geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
who served as the
Canada Research Chair
Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program.
Program goals
The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...
in Global Environmental Change. His research focuses are largely on the interactions of
agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
and
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
on the climate, as well as
climate change adaptation
Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to the effects of climate change, both current and anticipated.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary arctic regions. He has been described by the ''Toronto Star">Arctic">arctic regions. He has been described by the ''Toronto Star'' as a "top scientist" and additionally by the Government of Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSRC) as "a pioneer and world leader in research on the human impacts of climate change".
Smit is a Professor Emeritus at
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...
, Department of Geography. Smit's awards and honors including being inducted into both the
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...
and the
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...
, winning a
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...
, a Scholarly Distinction Award in Geography from the
Canadian Association of Geographers
The Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG; ) is an educational and scientific society in Canada aimed at advancing the understanding of, study of, and importance of geography and related fields. CAG publishes the quarterly peer-reviewed journ ...
, and the SSRC Gold Medal. Smit was also a co-recipient of the 2007
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
for his involvement with the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World Met ...
.
In 2015, he appeared on ''
The Agenda
''The Agenda with Steve Paikin'', or simply ''The Agenda'', is the flagship current affairs television program of TVOntario (TVO), Ontario's public broadcaster. Anchor Steve Paikin states that the show practices long-form journalism. Each hour-l ...
'' to describe the changing climate's effects on wine viticulture in Canada. He was also a scientist featured on
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
's '' Quirks & Quarks''.
Dr. Barry Smit was appointed to the Order of Canada for his contributions to understanding of climate change and for his mentorship of the next generation of climate change scientists. Smit was one of the first researchers in 1980 to study the effects of climate change.
His research has additionally been applied to study
water resources
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. These resources can be either Fresh water, freshwater from natural sources, or water produ ...
in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...