UNews - electronics

Pianos as you've never heard, or seen, before

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 17:03:42 +0000

Hear two pianists, with very different backgrounds and styles, coming together on two grand pianos integrated with electronics and computers - a chance to see each pianist shine and to see the synergy of live collaboration.

Aaron Collier will perform a set of piano improvisations utilizing live sampling, looping and layering techniques with a computer. Jesse Plessis will play a handful of modern works, some with computer, by electronic-music pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen, one of Canada's greatest composers, Ann Southam, the young American, Nico Muhly, and one robot-inspired work by Radiohead. The duo appear in Two Pianos + Computers, Saturday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall Atrium.

Two Pianos + Computers promises to be one of the more unique musical offerings to hit the stage this year.

The duo will wrap up this unique evening with what they describe as a “turbo-rad collaborative piece”.

Aaron Collier

Aaron Collier may be known as one of Atlantic Canada’s most consistently innovative keyboardists, but the Prince Edward Island native is most recently calling Lethbridge home. Collier studied the piano privately in Prince Edward Island until his graduating year of high school before embarking on 14 years of national and international touring and recording with various rock, pop and jazz artists.

In 2001, Collier became the keyboardist for international touring and recording artists The Jimmy Swift Band. In the following decade the group released four studio albums and two live recordings. In 2006, Collier along with JSB frontman Craig Mercer created the “looping madness duo” Scientists of Sound, a theatrical and high-energy electro project which continues to create intense live shows for eager audiences worldwide.

In 2008, Collier released his first full-length album of electronic music, Love, and in September 2010 he released the improvised piano+computer recording Neo.

Collier is an award-winning sound designer in theatre and recent credits include the world-premiere of Daniel MacIvor’s I Animal at the Supernova and Summerworks festivals in Halifax and Toronto, as well as Jay Whitehead and Daniel Judes’ UNSEX’d in Lethbridge, Dublin, and Halifax. He is presently creating a new show called The Myth of Canada under his alter-ego Chandelier, and is workshopping the work as one of CASA’s inaugural resident artists in November.

www.aaroncollier.ca

Jesse Plessis

Pianist and composer Jesse Plessis recently obtained a Master of Music degree (Performance and Literature) from Brandon ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ where he studied piano with Megumi Masaki and composition with Patrick Carrabre. His Bachelor of Music degree is from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge where he studied piano with Deanna Oye and composition with Dr. Arlan Schultz and Dr. Rolf Boon.

Plessis has been awarded prizes both in piano and composition. His own works have been broadcast on CBC, and he has performed as a guest artist with several ensembles including the Musaeus String Quartet, the Land’s End Chamber Ensemble, and the International Piano Ensemble. He was recently one of 12 pianists admitted to the London Masterclasses, a program held each July at the Royal College of Music.

He has had the opportunity to give the Canadian premieres of works by Marcel Bergmann, Kaija Saariaho, John Corigliano, Nico Muhly, and Kjartan Olafsson. Recent performances include those with New West Theatre, at the Casalmaggiore Festival in Italy, the Dark Music Days Festival in Iceland and at the Banff Centre.

Plessis is also one half of the Hansen-Plessis Piano Duo (alongside Bente Hansen, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge) which explores the possibilities of popular music in the concert hall alongside the classical repertoire.

A sometime conductor, Plessis has directed performances with the Brandon ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ New Music Ensemble (BUNME), the Brandon ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Orchestra and several musical theatre productions.

Tickets to Two Pianos + Computers are available by calling the Box Office at 403-329-2616 or online at www.uleth.ca/tickets.

Discovery Day for CWSF participants

trevor.kenney — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:33:55 +0000

Canada-Wide Science Fair participants will not just be sitting by their projects this week.

In addition to a host of local and regional tours and activities, faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students and staff from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College have developed a large number of hands-on activities for the students to participate in, and which showcase the diversity of research and creative activities taking place on both campuses.

