UNews - co-founder

An eye to the future

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 16:32:57 +0000

Some students begin their university careers with a blank slate before them, while others have a clear direction in mind. Count Erin Smith (BSc '12) among the latter.

She had determined well before she even stepped on campus that biology was her future, even if the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge was originally not her first choice university.

"I'm not going to lie, the decision to come here had a lot to do with convenience," says Smith. "My family was here and it was a chance to save some money and live at home. When we were living in Red Deer I had planned to go to Guelph ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and do biology there but we moved to Lethbridge in my Grade 12 year and the U of L had a biology program too."

That decision would not only prove to be financially responsible, but opened Smith to an opportunity she might never have seen elsewhere — the chance to conduct undergraduate research with a full faculty member and leader in her field.

Erin Smith (BSc '12), pictured here with an owl from the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, turned an applied study opportunity into a possible career path.

"Dr. Theresa Burg is amazing," says Smith. "I took a couple courses with her and specifically the evolution and conservation courses she taught were awesome. I then did an applied study with her last summer, which turned out to be a great experience."

Burg works primarily with birds, using molecular markers to study various evolutionary and ecological aspects of natural populations and how they relate to physical (e.g. glaciers) and non-physical (e.g. foraging patterns) barriers. Much of her research focuses on vertebrates, examining a range of topics from mating systems, hybrization, population structure and systematics.

For Smith, the applied study work opened her up to a new world and a job at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale.

"I was building a genetic tree using owl DNA, so I had the opportunity to gather feathers from the Birds of Prey Centre and extract DNA from them in the lab," she says, clearly enthused. "I then did genetic sequencing with them, which was really cool."

For someone who admits she never even had a budgie as a child, working with birds of prey could be intimidating but Smith has never been shy about diving in to new challenges.

"It was a huge learning curve, but Colin Weir (co-founder) and Marianne DeRocher (senior staff member) are so good with the training they help you feel comfortable with everything," says Smith.

She now handles most every bird on site, assists with the flight shows and tours, feeds the birds, breeds mice for their diets and basically does "all the gross jobs".

It's that same intrepid spirit that led her to pursue international volunteer opportunities, combining her love for wildlife conservation with the chance to help underprivileged children. Two years ago she joined the Volunteer Eco Students Abroad (VESA) organization on a trip to Ecuador where she assisted in the construction of school buildings, literacy initiatives and conservation activities. This past week she jetted to Africa for a similar tour of duty with VESA.

Needless to say, she has thrived in the U of L environment.

"I've loved how I've been able to learn here," she says. "There's a lot of expectation that you could go at it on your own but at the same time, everyone was always right there if you needed any questions answered. I found that especially in the labs, a lot of it was structured but you had the opportunity to go off on your own and do things at your own pace and in your own way."

Upon returning from Africa, Smith will spend another summer at the Birds of Prey Centre and after that, she's undecided, only that a career in wildlife conservation is her desired path.

"It's up in the air right now," she says. "I really enjoy what I'm doing out here and we'll see where I go from there."

This story first appeared in the June 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the entire issue in flipbook format, follow this link.

Going about their business

trevor.kenney — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:29:12 +0000

A video game development group, a web-based used book marketer and a biology researcher who hopes to make algae more useful were the regional winners of the SouthVenture Business Plan Competition.

The three teams shared $10,000 in prize money and now move into a province-wide competition where they will represent the innovative spirit of U of L students to the entire province.

Pictured (left to right) are Gezim Hoxha, Tyrel Schick and Trevor McMillan, regional winners of the SouthVenture Business Plan Competition.

As well, the teams receive more training opportunities with the other six regional finalists from Calgary and Edmonton – and an opportunity to compete for another $10,000 in cash awards.

The grand prize of $6,000 went to Tyrel Schick, a New Media major and founder of Nougat Software, a game developing company made up of more than 30 U of L students from many different disciplines.

The runner-up prizes of $2,000 each went to Gezim Hoxha, a management/computer science double major and founder of GizmoBooks.com, a unique used book exchange portal; and Trevor McMillan, a PhD candidate in biology and co-founder of ALGENs, a biotech start-up which improves strains of algae for biofuel production, agricultural food production and therapeutic drug manufacturing.

The award program was organized and administered by the Research Services office at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, with financial support from TechEdmonton.

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

Fulbright Scholar speaks on water conflicts

trevor.kenney — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:12:58 +0000

It's commonly believed that the majority of the world's conflicts have centered around religious differences or land disputes, but Dr. Yuefeng Xie offers another perspective. He maintains that water may be at the root of world conflicts, and offers his opinion Monday, Nov. 29 in a 4 p.m. presentation at Andy's Place (AH100).

Water Conflicts: From Middle East to Alberta, is the title of Xie's talk, and it asks the question, "Are so many of our conflicts over religion? Over land? Or is humanity really just fighting over water?"

