We’re so happy to announce that two incredible people are joining the team. Jeremy bolsters our efforts to understand the abiotic factors to watershed and fish population health, such as the stream flows, temperatures, and nutrient balances. Jiji is lending her talents to an admin team that is supporting all the research we do. More on them below!
Jeremy Fitzpatrick
Forest Hydrologist
Jeremy completed his Master’s degree in 2023 with Dr. Uldis Silins and Dr. Sheena Spencer at the University of Alberta. Using data from the long-running Southern Rockies Watershed Project, he wanted to answer the question of what is driving changes in stream temperatures near the Rocky Mountain headwaters of Alberta’s rivers. Before that, he spent well over a decade doing a variety of natural science, gaining a broad view of how hydrology influences the habitats of all species, from insects to caribou.
With the Water and Fish Program, Jeremy will be sifting the mountains of data generated by the SRWP to find answers to key questions about Alberta’s watersheds. First on the list is the size and duration of impacts from wildfire on nitrogen, the limiting nutrient in mountain streams. In his free time, he’ll be fishing, backpacking, playing soccer, or doing just about any outdoor activity that gets him into nature.
Jiji Raghavan
Administration Assistant
Jiji has a strong background in information technology from Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees she earned in India. When she came to Canada, she spent time lecturing and developing computer science curricula at technical colleges in Montreal and Calgary.
fRI Research has expanded over the past three years, and the necessary accounting, IT, HR, and day-to-day operational tasks have grown alongside. We’ll be putting Jiji’s considerable skills to use alleviating these bottlenecks so that our science teams can focus on their strength and passion: great research. At home, she enjoys gardening, cooking, and playing with her daughter.