MSC Scientists and Professionals from 2026 Federal Directory

Note: 

The Federal Directory of Scientists & Professionals was removed from on line listings in March 2026.  We have captured photos and information on many MSC scientists and researchers who were listed there.   Many are also seen at recent CMOS congresses, presenting, mentoring or chairing sessions.

They are in surname alpha order; please scroll down.

Reinel Sospedra-Alfonso is a research scientist working on application of earth system models and machine learning to seasonal-to-decadal climate prediction at the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis
Vivek K Arora is a research scientist working on representation of terrestrial biogeochemical processes, including carbon cycle, in climate and earth system models and development, implementation, and application of land models and surface hydrological processes within Earth system models.

Current research and / or projects:
  • Investigation of the carbon cycle's role in determining future atmospheric COv(2) concentrations in response to anthropogenic emissions.

  • Use of Earth system models to make quantitative projections of the future terrestrial biosphere and carbon exchange between land and atmosphere
    .
  • Evaluation of feedbacks between the physical climate system and the terrestrial biosphere.

  • Use of climate models to investigate the effects of climate change on hydrology.

 Alex J Cannon conducts research on climate extremes and climate projections. Current research and / or projects are:

Activities that contribute to the understanding of the state, trends, variability, extremes, and future projections of climate at both global and regional scales.

Barbara Casati conducts research on verification methods for weather and environmental prediction .

Current research and / or projects are:
  • spatial verification techniques:wavelet-based scale-separation methods; distance metrics.

  • process-based diagnostics leveraging on super-site multivariate observations.

  • address observation uncertainty and representativeness issues in verification practices.

  • exploit data assimilation knowledge and tools, disentangle background model from assimilated observations for verification purposes.

  • improve MRD/MSC research and operational verification practices.
Elton Chan is a physical scientist - Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases: Measurements, Modelling and Interpretation

Current research and/or projects
  • Modelling and interpretation for carbon cycle research, emission sources and sinks quantification, climate policy and regulation development. Additional information: Canadian greenhouse gas program

  • Scientific analysis and interpretation of the spatial and temporal trends of atmospheric greenhouse gases.

  • Identifies probable causes for observed atmospheric variations in the measurement data.

  • Applies atmospheric transport modelling results and greenhouse gas data to quantify national and regional emissions of natural and anthropogenic greenhouse gases in partnership with ECCC and  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Nathan Gillette is a research scientist and Coordinating Lead author, to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Reports

Lead author, Working Group I contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Chapter 10.

Lead author, WMO Ozone Assessment, 2014, Chapter 4.

Current research and / or projects:

Understanding, attributing and predicting climate change through analysis of climate model simulations and comparison with observations

Conducts research on the attribution of observed climate change and extremes, and projections of future climate change. Environment and Climate Change Canada

Current research and/or projects:
  • Identification of the causes of climate change through detection and attribution analysis.

  • Development of a rapid event attribution system to quantify human influence on the probability of extreme events in Canada

  • The carbon cycle and its interactions with climate change, including the long-term effects of carbon dioxide emissions

  • Using observations of past climate change to constrain projections of future climate change

Lin Huang, ia a Research Scientist, leading stable isotope research, including isotope measurements in long-term climate forcers (e.g., δ¹³C-CO₂and δ¹⁸O-CO₂), as well as in short-lived climate forcers (e.g., black carbon and organic carbon in carbonaceous aerosols), to attribute emission sources and track their changes over time.

Current research and / or projects:
  • Understanding changes in atmospheric carbon by integrating longterm measurements of chemical properties (e.g., black carbon [BC], organic carbon, and its isotopes such as ¹³C/¹²C and ¹⁴C/¹²C) and the optical properties of aerosols (e.g., light absorption) in support of evaluating the effectiveness of mitigation policies.

  • Studying BC emissions from biomass burning, particularly from peats burning.

  • Conducting black carbon (BC) and carbon isotope measurements in snow and ice to understand the history and processes of climate change.

  • Developing measurement techniques for BC and carbon isotopes (¹³C/¹²C and ¹⁴C/¹²C), particularly for ultra small samples.

