College of Graduate Studies and Research
105 Administration Place
Saskatoon SK CANADA S7N 5A2
Office: E240 Admin
Tel: (306) 966-5759
Fax: (306) 975-1026
Email: Lawrence.Martz@USask.CA

Dr. Lawrence W. Martz, Ph.D., P.Geo.
Dean, College of Graduate Studies and Research

I am a third-generation western Canadian who was born in Peace River, Alberta. I attended the University of Alberta earning a B.Sc. and and M.Sc. in Geography before going to work at Alberta Energy and Natural Resources and then at Alberta Environment. The opportunity to teach in the Water Resources Engineering  program at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology brought me to Saskatoon where I also earned a Ph.D. at the University of Saskatchewan. My Ph. D. research was on the use of Cs-137 fallout measurements and digital terrain analysis methods to map soil erosion. I took up a faculty position in the Department of Geography at the U. of S. and taught courses in introductory physical geography, hill-slope and fluvial geomorphology, hydrology, and geographical information systems. My early research focused on soil erosion and sediment transport, but soon shifted to the development and application of TOPAZ; a software system for analyzing digital elevation data to extract parameters for hydrologic models. My use of TOPAZ to study the effects of spatial scale on hydrologic model parameters led to a decade-long involvement with the Mackenzie GEWEX Study (MAGS); a Canadian research network contributing to the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX). While digital terrain analysis has been the main focus of my research, I have also been involved in several other types of projects. I edited the Atlas of Saskatchewan (CD-ROM Edition); the first provincial atlas to be published in digital form in Canada. I recently led a project that studied the impacts of climate change on water use in the South Saskatchewan River Basin and am currently one of the leaders of a Community-University Research Alliance entitled Otipimsuak: the Free People - Mètis Land and Society in Northwest Saskatchewan. I have published over 200 book chapters, journal articles and conference papers and have supervised about 20 Masters´ and Doctoral students and Post-doctoral Fellows. I am a past President of the Canadian Geophysical Union (Hydrology Section), chaired the Scientific Committee of MAGS and the GEWEX Water Resources Application Project. I am a member of the Canadian National Committee to the International Association for Hydrologic Sciences and served on the NSERC Strategic Project Grants selection committee. I was an Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences before becoming Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. I am also a Professional Geoscientist registered with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan.