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Produced by University of Saskatchewan Research
Communications November 14, 2006 Issue
30
1.
Nov 28 VPR Town Hall: Measuring Success and the Way Forward
2. Toop Lecture Nov 15 Focuses on Ag Research and the Future of
Rural Canada
3. U of S research holding its own:
Maclean's, Research Infosource
4. Equity Agreement
Ratified for Canada Research Chairs Program
5. Nursing
Professor Petrucka named McAleer Fellow
6. Aboriginal
Learning Centre Launch
7. U of A Oilsands Expert
Featured in Spinks Lectures Nov. 27-28
8. Two U of S
Professors Received Saskatchewan’s Highest Honour
9.
Renovated Animal Care Unit Opens Doors
10. Aquatic
Toxicity Workshop coming to U of S in 2008
11.
“Summer Vacation” student research series now online
12. Award of Innovation Call for Nominations
13. SIPP Student Public Policy Essay Contest
14. Teresa Rush joins Research
Communications
1. Nov 28 VPR Town
Hall: Measuring Success and the Way Forward
Vice-President
Research Steven Franklin invites all faculty, staff, and students to attend a
town hall meeting on Nov. 28th at 12 p.m. in Convocation Hall.
Franklin’s presentation,
Measuring Success and the Way Forward, will consider accomplishments, current
programs and initiatives, and future directions of the Office of the
Vice-President Research. For more information contact Sharla Daviduik at
966-2414.
Links:
OVPR Site: http://www.usask.ca/vpresearch/
Sharla
Daviduik: sharla.daviduik@usask.ca
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2.Toop Lecture Nov 15
Focuses on Ag Research and the Future of Rural Canada
University of
Manitoba Canada Research Chair Digvir Jayas will discuss a broad range of
possible directions and economic benefits of rural research at “Food, Fuel and
Pharming,” the 2006 Harry Toop Memorial Science for Saskatchewan
lecture.
Jayas will explore complex questions raised as agriculture redefines
itself. Is it ethical to devote food-producing land to industrial use? Can
“pharm” crops be segregated in a system set up for bulk transport? Can
opportunities borne of research stem the tide of rural depopulation?
The
lecture, organized by Research Communications, will be held Nov. 15th, 2006 at
7:15 p.m. in the Father O’Donnell Auditorium at St. Thomas More College.
Links:
Toop Lecture
Information: www.usask.ca/research/toop.shtml
U of M Biography on Jayas:
http://umanitoba.ca/afs/biosystems_engineering/staff/jayas/dsj.html
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3. U of S research
holding its own: Maclean's, Research
Infosource
U of
S research is holding its own among medical-doctoral universities, according to
the latest rankings of Canadian universities by Maclean’s and Research
Infosource.
The U of S held on to its 15th place ranking in Research
Infosource’s annual publication Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities, and its
place among the "$100 million club," the 16 universities with research income in
excess of $100 million. U of S research income dropped 2.6 per cent, from $110
million last year to $107.6 million. This compares to an average gain of 3.2 per
cent among the top 50 universities. Research intensity, defined as research
funding per full-time faculty member, stands at $107,200 for the U of S,
compared to the average of $150,000.
The Maclean’s picture shows the U of S
ranks 13th in social sciences and humanities research. Funding would need to
increase by 1.7 times to reach the steadily rising mean for the medical doctoral
group. U of S natural sciences, engineering, and medical research also ranks
13th. Grant performance would require a 1.25 increase in funding to bring it up
to the mean.
According to Research Infosource, Canada’s 15
medical-doctoral universities are collectively a research powerhouse, attracting
$4.2 billion in research income last year. This is more than four times the $953
million attracted by the country’s 34 universities without medical schools. Both
government and non-government funding for university research has been flat in
Canada for the past
year.
Links:
http://www.macleans.ca/universities
http://www.researchinfosource.com
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4. Equity Agreement
Ratified for Canada Research
Chairs Program
An
agreement on equity for the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program has been
ratified.
The agreement, announced in a Nov. 9th release, marks the end of a
mediation process begun in 2003 after a group of professors brought a complaint
concerning equity in the ranks of chairholders to the Canadian Human Rights
Commission.
Among other things, the agreement requires that federal policies
on non-discrimination and equity in employment be integral to the nomination
process. This includes equality of opportunity for all four groups protected by
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: women, persons with a disability,
Aboriginal Peoples, and visible minorities.
The CRC program funds more than
1,600 professorships across the country. In 2001, only 14 per cent of Chair
holders were women. This has increased steadily to 22 per cent today (29 per
cent of U of S CRCs are women). In the latest round of CRC placements, one third
of the Chairs went to women. About 30 per cent of Canadian university faculty
members are
women.
