The prospect that humans could hack the Earth's climate for good using science captured a young Isaac Bahler's imagination in profound ways.
Scientists have been grappling with how to do so for decades now, yet the complexities and risks associated with altering planetary systems say by shooting particles into the atmosphere to cool Earth's temperature have made progress slow.
That hasn't stopped Isaac from pursuing his fascination with climate innovation. It has, however, shaped his perspective on what he needs to ensure success in such risky endeavours.
"If we're going to mess with systems as complex as the global climate, then I'm going to need a background that lets me quantify them as rigorously as possible." he says.
To that end, Isaac packed his bags in his hometown of Red Deer, Alberta after high school and headed east to study Earth Sciences and Physics at Dalhousie where he could explore these and other more earth-bound pursuits.
He found fertile ground to explore his academic interests at Dal. What he also uncovered was a path to becoming the university's 95th recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship, considered one of the world's most coveted and prestigious student awards.
Isaac was one of 11 students from across Canada this week and more than 100 globally to earn the honour, which offers students a fully funded opportunity to pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford in England.
"Essentially just shock," says Isaac, when asked how he felt upon learning he'd clinched the Rhodes. "It's an enormous opportunity that I'm very thankful to be afforded. I didn't expect to get it."
It's an enormous opportunity that I'm very thankful to be afforded. I didn't expect to get it.
Isaac's big exhale came last Saturday evening when he got a phone call saying he'd been selected for the scholarship. He'd interviewed in the morning in Halifax and spent the day trying to not think about the outcome.
"I didn't realize how tense I was until I heard from them," he says. "It was the uncertainty that stressed me out more than anything."
Whatever uncertainty he may have felt, his achievements and character clearly spoke loudly in the Rhodes process.
"Isaac is a remarkable student, and this honour is a true reflection of his hard work, determination, and community commitment," says Wanda Costen, Dal's provost and vice-president academic. "It also reflects the care his instructors, mentors, and our entire academic community have put into delivering the best possible academic and student experience here at Dalhousie. We can't wait to see where Isaac's Rhodes Scholarship takes him."
From the pool to podium
Isaac's typical days tend to follow a more predictable cadence than last Saturday, centred around a balance of classes, honours research, field and lab work for a Dal spinout company, building a startup, and time in the pool as a member of the Tigers varsity swim team.
Swimming has been a part of Isaac's life since he was a child. At Dal, he built community in the pool. He also found structure in the time commitment usually 20 hours minimum weekly and a sense of perspective that helped him excel in other areas of his life.
"Swimming convinced me that you can remake your limits," he says. "If you keep working on a skill, even if you start off terrible, you get better. Knowing that made it easier to stay with school and academics, especially when things were hard."
Isaac's hard work and perseverance have been rewarded, both in the pool and out. He's earned Academic All-Canadian status during each of his years at Dal, a designation for student-athletes who maintain an 80% academic average or higher while competing in varsity sport. Other honours he's received include the David Barlow Memorial Award (for student leadership in Earth Sciences), Venture for Canada Internship Funding (a national student internship grant), and the Dalhousie-McCall MacBain Leadership Academy Scholarship (for High-Performance Leadership).
But perhaps Isaac's biggest accomplishments leading up to his Rhodes Scholarship have stemmed from his desire to turn his curiosity into action. In July of last year, he co-founded the student group that would go on to become Equlantic Aquatic Monitoring an ocean-tech startup focused on creating a platform to improve geochemical monitoring solutions for carbon dioxide removal and aquaculture.
Isaac is a deserving Rhodes Scholar and a great example of what a dedicated student can achieve.
He led the five-person team to secure more than $40,000 in competitive funding from innovation programs at Dal and beyond as well as top prize ($15,000) at the 2025 Mission Innovation SMART CDR global competition in Norway earlier this year. He also won Student Entrepreneur of the Year at the Dalhousie IMPACT Awards for this work.
"Isaac has gotten involved in nearly every aspect of student life at Dal, from varsity sports and entrepreneurship to leadership, all while maintaining incredibly high academic standards," says Dr. Charles Macdonald, dean of the Faculty of Science. "He's a deserving Rhodes Scholar and a great example of what a dedicated student can achieve."
Turning research into real-world impact
Isaac's drive to create more precise ways to measure the impact of carbon-removal solutions has been fuelled by his research work with CarbonRun, a Dal spinout company co-founded by Dal Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Dr. Shannon Sterling. The company restores river chemistry by adding alkaline minerals, delivering significant ecological benefits while safely and verifiably drawing down CO2.
Over the past year and a half, he has worked as a research technician as well as a scientific analyst for the firm a unique chance to contribute to an emerging company that's "the first of its kind in the world," he says. He's even helped the company develop patents for its technology, knowledge he gained doing the same for his student-based startup Equlantic.
"I want to work directly on how we actually implement these solutions," he says. "That's why I'm drawn to the intersection of science and business: how do we move formative research out of the lab and into practice?"
As he looks ahead to Oxford next year, Isaac says he's enticed by the chance to cross paths with other scholars who are similarly interested in solving big problems.
And with a Rhodes Scholarship in hand, he's well positioned to build on his long-standing fascination with climate innovation and contribute to addressing one of the world's most pressing challenges.
Isaac follows fellow Dalhousie alumni Ashley Jackson, Sierra Sparks, Nayani Jensen, and Diana Adamo into the Rhodes Scholar ranks.