All events run from 1:30 p.m. to approximately 5 p.m., on Monday, May 13. Events are hands-on, and media friendly.

CWSF participants were able to choose two activities from a total of 25 from departments/faculties including physics, chemistry and biochemistry, biology, geography, Math and Computer Science, New Media, Fine Arts, Kinesiology, Management, Nursing, Modern Languages and Neuroscience.

Lethbridge College's Wind Energy program is featured, alongside their engineering technology programs.

A short list is below, and a complete list can be found here.

Discovery Day activities for participants in grades Seven to 9

Francophone Science Sampler – This session will be exclusively in French and include a variety of science activities and tours of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Students will have the opportunity to learn about multiple science disciplines through demonstrations and hands on lessons.

"Performing" Science – Bringing Science to Life: Students will take to the stage to apply their creativity by composing a theatrical version of the various processes and reactions that you would normally see in laboratory.

U of L Art Gallery Science Challenge! – Discover just how much math and science is needed to work in the art field - both as an artist and as someone who works at a gallery.

International Wind Energy Academy, Lethbridge College – KidWind Challenge: How does a wind turbine work?

The Science of Stop Motion Technology – Students in this session will explore motion capture technology and learn why it is used in the entertainment industry as well as scientific research.

Fine Arts Maker Fair - Soldering and Circuit Boards

Water Watch – Monitoring Pollution in Our Water (Bilingual)

Computer Science – Lego Robotics Challenge

Kinesiology and the Human Body

Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building Interactive Tour

Logic and Puzzles

Discovery Day activities for participants in grades 10 – 12

The Science Behind Nursing – Students make Life and Death Decisions in the SimLab

I made millions! I crashed the stock market! – Students will use the U of L's Faculty of Management's Financial Trading Room to learn about Finance and the basics of trading. They will simulate multi-million dollar trades and compete (for prizes!) to see who can make the best trade

Digital Musical Instruments – Design and Performance

Digital Audio Arts – Listening and Mixing in the U of L's $1million sound studio

The Physics of Music – This session will give students a chance to create sound waves, observe resonance and to learn about harmonics and overtones using computer software. Students will also explore electronics and futuristic physics designs.

GIS Mapping Lab

All About ribonucleic acid (RNA)

Synthetic Biology Overview – Hosted by the award-winning ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge international Genetically
Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) team

3 Dimensional Scanning and GIS Network Analysis – Lethbridge College Engineering program will show students how traditional surveying methods are now being replaced by methods such as 3 Dimensional scanning.

Moving Past the Two Dimensional – Using the computer program Autodesk Inventor students will transform 2D sketches into 3D components that they will ultimately bring together to build a 3D assembled model.

Organic Chemistry and the Chemistry of Carbon Compounds (Bilingual)

The Brilliant World of Fluorescent Proteins (Bilingual)

Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience Interactive Tours

Fine Arts tickets a holiday draw

trevor.kenney — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 19:10:52 +0000

Gift-wrap the performing arts and put them under the tree for someone you love this holiday season! Tickets to Fine Arts events make a fantastic holiday gift for the theatre or concertgoer on your list.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Box Office closes for Christmas on Dec. 14 and reopens on Jan. 7. Tickets are also available online at uleth.ca/tickets.

Here's a look at some of the upcoming performances.

TheatreXtra (Tickets: $11 regular, $7 student/senior)
The Love List by Norm Foster
January 24-26, 2013 (8 p.m. nightly, 2 p.m. matinee on Jan. 26, David Spinks Theatre)

What would happen if you got the chance to order your dream date?

In this hilarious comedy we are introduced to the characters of Bill and Leon who compile the love list – the top 10 qualities they want in a woman. However chaos ensues as this "perfect woman" comes knocking on the door and the gentlemen learn to be careful what you wish for.

Drama Mainstage (Tickets: $15 adults, $10 student/senior)
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (Adapted by David S. Craig)
Feb. 12-16, 2013 (7 p.m. nightly, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre)

A boy must save the world of Fantastica using the power of his imagination. This play is for anyone who has ever read a book that was so good they did not want it to end.