Links:
http://www.chairs.gc.ca/web/media/releases/2006/equity_e.asp
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5. Nursing Professor
Petrucka named McAleer
Fellow
College of Nursing assistant professor Pammla Petrucka
has received the Jacky McAleer Memorial Fellowship, one of the Titular
Fellowships offered through the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
based in London,
England.
According to a letter
from John Kirkland, deputy secretary-general (development) of the ACU, Petrucka
receives the prestigious fellowship in an extremely competitive year.
The
fellowship will be held in conjunction with the University of Nairobi, in the areas of nursing, gender,
and development. Petrucka will consider computer-assisted learning within the
Kenyan health care context, particularly in the slum areas of Kibera. A
particular focus will be continuing education and updating of health
professionals through podcasting, blogging, mobile learning, and similar
technologies.
Links:
Association of Commonwealth Universities:
http://www.acu.ac.uk
Pammla Petrucka:
http://www.usask.ca/nursing/faculty/petrucka.htm
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6. Aboriginal Learning
Centre Launch
The
Canadian Council on Learning’s Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre celebrated
its official launch on Oct. 19, 2006 amidst the spectacular setting of
historical First Nations meeting place, Wanuskewin Heritage Park.
More than 100 guests attended,
including consortium members and representatives of the provincial government.
First Nations and Métis authorities, representatives from the U of S faculty,
University of Manitoba, University of Waterloo, Cape Breton University, and key
players in Aboriginal learning also participated in the event.
The Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Center will bring practitioners and
scholars to share information about learning through various processes of
participation, collaboration, participatory research and sharing led by
Aboriginal people and grounded in Indigenous ways of
knowing.
Links:
Canadian Council on Learning: http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/
Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre:
http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/AboutCCL/KnowledgeCentres/AboriginalLearning/
Wanuskewin Heritage Park:
http://www.wanuskewin.com
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7. U of A Oilsands
Expert Featured in Spinks Lectures Nov. 27-28
Jacob Masliyah,
NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Oil Sands at the University of Alberta, will
present two lectures for the U of S for the J.W.T. Spinks lecture
series.
Masliyah, who also holds a Canada Research Chair in Oilsands
Engineering, will give his first lecture, Applications of Colloid Science in Oil
Sands Bitumen Recovery, on Nov. 27th at 3:45 p.m. This lecture will discuss the
recovery of viscous petroleum recovery from the Athabasca oil sands.
Masliyah’s second lecture, on Nov.
28th at 3:45 p.m., is entitled Implications of Electrokinetic in Channel Flow
and will feature an overview of electrokinetic phenomena.
Both lectures,
presented by the department of chemical engineering and department of chemistry,
will be held in Room 105 of the Thorvaldson Building.
Links:
Jacob Masliyah:
http://www.ualberta.ca/~masliyah/
J.W.T. Spinks:
http://www.usask.ca/chemistry/spinks.html
Canada Research
Chair in Oilsands Engineering:
http://www.chairs.gc.ca/web/chairholders/viewprofile_e.asp?id=530&
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8. Two U of S
Professors Received Saskatchewan’s Highest
Honour
Professor emeritus
of music David Kaplan and history professor Bill Waiser received the
Saskatchewan Order of Merit on Nov. 1, 2006.
Kaplan helped establish the U of
S department of music and was head of department for more than 15 years. He was
conductor of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, and founding chair of the
Saskatchewan Music Council.
Waiser is a specialist in Western and Northern
Canadian history. He has been called "Saskatchewan’s historian” for his work both as
a scholar and in popularizing history such as in Looking Back, a long-running
series of six-minute history segments on CBC television. His most recent book is
Saskatchewan:
A New History.
The Order of Merit is the province's highest honour. It
recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the well-being of
the province and its residents.
“These outstanding citizens are most
deserving of this prestigious honour in recognition of their extraordinary
contributions to Saskatchewan,” said Lieutenant Governor Gordon
Barnhart.
Links:
Saskatchewan Order of Merit:
http://www.gr.gov.sk.ca/protocol/Honours/SOM.htm
Nov. 1, 2006:
http://www.usask.ca/research/news/read.php?id=629
Waiser:
http://homepage.usask.ca/~waw273/
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9. Renovated Animal
Care Unit Opens Doors
WCVM
invited current and potential animal researchers to explore the newly expanded
Animal Care Unit on Oct. 30. The open house gave more than 50 people a chance to
walk through the renovated facility that now centralizes the college’s housing
for research animals.
