Prescience, Vol. 6 (2017)

PRESCIENCE [pre • science] – noun – having foresight or foreknowledge

FACULTY OF SCIENCE NEWSLETTER

CORE SCIENCE FACILITY 6 OCEAN FRONTIER INSTITUTE 3 RESEARCH 8 STUDENTS 15 FUNDING 21 ALUMNI 27 DEVELOPMENT 32 FACULTY 33 TEACHING AND LEARNING 38 COMMUNITY 40

VOL. 6

FROM THE DEAN

THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE has had much to celebrate this year.

In June the federal government announced a nearly $100 million dollar investment in our new state-of-the-art core science facility. In combination with a provincial contribution of $25 million, this confirms the significance of this project for both levels of government.

Once complete, this building will provide faculty with advanced research laboratories and infrastructure, enhance undergraduate teaching laboratories and assist us with recruiting the best students and faculty.

Construction of the core science facility has also assisted Memorial University, in combination with our partners at Dalhousie University and the University of Prince Edward Island, in receiving the largest Canada First Research Excellence Fund grant in Canada. Over seven years, we will receive $93.7 million to establish the Ocean Frontier Institute to research solutions on safe and sustainable ocean development. Success in this grant competition recognizes that our research is world class, and is intended to provide the funding necessary to become a world leader. The Ocean Frontier Institute will be a new 20,000 square foot facility housed in the Core Science Facility that will facilitate international partnerships and promote the exchange

“Our rising contributions to research activities at Memorial has helped lead the university to increasing its ranking on Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities List.”

increasingly challenging competitions.

Our rising contributions to research activities at Memorial has helped lead the university to increasing its ranking on Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities List. Research Infosource now ranks Memorial at number 19, up from number 20 last year, with $104,395,000 in research income reported for the fiscal year of 2015, an 18.9 per cent increase.

Memorial also ranks number two on its Top 10 Universities by Growth list for the last year.

Throughout the pages of this issue of Prescience magazine, you’ll find more details on these investments and see examples of some of the incredible research being conducted by our faculty.

We enjoy sharing these stories with you and look forward to seeing the new directions this financial support will take us in the next 12 months.

of information between disciplines.

This year the Faculty of Science has also been extremely successful in securing funding from federal and provincial governments through

PRESCIENCE

Prescience is a publication of Memorial University’s Faculty of Science.

We welcome all comments, submissions, story ideas and letters.

EDITOR: Kelly Foss, communications co-ordinator

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Karly Barker

COVER PHOTO: HOK and Hearn/Fougere Architecture

709 864 2019, kfoss@mun.ca

CONTRIBUTORS: Courtenay Alcock, Laura Barron, Jennifer Batten, Jeff Green, Janet Harron, Jackey Locke, Michelle Osmond, Dave Sorensen and Meaghan Whelan.

Faculty of Science, St. John’s, NL A2B 3X7 | Tel: 709 864 8153 or 8154 | Fax: 709 864 3316

facebook.com/MUNScience

twitter.com/MUN_Science

WEBPAGE: www.mun.ca/science EMAIL: science@mun.ca

OFI

From left are Carey Bonnell, President Gary Kachanoski, Dr. Mark Abrahams, Dr. Paul Snelgrove, Christopher Mitchelmore, Iris Petten, Nick Whalen and Marlies Rise. Chris Hammond photo.

HISTORIC INVESTMENT CREATES OCEAN FRONTIER INSTITUTE MEMORIAL CELEBRATED a milestone on Sept. 6, 2016 that will see researchers and graduate students from multiple disciplines undertake some of the world’s most ambitious research aimed at unlocking the secrets of the North Atlantic.

The federal government announced nearly $100 million in funding for the creation of the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI), a historic partnership between Dalhousie University, Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). The OFI will focus on solutions for safe and sustainable ocean development.

The investment is through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund

(CFREF). Memorial’s joint initiative with Dalhousie and UPEI has received the largest amount awarded through the latest CFREF competition. The federal funding will also allow Memorial to leverage millions more from industry, government, other partners and the university.

Memorial, Dalhousie and UPEI will work together with four of the top five ocean institutes in the world, as well as partners in the Government of Canada’s federal laboratories, the Royal Canadian Navy, the National Film Board of Canada and national and international industry.

Through its unique partnership with its research partners, Memorial will lead breakthroughs in four key

areas: sustainable fisheries; sustainable aquaculture; marine safety; and ocean data and technology.

Memorial’s OFI will eventually be housed in prime real estate at the university, including in the new Core Science Facility. There will also be additional space for an aquatics facility where researchers will conduct important work on salmon species, as well as space at the Ocean Sciences Centre in Logy Bay and the Marine Institute.

Memorial’s joint OFI initiative with Dalhousie and UPEI will also help attract and retain world-leading research talent to Canada and advance the region’s position as a centre of ocean-related teaching and learning.

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OFI

Providing critical mass to tackle larger

DR. PAUL SNELGROVE IS HOPING the new Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) will help Memorial solve a historical challenge.

As interim associate director of the OFI, and professor of biology and ocean sciences at Memorial, he says that while the university is well-known for its outstanding scientific and applied strength in oceans research, the challenge has often been in bringing all of the individual research pieces together. That leaves

“With Dalhousie University, the University of Prince Edward Island and Memorial coming together in a historic partnership to form the OFI, each bringing their individual strengths to the table,” a lot of unanswered questions in terms of how these processes intersect. Dr. Snelgrove believes the OFI can actually provide that framework.

With Dalhousie University, the University of Prince Edward Island and Memorial coming together in a historic partnership to form the OFI, each bringing their individual strengths to the table, it means the universities now have the critical mass to create a unified ocean sciences research community in Atlantic Canada to work together to resolve big questions in effective ways.

Faculty won’t be the only ones to benefit from the new institute. A large part of Memorial’s OFI budget will go towards creating an anticipated additional 147 positions for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, with others expected to be attracted to the university because of its involvement in such a bold and large initiative — potentially bringing their own funding.

Those students will benefit from interactions with a broad breadth of researchers, and not just from the three universities, says Dr. Snelgrove. Memorial is also partnering with eight international research institutions, four of which are among the top five ocean institutes in the world.

problems

OFI

Dr. Matt Rise. Chris Hammond photo.

OFI-led research to change global aquaculture industry

Dr. Paul Snelgrove is Memorial’s interim associate scientific director for the Ocean Frontier Institute.

Chris Hammond photo.

