181 - Dr. Soren Brothers (Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change at the ROM - Royal Ontario Museum)

For this episode I have the privilege of interviewing Dr. Soren Brothers - the inaugural "Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change at the ROM @romtoronto (Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto). As far as the ROM can tell, this position is the first of its kind, and today Soren shares some of the potential he sees in this position, some of his goals and aspirations, and the careful balance of sharing this important information with the seriousness it calls for, while leaning into optimism and highlighting ways forward and progress where they can be found.

About Soren (https://www.rom.on.ca/en/collections-research/rom-staff/soren-brothers)

Dr. Soren Brothers is the Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. He is also an Assistant Professor at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. Soren’s research examines the effects of climate change on lakes, and how changes in aquatic systems can influence their greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. More broadly, he is interested in understanding how feedback loops and the transdisciplinary study of lakes can help us better understand and predict global tipping points that may accelerate anthropogenic climate change.

Born in Mississauga and raised in Toronto, Soren has worked on lakes in a diverse array of environments around the world, including the Nunavut tundra, Quebec’s boreal forests, and the Great Lakes. He is leading a Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network initiative to improve understanding of the widespread greenhouse gas impacts of desiccation. He is also passionate about science communication and community outreach and organized a climate change workshop at the United Nations Civil Society Conference in 2019. Before beginning at the ROM in 2021 he was an Assistant Professor of Limnology at Utah State University, and a CREATE program manager and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Guelph, focusing on multiple stressors and cumulative effects in the Great Lakes.

Research Group Website: sorenbrothers.weebly.com

Photo credits: © 2021 Saty Namvar and Pratha Samyrajah

This interview was originally recorded on Dec. 8th, 2021

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bridgingthesocialdistance.substack.com