UNews - Gail Michener

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ played key role in alumni couple's story

trevor.kenney — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 23:08:27 +0000

Some would call it luck, others fortune, but when her father, Dr. Keith Roscoe, accepted a position with the Faculty of Education at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 1996, an entirely new world of possibilities opened up for Catherine Roscoe Barr (BSc '02) and her future husband, Aaron Barr (BFA '02).

Aaron, now a technical artist for Pixar Canada, and Catherine, a freelance writer, first met in Grade 7 in Grande Prairie but their friendship was cut short when Aaron's family moved to Lethbridge. With her father's new position at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Catherine was able to rekindle a friendship with Aaron in her final year of high school. After graduation, she enrolled at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in the pre-vet program then quickly switched to pre-med studies.

"I realized I really didn't like physics so I switched to neuroscience. It was awesome," explains Catherine. "I had three favourite professors: Drs. Gail Michener, Peter Dibble and Glen Prusky. They communicated the material, which was often very complicated, in such a way that was fascinating and easy to understand."

Aaron and Catherine Roscoe Barr have parlayed their U of L educations into exciting, satisfying careers.

While Catherine concentrated on the sciences, Aaron enrolled in fine arts. He loved to draw and had a great interest in computer graphics and animation, but he was unsure about the reality of an artist making a living in the world of computer graphics, so he entered the U of L with plans to pursue a career in architecture. When the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ created the multimedia program in Aaron's second year, however, he quickly applied.

"There were college programs offering similar type programs but I really wanted the more universal experience I got at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says Aaron, who was among the first to graduate from the program.

During one of his classes, Aaron had the opportunity to interview John Kahrs, a senior animator for Pixar, regarding Kahrs' work on the animated film Monsters Inc.

"I loved what he was doing and how passionate he was. I decided then that I wanted to abandon architecture and pursue my interest in film. I thought it was just a shot in the dark but he said go for it, you'll get there," remembers Aaron, who recently ran into John at Pixar. "I told him how I had met him at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and how he had inspired me. At Pixar, I build characters, sets, props, paint texture onto them, and add surface qualities and hair, anything involving the look of the character or object."

Catherine too had a life-changing moment while she was a student at the U of L. As a teenager she was always quite active but with her studies taking up so much time, her activity level dropped and she found herself eating a lot of unhealthy cafeteria food. One of her roommates in residence encouraged her to get a personal trainer.

"It changed the course of my life," she says. "I had wanted to become a doctor but I found that fitness was a proactive way to help people. I started taking fitness classes and got my fitness instructor certificate. The year after I graduated I got my personal trainer certification."

In July 2000, the couple was engaged, and in August 2002, just a few months after graduating, they married. A move to Toronto followed, where Catherine started her own business working as a personal trainer and teaching fitness classes at Sheridan College. Aaron earned a diploma in digital character animation at the college, and then began working for C.O.R.E. Feature Animation. Several career moves later, Aaron was given the opportunity to work on the movie, Legends of the Guardians, in Australia in 2009. It was a move that would affect Catherine's career as well.

"About three days after we moved to Australia, I was walking in downtown Sydney. I walked by this beautiful building, with all these beautiful people. I didn't know what it was but I knew I had to be a part of it. I went home and Googled the address. It was ACP Magazines, an enormous magazine publisher," says Catherine, who subsequently spent the next five months there as an intern.

She has since developed a successful career writing about her passions: fitness, health, food and travel. In May 2011, Aaron landed his dream job with Pixar Canada.

"Working for Pixar has been a long-time goal; they always put quality first and are determined to create original, compelling stories," says Aaron. "I said to Aaron the other day that if I won the lotto I would keep doing exactly what I am doing," says Catherine. "I feel so blessed."