Estuary by Ron Chambers
Mar. 19-23, 2013 (8 p.m. nightly, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre)

As a young man's dreams begin to infiltrate his waking life, he's forced to determine what's real and what isn't. This comedy asks whether, in snubbing our dream life, we are ignoring a significant and real aspect of our humanity.

Faculty Artist and Friends Series (Tickets: $20 adults, $15 student/senior)
Celebrate Poulenc
Jan. 25, 2013 (8 p.m., ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recital Hall)

In honour of the 50th anniversary of the death of Francis Poulenc, a leading figure in the Parisian musical life of the early 20th century.

Quasar Saxophone Quartet
March 9, 2013 (8 p.m., ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recital Hall)

The confluence of acoustic and electronic music, Montreal's Quasar explores aspects of artistic creation from instrumental to live electronics, from improvisation to instrumental theatre.

For a complete listing of events, pick up a copy of the Faculty of Fine Arts' Season at a Glance, or go to www.uleth.ca/finearts for more information on all these fantastic shows, gallery exhibits and concerts.

Rubbing Stone Ensemble to perform on campus

trevor.kenney — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:06:57 +0000

Calgary's prestigious Rubbing Stone Ensemble visits the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recital Hall Oct. 19 for an 8 p.m. performance of selections from their soon-to-be-released and tentatively titled album, Rubbing Stone Ensemble: The Lethbridge Sessions.

Recorded at Studio 1, in the Faculty of Fine Arts, the album features new music composed for Rubbing Stone Ensemble by seven Canadian composers, including U of L music faculty member, Dr. Arlan Schultz.

Versatile and dynamic, this resident ensemble for New Works Calgary is making a name for itself performing a wide array of new Canadian music, including pieces that incorporate electronics.

Studio 1 has hosted a number of talented musicians since opening in the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Ensemble members include Jeremy Brown (saxophone), Gianetta Baril (harp), Donovan Seidle (violin) and Eric Bumstead (percussion). Special guest performers joining Rubbing Stone for the Oct. 19 concert include music faculty, Dr. Deanna Oye (piano) and Martha Renner (soprano).

Schultz, whose work Ikos is on the evening's program and on the CD, is proud of the upcoming album and thrilled the ensemble is giving Lethbridge audiences a preview.

"The album is set to be released on CD worldwide and for download on iTunes in the spring of 2013. The concert features stunning new works by Laurie Radford, David Eagle, Nova Pon, Alain Perron, and Anthony Tan," he says.

The concert features the acoustic ensemble seamlessly blended with surround computer facilitated audio.

Tickets, priced at $15 regular, $10 seniors/students, are available at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Box Office or online at www.uleth.ca/tickets

This story first appeared in the October 2012 issue of the Legend. To see the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

5 questions with . . . Dr. Aaron Gruber

trevor.kenney — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:04:30 +0000

Dr. Aaron Gruber received his PhD in biomedical engineering from Northwestern ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Chicago, Illinois, writing his dissertation on computational models of working memory and its modulation by dopamine. He joined the faculty at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 2009.

Gruber's laboratory investigates the neural basis of attention and decision making in complex environments, with a focus on how neuromodulators such as dopamine influence neural synchronization, information encoding, and learning in cortical and subcortical brain structures. One goal of this investigation is to better understand how subtle alterations of neural dynamics, such as that associated with psychiatric illness and psychoactive drugs, can lead to distractibility and poor decision-making.

Dr. Aaron Gruber eyes readings from neural activity in a test subject.

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

For as long as I can remember I have wondered why people often want things that they don't need or that ultimately lead to poor outcomes. This could be a third helping of ice cream, an expensive and impractical car, or a pack of cigarettes. Where do these desires come from and why are some people better able to resist such temptation?

