The Frontiers Planet Prize has announced its 2025 National Champions: 19 scientists offering scalable solutions to help keep humanity safely within planetary boundaries.
Canada’s National Champion is Dr. Suzanne Tank, professor at the University of Alberta and member of the leadership team for the Arctic Great Rivers Observatory. Dr. Tank and her team have been recognized in the Water Systems and Planetary Resilience category for their winning article: “Recent trends in the chemistry of major northern rivers signal widespread Arctic change” (Nature Geoscience, 2023).
Their groundbreaking research tracks the chemistry of the six largest rivers that flow to the Arctic Ocean, which together drain over two-thirds of the Arctic Ocean’s watershed. This chemical fingerprint reveals that the Arctic system is rapidly changing—from its terrestrial watersheds to its coastal ocean—highlighting key indicators of widespread environmental change.
Dr. Tank notes: “The integrative power of these large, northern rivers provides a striking reminder of the primacy of climate change and that warming and changing precipitation have far-reaching, often unexpected, results.” Click here to learn more.
The National Champions have been selected by 100 independent experts – renowned sustainability and planetary health leaders, chaired by Professor Johan Rockström. The National Champions will now move forward to the final round of the competition, with three International Champions unveiled in June and awarded 1 million USD each to scale up their research. Click here to learn more.
Become a Nominating Body for the Frontiers Planet Prize
As Canada’s National Representative Body (NRB) for the prize, the RSC coordinates Canada’s participation by supporting universities and research institutions in registering as National Nominating Bodies (NNBs), who then nominate their top scientists for the prize. Click here to learn more.
The RSC will host a webinar this June for institutions interested in becoming NNBs. For more information, please contact Russel MacDonald, Programmes Manager at the RSC, at rmacdonald@rsc-src.ca.
For media or communications requests, please contact Paige Beveridge at communications@rsc-src.ca.
