UNews - Nunavut

Judging its own reward

trevor.kenney — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:46:13 +0000

Having seen the spark ignited in a young scientist's eyes, Dr. Roy Golsteyn is eager to stoke the fires of ingenuity once again. As the chief judge for the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF), to be held at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge May 11-18, 2013, he'll get that opportunity, and it's one he'd like to share.

"I'm a huge believer in science fairs," says Golsteyn (BSc '84), an associate professor of biology and the director of the Cancer Cell Laboratory at the U of L.

He participated in science fairs as a kid, but never competed beyond the local level. Now, as a judge whose own children have competed nationally, he sees the true value of encouraging scientific discovery in our youth.

"You see it, there's a real sense of excitement in these kids," says Golsteyn. "Some are just starting to dabble in science, some have already acquired a lot of knowledge; they like it, they like the freedom of it and they revel in the challenge.

"Having judged science fairs for the last four years, I always walk away happily impressed, because there are some smart kids out there and we get an opportunity to not only meet them but to also encourage them to continue to pursue science."

Dr. Roy Golsteyn is the chief judge for the Canada-Wide Science Fair, which the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of lethbridge will be hosting May 11-18, 2013. A total of 400 judges are required for the massive event.

The CWSF is a massive undertaking, featuring 400 of the top science projects in the country and involving more than 1,100 students (Grades 7 to 12), chaperones, judges, sponsors and delegates. There are more than 400 judges alone who are needed to officiate the proceedings and as Chief Judge, one of Golsteyn's main duties is to recruit the best group of judges he can find.

"We are attracting the best science students from across the country, so we want to match those students with the best judges we have in southern Alberta," says Golsteyn. "Fortunately for us, southern Alberta is pretty scientist dense."

Golsteyn cites the valuable resources available at the U of L, Lethbridge College, the Canada Research Centre, the Regional Hospital and major industry such as Pratt & Whitney, which has a very strong engineering component to its operation.

"We know there are many qualified judges in southern Alberta, it's more an issue of people being able to find time to take part," he says.

To that end, judging is limited to just one day, and even half-day participation can be considered. A pre-competition orientation evening is also involved and judges are encouraged to stay through the evening of competition to ensure all major prizes are awarded accordingly.

The value of having a captive audience of Canada's brightest young scientific minds on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ campus for a full week cannot be understated.

"The finalists truly do come from all over Canada, and there's this ripple affect associated with that," says Golsteyn. "It's not just that there are two or three students from every region, what you'll see is that individual schools all across the country will follow their students for the week. So for that week, an entire school will be talking about the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, whether that's in Nunavut or Victoria."

There are three qualification levels for judges, including those with master's degrees or greater in sciences, those with professional diplomas such as engineering or veterinary medicine, and those with professional diplomas and experience in a science and technology-related field. Scientists with French language skills are also especially welcomed.

The U of L is uniquely suited to host a Canada-Wide Science Fair because of its already inherent science outreach programs.

"That's one of the reasons for my commitment to doing this," says Golsteyn. "It is so aligned with what we already do at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and what so many scientists are trying to do across the country. Here's an opportunity to share our expertise and to influence the next generation of young scientists."

He's seen, first-hand, how beneficial it is to students. His children (Quentin, 15, and Charlène, 12) have participated in science fairs and attended CWSF in Charlottetown, PEI last year. His daughter Audrey, 10, also has a distinct interest in microbiology and is likely on the same path.

"Sometimes science isolates students at that age. There are things that are cool and things that are less cool and sometimes science falls into that less cool category," says Golsteyn. "One of the goals of the science fair is to give these kids a week dedicated to science, and the opportunity to share it with people their own age who are just like them, just as thrilled about science as they are."

Those interested in joining Golsteyn on the judging committee can contact him at roy.golsteyn@youthscience.ca. He promises it will be a rewarding experience.

"I'm really excited about the possibilities this week provides for the U of L," he says. "It's a lot of work to do this right but in the end, it's so valuable to everyone involved, it's definitely worth it."

