A University of Victoria professor has been appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada.
The Order of Canada superlative is given to a person to recognize outstanding achievement and dedication to their community and the country.
When Kate Moran was 17 years old in 1972, her family home in Pennsylvania was destroyed by Hurricane Agnes. It was that event that led to her passion for improving upon warning systems for natural disasters, as well as government help in recovery.
“It was a pretty impactful event for me, a lot of people were displaced for a long time and it caused billions of dollars in damage,” Moran said in a statement from the University of Victoria.
“I saw the importance of government help for recovery, and for alerts and warnings for natural disasters, and we didn’t really have any of that then.”
Moran’s passions also lie in climate change. Another pivotal moment in her career was her time co-leading an expedition of the first scientific drilling in the Arctic Ocean.
On that trip, she and her team discovered perennial sea ice – meaning it survived at least one melting season – that had been on the planet for millions of years. However, data showed that ice would be gone in a lifetime. This epiphany only drove her on.
In 2012, Moran took over as president and CEO of UVic’s Ocean Network Canada initiative. The group does ocean observation work, as well as producing data to further maritime safety, coastal community resiliency and, of course, climate solutions.
“Dr. Kate Moran’s appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada is a well-deserved acknowledgment of her lifetime contributions to science, both nationally and globally,” Kevin Hall, UVic’s president and vice-chancellor, said in the release.
Upon receiving her appointment, Moran expressed her gratitude.
“I am honoured to be appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada as this is a wonderful recognition of the work I have been privileged to do and hope to continue. Being responsible for public dollars means you should maximize that investment to the benefit of as many people as possible, and that is where my motivation lies.”
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