Emerging Researcher Award

It is with tremendous pleasure and privilege that we announce Dr David McLagan as the 16th ICMGP2024 recipient of the prestigious Emerging Researcher Award in Mercury as a Global Pollutant, as nominated by Dr Carl Mitchell, Dr Sandy Steffen, and Prof Dr Harald Biester.

Dr David McLagan is an outstanding emerging researcher in mercury science and is currently an Assistant Professor at Queen’s University in Canada, where he is jointly appointed to both the Department of Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering, and the School of Environmental Studies. At Queen’s University, he directs the FEWA – Fire, Earth, Water and Air: Contaminant Biogeochemistry Lab, where he supervises several research students and teaches courses in Wildfire Science & Management, Oceanography, and Environmental Studies Methods. After completing his PhD in 2018 at the University of Toronto, he completed postdoctoral fellowships at Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Technical University of Brunswick in Germany before moving back to Canada for his current role.

Dr McLagan has published 23 peer-reviewed articles, and less than two years into his tenure track position, is seeing his research cited nearly 200 times per year. He has had a truly global impact on the mercury science community, particularly with his leadership in the development of what is now the gold standard for mercury passive air sampling. In David’s more recent work, he has tackled major mercury contamination problems, applying novel methods such as natural abundance mercury isotope fractionation analyses, airborne sampling, and dendrochronology. He has made a truly global impact through his co-invention, development, and rigorous testing all the way to commercial availability, of what is now broadly known a MerPAS – mercury passive air sampler. MerPAS is a non-electrical, stand-alone (passive) sampling device that requires no other inputs and little to no training to deploy. This combination of attributes has led to MerPAS’s use in monitoring networks and national monitoring programs worldwide and with growing interest and uptake.

Overall, Dr McLagan promotes a global scientific philosophy using novel, yet accessible technologies and methods that encourage a broader dissemination of knowledge, intersectoral collaboration, and the empowerment of local scientists and communities across the world. He has been highly involved in ICMGP meetings since his days as a graduate student, organizing workshops and special sessions. This large impact in Dr McLagan’s early career qualifies him strongly for being the recipient of the Emerging Researcher Award in Mercury as a Global Pollutant.