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.

Email, LinkedIn

Larissa Wallisch

Honours thesis student in Environmental Geoscience

I am an undergraduate student in the Honours Environmental Geoscience program at Trent University.  My interests include studying geological processes and their relevance to addressing environmental challenges relating to CO2 sequestration.  I joined the PowerGeolab in Spring 2023 as a research assistant working on data collection and analyses of CO2 drawdown via enhanced rock weathering through field and lab experiments.  My goal is to contribute to developing long-term green technologies that mitigate climate change caused by utilizing natural resources and teaching others about geoscience.

Email, Twitter: @larissawallisch, LinkedIn

Victoria Hatten

Honours thesis student in Environmental Geoscience

I am currently working on my Honours thesis as a fourth-year student in the Environmental Geoscience program at Trent University. In the PowerGeolab, my research involves working with non-mafic mine tailings to assess their potential for carbon dioxide sequestration and develop new strategies for accelerating their reaction rates. This study will contribute to the broader goal of achieving carbon neutrality in mining industries and mitigation of climate change. I am passionate about learning new climate change mitigation strategies and the growing possibilities of technology in the geochemical industry.

Jamie Burnett

Honours thesis student in Environmental Geoscience

I am an undergraduate student enrolled in the Environmental Geoscience program at Trent University. In the fall of 2023, I joined the PowerGeolab as an eager research assistant. My work involves supporting graduate students in the laboratory, specifically in their studies regarding enhanced rock weathering for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. This research includes helping with sample collection and preparing samples for subsequent analysis. I am passionate about addressing the extensive challenge of climate change through a scientific lens, and I look forward to advancing carbon sequestration research. I am excited to contribute to this vital topic in climate science to achieve a sustainable future.

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.