CPS Grad Spotlight - Kaitlin McNeil
Name: Kaitlin McNeil
MSc or PhD Candidate: PhD Candidate
Location of Undergraduate Education: H.B.Sc. University of Toronto
Name of the Lab at CPS: Moore Lab
Kaitlin, please tell us about yourself and your journey as a PhD Candidate!
How did you come to UTM? What interested you to join a lab here?
I came to UTM in my undergrad when I was looking for a university that had the research quality of U of T but in a less urban setting. While I initially had a broad interest in Physics, through my undergrad I had the opportunity to try different research opportunities. It was during my fourth-year research project with Prof. Kent Moore that I got introduced to atmospheric physics. I enjoyed the project and the research environment so much that I was drawn to come back to UTM to pursue my PhD.
When did you realize that you wanted to pursue a graduate study?
Each summer of my undergraduate degree I was able to pursue research experiences working across various labs and fields. From civil engineering to MRI’s of wetlands, I was able to explore an array of different research avenues. Throughout this time, I was able to work alongside graduate students and postdocs who encouraged my curiosity. I found I really enjoyed being able to dissect problems and always ended the summer wanting to dig deeper into the research. Graduate studies were the main opportunity I saw to pursue research as a career.
What are your research interests? Tell us few exciting things about your research.
I study the cryosphere, with a focus on sea ice in the Arctic. As part of my research, I use remote sensing to analyze sea ice motion. Getting to see changes in global features over the years is one of the coolest parts of my work. I love getting to analyze a dataset and determine what is driving changes in sea ice motion and being able to contribute to our larger understanding of the global climate. Recently, I found that while we once thought ice was always transported out of the Arctic through the Nares Strait, sometimes the ice is found to travel in the opposite direction back into the Arctic! It’s exciting to help improve our understanding of sea ice transport which helps inform climate modelling and global policies.
What is your goal when you finish your degree?
My goal is to work in a government research role, ideally contributing to our understanding of the Canadian Arctic and its changing climate. At the same time, I’ve developed a real passion for teaching, mentoring, and science outreach. I would love to be in a position that allows me to work with students to improve scientific literacy, especially by making climate science more accessible and help reduce the intimidation surrounding math and statistics.
What are some of your achievements you'd like to share?
One of the most rewarding experiences has been working as a visiting researcher at Environment and Climate Change Canada, where I’ve been able to hone my technical skills and collaborate with scientists out of the university setting. Through this collaboration and my graduate work I’ve been able to contribute to publications in Nature Climate, which has made the news globally.
I’m also incredibly proud of the students that I’ve mentored from undergrad through to their graduate studies in atmospheric physics. It’s incredibly rewarding to see a student go from having little understanding of atmospheric physics to pursing a PhD.
Do you have any advice for students considering to pursue graduate studies in research?
Don’t be afraid to explore different fields and see how your skill set can be applied to different problems. A great supervisor and graduate program can get you up to date on the material you need to understand a field, but you need to have the passion and abilities to progress through it.
