UNews - physicist

Exchange hits 30-year milestone

trevor.kenney — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:58:34 +0000

There are many barriers to running a successful exchange program, challenges far beyond the obvious cultural differences and language issues that exist between two nations. It is even more impressive then to recognize the 30-year relationship between Japan's Hokkai Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, one that has seen participation by both faculty and students.

"It is an important achievement for a university to have such a long-standing partnership that has affected so many students, faculty and staff in a positive manner," says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge president Dr. Michael Mahon. "The U of L should be proud of this friendship and the goodwill it has promoted between two cultures and two nations, much less two universities."

The first faculty exchange between the two universities took place in 1981, followed five years later by the start of a student exchange program. Designed to promote cross-cultural understanding between the two nations, the exchange relationship has succeeded on many levels.

Trish Jackson, director of the International Centre for Students, says each exchange offers a unique experience for those taking part.

"We have faculty members coming from all different kinds of backgrounds at Hokkai Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," she says. "They come here for one semester to teach common content as part of a Japanese Culture class. Likewise, we will send faculty members from all of our departments to teach their students about Canadian culture. You get a different flavour every time you have a different faculty member because they have their own way of looking at their culture through their own discipline and background."

This semester, Dr. Osamu Seto, a physicist, is the Hokkai Gakuen visiting professor. At 36 years old, single, well traveled internationally and at ease with the English language, he's brought an entirely new perspective to the exchange. He's wont to rent a car and take a day trip to Waterton and has no problem being thrust into new situations, such as an interview or being recognized at Convocation for the exchange's 30-year anniversary.

Dr. Osamu Seto is visiting the U of L from Hokkai Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ as part of this year's faculty exchange.

"I did not know that I was going to have to go on stage," laughs Seto. His intrepid spirit led him to Lethbridge when his department supervisor at Hokkai Gakuen said he was looking for exchange candidates.

"I didn't have anything stopping me so I decided to do it," he says. "It has been very enjoyable."

The student aspect of the relationship involves one student per year coming to the U of L and taking a semester of English for Academic Purposes, followed by one semester of undergraduate studies. Every two years, a group of 15 to 20 students comes for a summer program, the focus being to learn English. A group of business students also makes the trip every few years, studying English but with specific business related content. Likewise, the U of L sends a group of 15-20 students to Hokkai Gakuen every two years for a summer cultural program.

Dr. Ed Jurkowski of the Faculty of Fine Arts music department took part in one such exchange.

"There were obviously many experiences and memories that the students will forever carry with them," he says in a commemorative book celebrating the exchange. "However, the most far-reaching were the homestay opportunities the students had. Each student spoke at length about how much these relationships allowed them to understand Japanese culture on a far deeper level than as a simple observer."

It is those observations that keep the relationship between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Hokkai Gakuen alive and thriving, and speak to the value of the program.

"This is the type of interaction that encourages our students to become global citizens," concludes Mahon.

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

Exchange hits 30-year milestone

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:44:59 +0000

Trish Jackson, director of the International Centre for Students, says each exchange offers a unique experience for those taking part.

Dr. Osamu Seto is visiting the U of L from Hokkai Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ as part of this year's faculty exchange.

"I didn't have anything stopping me so I decided to do it," he says. "It has been very enjoyable."

Dr. Ed Jurkowski of the Faculty of Fine Arts music department took part in one such exchange.

It is those observations that keep the relationship between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Hokkai Gakuen alive and thriving, and speak to the value of the program.

"This is the type of interaction that encourages our students to become global citizens," concludes Mahon.

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

Herschel launch a rousing success

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:51:36 +0000

The ISIS program is already reaping dividends for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. As a result, its students will prosper for years to come.

The first major project under the recently formed Institute for Space Imaging Science, a collaboration with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, went into space Thursday with the launch of the Herschel Space Observatory. But while ISIS may be relatively new, the technology behind the equipment launched with the Herschel has been in the works for more than a decade.

Included was the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE), a piece of equipment U of L physicist Dr. David Naylor has been developing, along with 100 or so of his students, over the past 15 years. He was the lone Canadian scientist in French Guiana Thursday to observe the launch of Herschel.

"After over a decade of working to get the spectrometer in space, our work begins as we use the device in earnest for the task it was designed to do," Naylor told the Lethbridge Herald following the successful launch.

Over 80 supporters crammed into Esquires Coffee Shop in downtown Lethbridge Thursday morning for the 7:12 a.m. launch. The fact the
U of L played such a significant role was not lost on Naylor as he commented about the possibilities now open to students for generations to come.

"Now our work truly starts - over the coming months and years my students (graduate and undergraduate) will use Herschel to explore the universe - they have an unparalleled opportunity, right here in southern Alberta," he told the Herald.

Herschel launch features U of L research

trevor.kenney — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:40:59 +0000

Some 15 years of work has finally come to fruition and all that's left now is sitting back and watching the results.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge physicist Dr. David Naylor and his team of physics and astronomy undergraduates and graduate students, doctoral candidates and technicians have been working for the better part of 15 years on creating the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE). On Thursday, it will be put into action, shot into space to travel more than 1.5 million kilometres as part of the Herschel Space Telescope launch.

The Herschel is the largest telescope ever sent into space and its scheduled launch is Thursday morning, 7:12 a.m. Lethbridge time. Naylor will travel to French Guiana as the only Canadian scientist to watch the launch live. Locally, residents can watch the action live at Esquires Coffee House starting at 6:30 a.m. It is also available online Thursday morning by visiting www.uleth.ca.

The SPIRE infrared measuring device measures the composition and physical conditions of material in the universe. It will take about four months to travel the 1.5 million kilometres into space.

As one of the world's foremost experts in Fourier Transform Spectroscopy, Naylor has a long history of developing innovative spectroscopy instruments and is the Canadian lead investigator for SPIRE, a project involving scientists from eight nations. He is responsible for the design and construction of a spectrometre to determine the performance of SPIRE, and for developing the SPIRE data analysis software.

The Herschel Space Observatory's three-year mission is to study relatively cool objects in the universe. Stars themselves are hot objects but they are born in cold, dark places that the Herschel is designed to measure.
Information about the Herschel space telescope and the equipment that helps make it operate effectively can be found at this website: http://spire.uleth.ca/.

Over the past 15 years, more than 100 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students have played a role in the research that led to the launch of the SPIRE device into space.

UNews - physicist

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