GET THE FACTS

· Student finalists for the Canada-Wide Science Fair are winners of their regional or provincial science fairs

· Approximately 400 projects from 500 youth finalists from across 100 national regions will be attending the Canada-Wide Science Fair

· Up to $1,000,000 in scholarships and prizes are available to participants

· U of L Arts & Science faculty have confirmation from Dean Dr. Chris Nicol that serving as judges for CWSF qualifies as part of their community service component

· Golsteyn, as chief judge, has relief for one of the two courses he was scheduled to teach this semester. His research activities continue however, "It just gets pushed a little later into the night," he says

Chambers leads overseas project

trevor.kenney — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:57:12 +0000

The British Museum's collection of Inuinnait (Inuit) objects is part of a visual repatriation project that saw northern elders, crafts people and researchers – including the U of L's Dr. Cynthia Chambers of the Faculty of Education visit the British Museum in London, England in mid-April.

In the above photo, Helen Balanoff, Emily Kudlak and Chambers hold a ceremonial dance hat that dates from 1855. It features a loon beak and a weasel ermine skin. It is made from strips of white caribou hide, and white caribou hide dyed red with ochre and strips of a black hide that is possibly sealskin.

Helen Balanoff, Northwest Territories Literacy Council, researcher Emily Kudlak and Dr. Cynthia Chambers hold a ceremonial dance hat that dates from 1855.

"After the group saw it, Emily Angulalik, with the Kitimeot Heritage Society in Lethbridge called home to Cambridge Bay in Nunavut to inquire and found out that Archie Komak, from Ogden Bay, Nunavut had made a similar hat in the past," says Chambers. "This confirmed that this hat was from the people in this project."

The elders, researchers and crafts people examined British Museum tools, clothing and other objects dating back to the first encounters between Europeans and ancestors of the Inuinnait.

The project is part of the Ulukhaktok literacies research, a long-term collaboration between the NWT Literacy Council, the community of Ulukhaktok and Chambers.

The research looks at understanding what literacy meant traditionally to the Kangiryuarmiut and what it means today. The story of this trip will be told in video and photos, which will be posted on the NWT Literacy Council website (nwt.literacy.ca) once it is completed.

This project adds to numerous research projects undertaken by the NWT Literacy Council over nearly a decade. Books, museum exhibits, slide presentations and educator 'tool-kits' have come from the many hours of research by individuals all over the north.

This story first appeared in the May issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Chambers leads journey to examine ancient Inuit items

trevor.kenney — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:56:39 +0000

Helen Balanoff, Northwest Territories Literacy Council, researcher Emily Kudlak and Dr. Cynthia Chambers hold a ceremonial dance hat that dates from 1855.

The elders, researchers and crafts people examined British Museum tools, clothing and other objects dating back to the first encounters between Europeans and ancestors of the Inuinnait.

The project is part of the Ulukhaktok literacies research, a long-term collaboration between the NWT Literacy Council, the community of Ulukhaktok and Chambers.

This story first appeared in the May issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Co-op interns show off creative side

trevor.kenney — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:33:55 +0000

While Statistics Canada reported a 17 per cent unemployment rate for 15-24 year-old students this past summer, Faculty of Arts and Science co-op students told a different story, as they were all too happy to flash evidence of their impressive co-op work term experiences.

Students submitted work related pictures for the second year of the Co-operative Education and Internship Programs' photo contest. Arts and science co-op students are voting for this year's winner out of three finalists.

Gavin McAtee, a third-year kinesiology and psychology major, clearly had a lot of fun on his work term at Camp Warwa, west of Edmonton.

"This photo encompasses my entire experience as a summer camp counsellor/outdoor school co-ordinator. Not only did I have the opportunity to work with a variety of different age groups, I also had a blast while doing it," says McAtee.

Co-op student Gavin McAtee alongside a stormtrooper in

He says that the work term has clarified his career aspirations.

"As the result of my co-op experience, it has finally become clear that I wish to use my university education to pursue a career that provides athletic development programs for youth."

Evan Vandervalk, entering his third year in biological sciences, used pictures to compare old and new ways of tracking grizzly bears.

"My job this summer was to set up, bait and re-visit what are called 'hair snag sites'," says Vandervalk. "A bait pile, made up of sticks, moss, and rotten cow's blood serves to draw bears into the corral, over the single strand of wire, on which they snag their fur."

