Reflecting on growing up in the coastal city of Rostock in what was then known as East Germany,聽Dr. Katja Fennel聽describes the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 as 鈥渢he most significant event of my life. Opportunities, possibilities, outlooks 鈥� everything changed.鈥�
Having just finished high school when the wall came down, she attended her hometown University of Rostock to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mathematics and a PhD in oceanography before taking advantage of her newfound freedom of movement and heading abroad to advance her research career.
It鈥檚 safe to say she has since made her mark. This week, Dr. Fennel, a professor and former chair of AV俱乐部鈥檚 Department of Oceanography, was , an honour reserved for the country鈥檚 most distinguished scholars, artists, and scientists.
鈥淚 am grateful for the recognition, grateful to have worked with so many wonderful students and colleagues, and grateful to my peers who nominated and selected me for this honour,鈥� says Dr. Fennel, who joined AV俱乐部 20 years ago in August.
鈥淭hese individuals are shaping Canadian society through their scholarship, creativity, and impact 鈥� today and into the years ahead,鈥� said RSC President and Dal bioethicist Dr.听Fran莽oise Baylis聽in the announcement.
Understanding the ocean
The RSC recognized Dr. Fennel for 鈥渋nnovative and pivotal advances in our understanding of marine ecosystems, oceanic biogeochemical cycles, and anthropogenic threats to the oceans, through the development and use of innovative mathematical models and the pioneering use of remote underwater sensing data.鈥�
Dr. Fennel is the lead principal investigator on the聽, which received聽nearly $15 million in support聽from the Carbon to Sea Initiative in 2023 to explore whether ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) can bolster the ocean鈥檚 capacity to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere despite increased ocean acidification from fossil fuels.
While emphasizing that carbon dioxide removal is not a substitute for emission reductions 鈥� 鈥渃lean energy technology exists and is proven at scale,鈥� she says 鈥� Dr. Fennel is proud of the 鈥渨orld leading鈥� work her research team is pursuing in Halifax Harbour with climate-tech startup聽.听
鈥淣o other site is as far advanced,鈥� she says, noting the first-ever and, to date, only carbon credits for OAE were issued to Planetary in June 2025.听
Searching for solutions
The fight against climate change is at the heart of Dr. Fennel鈥檚 work, which includes bringing ocean science to grade school classrooms through the聽.
鈥淚 am motivated to dedicate my energy to researching whether OAE technology can, one day, be used at a climate-relevant scale because so much anthropogenic carbon dioxide has already accumulated in the atmosphere that we need to find ways to remove and safely store this fossil-fuel carbon,鈥� she says, before adding a few words of warning.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 hard for people who aren鈥檛 climate scientists to fathom how much trouble we鈥檙e really in with regard to global warming and its consequences.鈥澛