AS MEMORIAL’S LEAD ON sustainable aquaculture within the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI), Dr. Matt Rise of the Department of Ocean Sciences is excited about the opportunities the new initiative will bring. He believes the initiative is going to be transformative for oceanbased science at Memorial, and a very important aspect of the university’s next seven years of research and beyond.

As OFI builds on the university’s current strengths and expertise, it will also support and build future collaborations with researchers at universities, companies, government agencies and other groups involved in sustainable aquaculture.

In the Department of Ocean Sciences, research has been ongoing on the development of novel feeds for farmed salmon using genomics methods

and other tools to aid in the creation of sustainable grower feeds and clinical diets. These diets are intended to not only be sustainable, (plant based, for example) but also to help protect against diseases. This work is supported under the sustainable aquaculture module of the OFI. The OFI will also facilitate research into the impact of climate change on salmon stress (welfare) and disease susceptibility, and into the development of genetic markers to help select salmon that are resistant to elevated temperatures and specific pathogens.

Other components of the sustainable aquaculture module include research on “cleaner fish” — using lumpfish and cunner to control sea lice in salmon cages — and alternative or new aquaculture species, the development of research and diagnostic tools for studying the impact of pathogens and climate change on fish and for the improvement of vaccines, the effects of aquaculture on marine ecosystems, and the development of biorefinery techniques and processes that can be used to produce nutritional and valuable products from aquaculture waste materials.

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CSF

FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL FUNDING SUPPORTS CONSTRUCTION OF CORE SCIENCE FACILITY

The building has three pavilions: three tower blocks separated by two tall vertical atria spaces. The ground floor will be as transparent as possible with a large concourse on the north side serving as the main entrance lobby. The building will be connected to the University Centre. HOK and Hearn/Fougere Architecture

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MEMORIAL’S STATE-OF-THE-ART core science facility has received $125 million in joint federal-provincial funding, an unprecedented level of support that will significantly advance Memorial’s teaching, learning and research capacity across multiple disciplines.

The announcement was made on June 23, 2016 by Dwight Ball, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Judy Foote, minister of Public Services and Procurement and member of parliament for Boavista-Burin-Trinity.

The total estimated global project budget is $325 million, with $99,855,277 coming from the Government of Canada through the New Building Canada Fund’s Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component–National and Regional Projects, and $25,144,723 coming from

the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Memorial University will be responsible for the remaining project costs.

Once complete, the new core science facility will greatly contribute to creating a more contemporary and integrated learning and research environment that fosters inventive scientific thinking and practices. By allowing the university to advance new teaching and research mandates, the infrastructure will also support student and faculty recruitment and retention initiatives.

The facility will include new research and laboratory teaching spaces, an adaptable shell space for university and industry collaborations, offices and meeting rooms, and a series of open public spaces to encourage group

discussion and academic partnership.

The research and teaching space will be occupied primarily by the departments of Biochemistry, Biology and Chemistry in the Faculty of Science, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, and labs from the Core Research Equipment and Instrument Training (CREAIT) Network. The building will also contain Technical Services’ Cryogenics Facility, the Faculty of Science’s Central Stores Facility and an aquatics facility that is part of Memorial University’s Animal Care Facilities.

It will also promote inter- and multidisciplinary approaches to science, maximizing the flow of information and interaction among and within disciplines.

CSF

Core science facility a catalyst for growth in science

DR. FRAN KERTON has been watching the construction of the new core science facility on the St. John’s campus with interest.

The chemistry professor will be moving into the facility when it is completed, and her twitter feed, @ChemMouse, often features photos of the latest progress on the site.

Her partner, Dr. Chris Kozak, is also a chemistry professor. As one of the department’s representatives on the

“From glass walls that allow people to see inside research labs to multipurpose rooms with modular designs and movable furnishings, Dr. Kozak believes the new facility will be able to meet the needs of the Faculty of Science far into the future.”

Dr. Fran Kerton. Chris Hammond photo

planning committee, he’s been involved with the building since the early days, and, through consultations and meetings with others, has helped come up with the list of ‘must haves’ and ‘would be nice to haves’ for the chemistry spaces in the new facility.

Dr. Kozak says it was important to translate what the department currently has in terms of facilities and make them better, safer and more efficient and accessible in the new building.

From glass walls that allow people to see inside research labs to multipurpose rooms with modular designs and movable furnishings, Dr. Kozak believes the new facility will be able to meet the needs of the Faculty of Science far into the future. He’s also pleased that the planning and steering committee had the foresight to allocate space for expansion.

The pair believe the facility will have a huge impact on graduate student recruitment by providing an attractive environment that’s also state-of-the-art.

Dr. Kozak notes a real emphasis in the design of the building to have teaching labs in close proximity to research labs to give undergraduate students direct exposure to a world-class facility and entice them by showing them the facilities they could be working in as graduate students.

Dr. Kerton says if Memorial attracts good students because of the core science facility, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and other researchers will ultimately be able to access more funding down the line.

Tender cancelled; revised, reissued IN JULY 2016, Memorial University cancelled the major construction tender for its core science facility (CSF) because the bids received for this work were higher than expected.

The university worked with the project’s chief consulting firm to rework the package with a view to re-tender.

The major contract for the construction of the CSF is the CP-3 package, which was put to tender on April 15, 2016. Bids were opened on June 23, 2016, in the presence of interested bidders.

“The university is now working with the project’s chief consulting firm to rework the package with a view to re-tender.”

The tender cancellation was announced on July 21, 2016.

Ann Browne, associate vice-president (facilities) says the situation that occurred is not unusual. Public institutions

working within strict budget parameters encounter circumstances where all bids exceed estimate and budget. She adds that Memorial remains committed to building a high-quality Core Science Facility that meets the needs of the university community and the province.

The goal is to achieve construction within budget, which is why the university is taking these steps at this stage of the project.

The new tender was issued in December 2016 with bids to be received at the end of February 2017.

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RESEARCH

Research chair sailing off coast of Fiji, exploring underwater volcanoes

Dr. John Jamieson on board the R/V Falkor.

Submitted photo

MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY PARTNERED with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, the Johnson GEO Centre and the Oceans Learning Partnership to live broadcast a deep-sea expedition in the South Pacific Ocean in March 2016.

Dr. John Jamieson, Canada Research Chair in Marine Geology and an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, was on-board the R/V Falkor as part of a scientific team exploring an underwater volcano near the island of Fiji.

The co-principal investigator of the Niua volcano research expedition was using his training in economic and marine geology to study ore deposits on the sea floor.

