UNews - Minister of State

Spencer returning as Canada Research Chair

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:30:41 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's first graduate in the Earth, Space and Physical Science PhD program is coming back to the U of L through the Canada Research Chairs program.

Astrophysicist Dr. Locke Spencer, who has been working at Cardiff ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Wales, is receiving $500,000 in funding over the next five years as a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Experimental Astrophysics.

The funding will support the development of instruments that will provide new insights and improved understanding of our universe. The focus of Spencer's research program will include the development of instrumentation unique within Canada, as well as the creation of new observation and data processing techniques that will be used for future large-scale international projects.

"I am very excited to continue research in this field and to start a new chapter of it at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge," says Spencer, a former Calgarian who attended the U of L for his masters and doctoral studies.

"My U of L graduate training has opened many doors for me and I am truly humbled at the prospect of embarking through this one. Through conducting research in Cardiff I have extended my skills and network to include a variety of leading international projects and collaborations. This CRC funding/position provides the opportunity to bring this experience to Canada and continue to build on the strong international reputation which we have."

During his initial time at the U of L, Spencer worked closely with graduate supervisor Dr. David Naylor in the development and eventual deployment of Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE), an instrument on the Herschel space telescope. SPIRE picked up heat signals that are not visible by optical telescopes, and will help to answer the age-old question astronomers have been asking for centuries: "What's out there?"

Spencer continued his involvement with the Herschel/SPIRE project while extending his research towards other projects including working with the Planck space telescope as a post-doctoral researcher at Cardiff.

Naylor says space astronomy projects typically have a cradle to grave lifespan of around two decades from concept studies, through engineering models to flight instrumentation, and the operation and post operation phases.

He adds Canada has rightly earned international recognition for its contributions to several space astronomy missions.

"With a number of far infrared space astronomy missions under development it is essential that Canada builds research capacity to exploit these emerging opportunities if it is to remain at the forefront of the field," says Naylor. "The U of L has recognized the long term nature of these opportunities and has made a strategic investment in the astronomical instrumentation group. Having spent the last years working with scientists on the Planck space project, Dr. Spencer brings a depth of expertise and a network of collaborators which will allow the U of L to further build upon its reputation."

Spencer's studies will advance the understanding of the evolution of the Universe through next-generation far-infrared space-based astrophysical instrumentation and will position Canada as a significant contributor to international research projects.

U of L Vice-President (Research) Dan Weeks says Spencer's research will build capacity in an area of research strength at the U of L.

"Through the efforts of researchers like Dr. Naylor and Dr. Spencer, the U of L has become an international leader in building instrumentation that provides our world with the tools to better understand our universe," says Weeks. "An example of this leadership is the fact that the U of L hosted the first and only SPIRE consortium meeting to be held in Canada last year."

The Canada Research Chairs program stands at the centre of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world's top countries in research and development.

In 2000, the Government of Canada created a permanent program to establish 2000 research professorships – Canada Research Chairs – in eligible degree-granting institutions across the country. The Canada Research Chairs program invests $300 million per year to attract and retain some of the world's most accomplished and promising minds.

"Our government is committed to attracting and retaining the world's best and brightest researchers, supporting innovation, creating jobs, and strengthening our economy," says Canada's Minister of State Gary Goodyear. "By investing in programs such as the Canada Research Chairs, we are fostering cutting-edge research and the generation of new innovations for the marketplace, for the benefit of Canadians."

The U of L is a comprehensive academic and research university as mandated by the Government of Alberta. Last year the U of L was named by Research Infosource as Canada's Research ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of the Year – Undergraduate Category.

Mahon's trip aided by Brazilian students

trevor.kenney — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:26:31 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Mike Mahon was among a group of 30 Canadian university presidents who travelled to Brazil to take part in an educational tour, the largest-ever initiative of its kind. The goal was to showcase Canada and strengthen relationships with Brazil, a rapidly growing economic powerhouse.