GET THE FACTS

· Catherine writes for publications such as the Vancouver Sun, The Province, BC Home and Garden, Homes and Living, Western Living, Real Weddings, TV Week and BCLiving.ca

· Catherine's writings and adventures can be found at: thelifedeliciousblog.com

· Catherine recently returned from Jamaica where she ran the Reggae Marathon 10K

· Aaron's career path has seen him work for C.O.R.E. Feature Animation, Rainmaker Animation, Animal Logic, Image Engine Design Inc. and Pixar

· Aaron's major projects include: Partysaurus Rex, Legend of the Guardians, The Thing, The Wild, The Ant Bully and Escape from Planet Earth

This story first appeared in the January 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ hosts Science Fair

trevor.kenney — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:57:09 +0000

The best and brightest science students from Lethbridge and southern Alberta square off in a head-to-head competition at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall Atrium on Saturday, Mar. 27 at the Sci-fusion Lethbridge Regional Science Fair.

Organized for students in grades four to 12, the day includes a series of Science Olympics events, a presentation by U of L biological sciences researcher and U of L professor emeritus Dr. Gail Michener, and an opportunity for the public, friends and family to view the hard work done by these future scientists.

A schedule is outlined, below.

Friday, Mar. 26

4 p.m. to 6 p.m. -- Science Fair registration & project setup

6 p.m. to 9 p.m. -- Science Fair Judging

- Grades 4-6 complete

- Grades 7-12 first round

Saturday, Mar. 27

9 a.m. to 11 a.m. -- Science Fair Judging, second round Grades 7-12

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. -- Public Viewing of Science Projects

11 a.m. to 12 noon -- Presentation in Room C640 by Dr. Gail Michener - "The
Fascinating lives of Richardson Ground Squirrels"

12 noon to 12:30 p.m. -- Lunch Provided in ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cafeteria

12:30 to 3 p.m. -- Science Olympics (Grade 4-12)

3 p.m. to 4 p.m. -- Science Fair / Science Olympics Awards

Understanding the ground squirrel

trevor.kenney — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:59:58 +0000

Richardson's ground squirrels, better known as gophers, are an iconic symbol of the prairies and their emergence serves as a telltale sign of spring. But to many, they are considered pests, a nuisance and a species best done away with.

"When I came to Canada in 1968, I had just come from Australia and didn't have any preconceived ideas about the Richardson's ground squirrel. I thought, 'look at these neat little critters,'" Dr. Gail Michener recalls.

While personally fascinated by the ground squirrel, Michener quickly discovered that very little was known about the species despite their prevalence on the plains.

"Canadians could tell me all sorts of ways to kill them, but they couldn't tell me anything about their basic biology," Michener says. "It was not known when the ground squirrel mated, how long their gestation period was, and how many litters a year they produced or how long they lived."

In the following years, that has changed – something that can largely be credited to Michener, who devoted her 30-year career at the U of L to understanding the furry mammal.

As Michener explains, we now know that Richardson's ground squirrels play a very important role in our natural ecosystem, providing a food source for many predator species and creating burrows that serve as homes for other organisms while also allowing water to infiltrate the soil.

While Michener officially retired from the U of L last year, she remains actively involved in the research of ground squirrels in a variety of ways, including the development of future researchers. This past fall, she and her husband, Dr. Dan
Michener, funded a post-doctoral fellowship to support further studies in the field of terrestrial ecology.

"In the very modest way I could afford, I wanted to remind my department, my institution and my community at large, that we are a prairie university and that most of the organisms around us are terrestrial and have adapted to live in a dry environment," Michener explains.

Dr. Hakan Gür, who received his PhD from the Hacettepe ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and is an assistant professor at the Ahi Evran ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Turkey, was chosen by a three-member selection committee as the first fellowship recipient. Gür says that the environment surrounding the
U of L, combined with the prospect to work closely with Michener, was an incredible opportunity.

"I had studied the Anatolian ground squirrel prior to coming to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. During that time, I was often in contact with Dr. Michener, who served as a great resource and support. To work collaboratively with her is an honour," Gür says.

Here for a minimum of one year, Gür will combine the information he collects with Michener's long-term data set to determine if climate change is affecting the timing of the life cycle of Richardson's ground squirrels.

"Hakan brings his own interests and has a certain set of knowledge and biostatistical expertise that I don't have," Michener says. "It's been delightful to work with him. He is building on what I have done and will blend the information he's collecting this year with the information from the past to benefit the greater scientific community."

To find out more about how you can contribute to student awards, visit: uleth.ca/giving

UNews - Gail Michener

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ played key role in alumni couple's story

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