When I later came to appreciate that all of our thoughts and actions are a result of patterned neural activity, and that we can observe and analyze this activity, I became hooked on neuroscience. During my graduate studies, I learned about the then-recent finding that the neuromodulator dopamine is critical for imparting 'wanting' and is critically implicated in drug addiction as well as some psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia. Ever since, I have been intrigued by how dopamine affects neural signaling, and how this influences decision-making. The field of neuroscience is presently very exciting, as we are rapidly accelerating our understanding of how thoughts emerge from dynamical interactions of neurons. Such understanding will open doors to unprecedented advances for the treatment of thought disorders, developing brain-machine interfaces (thought-controlled devices), and developing intelligent algorithms and synthetic systems. I find this extremely interesting, and am excited to be a part of it.

How is your research applicable in "the real world"?

Understanding the neural basis of decision making and the contribution of dopamine will likely lead to the development of better treatments for the very serious consequences that result from dysfunction of this brain process, such as obesity, addiction and schizophrenia. Furthermore, this research will support the development of future technology for interfacing with intelligent devices.

What is the greatest honour you have received in your career?

I am most satisfied when others acknowledge that my lab's work makes an impact. For instance, this occurs when other scientists use our work to guide their experiments or interpretations. One of my greatest honours, however, was a letter from a young teenager with a mental illness who thanked me for my research, and expressed hope that such work would help lead to the development of a cure within his lifetime.

How important are students to your research endeavours?

Both undergraduate and graduate students are essential to my research in a number of ways. First, they are an integral part of data collection, which requires a great deal of technical work. Second, many good students impart a fresh perspective by questioning the foundations on which the experiments rest. Third, the process of training students helps reveal limitations in my knowledge and requires that I maintain a big-picture view of my lab's activities so that I can provide rationale for each experiment without predication on a large body of literature unfamiliar to students. Lastly, many students bring energy, interest, and inquisitiveness to the lab that helps preserve the wonder in our work and fosters learning and discovery among the entire lab.

If you had unlimited funds, which areas of research would you invest?

I would establish a technology development centre that would facilitate utilization of contemporary technology in electronics, nanotech, and materials science for performing neuroscience research. Engineers could likely increase data collection by orders of magnitude by utilizing design and fabrication technology available within large electronics companies.

Increasing the amount of simultaneously recorded data will likely be an important development for discovering how networks of neurons in the brain process information, which is one of the fundamental questions in neuroscience.

Each month, the Legend will present 5 Questions With . . . one of our researchers. For a look at the entire catalog of 5 Questions With . . . features, check out the Office of Innovation and Research Services website at www.uleth.ca/research/research_profiles. If you'd like to be profiled, contact Penny Pickles at pickpj@uleth.ca

This story first appeared in the December 2011 issue of the Legend. If you'd like to see the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

5 questions with . . . Dr. Aaron Gruber

trevor.kenney — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:07:22 +0000

Dr. Aaron Gruber eyes readings from neural activity in a test subject.

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

How is your research applicable in "the real world"?

What is the greatest honour you have received in your career?

How important are students to your research endeavours?

If you had unlimited funds, which areas of research would you invest?

This story first appeared in the December 2011 issue of the Legend. If you'd like to see the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Locker project to give cyclists alternatives

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:35:51 +0000

If you happen to see more bicycles on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge campus this spring, it might not be solely related to better weather conditions. Rather, it could be the more favourable conditions created for riders, thanks to a collaborative initiative between Sport and Recreation Services and Parking and Security Services.

A total of 30 new bike lockers, a shared purchase by the two campus units, will arrive on campus at the end of April, giving campus commuters more options should they choose to go green and leave their cars at home.

Would you rather leave your bike in exposed racks or take advantage of enclosed bike lockers? More choices will be available this spring with the addition of 30 new lockers to campus.

"Parking Services was introduced to bike lockers in 2009 and had the opportunity to meet with company representatives in the spring of 2010," says Dick Lutwick, parking manager. "At that time we decided to place five lockers on campus on a trial basis."

Located outside the 1st Choice Savings Centre, the five lockers served as a pilot project that was quickly accepted by the campus community.

