Biography
Grant Ferguson is professor at the University of Saskatchewan, where he holds a joint appointment between the Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering and the School of Environment and Sustainability. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona and the University of Waterloo. Grant holds a B.Sc. from the University of Waterloo and a Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba. Grant’s research and teaching interests focus on deep groundwater systems, regional hydrogeology and sustainable development of groundwater resources. He served as president of the IAH Canadian National Chapter (CNC) from 2009 to 2015 and was a founding member of the IAH ECHN. Grant Ferguson recipient of the IAH CNC’s Long-Term Service Award and have also received an American Geophysical Union Editors’ Citation for Excellence in Refereeing. With his students and collaborators, Grant has authored papers that have been recognized as an Editor’s Choice by Hydrogeology Journal, Research Highlights by the American Geophysical Union and a Highly Cited Paper by Groundwater. He was recently selected as the National Ground Water Association’s 2025 Darcy Lecturer.
Personal statement
I am putting my name forward for a second term as IAH VP for North America. The past few years has presented many challenges for all of us, including our ability to meet. After missing IAH Congresses from 2020 to 2022 due to travel restrictions, I attended my first in person IAH Council meeting in Cape Town in 2023. While we were able to accomplish many things online, seeing friends and colleagues in person was invigorating. I feel like I have only just begun to contribute as a member of IAH Council and am excited to continue to work on several current initiatives.
There have been recent meetings to connect the Canadian National Chapter and US National Chapter with the Mexican National Chapter. We are exploring the possibility of co-hosting events, which may include preparing a bid for an IAH Congress. Bringing an IAH Congress or other large IAH-hosted event to North America will help to engage our members in the United States and Canada.
I will work to grow existing relationships with other groundwater organizations, including existing relationships with the Geological Society of America and the Canadian Geotechnical Society, who have helped us host past events. Relationships I am developing with NGWA through organization of the 2025 Darcy Lecture tour will provide opportunities to understand how IAH and NGWA might work.
Finally, I am hoping to foster growth of the ECHN in North America, including co-operation between the ECHN in Canada and the USA. The ECHN has seen phenomenal growth since it was formed but opportunities to create opportunities for early career hydrogeologists remain. There are also enormous benefits that the larger IAH community can gain from engaging with larger ECHN.
