Ian Power

Associate Professor, B.Sc. and Ph.D. (Western University), P.Geo. (ON)

Welcome to PowerGeolab!  I'm an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Geoscience as well as a Professional Geoscientist in Ontario (P.Geo.).  My interdisciplinary approach to science crosses conventional research boundaries to discover, understand, and harness processes that have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while training a new generation of scientists to tackle these pressing environmental issues. My team is researching a range of geochemical, mineralogical, and geobiological processes for carbon dioxide removal through CO2 mineralization and enhanced weathering. We carry out laboratory experiments, mineralogical and geochemical analyses, and fieldwork to understand the drivers and limitations of geologic processes that sequester CO2.

Email, Instagram: @ianmalcolmpower, LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Google Scholar

Minger Guo

Postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D. (Western University)

I am passionate about using geochemical tools to study natural processes in terrestrial systems via the interaction of atmosphere-soils-waters-plants, and I am curious about how natural processes can mitigate climate changes by humans. My current research focus is on using the enhanced weathering to irreversibly and quantitatively remove CO2 from the atmosphere while deacidifying and supplying nutrients in forest. I received my Ph.D. from Western University, where I focused on using triple oxygen isotopic composition of grass phytoliths to reconstruct relative humidity.

Twitter and Linkedin

Shaheen Akhtar

Postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D. (National Institute of Technology Rourkela)

I am curious about integrating different geochemical techniques to gain insights into the processes that shape our planet and deal with real-world issues that have emerged from the influence of anthropogenic activities as well as natural cycles. During my PhD (National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India), I worked on understanding the role of different environmental variables in influencing air-water CO2 fluxes, nutrient and metal behavior in a tropical monsoonal estuary. Currently, at the PowerGeolab, I will be exploring different strategies to potentially accelerate CO2 sequestration using mine wastes and mineral looping through controlled laboratory techniques and field trials.

Email, ResearchGate, Google Scholar

Heather Klyn-Hesselink

Doctoral candidate, B.Sc. (Western University)

I am an M.Sc. student in the Environmental and Life Sciences program at Trent University. My passion is climate change mitigation, and to that end, I am examining how enhanced rock weathering of silicates and carbonates has the potential to draw CO2 from the atmosphere and be stored in alternative forms. More specifically, I will be examining the overall path of carbon as it makes its way from the atmosphere and enhanced rock powders into the soils and microbiomes and the runoff produced from leaching. These studies will help to determine the net potential of enhanced rock weathering, be it positive or negative, and the impact of such techniques on soils and agricultural health.

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Larissa Wallisch

Master’s student, B.Sc. (Trent)

I am a MSc student in the Environmental and Life Sciences program at Trent University, where I also completed my HBSc in Environmental Geoscience.  My research focuses on enhanced rock weathering (ERW) for sustainable forests, examining how forest soil properties—such as pH, microbial communities, and organic matter—affect mineral dissolution and CO2 removal.  Since joining the PowerGeolab as a research assistant in Spring 2023, I have been involved in both field and laboratory studies of ERW. This work built upon my honors thesis, conducted throughout 2024 and 2025, which laid the foundation for my current graduate research. My overarching goal is to advance the development of long-term climate solutions using natural processes, while also fostering greater public understanding of geoscience.

Email, Twitter: @larissawallisch, LinkedIn

Victoria Hatten

Master’s student, B.Sc. (Trent)

I joined the PowerGeolab in fall of 2023 as a research assistant while finishing my degree in Environmental Geoscience. I went on to complete my undergraduate honours thesis collaborating with a mining company to research the CO2 sequestration potential of non-mafic mine tailings. In my study, I specifically targeted barite as a carbonation feedstock and enhanced the reaction rate of CO2 mineralization to form witherite. I am continuing my research as a M.Sc. student at Trent, investigating new strategies for accelerating sequestration reaction rates in mine tailings, and contributing to the broader goal of achieving carbon neutrality in the mining industry.

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Jamie Burnett

Master’s student, B.Sc. (Trent)

I am a M.Sc. student in the Environmental and Life Sciences program at Trent University, after completing my B.Sc. in Environmental Geoscience. I joined PowerGeolab in 2023 as an eager research assistant, had the opportunity to conduct my honours thesis project the following year, and am excited to take on my Master’s thesis. I am passionate about applying my knowledge to address the pressing issue of climate change by advancing scientific research in carbon sequestration. My research integrates geochemistry to investigate methods of elucidating brucite and periclase carbon mineralization reactions in a novel proposed MgO looping technology. The overarching motivation behind this research is to aid in developing carbon dioxide removal methods to reach climate objectives and reduce global warming.

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Jasmine Harris

Research Assistant, Climate Change Science & Policy undergraduate student

This past academic year, I transferred from York’s Earth & Atmospheric Science program to Trent’s new Climate Change Science and Policy program. I began working as a research assistant for PowerGeolab in May 2024 under the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Undergraduate Student Research Awards program. I assist graduate students in researching how enhanced rock weathering can be used to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through lab and field experiments, helping with data collection and analysis. I am excited to work with the team at PowerGeolab in examining enhanced rock weathering as a negative emission technology, as learning about our weather and climate and ways to mitigate climate change has always been an enormous passion of mine.

Sam Therrien

Research Assistant, Environmental Geoscience undergraduate student

I am an undergraduate Environmental Geoscience student at Trent University, heading into my fourth year. My work in the PowerGeolab involves assisting the team in researching enhanced rock weathering as a method to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it in soils. I help with acquisition of samples in the field, and analysis in lab. I am also working on an Honours thesis on carbon sequestration in mine tailings. My goal is to contribute to the advancement of carbon sequestration technologies with the goal of mitigating the effects of climate change.