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Brendan O’Neill Natural Resources Canada

What did you want to be when you grew up?

Growing up I wanted to be an aeronautical engineer, as my dad was a helicopter pilot, and my granddad flew Lancaster bombers for the Royal Air Force in WWII, so I always loved aircraft. In the end I didn’t go into engineering for my undergrad.  I took a physical geography course in grade 12 and really liked it, and decided to try that for my undergrad major. At one point I also thought about being an optometrist, but instead I just developed very bad eyesight. Not surprisingly, my parents shaped me profoundly – my mom used to work as a geologist in the Rocky Mountains. My dad is a retired helicopter pilot, originally from England, who used to fly around western Canada and in the Arctic. I grew up spending a lot of time outdoors, learning about the natural world, hearing about different places, and wanting to explore Canada and beyond.

What was your education journey like? 

I completed a BSc (Co-op) at the University of Victoria in Physical Geography. Then I spent 2.5 months backpacking in Europe with my friend. This was a formative experience. Then I started my MSc in Geography at Carleton, looking into ground ice formation in permafrost, supervised by Dr. Chris Burn. I continued on to a Ph.D. with Dr. Burn looking at permafrost conditions along the Dempster Highway in Northwest Territories. The skills I gained at all educational levels have been useful in my current job. My favourite parts of grad school included time spent in the field, stimulating conversations with faculty and other students, the fun social atmosphere in Carleton DGES, and conferences. 

What do you do now? 

I’m a Research Scientist for the Federal government at the Geological Survey of Canada (Natural Resources Canada). I work on permafrost and focus on ground ice and permafrost thaw. Without an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in these topics, I would not have my current job – my time at Carleton provided me with the knowledge and experience required to be a permafrost scientist. 

Go for it! Graduate studies made me interested in many fields beyond permafrost research, and gave me the tools to do research on any topic. I hope that you can find a job related to permafrost if that is your goal, but if not, you’ll surely have fun on the journey and the skills you gain will be valuable in many interesting fields.

What are some of your career highlights?

After my Ph.D. I was hired as a postdoctoral researcher in Svalbard, so I lived on a remote high Arctic Island for 10 months – that was definitely a highlight! I got my current job through connections I made during my graduate work at Carleton. I was hired initially as a postdoc on a term contract, and then hired full time after a couple years. Some of the highlights at the Geological Survey of Canada have been attending the AGU conference in Washington DC, which is huge (also seeing the National Air and Space Museum, and eating some really good fried chicken and donuts), and doing winter fieldwork around Inuvik in late Feb/early March 2020 just as the pandemic was unfolding.    

What talents and skills have you cultivated during your career?

I’ve definitely honed my writing skills. Dr. Burn always gave me awesome feedback on my writing projects, and this taught me how to write more concisely and clearly.