Integrated Science student Thomas Kanitz Rasmussen was leaving conference-goers in Lima, Perú seriously confused.
It wasn’t because he gave his first ever poster presentation in a language he doesn’t even speak — though that did happen, too.
What confused researchers was the undergraduate’s impressive research and communication skills.
“Everyone kept asking Thomas how many years he’d been in graduate school at McMaster,” says Rodrigo Narro Pérez from the School of Earth, Environment and Society, who is supervising Kanitz Rasmussen’s undergraduate thesis.
“They were confused and genuinely surprised to learn he was only a fourth-year undergrad and not a master’s or PhD student.”
At a conference full of scientists who study glacial ice, Kanitz Rasmussen drew a big crowd for his analysis of glacial lake sediment cores in northern Perú, where rapidly receding glaciers are leaving behind heavy metals that contaminate glacial lakes.
“That’s not what you want happening when the lake provides the drinking water for your entire community,” says Kanitz Rasmussen.
How it started: Potential and opportunities
Kanitz Rasmussen asked Narro Pérez to supervise his undergraduate thesis after taking his first- and second-year earth science courses.
“I said yes because Thomas has so much potential — he’s an outstanding student and a diligent worker with a natural knack for earth and environmental sciences, especially sedimentology,” says Narro Pérez.
Both have strong ties to Latin America: Narro Pérez was born and raised in Lima, and Kanitz Rasmussen’s mom was raised in Brazil.
“I also agreed to supervise Thomas because, when I was an undergrad, I never had a single professor who spoke to me in Spanish. If I can do that for students like Thomas, that makes my inner 18-year-old Rodrigo smile just a bit.”
It’s important for faculty to support, uplift and recognize Latin American and LatinX students, who are underrepresented in STEM, Narro Pérez notes.
Fourth-year student Thomas Kanitz Rasmussen with professor emeritus Carolyn Eyles and assistant professor Rodrigo Narro Pérez at an international conference in Perú.
He and professor emeritus Carolyn Eyles encouraged Kanitz Rasmussen to apply for the School of Earth, Environment & Society’s NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, which he got. It allowed him to spend the past summer working in Narro Pérez’s Glacial Sedimentology Lab as a research assistant, with Eyles as a mentor.
He was also invited to spend Reading Week in October doing field work alongside Narro Pérez at the foot of a tropical glacier.
Narro Pérez investigates glacial environments in the Andes — he’s interested in understanding how climate change is impacting the glaciers, the glacial lakes and landscapes surrounding the glaciers, with a focus on how these changes are recorded in the sediment and landform records.
So a week before the conference in Lima, Kanitz Rasmussen and Narro Pérez were in southern Perú studying the Qori Kalis Glacier — it’s part of the Quelccaya Ice Cap, the second-largest glaciated area in the tropics (since 2007, the glacier’s been retreating at a rate of 61 metres per year).
At the glacier
Getting to the glacier required an eight-hour flight from Toronto to Lima, a 90-minute flight from Lima to Cusco, a five-hour drive along mountain roads to the remote town of Phinaya (pop. 200) and then a 90-minute hike hauling in all their research equipment.
Kanitz Rasmussen, whose family moved to Whistler, B.C., when he was 13, was in his element.
“I grew up in the mountains. I love connecting with nature and disconnecting from everything else.”
That was easily done, with no electricity, spotty Wi-Fi and only two other researchers at the glacier. Unlike Whistler, the Qori Kalis isn’t exactly a tourist hotspot.
The Andes, which dwarf the Coast Mountains back home, left him awestruck.
“I’d be hiking to the glacier knowing how privileged I was in that moment,” says Kanitz Rasmussen, who was was operating the drone that mapped the glacier’s forefield.
“Not many people will ever get to go where I went or see what I saw.”
“I want to help communities like mine prepare for what’s coming while also making the case for why we need to get serious about global warming.” Integrated Science undergraduate Thomas Kanitz Rasmussen is considering a career in environmental conservation.
‘Good science doesn’t just happen in English’
Kanitz Rasmussen is fluent in Portuguese, and he and Narro Pérez spent their days at the glacier speaking mostly Spanish and Portuguese to prep for his conference presentation.
“Good science doesn’t just happen in English,” the veteran reminded the rookie.
The practice paid off. The international conference included a competition among the 30 poster presentations — and Kanitz Rasmussen finished fourth.
“The fact that Thomas did his presentation in Spanish and was recognized by the Peruvian judges for this is so wonderful,” says Narro Pérez. “I couldn’t stop smiling or taking pictures throughout his talk.”
Kanitz Rasmussen is now back at Mac finishing his thesis. Next term, he’ll be a teaching assistant in Narro Perez’s second-year earth history course.
That course, along with his thesis, his work in the lab and out in the field have Kanitz Rasmussen rethinking his career plans: When he came to McMaster in 2022 with his sights set on medical school after his Integrated Science degree.
A career in environmental conservation is now a definite option: It would be a way to continue working outdoors, connecting with nature and making a difference.
He points out that what’s happening to the glaciers in Perú is a preview of what’s in store for Canada.
“Whistler is my home. I want to help communities like mine prepare for what’s coming while also making the case for why we need to get serious about global warming,” he says.
“I can’t thank Rodrigo and Carolyn enough for everything they’ve done in supporting me and believing in my potential to take on that role.”