Gabriel Walton, an internationally recognized mining engineer, will join Queen’s University as an inaugural Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada, the university announced Wednesday.
The research program is part of a $1-billion (US$720-million) Government of Canada investment to recruit internationally recognized researchers working abroad to strengthen Canada’s research and innovation capacity. Walton is one of 64 chairholders unveiled as part of the program deployed across the country. He will officially join Queen’s summer 2027.
“Queen’s is one of the top geological engineering schools in the world,” he said. “The opportunity to not only have this research program, but also be embedded in a community with an outstanding group of students and faculty, collaborators, both in the department and across the university, that’s a very special opportunity as well.”
Walton is currently a professor and associate department head at the Colorado School of Mines. At Queen’s, he will join the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering. The program will provide $8 million in federal funding over eight years to support the work.
His research team will focus on slope hazards, studying how slopes fail and respond to environmental changes, including thawing and permafrost changes in northern environments. The team will also study open-pit mines and other critical infrastructure projects in remote areas, where slope failures can have serious consequences for safety, access and operations.
“Bringing leading researchers to Canada is essential to strengthening our nation's research capacity, and this appointment will create new opportunities for research,” said Nancy Ross, the university’s vice-principal of research.
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