Below you can find information about my background (academic, professional and
personal), research (themes, tools, publications and reviews), teaching
(postsecondary, tutoring, and philosophy), mentoring (research supersivion and
international education), contacts (how you can reach out to me).
I acquired a PhD from Simon Fraser University where I specialized in climate science and Earth system modelling. For my PhD work, I visited researchers based at the University of Victoria and at Environment and Climate Change Canada. Furthermore, I went on a summer school on Earth system modelling held in Germany. Following my PhD studies, I held research positions at Concordia University, Saint Francis Xavier University, and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
In the early 2010s, I was a graduate student at the University of Cape Town and at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (South Africa), a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia (Canada), and a Maître assistant at Université Polytechnique de Gitega (Burundi). In the late 2000s, I worked in Burundi as an intern in data analysis for the Epidemiology Service of the Ministry of Health, and as a full-time volunteer for the scout movement, and as a consultant in data analysis for Commission Épiscopale Justice et Paix.
My initial academic education was in mathematics at the former National University of Rwanda where I earned an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics with a specialization in statistical modelling and decision sciences. Before entering university, I represented Burundi at the 14th Pan African Mathematics Olympiads held in Tunis (Tunisia).
I was born in Brussels (Belgium) and raised in Bujumbura (Burundi).
⦿ Themes
• The importance of methane for future climate change. • The link between cumulative carbon emissions and observable climate impacts. • Soil carbon sequestration as nature-based climate solution.
⦿ Tools I mainly use numerical models of the coupled climate system (Earth system models) and analyze their simulation outputs using various data analysis software tools. In particular, I developed a model for wetland methane emissions for implementation in Earth system models. Building on this wetland methane model, I implemented a representation of the global methane cycle into an Earth system model that I commonly use to investigate the importance of methane for future climate. Such a coupled climate model with an interactive methane cycle is one of the few models of the kind currently released. Moreover, I contributed to the implementation of an advanced soil carbon model into an Earth system climate model in order to improve the representation of carbon cycling within the climate system. The purpose of this work was to investigate effects of soil carbon sequestration in the context of nature-based climate solutions.
⦿ Publications I have (co-)authored research articles published in various peer-reviewed journals. Below is a list of key published articles that I contributed to in the past few years:
Nzotungicimpaye, C-M., and Matthews, H.D. (2024). Linking cumulative carbon emissions to observable climate impacts, Environmental Research: Climate, 3, 032001, https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/ad3fda .
Nzotungicimpaye, C-M., MacIsaac, A.J., and Zickfeld, K (2023). Delaying methane mitigation increases the risk of breaching the 2°C warming limit. Communications Earth & Environment, 4, 1-8, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00898-z .
Matthews, H.D., Zickfeld, K., Dickau, M., MacIsaac, A.J., Mathesius, S., Nzotungicimpaye, C-M., Luers, A. (2022). Temporary nature-based carbon removal can lower peak warming in a well-below 2°C scenario, Communications Earth & Environment, 3, 1-8, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00391-z .
Nzotungicimpaye, C-M., Zickfeld, K., MacDougall, A.H., Melton, J.R., Treat, C.C., Eby, M., Lesack, L.F.W. (2021). WETMETH 1.0: A new wetland methane model for implementation in Earth system models, Geoscientific Model Development, 14, 6215-6240, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-6215-2021 .
⦿ Reviews I have served as a reviewer of research manuscripts submitted to the following international journals: Biogeosciences ; Communications Earth & Environment ; Current Climate Change Reports ; Environmental Research Letters ; Journal of Advanced in Modeling Earth Systems ; Nature Communications ; Science ; Science Advances ; Scientific Reports .
Moreover, I have served as an expert reviewer of technical reports by the following United Nations bodies and agencies: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ; World Meteorological Organization (WMO) .
Furthermore, I have served as a research review consultant for Mitacs . In this role, I coordinated the review of 70+ research proposals for grants involving collaborations between academic and industrial researchers in Canada.
⦿ Postsecondary > Contribution to postsecondary teaching in English and French. • 3 climate science courses at Simon Fraser University (Canada). • 1 Earth science course at Simon Fraser University (Canada). • 5 mathematics courses at Université Polytechnique de Gitega (Burundi). • 1 climate science course at Université Polytechnique de Gitega (Burundi). • 2 mathematics courses at the University of Cape Town (South Africa). • 1 mathematics course at Université Nationale du Rwanda (Rwanda).
⦿ Tutoring > Private tutoring of mathematics and statistics to high school and university students. > Online tutoring of mathematics to high school students across South Africa.
⦿ Philosophy My teaching philosophy is centered around student engagement, because I view such an engagement as the core of effective learning. My principal approach for promoting this engagement is to use course materials and activities that are relevant, structured, and contemporary as much as possible.
⦿ Academic research While serving as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Geography at Simon Fraser University, I co-supervised 32 students during their term research projects for GEOG 414. The term projects explored different research topics related to future climate, and my role was to guide the students in their analysis and interpretation of future climate projections produced by an Earth system model.
During my doctoral training, I mentored an Undergraduate Research Assistant over two summer semesters. The research assistant joined the Climate Research Lab at SFU to conduct research and analysis on climate-carbon cycle feedbacks under negative carbon emissions. The research assistant went on to pursue postgraduate studies (MSc and PhD) at the same university, and published some of her results in a peer-reviewed journal (link to the article).
⦿ International mobility I served as a mentor to five international students from different Indian Institutes of Technology during their research internships at Simon Fraser University. These international interns were financially supported by Mitacs through its Globalink programme. The five interns were from the following IITs: IIT Bombay (2); IIT Madras (1); IIT Hyderabad (1); IIT Kharagpur (1).
For over a decade, I have been providing pro-bono consulting services to individuals from African countries who are seeking reliable postsecondary opportunities (scholarships and fellowships) abroad. My services are free of charge and they include a tailored recommendation of opportunities, a review of application documents, and a guidance during the application process. I do not offer services with regards to visa applications and immigration processes. My approach has been to serve a maximum of ten individuals in a calendar year. As such, I have a selection process whereby candidate profiles are evaluated based on their academic, professional and leadership achievements. Below are testimonies from selected individuals who have benefited from my services in the past.