Doing business in Brazil is not a new process for the U of L. For several years, recruiters have participated in major trade shows, and a number of Brazilian students have traded Rio and Sao Paulo for Lethbridge. Felipe Ferreira, Guilherme Costa and Daniel Lima are three such students, all in their third or fourth year of study, who have taken advantage of many programs while attending the U of L, including applied studies and international exchanges, as they have worked to complete their degrees.

David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, delivered the opening address at the Conference of the Americas on International Education in Rio de Janeiro as part of the week's activities. Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, also attended.

U of L President Mike Mahon, left, receives some friendly tips on interesting places to see during his trip to Brazil from a trio of Brazilian students studying at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Felipe Ferreira (BMgt International Management/French/Supply Chain Management) and Guilherme Costa (BA Kinesiology) are both from Sao Paulo, while Rio de Janeiro native Daniel Lima (BSc Psychology) met Mahon to talk about some of the opportunities the U of L group might have to connect with educational institutions and organizations while in Brazil.

U of L gets chance to CREATE

trevor.kenney — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:36:09 +0000

Thanks to an investment by the Government of Canada at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, young researchers will have an opportunity to creatively expand their professional and personal skills to prepare for the workplace.

"Our government is committed to developing, attracting and retaining the world's best researchers here in Canada," says Rick Casson, Member of Parliament for Lethbridge, who made the investment announcement on behalf of the Hon. Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology).
"Through the investment of the Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program, the students involved will be making a successful transition into the knowledge workforce and strengthen Canada's economy."

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will receive the only Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) CREATE program award in Alberta this year – more than $1.6 million in funding over 6 years – which will provide funding for approximately 50 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral candidates.

The U of L program focuses on students who participate in satellite and other imaging programs, and is called the Advanced Methods, Education and Training in Hyperspectral Science and Technology (AMETHYST) program.

More than 80 per cent of the funding each year will go directly to students in the form of training allowances.

The program also includes a significant work placement component, with local, national and international organizations, including local companies such as Iunctus Geomatics and the Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Corporation, the Lethbridge Research Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Natural Resources Canada, NASA and several European research institutes committed to providing meaningful experiences for the students.

Principal Investigator Dr. Phil Teillet (physics and astronomy) says he and his more than 15 U of L collaborators are very appreciative for the CREATE funding.

"NSERC has got it right with the CREATE program because it's about students and their research training," says Teillet.
"The U of L has added a strong dose of professional skills development and workforce preparation to the mix. I'm also very appreciative of the hard work put in by the U of L investigators and collaborators on the grant submission, as well as the enthusiastic support we received from all areas of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ faculty and administration."

Telliet added that for most of the past decade, the U of L has invested strategically in imaging research and teaching, putting a number of important building blocks in place.

"The high-tech field of imaging is used daily throughout society and in many major job sectors in Canada concerned with areas such as natural resource management, biomedical imaging, national security, climate monitoring, water and the environment. Our program also validates the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's leading-edge expertise in research education."

Dr. Dan Weeks, the U of L's vice-president (research) says the outcomes from the program will be significant, and will benefit students and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community for years to come.

"The exciting aspect for me is the employment rate for graduates – it isn't unreasonable to expect 100 per cent employment, because we are looking at this as a model that will provide for sustainable training for research workforce preparation," says Weeks. "As well, the more big-picture aspects include a new undergraduate curriculum on imaging science and technology, a proposed master of science program in imaging science and new lab laboratory tools for studying atmospheric greenhouse gases, among many other benefits."

Investment to aid in renovation plans

trevor.kenney — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:40:45 +0000

As the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's new Markin Hall structure continues to take shape, plans are being made to renovate two other areas of the U of L campus. An announced investment of $1.8 million from the Knowledge Infrastructure Program will help further that project.

On behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Canada's Minister of State for Science and Technology, Rick Casson, Member of Parliament for Lethbridge along with Province of Alberta representative Greg Weadick, MLA for Lethbridge West, announced a joint Knowledge Infrastructure Program investment of $1.8 million in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Monday.

"This investment in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will provide a significant short-term economic stimulus to our region, and will create jobs," said Casson, MP for Lethbridge.