He studies black smokers—hot water springs that form on underwater volcanoes—and this area has a number of them. The hot water that comes up from the spring is around 400 degrees

and doesn’t boil, but the ‘smoke’ you see is actually tiny minerals containing copper, zinc, gold and silver.

While a controversial push to start mining the sea floor is now on, Dr. Jamieson says his job is to understand the hot water springs: how big they are, how to find them, what their composition is and what toxic minerals they may have.

He works with biologists to study the very unique habitat created by black smokers, as they are home to chemosynthetic ecosystems—the only known ecosystems that don’t rely on sunlight.

The Schmidt Ocean Institute, founded by Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, and his wife Wendy Schmidt, provided the ship time. The team also took a Canadian remotely operated vehicle, ROPOS, to do the underwater exploring.

Biology professor co-authors paper about bird and dinosaur vocalization

Dr. Edward (Ted) Miller.

Submitted photo

RESEARCH CO-AUTHORED BY a Memorial University professor shows that dinosaurs could likely coo – in a manner similar to how male pigeons, doves and ostriches produce sounds.

The findings were published in July 2016 in the online edition of Evolution.

Dr. Edward H. (Ted) Miller, Department of Biology, was co-author on the study with colleagues from Midwestern University, the University of Texas and the University of Utah.

They found that, in addition to the typical bird sounds made with an open beak, vocalizations in many bird species also are produced

with a closed beak, while an air sac in the throat is inflated simultaneously.

The air sac modifies the vocalization, such that low-pitched calls like coos are emitted. In some species the air sac is an evolutionarily new structure; in others it is an existing structure co-opted for use in vocal display. Their work showed that this ability to make sounds with a closed mouth evolved independently at least 16 times in unrelated bird species.

Birds are dinosaurs, and their shared family tree is fairly well defined. When researchers have such a tree, and can see how different species are related, how often traits like closed-beak vocalization evolved and how old they are, they can make inferences about the evolution of similar traits in unrelated extinct species like dinosaurs.

RESEARCH

An interdisciplinary research team is studying the genetic variants, clinical data and hospitalization records to help predict complications in type 1 diabetes patients. HSIMS photo

MEMORIAL RESEARCHERS DEVELOPING DIABETES COMPLICATION PREDICTOR NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR has one of the highest rates of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the world.

Long-term complications from T1D develop gradually, over decades, and can include heart and blood vessel disease; nerve, kidney, eye and foot damage and pregnancy complications.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Memorial University is studying the genetic variants, clinical data and hospitalization records of T1D patients from across the province in an attempt to find correlations that will enable them to predict complications in other patients.

The research team is made up of Dr. Lourdes Peña-Castillo, who is jointly

appointed with the departments of Computer Science and Biology in the Faculty of Science; Dr. Leigh Anne Newhook, and Sharon Smith, R.N. and M.N., both with the Janeway Pediatric

“The hope is that information can eventually be used to help clinicians treating T1D patients by preventing or catching complications early.”

Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Peter Gregory, a biochemistry major and MUCEP student, and Chris Hammill, M.Sc. student and research assistant in

the Department of Biology. The research project was made possible by a research grant from the Janeway Foundation.

They are hoping to identify associations between gene variations, patient characteristics, and complications of diabetes using computer algorithms and the outcome of the study will be a network representing the associations found. This network might help doctors infer which patients are at risk of developing T1DM complications.

The hope is that information can eventually be used to help clinicians treating T1D patients by preventing or catching complications early.

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RESEARCH

OCEAN SCIENCES RESEARCHER INVENTS FIRST GENETICALLY MODIFIED ANIMAL APPROVED AS FOOD IN THE U.S. DR. GARTH FLETCHER, head, Department of Ocean Sciences, along with Dr. Choy Hew, a former Department of Biochemistry researcher, co-invented the technology behind the first genetically modified animal approved as food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Nov. 19, 2015.

Research on these genetically engineered (GE) salmon, which grow twice as fast as their non-GE farm-raised counterpart, began in a lab at Memorial as far back as 1982. Drs. Fletcher and Hew formulated the idea of using gene transfer to produce strains of Atlantic salmon for aquaculture that could better tolerate the harsh winter conditions that prevail in Newfoundland and Labrador waters.

At the time they were looking into adding an antifreeze protein gene to salmon that would allow farmed fish to be raised in sea cages in locations where water temperatures declined to lethal levels.

They decided to take what they had learned to see if it could be used to develop a fast-growing fish by transferring a growth hormone gene, rather than an antifreeze gene. The thinking was that rapidly growing salmon would have worldwide appeal to the aquaculture industry.

Those first tests began in 1989, and in the following spring paid off with big fish that were five and six grams in weight, versus non-GE modified salmon of the same age which were only about a quarter of a gram.

Drs. Fletcher and Hew patented the research and found a private sector partner to take over licensing the technology and running the test fish farms.

The three, along with another colleague, became founding members of the company now known as AquaBounty Technologies, which began seeking FDA approval for the salmon nearly 20 years ago.

Dr. Fletcher worked with AquaBounty for approximately 10 years, supervising much of the research required by FDA for regulatory review.

RESEARCH

Dr. Robert Helleur, Department of Chemistry; Stephanie MacQuarrie, Cape Breton University; Dr. Peter Fransham, ABRI-Tech Inc.; Dr. Kelly Hawboldt, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, and William Clarke, Centre for Forestry Science and Innovation. Kelly Foss photo.

RESEARCHERS FIND NEW USES FOR FORESTRY RESIDUES

Dr. Garth Fletcher.

David Howells photo

RESEARCHERS AT MEMORIAL are trying to find uses for the residues left behind from the province’s lumber and pulp and paper industries.

Dr. Kelly Hawboldt and Dr. Robert Helleur are professors with the Department of Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science respectively.

Several years ago the pair met with provincial forestry employees and offered their expertise and techniques they’ve developed to utilize forest residues such as sawdust, shavings and bark. Their aim is to develop biofuels production in remote or limited infrastructure regions where there is an abundance of feedstock, but a limited ability to transport or store residues.

Working with Stephanie MacQuarrie, an assistant professor with Cape Breton University’s Department of Chemistry; industrial partner, Dr. Peter Fransham, vice president of research at ABRI-Tech Inc., and a large number of graduate and undergraduate science and co-op engineering students, the team received funding from the Department of Natural

Resource’s Centre for Forestry Science and Innovation (CFSI) to do an inventory of pulp and paper mill and sawmill residues in the province.