"The original plan called for the manufacturer to leave them there for two months just to see what kind of response we'd get and that two months has stretched into a year," says Kevin McFadzen.
"We found five people who were interested in using them and after that I established a list of others who were wondering how they could get into a locker and whether we had plans to get more on campus."

McFadzen is an avid cyclist and had been introduced to the locker concept while attending the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria. He had an interest in bringing them to the U of L and found like-minded attitudes in Parking Services.

"We view this investment as supporting green initiatives," says Lutwick of the joint $30,000 purchase. "It supports the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's commitment to environmental sustainability. By promoting the use of alternative transportation, we can accommodate a larger campus population without increasing our parking infrastructure."

But why are the lockers needed when there are ample bike racks at various campus locations?

"I've got bikes I don't ride to school because they're too expensive and I don't want them damaged, sitting in the elements all day or simply getting stolen," says McFadzen.

With the success of five lockers on campus, a survey went out to the U of L community about its appetite for more. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

"I was actually surprised from our survey last year," says McFadzen. "I'd always talked to people about them but I realized I was probably talking to a biased group, those who already ride bikes."

The lockers can fit an entire bike and is complete with hooks to hang gear such as helmets and wet clothes. They will be made available on a rental basis, much like gym lockers inside the 1st Choice Savings Centre.

"Some people would like to have a daily rental but that would get into substantial costs, having to have electronics out there to monitor that use," says McFadzen. "Plus, if someone rides in with an expensive bike expecting to have a locker and finds they are all taken, then what option does that leave them?"

Neither Lutwick nor McFadzen expect the entire campus to suddenly adopt bicycles as their preferred mode of transport because of this initiative but they see it as taking away obstacles for those inclined to go green.

"I'm hoping that it gets less cars coming to campus," says McFadzen. "We have 30 lockers, so in reality, probably 20 people who are already riding their bikes to campus will take advantage of these lockers. But if it adds another 10 bikes to campus and encourages 10 people to leave their cars at home, that's something. It's a start and hopefully it will catch on."

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Maintaining the Wall a team effort

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:22:09 +0000

The Bio Wall is just one of the many outstanding features of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's new Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building but it may be its most distinguishable.

The structure is approximately 12 metres (three stories) tall and four metres wide, featuring a wide array of plants that literally grow out of the wall. The look and feel of the Bio Wall is both stunning and calming. The trick is keeping the plants healthy and that includes a combination of modern technology and human ingenuity.

Technologically, the patented Natureaire system developed by Alan Darlington of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Guelph, is what keeps the plants hydrated. The wall itself consists of common house plants, such as the rubber fig, the peace lily and umbrella plants, which are placed into slits in the first layer of a two layer wall comprised of porous synthetic material of loosely woven plastic. Over time, the roots of the plants will grow down through the layers and become enmeshed with the material. Water, occasionally infused with nutrients, is pumped to the top of the wall (with the use of six fans) and trickles down through the layers to the plant roots.

But what happens when a plant needs maintenance and just how do workers get to them? Enter the grounds crew, with a little assistance from Sport and Recreation Services, and specifically, Scott Whiteside and his climbing wall staff. They helped instruct Vern Leckie's grounds crew in the Facilities department, about six in total, on basic climbing technique so that they could repel down the wall and provide maintenance to the plants.

Under the supervision of a climbing wall staffer, one member of the grounds crew, which to date has meant Tyler Fallwell, repels down the wall, pulling out old and dying material and replacing it with new flora supplied by Lethbridge's Touch of Green plant shop. The operation is carried out monthly and keeps the Bio Wall looking its best and functioning well.

The benefits of the Bio Wall are more than visual, they also include the breakdown of indoor air pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from common building materials and electronics, which can cause 'sick-building syndrome.'

The Bio Wall also offers increased humidity in addition to the associated psychological and aesthetic benefits.

UNews - electronics

Pianos as you've never heard, or seen, before

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5 questions with . . . Dr. Aaron Gruber

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