  • Investigating uncertainties in the traceability of CO2 isotopes (¹³C/¹²C and 18O/16O) to improve sources – sinks attribution of CO2 fluxes.
* Liisa Jantunen was an analytical environmental chemist & research scientist

Liisa worked as a Research Scientist in the Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate.  Based in Egbert, Ontario, she first joined ECCC as a co-op student in 1992 and went on to build a distinguished career in environmental science.

She was nationally and internationally recognized as a leading expert in contaminants and microplastics research. Her work advanced understanding of the environmental fate of these pollutants in support of ECCC's Air Pollution Program, the Chemicals

Management Plan, the Oil Sands Monitoring Program, the Canadian Plastics Science Agenda, the Northern Contaminants Program, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, as well as other northern initiatives.

Her research also contributed to key international efforts, including the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and its Global Monitoring Plan, the United Nations Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, and the Arctic Council's Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme.

Liisa had a deep passion for the Arctic and spent much of her career conducting fieldwork there, both on land and at sea, combining her love of travel with her dedication to scientific discovery.

* Liisa Jantunen died in 2026.  Please see the Deceased List
Slava Kharin is a research scientist with ECCC Victoria, BC

Current research and/or projects:
  • Climate model tuning

  • Climate model bias correction

  • Regional climate modelling

  • Seasonal predictions

Nicolas Lambert is a physical scientist working on ocean modelling and coupling infrastructure as part of the development of the Canadian Climate Earth System Model (CanESM).

 Professional activities / interests

His work focuses on numerical modelling to simulate the physical and biological processes occurring in the world's oceans, helping to better understand their evolution over time.

He is also involved in a project analyzing the results of various climate change models from the IPCC and developing regional modelling to assess the impacts of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions on oceanographic conditions



John Liggio is a research scientist with expertise on gas and particle chemistry research and uUnderstanding atmospheric processes leading to secondary organic chemicals.

 Current research and / or projects:

Field and laboratory studies of primary aerosol emissions, secondary organic aerosol formation, evolution, transformation and fate; understanding the processes controlling the formation of smog
  • Process research on aerosol particle emissions and transformation in the atmosphere through laboratory and field studies

  • Ammonia / sulfuric acid/organic aerosol interactions

  • Black carbon emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles

  • Kinetics of heterogeneous reactions and secondary organic aerosol formation; elucidation of new secondary organic aerosol formation mechanisms

  • Near roadway measurements of vehicle emissions and their evolution; implications for population exposure

  • Aerosol mass spectrometry and chemical mass spectrometry measurements of oxidants and aerosols.

Ray Nassir

Current research and/or projects:

  • Quantification of CO2 and CH4 sources and sinks using satellite-based and surface-based atmospheric CO2 / CH4 observations and models

  • Retrieval and application of CO2 and CH4 concentrations from satellite observations

  • <>Studies to assess the benefits of planned or proposed future satellite missions

Professional activities / interests

  • Principal Investigator (PI) for the Arctic Observing Mission (AOM)

    • <>Science team member for the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE, since 2000) Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO / OCO-2 / OCO-3, since 2007), Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT / GOSAT-2, since 2009)

  • Reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Reports

  • Member of the Atmospheric Science Advisory
    Committee (ASAC) for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) since 2017

Shabnaz Pashapour, Assistant Research Manager at Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis.

Supports CCCma science program delivery, line manages scientists who are members of different CCCma scientific working groups, oversees CCCma staffing, and supports CCCma management and operation.
John Scinocca is a Research Scientist
responsible for coordinating the development and application of the regional climate model, CanRCM; support the development and application of the global Earth System model, CanESM, including its tuning, online bias correction and its applications for future climate projections and seasonal prediction; support and contribute to the development of the package of physical parameterizations in the global  atmospheric model, CanAM.