CFSI funding and a BioFuelNet Canada grant, allowed them to discover pyrolysis was the best technology for this province to convert the materials to useful products. Pyrolysis is the thermal degradation of organic material at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen to produce biochar, bio-oil and gases.

Biochar is a charcoal-like substance used in soil amendment and remediation and as an inexpensive adsorbent for removing contaminants, while bio-oil can be used for power generation and for useful chemicals. The gases created can be fed back into the pyrolysis process to help power the chemical transformation, making it a self-sufficient system.

Additional funding enabled the team to optimize the performance of an auger pyrolysis demonstration unit and to test various feedstocks. A feasibility study will investigate the establishment of mobile commercial pyrolysis plants in this province.

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RESEARCH

Dr. Andrew Vardy with his sorting robots.

David Howells photo

LOOKING TO INSECTS FOR ROBOTIC INSPIRATION DR. ANDREW VARDY, an associate professor jointly appointed with the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and the Faculty of Science’s Department of Computer Science, says we can learn a lot from ants and bees.

The social insect colonies are fault-tolerant – they can survive even if some individual members get sick or die; scalable – they have the capacity to continue even while the number of members go up or down; and adaptable – members can change their behavior in response to a changing environment.

Current robot technology is generally not fault-tolerant, scalable or adaptive, but Dr. Vardy’s research area, swarm robotics, is developing multi-robot systems inspired by the social insects which live together in colonies and build 12

sophisticated structures given their limited individual capabilities.

One outcome of his research is an improved algorithm for swarms of simple robots to sort objects. The robots are deployed in an environment containing a random distribution of coloured pucks.

Cameras on the robots detect and classify the pucks, sense other robots, and apply relatively simple control laws to sort the pucks by colour. A simple controller picks up isolated pucks and puts them next to clusters of pucks of the same colour.

One intended application for this research is in recycling. Instead of a large dedicated recycling facility, such as the one in Robin Hood Bay, swarms of robots can be applied to sort out different types of plastic and metal containers.

RESEARCH

UNDERSTANDING THE TERRESTRIAL MAMMAL FOOD WEB ON THE ISLAND OF NEWFOUNDLAND

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR is a hotspot for visitors, but a research team has discovered almost half of the terrestrial mammals living here come from away.

Dr. Shawn Leroux, Department of Biology, and Justin Strong, a Memorial alumnus and biology PhD student, are collaborating on a research project to understand the island’s community of terrestrial mammals, both native and non-native, and their impacts.

Not much is known about the relationships among different terrestrial mammal species or the impact of non-native mammals on the island’s terrestrial mammal food web. So the team set out to better understand when non-native terrestrial mammals appeared on the island – and the impact of their arrival over time.

Their research led to the development of the first-ever terrestrial mammal food web for the island. A food web is a map of who eats whom, which is typically gleaned from animal diet studies. The hope is that the research will help inform future resource management decisions.

The team discovered there are big consequences when non-native species are introduced. A large animal with few predators – such as the moose – has free reign over forests and appears to be preventing the natural regeneration of boreal forest communities on the island.

The arrival of some non-native species has increased the number of prey available for predators such as the coyote, a top non-native predator, which has flourished since they first arrived on the island around 1985. The thriving coyote population could have a devastating impact on native mammals if not effectively monitored and managed.

However, the increase in prey species may also have a positive impact on some terrestrial mammals previously considered endangered in Newfoundland.

For example, the arrival of the southern red-backed vole to Newfoundland may be contributing to the recovery of the American marten.

Dr. Shawn Leroux.

David Howells photo

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RESEARCH

From left: Kirk Luther, Meagan McCardle, Dr. Brent Snook and John House.

Chris Hammond photo

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH FOCUSED ON IMPROVING YOUNG PEOPLE’S UNDERSTANDING OF LEGAL RIGHTS A PAIR OF graduate students say their research could have significant implications for Canada’s justice system.

Meagan McCardle, an M.Sc. student, and Kirk Luther, a PhD candidate, both with the Department of Psychology, are working on a unique collaborative project in the Faculty of Science aimed at

“Researchers say some of the wording requires youth to have a post-secondary level of education in order to understand them.” improving young people’s understanding of their legal rights.

Across the country, police organizations use their own versions of 14

what’s called a Youth Waiver Form in order to communicate legal rights to a young person. The problem is, the forms are complicated. In fact, research led by Memorial indicates youth understand only about 40 per cent of what’s contained in the forms – which often include complex sentences and difficult words. Researchers say some of the wording requires youth to have a postsecondary level of education in order to understand them.

Ms. McCardle and Mr. Luther – both of whom are also Memorial alumni – are now leading a project aimed at improving those results. They’re working with the Psychology and Law Lab which studies human behaviour within the criminal justice system. The project is led by Dr. Brent Snook and also includes John House, a former superintendent

Matthew Downer.

Chris Hammond photo

with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.

Their goal is to create a simplified waiver form that is tailored to the cognitive abilities of youth and one that results in high levels of comprehension.

By removing complex legal jargon and shortening the overall length of the forms, the team has seen youth comprehension levels dramatically increase to 80 per cent.

But the goal is to increase that number even more.

In collaboration with the Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL), the team has developed an animated video. They’re now studying whether young people’s comprehension will increase further compared to when police officers communicate rights verbally.

STUDENTS

PSYCHOLOGY SCHOLAR MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY’S NEWEST KILLAM FELLOW

MATTHEW DOWNER HAS received a prestigious Killam Fellowship and has spent a semester as an exchange student in the United States.

The Killam Fellowships program offers a cash award of $5,000 USD per semester, a $500 allowance and a $800 mobility grant to undertake an educational field trip while in the host country. Funded through Fulbright Canada, the program provides opportunities for outstanding American and Canadian students to study and/or conduct research in another country.

Mr. Downer is in his fourth year in the Department of Psychology, completing an honours in behavioural neuroscience and a minor in biochemistry.

He has been working at the Miller Centre

with Dr. Michelle Ploughman, the Canada Research Chair in Rehabilitation, Neuroplasticity and Brain Recovery and an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine, for two years as a summer research student. Last year he was one of six Atlantic Canadians to win an endMS Summer Studentship from the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, which funded a research project that was recently published.

This past summer Mr. Downer had funding from Memorial’s student summer internship program (USSIP) to work on multiple studies with Dr. Ploughman. He is currently preparing a qualitative paper looking at people with MS who are in their 80s or older to identify the qualities that make them resilient and able to achieve such longevity, and is also about to begin an honours project to see if exercise can initiate brain repair in people who have had a stroke.