The upgraded facility includes increased indoor housing
for laboratory, livestock and exotic species. The facility has a computerized
touchscreen system installed to give animal care staff and researchers real-time
access to monitoring information and research databanks.
The project is part
of WCVM’s $57-million expansion enhancing the college’s clinical, diagnostic and
teaching resources. For more information contact Margot Buckley at
966-7344.
Links:
WCVM:http://www.wcvm.com
mailto:margot.buckley@usask.ca
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10. Aquatic Toxicity
Workshop coming to U of S in 2008
Saskatoon will host more than 400 delegates from across
Canada during the 35th annual Aquatic
Toxicity Workshop in October 2008. Monique Dubé and Karsten Liber will co-chair
the 2008 conference while David Janz is part of the organizing
committee.
Several WCVM graduate students took home awards after this year’s
workshop in Jasper, Alta. from Oct. 1-4.
PhD student Carrie Rickwood received
first place in the student platform presentation competition, while PhD student
Jorgelina Muscatello took second place in the student poster competition and an
honourable mention for her platform presentation. PhD student Naveen Puttaswamy
received an honourable mention for her poster presentation. For more
information, contact Monique Dubé at 966-7067. (photo courtesy Monique Dubé)
Links:
WCVM: http://www.wcvm.com
33rd annual Aquatic Toxicity
Workshop:http://www.atw.ca/
U of S Toxicology Centre:
http://www.usask.ca/toxicology/
Carrie Rickwood: carrie.rickwood@usask.ca
Monique Dube: monique.dube@usask.ca
David Janz’s: david.janz@usask.ca
Karsten Liber: karsten.liber@usask.ca
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11. “Summer Vacation”
student research series now online
After a 12-week
run, a successful initiative between Research Communications and The StarPhoenix
to highlight the work of student researchers through the work of student writers
and a student photographer is now complete.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation,
which ran every Monday from Aug. 14 to Oct. 30 in the The StarPhoenix,
highlighted the broad range of research undertaken by U of S students, from
skunk research and nanotechnology, to native entrepreneurship and women in
science and engineering. Some students made new national and international
contacts after they were featured. The full series is available online at the
Research Communications website.
Links:
How I Spent My Summer Vacation:
http://www.usask.ca/research/student/news_summervac.php
skunk research:
http://www.usask.ca/research/news/read.php?id=628
nanotechnology:
http://www.usask.ca/research/news/read.php?id=609
native entrepreneurship:
http://www.usask.ca/research/news/read.php?id=621
women in science and
engineering:
http://www.usask.ca/research/news/read.php?id=631
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12. Award of
Innovation Call for Nominations
Nominations are
now being accepted fro the 2007
Industry Liaison Office-Innovation Place Award of
Innovation. To be eligible, you must be an employee, student, or group from the
U of S who has disclosed a commercializable technology prior to December 31,
2006.
The Award of Innovation includes a cash award of $5,000 to be shared
equally by the innovators, a photo on the Award of Innovation wall in the ILO
office, and a trophy. The award will be presented at the “Celebrate Success”
gala ceremony on May 15th, 2007.
Deadline for entries is March 16th,
2007.
Links:
Award of Innovation:
http://www.usask.ca/research/ilo/award
ILO:
http://www.usask.ca/research/ilo/
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13. SIPP Student
Public Policy Essay Contest
The Saskatchewan
Institute of Public Policy (SIPP) is holding its annual essay contest. Students
from the U of S, University of Regina, or the First Nations University of
Canada can submit papers they have written for a course, along with a
recommendation from the course professor.
Papers will be assessed by a panel
of judges, with the top-scoring undergraduate and graduate works to be published
and distributed across Canada. Authors receive a prize of
$500.
The deadline for submission is April 30, 2007. For more information
contact SIPP at (306) 585-5869.
Links:
SIPP:
http://www.uregina.ca/sipp
SIPP E-mail:
mailto:sipp@uregina.ca
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14. Teresa Rush joins
Research Communications
Teresa Rush joined
the Office of Research Communications on Nov. 6th as the new Administrative
Assistant.
Teresa hold a medical secretary diploma from Algonquin College and comes to us with eight years of
administrative experience in Ottawa and Victoria in a variety of
post-secondary and health organizations.
Teresa is well-acquainted with the
research environment and university culture, having worked at the University of Victoria in a variety of offices including VP Finance,
Early
Childhood Development Virtual University, the Centre for Community
Health Research Promotion, and the Collaborative Nursing Program. Her most
recent position was Administrative Assistant to the Director of
Communications.
Teresa can be reached at 966-1425.
Links:
Teresa Rush:
teresa.rush@usask.ca
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Communications
Phone: (306) 966-2427
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