University of Manitoba to unveil Arctic research facility


The University of Manitoba will celebrate the grand opening of the Nellie Cournoyea Arctic Research Facility on March 18, 2013. The state-of-the-art facility was built in recognition of the university’s world-renowned and expanding Arctic research program.

Named after the first female premier of a Canadian territory, the Nellie Cournoyea Arctic Research Facility is an $8 million capital project that has added a fifth floor to the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources. The additional 60,000-square-foot space will house specialized laboratories and classrooms needed to accommodate the influx of graduate students and researchers that have come to work with Dr. Søren Rysgaard, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Geomicrobiology and Climate Change.

According to Rysgaard, the new facilities are “outstanding.”

“They will lift our science to a new level,” he added.

The Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources is organizing the grand opening. It will include a guided facility tour for media and VIPs, a public open house, lab demonstrations, and a panel discussion entitled “Major Challenges Facing the Arctic,” featuring Rysgaard, David Barber and Nellie Cournoyea. The panel will be followed by an audience Q&A.

Most events will take place on the fifth floor of the Wallace Building, with the panel discussion taking place in Room 221.

More information.