About Us
We are a team of researchers and students in the Department of Geography at the University of Victoria, focused on the reconstruction of past glaciations and geomorphic change across the Canadian landscape and beyond.
Employee and Student Profiles
Our current team of employees and students
Lindsay Worden, MSc Student
I am an MSc Student with the GCR Lab investigating deglacial dynamics during the last glacial maximum on northern Vancouver Island. This includes the ways in which and timing of ice retreat throughout the area. I use high resolution LiDAR DEMs to do glacial geomorphic mapping of the landscape and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating to determine the timing of ice-free conditions of the region. I began as an Undergraduate Honours student in the GCR Lab in 2023 and am continuing my honours research into my Masters work. My work is made possible by the collaboration of the Hakai Institute (Northern Vancouver Island Archaeology and Paleoecology Project), NSERC USRA, GCR Lab, and the University of Victoria Geography Department. I am grateful to have grown up on the traditional territories of the Attiwonderonk, and the Haudenosaunee Peoples, held as the treaty lands and territory with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. My current research takes place on the traditional territories of the Kwakwaka’wakw, of which would not be possible without the collaboration of the Quatsino First Nation.
Sean Loeffler, MSc Student
I am a second-year MSc student at UVic Geography, with an interest in the study of past floods as a means of gaining insight into modern-day processes. In the GCR Lab, my work focuses on catastrophic drainage from Glacial Lake Fraser, which once occupied what is now central British Columbia. My project seeks to employ hydraulic modelling techniques, guided by sedimentological investigation of the Fraser Valley, in order to contribute to a better understanding of the magnitude of these impacts, as well as dynamics associated with the ongoing demise of continental ice sheets. The landscapes that I study comprise some of the traditional territories of many diverse nations and communities whose connections with these lands continue to this day, including those sharing heritage with the Nłeʔkepmxcín, Halq’eméylem / hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, St̓át̓imcets, Tsilhqot’in, Secwepemctsín, Dakelh, Tse’khene, and Nedut’en / Wet’suwet’en Peoples. I’m originally from Michigan, where I was fortunate to grow up and study on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Three Fires Confederacy of the Anishinaabe, comprised of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Peoples. My research is made possible by support from the GCR Lab, Water and Climate Impacts Research Centre, the Geological Society of America, the UVic Department of Geography, and collaborations with provincial government and other academic institutions.
Taryn Neligan, MSc Student
I am a M.Sc. student in the GCR Lab, co-supervised by Dr. Sophie Norris and Dr. Edwin Nissen (UVic School of Earth and Ocean Sciences). My research examines glacial and tectonic geomorphology to understand the location, size, and chronology of ruptures along crustal faults in Northern Cascadia. I joined the GCR Lab in 2023, where I began working as a geomorphic cartographer for Dr. Norris, remotely mapping glacial features across Newfoundland. In spring 2024, I completed my B.Sc. Honours thesis, and I am continuing my research through summer 2024 as an NSERC USRA awardee. Currently, I am mapping glacial features and active faulting on Flores Island, BC, utilizing newly available provincial LiDAR imagery. My Honours work, supervised by Dr. Norris and Dr. Nissen, forms the foundation for my M.Sc. research. I am fortunate to have grown up on the territories of the Quw’utsun and MÁLEXEȽ First Nations. My research takes place on the traditional and unceded territory of the Ahousaht First Nation, of the Nuu-chah-nulth Peoples. Flores Island has always been, and remains, home to the Ahousaht people. I acknowledge and respect their everlasting relationship with this land.
Rachel Higgins, MSc Student
I am the GCR Lab Assistant, committed to the organization, management, and day-to-day functioning of our lab and its members. I joined the GCR lab in May 2024 as part of my undergraduate degree, and have filled the role of Lab Assistant since May 2025. I recently completed my BSc honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Sophie Norris and in collaboration with Dr. Benjamin Stoker (Columbia University), examining the occurrence of glacial lakes in British Columbia during the deglaciation of the Cordilleran ice sheet (18,000-12,000 yrs BP) and modelling the ice sheet’s dynamics with a glacial isostatic adjustment model. I will be continuing this work with Dr. Norris as a MSc thesis in January 2026. Academically, my interests lie in physical geography, remote sensing, geographic information science, and glacial systems, with a focus on the use of remote sensing technologies to uncover glacial geomorphic processes during the Quaternary. I was born and live as a guest on the traditional, unceded territories of the Lekwungen peoples and the Songhees, Esquimalt, and WSANEC First Nations (Victoria BC) whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day, but my family’s roots trace back to Higginsville, Nova Scotia—the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people, part of Mi’kma’ki and the wider Wabanaki Confederacy. My ancestors, John Higgins and Hester Carmichael, were settlers who participated in colonization. While I cannot change that history, I commit to acknowledging its ongoing impact and supporting Indigenous sovereignty. As an eleventh generation Canadian, this is my personal responsibility, carried across the distances between places and generations.
Chris Hebda, Lab Manager
I am the lab manager for the GCR lab spaces, including our main computing/3D printing and sediment processing lab, our clean prep lab, and our rock processing lab. I ensure that the supplies and equipment in the labs are organized, stocked, and functioning so that we can conduct our research programs. I am a Quaternary scientist and archaeologist with expertise in glacial history, geochronology, and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction through multiple proxies including pollen analysis and ancient DNA. I joined the GCR lab in September 2025, before which I worked with the Hakai Institute’s archaeology and palaeoecology research group to study the history of glaciation, ecosystem change, and early archaeology in coastal BC with a focus on the Last Glacial Maximum and the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. I completed my BA (2010-2014) and later my MA (2017-2019) in Anthropology at UVic, where my thesis research focused on understanding postglacial ecosystems on northern Vancouver Island. I was born and raised in W̱SÁNEĆ territory on the Saanich Peninsula on southern Vancouver Island, and I am grateful to have been able to conduct research in collaboration with many nations across BC, most extensively with the Quatsino First Nation on northern Vancouver Island.
Kerwin Wang, Undergraduate Research Assistant
I am a fourth-year Geography undergraduate student at UVic who joined the GCR Lab in September 2025 as the 3D printing lab assistant, working with Sophie Norris and Chris Hebda. In this role, I prepare 3D printing files and physical models for courses, public events, and workshops, including 3D terrain maps and other lab equipment. My interests lie in cartography and 3D terrain visualization, and I enjoy exploring how clear, beautiful maps and models can help people understand geomorphic processes and environmental change. Through my work in the GCR Lab, I aim to strengthen my skills in 3D modelling, map design, and spatial analysis while supporting the lab’s research and outreach needs. I grew up in Beijing, China, and as an international student, I have felt enormous support from the GCR community, which has played a big role in my academic journey at UVic.
Former Members
Casey Murray, BSc
2024-2025
Honours Thesis: Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Quaternary glacial dynamics of the Mission Flats section, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Bryn Forrest, Lab assistant
2023-2024
Cameron Stanton, BSc
2022-2023
Honours Thesis: Mid-holocene reconstruction of riverbend cave, Horne Lake, Vancouver Island through radiocarbon dating