STUDENT VOLUNTEERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE DURING MIDTERM BREAK MORE THAN 120 students and staff from Memorial University volunteered one day of their midterm break, Feb. 24, 2016, to help six community partners in 11 off-campus locations.

goods at the Association for New Canadians, went on a Street Reach walk at Thrive, played games and socialized with seniors at five longterm care facilities, helped plan events with the Children’s Wish Foundation, conducted volunteer service in French at Le Centre Scholaire et Communautaire du Grands Vents and more.

For the past 12 years, Make Midterm Matter has been a community service learning day for More than 120 students volunteered for Make Midterm Matter. Dee Riggs photo students at Memorial.

Students cooked meals at Choices Each semester, one day of midterm for Youth, sorted clothes and household break is dedicated to helping make our

community a better place to live, work and study. This commitment to service learning helps students see how they fit into the community and encourages them to think about how they can apply their academic studies in practical, helpful ways.

Laura Hoffe, a fourth-year student in the Faculty of Science, has volunteered with Make Midterm Matter for the past two years. She believes volunteering helps students feel more connected to the university and to the community.

Ms. Hoffe also credits her volunteering experience with Memorial’s Student Volunteer Bureau and Make Midterm Matter for helping her determine her post-graduation plans.

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STUDENTS

First-year science student awarded prestigious Schulich Leaders Scholarship

From left, Sandra Parsons, Laura Fallon, Olivia Cleary and Marshal Rodrigues. Chris Hammond photo

Psychology students take top honours in national evaluation competition THE SECOND TIME was the charm for a team of psychology graduate students vying for the national title in the 2016 Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) Student Evaluation Case Competition finals.

Olivia Cleary, Laura Fallon, Sandra Parsons and Marshal Rodrigues, along with last minute addition Lauren Matthews, are all masters of applied psychological science (MAPS) students. They took top honours at the society’s annual conference in St. John’s in June 2016, beating out teams from the University of Guelph and the University of Saskatchewan.

It was the second year in a row that Ms. Cleary and Ms. Parsons made the finals in the competition, and the seventh time overall that Memorial students had gotten that far, but it was Memorial’s first win.

The competition began with the team receiving a request for a proposal to evaluate support events hosted by Young Adult Cancer Canada. They then had five hours to come up with a plan for conducting the evaluation before presenting it to a panel of judges and an audience made up of conference delegates and then fielding questions.

In addition to bragging rights for the winning team, all competitors received travel and hotel expenses, conference registration fees, a gift of a local piece of artwork, a certificate of achievement and a book written by Gail Barrington, a conference attendee and leader in the Canadian evaluation community.

MACKENZIE GRACE, A first-year student at Memorial University, has been named one of two 2016 recipients of Schulich Leader Scholarships.

Created in 2011 by Canadian business leader and philanthropist Seymour Schulich, the annual scholarship program encourages Canadian high school graduates to embrace science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in their future careers. This year, there were more than 1,500 Schulich Leader nominees from across Canada vying for 50 scholarships, valued at up to $80,000 each.

Ms. Grace is the recipient of an award valued at $60,000. A graduate of Stella Maris Academy in Trepassey, N.L., she comes to Memorial with plans to pursue a bachelor of science degree with a major in biochemistry.

Moving to the city of St. John’s was an exciting transition for Ms. Grace, as she had looked forward to meeting new people and experiencing all the city has to offer.

She chose to attend Memorial after working here as a part of the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) program in 2015.

Mackenzie Grace.

Christian Bender Photography photo

STUDENTS

STUDENTS BROADEN HORIZONS AT LONDON SCIENCE CONFERENCE TWO MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY students represented Canada while taking the trip of a lifetime this summer.

Anton Afanassiev and Noah Taite represented Canada at the 58th annual London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF) from July 27-Aug. 10, 2016. The forum is a world leading event for the globe’s most promising young scientists.

For two weeks, the undergraduate students stayed at Imperial College London with about 475 other young scientists from 75 countries embarking on a world-class program of lectures, with access to research centres, laboratories and educational institutions.

Mr. Afanassiev, who is in his second year of the pure math program, has been interested in science since he was a child, so the opportunity to attend the forum is a “pretty big deal” for him. Mr. Taite completed his prerequisite courses for the pharmacy program before deciding to enrol in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

The two students were invited to the forum through a competition held by the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science. They were required to submit an application that outlined their academic achievements, and an essay detailing why they wished to attend the forum. Ten applicants were selected for an interview after which Mr. Afanassiev and Mr. Taite were selected.

The residential program includes youth between the ages of 17 and 21. The theme of this year’s forum was “Great Scientific Discoveries,” with keynote addresses from the executive director of The World Academy of Sciences in Developing Countries, Prof.

Romain Murenzi, and Nobel Prize winner Prof. Ada Yonath.

Founded in 1959, LIYSF aims to give a deeper insight into science and its applications for the benefit of all mankind and to develop a greater understanding between young people of all nations.

Anton Afanassiev.

Submitted photo

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STUDENTS

PSYCHOLOGY GRAD STUDENT COMBINES ACADEMICS WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Ross Connolly.

Chris Hammond photo

ROSS CONNOLLY LEADS a double life.

By day the graduate student is working towards a PhD in experimental clinical psychology, researching attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as it relates to substance abuse. However, at night he’s a successful entrepreneur, designing and manufacturing handmade boutique speakers and guitar cabinets.

It takes a bit of coordination to combine a busy academic career with a growing business, but Mr. Connolly says so far it hasn’t been an issue. He’s been making speakers since before he started grad school, when he was working full-time at Choices for Youth’s outreach program.

He began building speakers as a hobby in 2006 when he finished his undergraduate psychology degree and moved back to the province. Without a mentor,

he learned primarily through trial and error – applying the research skills he learned from psychology to something completely different.

In 2010, he established his company, Are Audio, and today he has Canadawide distribution with plans to expand.

This year he was chosen Enactus Canada’s 2016 Student Entrepreneur Provincial Champion for Newfoundland and Labrador, and won the regional competition in Halifax in February. He was one of only six regional winners competing for the national title in May 2016, which was won by student from the University of British Columbia.

International student will always call Newfoundland and Labrador home TANAYA CHATTERJEE LOVES The Duke of Duckworth pub, 120s, moose, salt fish and Jigg’s dinner and calls Newfoundland and Labrador home.