He has expertise in climate modelling circulation
Pourya Shahpoury, Research Scientist - Aerosol chemistry and health, is conducting field and laboratory measurements to study the inhalation toxicity of organic and inorganic air pollutants. Current activities:
  • Oxidative potential of fine and ultrafine aerosol particles from the National Air Pollution Surveillance network

  • Effects of emission sources and atmospheric processes on environmental cycling and toxicity of air pollutants

  • Development of new methods for characterization of redox-active species and soot particles in ambient air

Rajesh R Shrestha, research scientist, Hydro-Climatic Impacts. His current research and / or projects:

Large-scale hydrologic modelling and assessment. Cascading impacts of climate change on hydrological processes (e.g., snowpack, water quantity and quality). Attribution and projection of hydrological extremes (floods and drought).
Alexandra Sandy Steffen is a National Senior Mercury Researcher

Lead mercury researcher for Atmospheric Processes Research Section specializing in environmental processes relating to the transport, transformation and deposition of mercury in and around the atmosphere.

Current research and/or projects:

Lead mercury researcher for Atmospheric Processes Research (ARQP) Section specializing in environmental processes relating to the transport, transformation and deposition of mercury in and around the atmosphere.
  • Specialize in designing research to study the processes driving the transformation of mercury in and around the Canadian and Arctic atmospheres

  • Investigate spatial and temporal trends of atmospheric mercury on a national, regional and global scale

  • Atmospheric monitoring of mercury using passive and active sampling methods

  • Science advisor to the Canadian government for national policy including the Minamata Convention on Mercury

  • Unit lead for the ARQP Data Management Team
Felix Vogel leads research on atmospheric greenhouse gases at the subnational scale as member of the Climate Chemistry Measurement and Research section of Environment and Climate Change Canada.

 Current research and/or projects:
  • Greenhouse gas emissions from Canada's industrial activities like waste management, up- and downstream natural gas infrastructure, oil and gas extraction

  • Measurement techniques for atmospheric greenhouse gases, co-emitted species and carbon isotopes

  • Understanding the urban atmosphere, especially sources and sinks of carbon dioxide and short-lived climate pollutants like methane

  • Modelling of atmospheric greenhouse gases at local and regional scale to track emission changes due to mitigation policies and natural systems affected by climate change

Xiaolan L Wang, Senior Research Scientist - Leader, Data Theme, Climate Data and Analysis. is studying Climate trend / extremes / variability analysis, and development of methodologies for more realistic assessment and better understanding of climate trend/extremes/variability, to provide international leadership in this area of research, and to provide critical information to support the Department’s mandate within her areas of expertise. Current activities:
  • Development of techniques for climate data homogenization, to enable more realistic assessment of climate trend, extremes, and variability

  • Homogenization of climate data (surface winds, surface pressure, precipitation, ocean wave heights…)

  • Development of methodologies for analyzing climate trend, extremes, and variability (including methods for projecting possible future climate extremes)

  • Analysis of observed climate trend, extremes, and variability, including ocean surface waves

  • Projections of future changes in various aspects of the climate system (including climate extremes) by analyzing (and statistical downscaling) climate model projections

  • Development of methodologies for blending in-situ gauge precipitation data with satellite precipitation estimates, and production of a blended gridded precipitation database for Canada (North America)
Cynthia H Whaley is a research scientist with Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, working on model development and applications of short-lived climate pollutants and climate-air quality feedbacks.

Her current research and / or projects are:

Research of climate and air quality issues and interactions using Earth System Models (ESMs) and other atmospheric models.

Development and applications of the Canadian Earth System Model, CanESM, focused on short-lived climate pollutants in CanESM, including lightning, fire, and methane processes.

Professional activities / interests
  • Founding member of the IGAC BBURNED activity

  • Coordinating a multi-species multi-model study on fires for the Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (HTAP)

  • Group volunteer speaker for ECCC's pubic engagment: Scientists at Large, doing outreach to school children and the general public.
Megan Kirchmeier-Young ia a research scientist working on climate extremes.

Her current activities contribute to the understanding of the state, trends, variability, extremes, and future projections of climate at both global and regional scales including:

  • Climate change detection and attribution at global and regional scales

  • Analysis and attribution of extreme events (including temperature, precipitation, wildfires)


Xuebin Zhang, Senior Research Scientist, research  contributes to the understanding of the state, trends, variability and extremes of climate at both global and regional scales. Current activities:
  • Climate change detection and attribution at global and regional scales
  • Methodological development for the analysis of extremes in the changing climate


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