Fall Convocation: Marine Biology Student Wins Governor General’s Award
By Joseph Mathieu
Although he was awarded both the Governor General’s Medal and the University Medal for Outstanding Graduate Work at the Doctoral Level, Robert Lennox doesn’t feel he deserves all the credit.
“I certainly attribute most of the successes I’ve had in the past to the people I’ve worked with,” he says. “There are a lot of really great researchers who took a lot of time to give me direction, comments and advice.”
A Passion for the Subject
He admits that he dedicated himself and worked very hard to obtain his PhD in Biology. But what gave him an edge was his passion for the subject.
“I am totally fascinated by Atlantic salmon and migration biology,” he says. “Whether I excelled at it or not, I just always enjoyed it.”
Lennox, who grew up in Ottawa’s Hintonburg neighbourhood, received a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from Dalhousie University in 2012. He joined the Cooke Lab of Carleton Prof. Steven Cooke as a master’s student but fast-tracked to a PhD in 2015.
“I recognize that I’ve had a lot of opportunities and I’m really lucky because I enjoy what I do so much,” says Lennox. “It never really felt like work or even school.”
The best part of his PhD was the work he did abroad, he says. Contributing to conservation research in Norway, Guyana and French Polynesia, where he helped local efforts to maintain sustainable fisheries and protect ecosystems, was an enriching experience.
The Human Impact on Fish Stocks
Shortly after successfully defending his thesis, Lennox became senior researcher at the Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (LFI) of the Norwegian Research Center. From the lab in Bergen, Lennox will continue to research human and environmental impacts on fish stocks.
“It’s really easy to get out of bed in the morning and be a researcher in this field. There are just so many important questions and I think they’re all really timely.”
Fall Convocation is taking place on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. The ceremonies will be broadcast online via live streaming at Carleton.ca/convocation/live.
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