The data collected was used to estimate the grizzly population in the area near Hinton, Alta.

"My supervisor is hoping that these sorts of sites will function as a cheaper and less invasive way to monitor grizzly populations as compared to the collaring and trapping typically done in the past, which causes stress to the animal and costs more money," says Vandervalk.

Other students have focused on the natural beauty of their work settings, including 2011 contest finalist, Lucas Pittman. A fourth-year environmental science student, Pittman did a co-op work term with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and is pictured walking in the direction of Chief Mountain and Waterton Lakes National Park.

"That's me using my hand-made yoke to carry out bags of weeds, which we manually removed from the Shoderee Ranch Property," says Pittman.

An Inuit family jigging for Arctic Char and seals on the broken ice near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Photo by Lorin Doerksen

Lorin Doerksen's breathtaking photo in Nunavut was a part of last year's contest. He completed a 16-month co-op work term with Environment Canada before graduating with a Bachelor of Science with Co-operative Education last June. He now works for a small environmental consulting company in the upstream oil and gas industry.

"The experiences gained during the internship have proven useful, not only in getting my resumé noticed, but also in improving my ability to adapt to a new company and new responsibilities," says Doerksen.

Despite appearances to the contrary, Doerksen explains his photo was actually a late night scene taken at 1 a.m. one July morning.

"One evening I caught a ride out along the bay to a fishing spot. Each summer, by about July, the bay ice breaks up and Arctic Char move in to feed," says Doerksen. "Seals also follow the Char into the bay. Inuit families make use of the 24-hour sunlight to fish late into the night."

As a student intern, Doerksen was part of the Contaminated Sites Expert Support Group covering the Prairie and Northern Region.

"Contaminated sites include old mines (gold, uranium and silver), tailings ponds, Distant Early Warning (DEW) line sites in the arctic, and various other contamination sites all over the southern parts of our region."

Jasminn Berteotti, Applied Studies and Co-operative Education co-ordinator for the Faculty of Arts and Science, explains why the photo contest was started.

"We wanted to give our co-op students a creative venue for sharing amazing work term experiences with each other," she says. "We were looking for a 'Wow! Look what I did,' kind of message, and I think it worked. Our students get to do and see remarkable things, and this is the perfect way to showcase it."

Rotaract dinner on Feb. 5

trevor.kenney — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:37:39 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Rotaract Club will hold its Sixth Annual Dinner and Silent Auction on Saturday, Feb. 5 at the Lethbridge Lodge.

Since its inception, the annual Rotaract event has raised more than $95,000 for numerous charitable organizations over the past six years. This year, the U of L Rotaract Club hopes to raise a minimum of $10,000 for the Tasiuqtigiit (Hand in Hand/Main en Main) Society, a community resource centre operating in Iqaluit, Nunavut. The evening is titled, 'Siaqtuut (See-ak-tut) – A Journey Together'.

Tasiuqtigiit (Tah-see-uck-tih-git) is a Canadian organization serving a population of more than 7,000 people. This group provides training programs such as sewing and cooking classes; makes basic resources such as milk, diapers, breast pumps and baby food available; and provides families with the opportunity to attend public health sessions and meet with nurses for post-natal checkups that are vital for newborn health.

The Rotaract group learned about the initiatives of the Tasiuqtigiit Society through Rotaractor Emily Cox, who had worked with the group for several months.

"Emily was able to see first-hand the impact that the Hand in Hand Society's services makes," says Ryan Taylor, Rotaract VP external. "Her experience gave us valuable insight into how important this organization is to the people it helps. As part of the evening, we are also expecting a video presentation from Penny Deeter, a representative from the Tasiuqitigiit Society."

Tickets for Siaqtuut (See-ak-tut) – A Journey Together are priced at $50 each or $350 for a table of eight. Dress for the event is business or semi-formal. Students may purchase a ticket for $40.

Silent auction items and monetary donations to the cause are also appreciated. Contact rotaract@uleth.ca, or visit this website: uleth.ca/~rotaract for tickets or additional information. Cocktails start at 5:30 p.m. with dinner to follow at 6 p.m.

UNews - Nunavut

Judging its own reward

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Chambers leads overseas project

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Chambers leads journey to examine ancient Inuit items

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