Queen's professor over the Mohn after winning Arctic research award

Dr. John Smol was recognized for his work on the impact of climate change in the Arctic.

A Queen's University professor is getting an international award.

Dr. John Smol was recently announced as the 2026 Mohn Prize winner for his research on how climate change is affecting the arctic.

He says he couldn't believe it when he first got the call.

The Mohn Prize is given out every two years and Smol is only the fifth recipient of the award since its inception in 2018. It comes with a cash prize of 2,000,000 Norwegian Krone, or $275,000 CDN.

While it is an individual award, Smol says the people he works with had a hand in him winning the Mohn Prize.

Smol works as a professor in the Biology Department at Queen's and part of the research that won him the award was finding out the early origins of climate change in the arctic. That involves Smol and his team digging up dirt from the bottom of the ocean.

He says that can provide years of information on the environmental impact of the waterway.

Smol says with that information, he can outline how climate change will affect rivers, lakes, oceans, and other waterways in the future.

He compares his research with work that a doctor does on patients.

Smol will receive the Mohn Prize and speak on panels at Arctic Frontiers in Tromsø, Norway on February 4–5, 2026. 

Story by Ken Hashizume