The funds will be used to renovate space in Anderson Hall and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall, which will be vacated once the Faculties of Health Sciences and Management move into Markin Hall, the $65 million facility currently under construction and scheduled to open in fall, 2010.

The renovated spaces, which include seminar rooms and social sciences research facilities, are expected to be occupied in 2011.

"Our government is investing in innovation to create jobs, to help our economy recover quickly and to improve the quality of life for Canadians. The long term benefit to our community will also be realized when the students and researchers in these new spaces at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge start taking advantage of a significantly improved work and study environment."

"Partnerships bring success, and success is what our joint investment in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is all about," added Weadick, MLA for Lethbridge West.

"The Government of Alberta is already a significant infrastructure investor in the U of L's success, as evidenced by our commitment to fund the Markin Hall construction project and other projects on campus. The changes being made with this funding will allow even more students and researchers to study and work in quality space."

"We are very pleased to have this additional funding to ensure we can meet the demands of our growing campus," U of L President Bill Cade said.

"The creation of space for our students and social sciences researchers is particularly important to ensure a quality work and learning environment. Further, as a generator of business for the construction industry in general, we are happy to play a role, with our federal and provincial partners, in helping the local economy."

This investment is part of the federal government's two-year, $2-billion plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canadian colleges and universities.

The program is helping to provide economic stimulus and promote employment by creating jobs for engineers, architects, tradespeople and technicians. It is also helping to generate the advanced technological infrastructure needed to keep Canada's colleges and universities at the forefront of scientific advancement.

Playing a role in resource management

trevor.kenney — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:04:46 +0000

Improving the management of natural resources in Alberta, Canada and around the world is the goal of a new research centre announced recently by federal Minister of State (Science and Technology) Gary Goodyear.

Funded under the federal Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) program and industry/government partners, the new Centre of Excellence for Integrated Resource Management will be the first of its kind in the world to focus geomatics science and engineering expertise towards the complex problems of large-scale resource and environmental management.

The centre will be led by Dr. Naser El-Sheimy, holder of a Canada Research Chair and the head of the Department of Geomatics Engineering in the Schulich School of Engineering at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and involves partners at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and other Canadian universities, the Province of Alberta and industry partners.

"This is a research and development centre that will lead to the commercialization of geomatics tools that will help ensure the responsible maintenance and management of resources in Canada and in countries across the globe," U of C Vice-President (Research) Rose Goldstein says. "A centre of this calibre will undoubtedly attract some of the leading researchers in the field to our province."
"At the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, we have been working on – and investing in – this program for the past six years," says Dr. Dennis Fitzpatrick, Vice-President,
Research. "We brought to Lethbridge senior remote sensing scientists like Dr. Philippe Teillet and Dr. Karl Staenz to join Dr. Craig Coburn and Dr. Derek Peddle, and this group of experts is housed in our new Alberta Water and
Environmental Science Building. The optical imaging of the earth is important to Alberta – for land and water management, as well as other natural resources and urban issues."

Fitzpatrick adds that the new centre at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and the collaborative focus between researchers and institutions represents a natural partnership where researchers can combine efforts to create a stronger program than they ever could individually.

"We expect the impact of this announcement, and the research generated from it, to have far-reaching implications," Fitzpatrick says.
"At the U of L, we are already at work on commercial applications for remote sensing through our partnership in the Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Centre, which we operate with pioneering local business Iunctus Geomatics. As well, we have numerous undergraduate and graduate students currently studying this technology. They will take advantage of the educational and research opportunities generated by our people and others involved in this high-tech activity."

The extended time frame for funding – up to five years initially – allows for the significant development of new research and researchers, according to Dr. Philippe Teillet, who joined the U of L faculty in 2006 (Department of Physics and Astronomy). Teillet is a remote sensing researcher working with colleagues in the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building.

"I came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge with my colleague Karl Staenz, and our goal was to help build research capacity and add to the projects that are already putting the U of L on the remote sensing map. This announcement is a validation of our approach, which was to be collaborative and flexible. Once programs are up and running, we will be working not individually, but in multiple teams. Together we can be even more productive."

UNews - Minister of State

Spencer returning as Canada Research Chair

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