An Interview With Founders Award Winner Frank Wania

Amila De Silva, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Frank Wania from the University of Toronto is the 2022 recipient of the Founders Award, one of SETAC’s highest honors that recognize career excellence in the field of environmental science. It was a pleasure to interview Wania on his lifelong shared adventures of discovering and understanding environmental phenomena.

Growing up in Germany, what are some experiences that made you interested in the environment and ultimately pursue a career in science?

My family was fond of the very German habit of going for countryside hikes almost every weekend. These experiences nurtured my love of the outdoors and a desire to contribute to the protection of the environment. To this day, I’ve retraced many favorite childhood hikes whenever visiting family, especially in a region called Franconian Switzerland.

Mentorship can exist inside and outside of the classroom. Who are your major influences and mentors?

Otto Hutzinger is responsible for me becoming an environmental chemist. In the small backwoods university that I attended in Bayreuth, Germany, his exalted international standing opened doors and minds. While my interactions with him were quite limited, they made possible to envisage a life pursuing research that made a difference.

My Ph.D. supervisor Don Mackay’s influence cannot be overstated. I learned so much from him, not just about fugacity, multimedia fate modeling and the importance of good chemical property data, but also on how to write papers and give presentations, constructively engage in scientific arguments, mentor trainees and, crucially, making sure to have some fun while doing it. I was lucky to have a second amazing teacher then: Wan Ying Shiu taught me all about perseverance and generosity, on how to make good measurements in the lab, and how to appreciate Chinese culture. She is an example of the many scientists working in the shadows, shying away from the limelight of conferences, but who contribute ultimately just as much as the ones having the asterisk next to their name and winning the awards.

Your PhD and subsequent professional career have been from your home base in Toronto.  What was it like adjusting to a new country?

Easy! Coming to Canada was exhilarating. It was a chance to reinvent yourself by moving to new country and speaking another language. I immediately loved the very different academic culture in North America compared to Germany. It was the flat hierarchies and spirit of cooperation prevalent in the Canadian environmental chemistry and toxicology community in academia and government. It allowed coexistence and synergy of ambition and collaboration. I think this is the reason why this community often punches way above its weight internationally. It takes a few senior people in the field to set the tone. I owe a lot to Derek Muir, Terry Bidleman and the late Robie Macdonald. As beneficiaries of this cooperative approach, we have a desire and a sense of responsibility to carry it forward.

Related to the previous question, your research has literally taken you all over the world.  To me this underscores your natural curiosity but also that you aren’t afraid of new experiences. What are some unique locations you’ve been to that really stand out to you?

Some work outside of Canada originated from meeting wonderful colleagues such as Luisa Castillo and Ricardo Barra when I was involved with the UN and other international organizations in the late 1990s. Among the favorite parts of my work has been the field work with students in Costa Rica and Southern Chile - some of them I’ve met again during SETAC meetings. We used Pasteur pipettes to collect water pooling in the leaves of bromeliads in Costa Rica’s montane rain forest. Another time, we hired horses to take soil samples on the inaccessible Northern slope of Irazu volcano. Another highlight was the work with Baagi Mmereki in the Okavango delta in Botswana.

Your 1993 paper in Ambio “Global Fractionation and Cold Condensation of Low Volatility Organochlorine Compounds in Polar Regions” continues to be celebrated to this day.  I know that the paper came about from coursework during your Ph.D., and you even wrote a retrospective editorial on it. In the original paper, you propose a mechanism for halogenated organics to reach the Arctic and enter food webs. The paper is also one of the earliest to speak about environmental injustice specifically to Arctic Indigenous Peoples.  Does the betterment of society motivate your science?

I am never sure whether it is a blessing or a curse that my most recognizable contribution dates from my doctoral thesis. However, I am convinced that already during my graduate research it was the protection of the environment and humans from pollution that motivated my work, more so than the mere creation of new knowledge and insight. I don't see my role as that of an advocate and, in fact, think it is important not to pressure environmental scientists into believing they have to become activists in order to have impact. There is a real value and significance in establishing, assembling and stating the scientific evidence and the associated uncertainties. If this evidence points towards an environmental injustice occurring, that needs stating then as well.

Your research group alumni really capture the cultural diversity for which Toronto is known. You’re also known for having gender diversity in your research group.  How has diversity enriched your career and science?

Actually, assembling a highly diverse research group was not a conscious choice. When you recruit the best possible team members, you are bound to end up with a highly diverse group, especially in a place such as Toronto. And, then you do realize that there is real benefit to having a team with different experiences, perspectives, personalities, skill sets and inclinations. It imparts resilience and versatility and fosters creativity. It also makes for much tastier potluck meals.

Your contributions to SETAC are immeasurable, and we’ve seen new shoots from your academic family tree actively participate in SETAC. Has SETAC been a venue for your career development in terms of fostering collaborations, being a place to introduce your discoveries, and building a community?

Looking back, SETAC has been tremendously important for me. It is the obvious scientific home for those who advance environmental toxicology and chemistry and want societal impact through science. I share with SETAC the idea that the protection of the environment from chemical contamination is well served by the coming-together of academic scientists, the regulatory community and industry representatives. Without being really conscious of it at the time, over three decades, SETAC and the annual meetings have been instrumental in initiating and fostering the relationships that shaped my career.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the SETAC community in this feature?

Anyone who is even remotely familiar with my research group will know that I have been playing doubles all along. It is much easier if you only have to hit every second ball. The wide range of the research we have engaged in and the positive mentorship experiences of the alumni that you have mentioned above would not have been possible without Ying Duan Lei being my partner in life and research. I therefore share the recognition of the Founders Award with her.

Obviously, I am also immensely grateful to the many students, postdocs and collaborators with whom I had the pleasure to work and without whom none of the work for which I am being honored would have been possible. Scientific research is truly a team effort.

Author's contact information: Amila De Silva, [email protected]