Xie is a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. He received his BS, MS and PhD degrees from Tsinghua ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Beijing, China. A registered professional engineer and a board certified environmental engineer, he is a professor at Pennsylvania State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. He co-founded the Small Public Water Systems Technology Assistance Center and Environmental Training Center at Penn State. Xie also has more than 25 years experience in water quality and treatment.

Starting with water conflicts between men and women, Xie will discuss conflicts in the Middle East, Kashmir, and Southeast Asia. From a water engineer's point of view, he will discuss the roots of these conflicts and potential solutions, while also discussing current and future water issues facing Albertans.

Xie has published two books, Disinfection Byproducts in Drinking Water: Formation, analysis and control, and, Disinfection By-products in Drinking Water: Occurrence, formation, health effects, and control. Xie was also the keynote speaker for the 13th Canadian National Drinking Water Conference.

Hoggan discusses climate change

trevor.kenney — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:04:21 +0000

Climate change and a perceived campaign of covering up the truth about global warming will be the central themes of Thursday evening's Discovery Lecture Series event at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

James Hoggan, co-founder of DeSmogBlog.com and author of, Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming, presents You Can't Spin Mother Nature at 7 p.m. in room PE250 on Thursday, Sept. 30.

This talk will examine how the oil, gas, coal and utilities industries spend millions of dollars to purposely deceive and create the illusion of a scientific debate on climate change, delaying action on corporate, government and personal engagement with the issue.

Hoggan's talk challenges audiences to ask important questions of their news sources, including where these sources draw their funding, and what their scientific credentials actually are. He stresses the importance of truth and transparency in the field of public relations, while uncovering a fascinating history of spin and public relations.

No tickets are required for this free presentation but seating is limited.

Dragon's Den Wilson coming to campus

trevor.kenney — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:40:37 +0000

Brett Wilson, entrepreneur, philanthropist and one of the stars of the popular CBC series Dragon's Den will speak to an audience at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge on Wednesday, Mar. 31, in the Students' Union Ballroom as part of the CMA Alberta Leadership and Speaker Series.

Wilson has built a formidable reputation in the world of business, garnering such honours as Canada's Top 40 Under 40, Alberta Venture Magazine's Business Person of the Year and the Management Alumni Excellence Award from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business.

He co-founded the investment banking advisory firm, Wilson Mackie and Co. in 1991 and in 1993 co-founded FirstEnergy Capital Corp., a leading Canadian stock brokerage firm providing services in the energy sector. He now makes most of his investments through his primary holding company, Prairie Merchant Corporation.

Wilson's charitable endeavours are also noteworthy and include support of research into prostate cancer, Alzheimer's and domestic abuse. He established the Wilson Centre for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan and journeys annually to Mexico with Youth With a Mission to build homes with his family.

"He has an outstanding track record for both entrepreneurship and philanthropy," says Steve Craig, Director, External Relations/Co-operative Education for the Faculty of Management, on why Wilson was chosen for the annual address. "Social responsibility is such a big part of what we do in the Faculty of Management, so couple that with his incredible success in the business field and it was a perfect match."

Wilson's presentation will take place in Students' Union Ballroom B from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. Tickets are free, but seating is limited. Those wishing to attend are asked to register by e-mail at susan.price@uleth.ca or by calling 403-394-3935. An additional presentation will be held for the general public at noon in the Grand Room of the Coast Plaza Hotel. Again, free tickets on limited seating; please register at: http://www.uleth.ca/management/forms/cma-alberta-registration or e-mail janzli@uleth.ca or phone: 403-329-2109.

Additional information about the CMA Alberta Leadership and Innovation Speaker Series is available at: http://www.uleth.ca/man/community/liss/index.shtml

Looking out to see in

trevor.kenney — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:40:59 +0000

As the lead Canadian researcher for the Canadian Space Agency's contribution to the Herschel Space Observatory, U of L scholar Dr. David Naylor (Physics and Astronomy) has played a key role in the development of the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE). SPIRE is one of three instruments on the Herschel spacecraft that is orbiting 1.5 million km from the earth. Functioning at a chilly -270C, SPIRE observes the universe at very long wavelengths, those well beyond the limit of human vision. Radiation emitted at these wavelengths is able to travel relatively unimpeded through even the densest regions of space, which allows astronomers to view back in time to the formation of the first galaxies. This technology is similar to, but far more sophisticated than, the full body scanners now being installed at airports.

Naylor's group designs and builds exquisitely sensitive systems to convert the energy in long wavelength photons into meaningful information on the composition and physical conditions of the astronomical objects under study.

As Naylor explains, "That's what physicists do – they think of the question and then build the equipment to answer that question."