It doesn’t really matter to her that she was born in Calcutta, India, and only lived in the province for three years while working on a doctor of psychology.

She says the people here are amazing and acceptance of others is very high.

Ms. Chatterjee believes while her accent is not like a Newfoundlander, she feels she now behaves like one, which makes her a Newfoundlander too.

The province has also helped her appreciate where she came from and the struggles and hardships she’s endured.

Being away from friends and family Tanaya Chatterjee.

Chris Hammond photo

has made Ms. Chatterjee realize she is tougher than she thought.

That internal strength and the constant support she received from her clinical supervisors is important when she works in her areas of interest: trauma and personality disorder, and clients with complex mental health issues.

It’s a bittersweet time for Ms. Chatterjee. Like many of the people who call Newfoundland and Labrador home she is currently living elsewhere. Having finished her course work at Memorial and a six-week practicum in Labrador, she is now doing a one-year residency at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in downtown Toronto.

STUDENTS

Members of the OpenLoop team travelled to Texas for SpaceX’s design weekend.

Submitted photo

HYPERLOOP POD TEAM ADVANCES IN INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION NINE STUDENTS FROM Memorial University travelled to Texas in January 2016 to present their design for a prototype of a high-speed ground transport vehicle. They were participating in the SpaceX hyperloop pod competition created by CanadianAmerican billionaire inventor and entrepreneur, Elon Musk.

The students were part of an alliance of six universities, including Cornell, Northeastern, Harvey Mudd, Michigan and Princeton, combining their talent and resources to compete in the design competition as one team: OpenLoop.

Their ultimate goal: to design, build and test a scaled down hyperloop pod.

Andrew Way, is a joint computer science/physics student, and is Memorial’s campus project leader.

He and the five other campus project leaders presented their team’s design to a panel of judges, including a former NASA engineer and a satellite engineer.

Out of more than a hundred presenting teams from 120 colleges and 20 countries, SpaceX then chose 22 teams to go forward; OpenLoop was not one

of them. But that wasn’t the end of the team’s story.

On the final night, SpaceX got in touch with the Openloop team, giving them 12 hours to make changes to their pod, and when those changes were made, their design was approved to move forward to the next phase of the competition: actually building the pod.

The team is expecting to test the pod in 2017 on a mile-long track currently being built adjacent to SpaceX’s Hawthorne, Calif., headquarters.

The team is now working on the approximately $50,000 needed to build their pod and looking for companies that are willing to help with materials, funds or building expertise.

An exploded-view rendering of the pod designed, in part, by Memorial students.

Submitted photo

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STUDENTS

Starting the conversation about mental illness CHELSEA BISHOP’S FIRST few years at Memorial were tough ones.

The St. John’s resident had been fascinated with animals since she was a little girl and was certain a biology degree was for her. But she struggled with classes and her grades were slipping.

She says she knew she was “off” before she came to Memorial, but never really understood about her depression and anxiety. When she did go to class she would walk into a room of 300 people and be paralyzed, it was so overwhelming.

Thankfully, Ms. Bishop eventually reached out for help. With the support of her family, she began visiting Memorial’s Student Wellness and Counselling Centre. They helped her understand what she was going through. She took that knowledge to her doctor and was prescribed medication, which also helped.

Ms. Bishop has also come to realize that there are likely many other students in a similar position – some who, like her, have found help and others who may still be struggling.

That’s part of the reason why she felt it was so important to speak out, to let them know they aren’t alone and that help is available.

The Student Wellness and Counselling Centre can be found on the fourth and fifth floors of the University Centre and is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Through personal and group counselling, family medicine and psychiatric consultation, services, professional staff and faculty can help students develop their own unique resources.

Most students make use of the daily walk-in clinics for first appointments, but scheduled appointments can also be made in person or by telephone at 864-8874.

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Chelsea Bishop.

Chris Hammond photo

FUNDING

$2.1 million federal investment empowers social sciences and humanities researchers

Chris Hammond photo

NEW FUNDING AIMED AT REDUCING CO-INFECTION IN ATLANTIC SALMON RESEARCH CO-LED BY the Faculty of Science could lead to healthier fish and significant savings for the Canadian aquaculture industry.

Dr. Matt Rise, a professor with the Department of Ocean Sciences, and a team of collaborators from University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) and industry partner EWOS/Cargill, received $4.5 million in funding to develop new therapeutic diets for

“Their functional genomics research will identify molecular mechanisms involved in salmon responses to co-infections. This will lead to the development of better feeds for improved treatments to combat co-infections.” farmed Atlantic salmon.

The project is one of six national research collaborations awarded through Genome Canada’s Genomic Applications Partnership Program. Dr. Rise is co-lead of the scientific team along with Dr. Richard Taylor, senior research scientist at Cargill Innovation Center, a major international supplier of animal and fish feed; and Dr. Mark

Fast, Elanco Research Chair in Fish Health, Atlantic Veterinary College, UPEI. Their functional genomics research will identify molecular mechanisms involved in salmon responses to co-infections. This will lead to the development of better feeds for improved treatments to combat co-infections. When an outbreak occurs, farmed fish can become infected with pathogens ranging from sea lice to bacteria and viruses which can, in turn, have a devastating impact for aquaculture farmers.

The project builds on the team’s earlier research focusing on individual pathogens in farmed Atlantic salmon.

Project funding for Integrated Pathogen Management of Co-Infection in Atlantic Salmon is provided by the Government of Canada via Genome Canada at $1.5 million; EWOS/Cargill at $2.2 million; Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland & Labrador at $500,000; Mitacs at $90,000; UPEI at $101,000; and Memorial University at $51,000.

The project is managed by Genome Atlantic.

terson.Chris Ham le Pe mon aro dp C ho . to Dr

Dr. Matthew Rise with collaborator Dr. Chris Parrish.

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) announced $2.1 million in federal funding for 22 new research projects at Memorial University.

The Sept. 9, 2016 announcement saw funding awarded through SSHRC’s Partnership Development Grants, Insight Grants and Insight Development Grants. The funding supports research led by the Faculties of Science, Business Administration and Humanities and Social Sciences, the Schools of Music and Social Work; and Grenfell Campus.

Dr. Carole Peterson, a University Research Professor with the Department of Psychology, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, received $303,804 to lead a five-year study titled Assessing Interviews and Recall in Children. Her research team includes graduate and undergraduate students.

