Deliver your first ever poster presentation at an international conference in a language you don’t speak? ¡No hay problema! for Integrated Science undergrad

Integrated Science student Thomas Kanitz Rasmussen was leaving conference-goers in Lima, Perú seriously confused.

Not only was he delivering his first ever poster presentation – he was giving his presentation entirely in Spanish. Kanitz Rasmussen doesn’t speak the language but that wasn’t the cause of confusion at “The Mountains, Our Future” conference held by Perú’s National Institute for Research in Glaciers and Mountain Ecosystems in late October.

Kanitz Rasmussen is fluent in Portuguese thanks to his mom who was born and raised in Brazil. The linguistic similarities between Portuguese and Spanish meant he could hold his own when talking about his research. He’d also gone into the conference with some last-minute, mountainside Spanish coaching from his supervisor Rodrigo Narro Pérez, an assistant professor in the School of Earth, Environment & Society.

What confused researchers were his research and communication skills. “Everyone kept asking Thomas how many years he’d been in graduate school at McMaster,” says Narro Pérez. “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 sedimentological and geochemical analysis of glacial lake sediment cores in Northern Perú. He’s doing the analysis for his undergraduate thesis project under Narro Pérez’s supervision. The research is important because rapidly receding glaciers leave 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.

He’d been a student in Narro Pérez’s first and second-year earth science courses so he felt comfortable asking the assistant professor in his third year if he’d supervise his undergraduate thesis. “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.

Like the maternal side of Kanitz Rasmussen’s family, Narro Pérez has strong ties to Latin America. He was born and raised in Lima, Perú and speaks Spanish fluently. “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.”

Given their underrepresentation in STEM, Narro Pérez says it’s important for faculty to support, uplift and recognize Latin American / LatinX students.

That support didn’t stop at thesis supervision. Narro Pérez and his former PhD supervisor, professor emeritus Carolyn Eyles, encouraged Kanitz Rasmussen to apply for the School of Earth, Environment & Society’s NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award. In receiving the award, he spent 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 doing fieldwork 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 international conference, 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).

Getting to the glacier required an eight-hour flight from Toronto to Lima, a short-hop 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, who was operating the drone that mapped the glacier’s forefield, was in his element.  He was 13 years old when his family moved from London, England to the resort town of Whistler, British Columbia. “I grew up in the mountains. I love connecting with nature and disconnecting from everything else.” That was easily done – there’s no electricity, spotty Wi-Fi and there were just two other researchers at the glacier. Unlike Whistler, the Qori Kalis isn’t exactly a tourist hotspot.

The Andes Mountains, which dwarf the Coast Mountains back home, left Kanitz Rasmussen awestruck. “I’d be hiking to the glacier knowing how privileged I was in that moment. Not many people will ever get to go where I went or see what I saw.”

The views and vistas at 5,000 metres above sea level are literally breathtaking. Kanitz Rasmussen experienced his first bout of altitude sickness – it was brief but brutal. Along with the nausea, he says it felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest. The symptoms eventually subsided.

To prep for his conference presentation, Kanitz Rasmussen and Narro Pérez spent their days at the glacier speaking mostly Spanish and Portuguese. “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 – 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 with 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. He came to McMaster in 2022 to play on the varsity rugby team (he played three seasons and served as captain in his final year) and be a student in the Integrated Science program. His sights were initially set on medical school and the iSci program looked like a good way to achieve that goal.

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. 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.”