David Andrew Ellis

ELLIS, Dr. David Andrew – With his wife by his side, on Wednesday November 6th, 2019 at Peterborough Regional Health Centre at the age of 49. Loving husband to Jane Oltmann Ellis and proud father of Doran and Katherine. Son of Malcolm Ellis and the late Jean McCallum Ellis (nee Calder). Brother of Malcolm (Lora), Jeremy (Suzanne) and Jen.

Prof. Ellis joined Trent University in 2004 as an assistant professor in Chemistry, later becoming an associate professor in 2008, then acting dean of Arts and Science – Science in 2017. While fighting a courageous battle with cancer, Prof. Ellis enthusiastically took on the role of dean of Humanities in 2019, with the collegiality, wit and optimism his coworkers came to expect from him – and will greatly miss.

Prof. Ellis described himself as a scientist with a passion for the importance of the pursuit of the humanities. Prof. Ellis was the proud originator and coordinator of the University’s popular and innovative Medical Professional Stream. He served as the director of the Centre for Environmental Modelling and Chemistry and was associated with Applied Modelling and Quantitative Methods (AMOD) and Environmental and Life Sciences (ENLS) graduate programs. Prof. Ellis served as departmental chair in Chemistry (2009 – 2012), chair of the Cyclical Program Review Committee, was a member of Senate, and served on departmental personnel and curriculum committees.

Prof. Ellis’ passion for humanities and science was expressed in his own words in his “Meet the Dean” biography for the Faculty of Arts and Science – Humanities. Always available to guide students on their educational and life path, Prof. Ellis’ bio concludes with a message to students: “Ask me anything.”

In Scotland, Prof. Ellis received a B.Sc (Hons.) in Chemistry from the University of Glasgow. He completed an M.Sc. at the University of Aberdeen in the study of environmental chemical issues related to North Sea oil extraction. His second M.Sc. was from the University of Toronto for synthetic processes in drug creation. He completed a Ph.D. and post-doctoral studies in multidisciplinary chemistry with a focus on environmental issues.

Prof. Ellis' research focused mainly on understanding the intrinsic properties of polyfluorinated organic molecules and how this leads to novel dissemination in the environment and biological systems.

During his career, Prof. Ellis collaborated and published over 30 articles with European, North American and Asian academic institutions; with provincial and federal government agencies within Canadian and America, such as the Ministry of the environment, Environment Canada, and Health Canada; and collaborated internationally with industry.

A funeral service for David will be held on Tuesday November 19th at 2:00 p.m. from the Champlain Great Hall at Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough. Visitation will be held prior to the service from 12:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. A private family interment will take place at a later time in the Little Lake Cemetery. In memory of David, if desired donations may be made to the Ken Dowe Memorial Medical Professional Stream Prize. Arrangements entrusted to Comstock-Kaye Life Celebration Centre.