Dr. Peterson says the SSHRC funding is “crucial” to her research. As young children become important participants in the legal system, there is a lot more that needs to be known about how best to interview them and how to assess their reports in terms of credibility. She and her research associates will be conducting studies that help understand children as witnesses, both in terms of optimal interviewing procedures and understanding how judges, juries, police, lawyers, social workers and others can best assess child credibility.

SSHRC is the federal research funding agency that promotes and supports postsecondary based research and training in the humanities and social sciences. It supports about 8,300 research projects annually.

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FUNDING

New federal funding will expand Memorial’s research infrastructure

“A new Animal Resource Centre will allow Memorial to perform important research in a variety of areas, including cancer, diabetes, mental health, obesity, stroke mechanisms, osteoporosis and many others.”

JUDY FOOTE, MINISTER, Public Parliament, St. John’s East, participated in the event, which was hosted by President Gary Kachanoski.

The $14.4-million investment will replace two of Memorial’s aging animal research care facilities to ensure the university can continue to conduct its biomedical research activities and continue to offer certified degree programs. Memorial will provide an additional $15.6 million for this project.

has led to discoveries related to retinal disease and blindness, pediatric cancers and neonatal nutrition.

The new centre will also complement the recently completed Faculty of Medicine research, medical genetics and IBM computing facility, as well as the future core science facility.

The federal funding for the new Animal Resource Centre is awarded under the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund.

Minister Judy Foote during the funding announcement on the St. John’s campus. Chris Hammond photo

A new Animal Resource Centre will allow Memorial to perform important research in a variety of areas, including cancer, diabetes, mental health, obesity, stroke mechanisms, osteoporosis and many others. Recently, this research

RDC ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN SUPPORT OF SALMON AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY RESEARCHERS ARE USING a $358,000 investment from the provincial government to support the growth of the provincial salmon aquaculture industry.

The funding was announced Sept. 9, 2015 at the Ocean Science Centre in Logy Bay. Through the research project, alternative methods for sea lice removal at Atlantic salmon aquaculture sites will be evaluated. The total project value is $991,000, which includes a $258,000 contribution from the Research & Development Corporation and $100,000 from the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

This project involves industry collaboration with Cold Ocean Salmon Inc., a subsidiary of Cooke Aquaculture Inc., which operates a salmon aquaculture facility in St. Alban’s where research will take place. It represents an 22

ongoing cleaner fish initiative that was spearheaded at the Ocean Sciences Centre with Cold Ocean Salmon.

A multi-faceted research team is conducting research dedicated to developing a “new tool” for industry to use to mitigate and control sea lice on Atlantic salmon. Cleaner fish are fish that provide a service to other species by removing ectoparasites, such as sea lice. Other funding sources include the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation.

In 2015, the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association identified sea lice control as a top research and development (R&D) priority for the provincial finfish aquaculture sector. The R&D involves a large-scale field trial using cultured cleaner fish in a sea cage validation trial to test the effective removal of sea lice from farmed

salmon. The feeding behavior of the cleaner fish is harnessed to create a natural defense for the farm. The project will deliver innovative met hods and technology needed to produce cleaner fish and will be tested in a real-world environment.

Funding projects such as this will help solidify Atlantic Canada as world leaders in aquaculture innovation and safe farming practices, while at the same time maintaining the prosperity that comes as a direct result of salmon farming operations. Research and development contributes to long term economic sustainability by initiating new products and services, improving environmental monitoring, and enhancing safety and security.

FUNDING

STUDENTS RECEIVE AWARDS TO EXPLORE N.L.’S OCEAN INDUSTRIES NINETEEN STUDENTS WERE presented with Ocean Industries Student Research Awards (OISRA) at a ceremony on the St. John’s campus March 7, 2016.

The awards program, delivered through the Research & Development Corporation (RDC), supports the development of highly qualified researchers exploring areas relevant to Newfoundland and Labrador’s ocean industries, including offshore petroleum engineering, ocean technology, marine transportation and fisheries and aquaculture.

industries, strong academic achievement, technical merits of proposed research plans, industry collaboration and other considerations.

The following is a list of recipients in the Faculty of Science, their research area, and project titles. Recipients are identified as bachelor, master or doctoral candidates in their areas of study.

Fisheries and Aquaculture •

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•

Bruno Gianasi PhD (Ocean Sciences) - Exploring the potential of the •

(Ocean Sciences) - Developing an optimal removal program for the invasive European green crab in Newfoundland Melissa Cook M.Sc. (Environmental Science) - Biological effects of contamination on aquatic species with a focus on oil and gas contaminants Nicola Zargarpour M.Sc. (Ocean Sciences) - Using underwater video to investigate the impact of invasive European green crab (Carcinus Maenas) on lobster catch, and inform mitigation strategies Phillip Meintzer M.Sc. (Ocean Sciences) - Improving the efficiency of cod pots for fisheries in Newfoundland and Labrador

Ocean Technology •

Michaela Ryan B.Sc. (Chemistry/ Biochemistry) - The use of porous metal-organic frameworks for the sensing and sequestration of the environmental pollutant HONO (AKA Nitrous Acid)

Offshore Petroleum •

In total, 19 Memorial students received Ocean Industries Student Research Awards during a ceremony in March 2016.

Chris Hammond photo

The program is funding 15 doctoral and master’s candidates and four undergraduate students. Awards range from $7,500 for bachelor degree-level programs, up to $20,000 per year for master’s candidates and up to $30,000 per year for doctoral candidates.

Awards recipients are selected through a competitive process based on relevance of the research to Newfoundland and Labrador’s ocean

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•

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commercial sea cucumber Cheng Zhaohai PhD (Environmental Science/Interdisciplinary) - Trawl technology for the Newfoundland shrimp industry Cole Walsh B.Sc. (Mathematics and Statistics/Physics and Physical Oceanography) - Examining pathological otoliths in Atlantic Cod near Newfoundland Jonathan Bergshoeff M.Sc.

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•

Alex Brubacher B.Sc. (Earth Sciences) - Structural analysis of the Flat Rock Thrust Zone: Tectonic implications for onshore and offshore regions of Eastern Newfoundland Daniel Jose Sivira Ortega M.Sc. (Earth Sciences) - Alteration of the wetting character of the composite rock through enhanced oil recovery methods for the Ben Nevis formation, Hebron Field, Jeanne d’Arc Basin, offshore Newfoundland, Canada Sean Murphy B.Sc. (Earth Sciences) - Three dimensional ichnology of the trace fossil parahaentzschelinia and its relationship to fracturing in unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs 23

FUNDING

Dr. Annie Mercier, seen here in Antarctica, has received funding from CFI. Submitted photo

Science researchers benefit from federal infrastructure funding

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RESEARCH AIMED AT improving the health and well-being of people living with life-threatening diseases and protecting critical marine resources are among projects led by Memorial University benefitting from new federal funding totalling $347,200.

