REM Honours Thesis

Students in the REM Honours Program will conduct independent research and write a thesis on a resource and environmental management topic that incorporates an interdisciplinary perspective.

To be considered for enrollment in the REM Honours thesis course (REM 499), applicants must:

• Be accepted into the REM Honours Program
• Have completed 90 units, and
• Have completed any relevant courses covering background material

Here is the procedure to get started.

For a list of REM faculty members currently accepting honours students, and their area of expertise, please check out their profiles below. Current honours students are encouraged to contact faculty members early to provide sufficient time to plan and execute their honours thesis.

REM Faculty

Name: Clifford Atleo
Email: Cliff
Website: Indigenous Governance and Resource Relationships
Areas of interest and expertise: Indigenous governance and communities, political economy and resource management
Sample projects:
  1. Corporate Mapping Project

Name: Jonn Axsen
Email: Jonn
Website: Sustainable Transport Action Research Team
Areas of interest and expertise: Sustainable transportation; climate policy; alternative fuel vehicles; consumer preferences
Sample projects:
  1. Simulating the policy mixes needed to meet deep decarbonization goals for road transport
  2. Surveys of consumer perceptions of shared, automated and electric vehicles
  3. Interviews with households about perceptions of vehicle automation

Name: Andréanne Doyon
Email: Andréanne
Website: REM Planning Program
Areas of interest and expertise: Planning; urban resilience & sustainability; equity
Sample projects:
  1. Policy review of equity in climate change action plans
  2. Developing metrics or milestones for equity
  3. Case studies of low and zero carbon communities

Name: Frank Gobas
Email: Frank
Website: Environmental Toxicology
Areas of interest and expertise: Environmental behaviour and Toxicological Effects of Pollutants; Wetland Remediation of Oil Sands Process Water; Chemical Risk Assessment; Impact of Pollution on the health of Southern Resident Killer Whales
Sample projects:
  1. Food-Web Bioaccumulation of perfluorinated hydrocarbons (PFOS, PFOA)
  2. Biodegradation and toxicity of naphthenic acids in wetlands
  3. Identifying sources of pollutants that are affecting the health of Southern Resident Killer Whales

Name: Pascal Haegeli
Email: Pascal
Website: Avalanche Research
Areas of interest and expertise: avalanche safety research, winter backcountry recreation, snowpack simulation, risk communication, GIS, statistical analysis, data visualization
Sample projects:
  1. Winter backcountry trail head surveys
  2. Avalanche accident analysis
  3. Comparison of simulated and observed weather observations

Name: Scott Harrison
Email: Scott
Areas of interest and expertise: Terrestrial ecology

Name: Mark Jaccard
Email: Mark
Website: markjaccard
Areas of interest and expertise: Assessment of climate policy design and effectiveness
Sample projects:
  1. Achieving Canada’s 2050 net-zero GHG target
  2. Reducing GHG emissions in cities
  3. Reducing GHG emissions in industry

Name: Chelsea Little
Email: Chelsea
Website: Community and Meta-Ecosystem Ecology
Areas of interest and expertise: streams and rivers; biodiversity change; ecosystem functioning; ecosystem connectivity
Sample projects:
  1. Modeling effects of animal movement on nutrient dynamics
  2. Mapping biodiversity in watersheds

Name: Sean Markey
Email: Sean
Areas of interest and expertise: Sustainable community planning; rural planning and development; natural asset and green infrastructure; impact/community benefit agreements
Sample projects:
  1. Engaging private land-owners in green infrastructure development
  2. Rural community resilience in the face of urban to rural migration
  3. Incorporating heritage in official community planning (OCP)

Name: Anne Salomon
Email: Anne
Website: CMEC Lab, Coastal Voices, Clam Garden
Areas of interest and expertise: kelp forests; clam gardens; marine predators; social-ecological systems
Sample projects:
  1. Stable isotope analysis of sea garden marine invertebrates (clams, crabs, sea cucumbers) and kelp

Name: Tammara Soma
Email: Tammara
Website: Food Systems
Areas of interest and expertise: food security; food waste; food access; zero waste; youth food literacy
Sample projects:
  1. Youth engagement in food literacy: promoting food security and food waste reduction
  2. Consumer behaviour research on food waste prevention and reduction
  3. Improving community food security and food access in BC

Name: Brett van Poorten
Email: Brett
Website: Recreational Fisheries Science and Management
Areas of interest and expertise: Recreational fisheries; fish conservation; decision analysis
Sample projects:
  1. Effects of aging uncertainty on conservation and fishing thresholds
  2. Literature review of density dependent growth in fish