the application process. More details to come.

10/01/2026

On Friday, September 25, we welcomed CRRC members to our hybrid Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Welcome Social. During the AGM, CRRC Director Dr. Homa Kheyrollah Pour highlighted CRRC’s accomplishments over the past year and introduced the Centre’s five-year strategic plan and ten-year vision. The presentation sparked an engaging discussion with attendees, led by CRRC Executive Committee members Dr. Philip Marsh, Dr. Derek Gray, and Dr. Joseph Culp. The conversation focused on CRRC’s proposed direction and how the Centre can continue to better support its faculty, students, researchers, and partners.

Following the AGM, graduate students from Laurier shared their research experiences and offered valuable advice and tips for incoming graduate students. Amber Buston-White, a PhD candidate in Geography, shared her experiences navigating graduate student funding and offered tips for surviving graduate school. Sabrina St. Hilaire and Natalie Nykamp, PhD students in Biology, discussed their experiences conducting research in the North at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS). Alexander Fogal, an MSc student in Geography, shared insights into his research and highlighted funding opportunities available to master’s students.

The AGM and Welcome Social wrapped up with a chilli lunch, giving attendees an opportunity to continue conversations, connect with colleagues, and exchange ideas about the future direction of CRRC.

09/22/2026

✨CRRC Student Research Spotlight ✨Introducing Natalie Nykamp, a PhD student in the Biological and Chemical Sciences program at Wilfrid Laurier University, supervised by Dr. Erin Leonard. Natalie is interested in understanding the impacts of copper contamination in the Canadian Arctic and its effects on Arctic fish physiology. Great work!

09/18/2026

This is a reminder that the deadline to register for the CRRC AGM & Welcome Social is Monday, September 21. The CRRC AGM & Welcome Social will take place on September 25 from 10:00 a.m. to noon in the Map Library and online, with lunch provided! This year's AGM will be an important one for the CRRC. We will introduce our new five-year Strategic Plan and our 10-year vision for the Centre. We are excited to share it with our members, hear your thoughts, and talk about where we want CRRC to be over the next 5-10 years. Following the AGM, our Welcome Social will be a great opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces, welcome new CRRC members, and hear graduate students share their research experiences. We hope to see many of you there! Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dbhER-bwbP33J37rHXCFnv-xpOFeUpZHXK6TqLfa5Tg/preview

09/15/2026

✨CRRC Member Publication Alert ✨ We're excited to share this new paper from our CRRC member. Read more here: https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-5709-2026

09/15/2026

09/08/2026

We are inviting graduate students to share their research experiences with new CRRC student members at our Welcome Social on September 25th! If you are interested in being a graudate student speaker at our event, please apply by September 15th here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OK1w4PrGA4ztLyL2957PgW3AZFXODAuW_c4BD0UN6I4/preview

09/04/2026

We’re excited to announce that the CRRC AGM & Welcome Social will take place on September 25 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Map Library (and online), with lunch provided! This year’s AGM will be an important opportunity to reflect on the CRRC’s accomplishments over the past year and, most importantly, to introduce our new five-year Strategic Plan and share our vision for where we want the CRRC to be over the next 10 years. We look forward to sharing these priorities with our members and beginning the conversation about the CRRC’s next chapter. Following the AGM, our Welcome Social will be a great opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces, welcome new CRRC members, and hear graduate students share their research experiences. Please register by September 21. We hope to see you there! Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dbhER-bwbP33J37rHXCFnv-xpOFeUpZHXK6TqLfa5Tg/preview

09/03/2026

A reminder that ArcticNet abstract submissions have been extended to tomorrow (Sept 4th)! Make sure to submit your abstracts to join us in Halifax for the largest northern and Arctic science conference in North America!