Naylor is also a co-founder of the Institute for Space Imaging Science (ISIS) and director of its Space Astronomy Division. ISIS is a collaboration between the Universities of Athabasca, Calgary and Lethbridge. Scientists from the three institutions, and their research partners worldwide, share technology and other resources to tackle leading edge questions in space imaging.

Most recently, Naylor is collaborating with Dr. Jeff Dunn, a Canada Research Chair of radiology and biophysics in the U of C's Faculty of Medicine, to explore the utility of his detection system to the medical field, initially in cancer detection. In a recent paper, a team of Taiwanese scientists have shown that THz imaging is capable of detecting breast cancer without the lengthy time requirement for histological staining of samples and visual inspection by a technician.

Naylor quickly realized that even his run of the mill detectors are 100,000 times more sensitive, which means they have the potential to identify not only the cancerous cells, but also their boundaries, substantially faster. Dunn and Naylor are working to explore if this gain can be realized.

Some people question why anyone would study astronomy. Can research into the world around us help advance us as a species? Naylor emphatically says yes.

The universe is the astronomer's laboratory, and the instrumentation Naylor has developed to look outward may just provide us a better way to see in.

"One only has to look at the impact of the laser and MRI on society, whose roots lie in basic physics research, to answer the relevance question."

Charting a new course

trevor.kenney — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:36:48 +0000

Dr. Daniel J. Weeks is an explorer in every sense of the word. When he isn't busy in the lab pursuing new discoveries in the areas of cognition and motor performance, or pioneering brain imaging applications for individuals with intellectual and developmental challenges, Weeks can often be found at the helm of his sailboat out on the waters of the Georgia Strait. Whether his passion for discovery was born in academia or on the open seas, one thing is certain: Weeks' innate desire to continually explore new frontiers makes him an ideal choice for the position of vice-president (research) at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Weeks joins the U of L after more than a decade at Simon Fraser ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, where he was professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology, and operator of the Psychomotor Behaviour Laboratory located on the Burnaby campus. With an academic background in kinesiology and psychology, Weeks' research focuses on the mental processes involved between perception and action in goal-directed behaviour, particularly in relation to people with developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome and autism. Weeks is very well connected within the international Down syndrome community and is strongly committed to improving the lives of people with the disorder. He is a member on the board of Down Syndrome International and was co-founder of the Down Syndrome Research Foundation in Vancouver – a facility that has become one of the most highly regarded research and imaging labs of its type in the world.

"Dr. Weeks is well known on both sides of the border at all levels of the academic and research community," says U of L President Dr. Bill Cade.
"His work not only helped to build research capacity and attract significant funding at SFU, it positively affected many lives. We're very pleased that Dan has chosen to join our team, and we look forward to having him in the U of L community."

Weeks brings a well-constructed plan for research development at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, with a particular interest in raising the profile of the institution through strategic partnerships and projects. He feels that the U of L is well positioned to take on an even greater research role in many disciplines on both national and international fronts, thanks in large part to the strategic approach the university has taken toward research initiatives thus far.

"There's a tendency for many institutions in Canada to chase available research funding. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has taken a much more thoughtful approach," Weeks says. "The initiatives the U of L has pursued are significant and will have staying power. There's true leadership here, and careful consideration about the direction the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ should go – which tells me that Lethbridge is a place where big ideas can come to fruition."

Weeks plans to leverage local, provincial, federal and international research opportunities for the U of L across all disciplines, maintaining the balance between the Faculties that helped to draw him to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in the first place. He cites international recognition for studies done in a diverse range of disciplines as a major factor in his decision to join the U of L.

"It's no surprise that Lethbridge is a world leader in neuroscience, in water research, in the arts and social sciences – in as many disciplines as it is, because liberal education is respected and fostered here," Weeks says. "Our diversity is a great strength. If all of the Faculties can continue to advance together, the U of L will be stronger for it."

In addition to pushing existing research initiatives forward and facilitating the groundwork for more, Weeks plans to bolster the service infrastructure at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to ensure projects have the support they need to succeed. He sees the size of the U of L as a major advantage in this regard.

"We'll have to keep up with the momentum," Weeks explains. "We can't just be successful – we have to be able to manage the success. The U of L is nimble because of its size, and things often get done with a phone call and a handshake that might take months of paperwork elsewhere."

Weeks intends to work closely with the School of Graduate Studies in order to build programming that will attract students to research programs, noting with emphasis that studies don't happen without bright young minds to conduct them.

"We're building something here; we're setting precedents," he says, with clear excitement. "We're creating policy and pushing the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ forward. That's the great thing about research – it never ends. There's always a way to take things to the next level."

UNews - co-founder

An eye to the future

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Going about their business

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Fulbright Scholar speaks on water conflicts

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Hoggan discusses climate change

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Dragon's Den Wilson coming to campus

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Looking out to see in

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Charting a new course

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