The investment from the Canada Foundation for Innovation will fund new cutting-edge technology and infrastructure.

Dr. Annie Mercier, Department of Ocean Sciences, received $96,906 for a high-resolution digital slide scanner, and an image analysis suite, which are vital for research and educational purposes in biology and pathology. The scanner is the first of its kind in the province for her area of research.

Drs. Len Zedel, Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, and Mark Abrahams of the departments of Ocean Sciences and Biology, also received $53,802 to acquire an echosounder system needed for quantitative measurements of fish or plankton biomass.

For Dr. Mercier, innovative technology such as a new slide scanner will help her team make important discoveries related to marine invertebrates and other marine biology.

In total, the federal government announced more than $23 million in funding for 95 projects at 26 universities across Canada on March 14, 2016. The funding was awarded under the CFI John R. Evans Leaders Fund.

Dr. Alison Malcolm has received $265,000 in new funding from NSERC. Kelly Foss photo

Memorial researchers receive more than $6.7 million from NSERC NEARLY $7-MILLION IN federal funding announced on June 23, 2016, will accelerate more than 50 individual research projects on three of Memorial’s campuses in areas ranging from resource management to ocean sciences to enhanced oil recovery.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) announced a total of $6.79 million over five years for 53 projects at Memorial led by early-stage, mid-career and established researchers, as well as doctoral students. The funding was awarded through NSERC’s Discovery Grants, scholarships and fellowships competitions.

Researchers from Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Ocean

Sciences, Physics and Physical Oceanography, Psychology, Mathematics and Statistics, Earth Sciences, Computer Science and Geography are among those who received awards. Included in Memorial’s investment is nearly $600,000 for research projects led by doctoral students.

Dr. Alison Malcolm, associate professor of geophysics and NSERC Chevron Industrial Research Chair in Reservoir Characterization, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, has received $265,000 which will allow her to hire and train upwards of 10 new undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Malcolm and her team are studying cracks and their effect on seismic waves.

FUNDING

New and renewed 2016 NSERC Discovery grants •

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•

•

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Ryan Mailloux, Department of Biochemistry, Controlling mitochondrial bioenergetics with protein S-glutathionylation redox switches Fereidoon Shahidi, Department of Biochemistry, Enhancement of Bioactivity and Bioaccessibility of Food Phenolics: Structure Modification and Release from Food Matrices Craig Purchase, Department of Biology, Gamete Ecology in Variable Environments Brian Staveley, Department of Biology, Signalling Mechanisms Integrating Cell Survival, Organismal Growth and Stress-resistance in Drosophila Michael Katz, Department of Chemistry, A Gas Adsorption Analyzer for the Study of Porous Materials Christopher Kozak, Department of Chemistry, Designing Complexes for Homogenous Catalysis and Polymerization Raymond Poirier, Department of Chemistry, Electronic Structure Theory: Algorithms, Applications and Cheminformatics Raymond Thomas, Department of Chemistry, Oxylipins: novel sources of soybean disease tolerance against Phytophthora sojae infection Yuming Zhao, Department of Chemistry, New Redox-Active Organic pi-Conjugated Building Blocks for Functional Nanoscale Materials and Devices Ting Hu, Department of Computer Science, Robustness and Evolvability of Evolutionary Algorithms Alison Malcolm, Department of Earth Sciences, Sensing Cracks in the Earth Using Multiple Scattering and Nonlinear Elasticity Duncan McIlroy, Department of

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Earth Sciences, Ediacaran organismsediment interactions Alexander Bihlo, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Geometric foundation of invariant and conservative parameterization schemes Chunhua Ou, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Applied dynamical systems and asymptotic analysis David Pike, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Combinatorial Designs and Graph Theory Danny Summers, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Studies in Radiation Belt Physics Yiqiang Zhou, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Topics in noncommutative ring theory Kurt Gamperl, Department of Ocean Sciences, Understanding What Limits Fish Cardiovascular Performance and Environmental Responses Iain McGaw, Department of Ocean Sciences, Balancing the demands of physiological processes: Decapod crustacean feeding and digestion in hypoxia Luc Beaulieu, Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Experimental and Numerical Studies of Cantilever Sensors Martin Plumer, Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Simulations of Complex Order in Thin-Film Magnetic Systems Stefan Wallin, Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Computational studies of conformational switching in proteins: function and evolution Christina Thorpe, Department of Psychology, Time-Place Learning, Circadian Rhythms, and Memory

Discovery Accelerator Supplement •

Alison Malcolm, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Sensing Cracks in the Earth Using Multiple Scattering and Nonlinear Elasticity

New NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships - Doctoral, School of Graduate Studies • • • • • •

Nader AbuSara, Department of Biology John MacInnis, Department of Chemistry Jennifer Murphy, Department of Chemistry Hart Plommer, Department of Chemistry Nicole Smith, Department of Ocean Sciences Emilie Novaczek, Department of Geography

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FUNDING

FEDERAL INVESTMENT EMPOWERS RESEARCHERS RESEARCHERS AT MEMORIAL — ranging from master’s and PhD students to researchers from arts, social work, medicine, music, business and science —received a combined total of more than $4.2 million in federal support for grants, fellowships and scholarships in an announcement made Dec. 16, 2015.

The researchers received support through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight and Insight Development Grants, allowing them to advance knowledge and build research expertise in areas such as youth interrogation, adult learning in a digital age and climate change.

SSHRC also announced funding for graduate students.

Sixteen master’s students received the Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships, valued at $17,500 each.

The full list of Science researchers and students receiving SSHRC support is below.

Insight Grants: October 2014 Competition Awards •

Dr. Brent S. Snook, Department of Psychology: Safeguarding Youth Interrogation Rights: Testing Assumptions About Youth Understanding and Interrogator Abilities, $113,383

Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s Program: December 2014 Competition Awards (each valued at $17,500) •

•

• Dr. Brent Snook.

Chris Hammond photo

Cassy C. Compton, Department of Psychology: Interfering with Justice: The Effects of Preparation on the Perceived Veracity of Children’s Statements Zak Keeping, Department of Psychology: The Effect of Social Influence Tactics on Witness Information Provision Emilie S. Pond, Department of Psychology: Perfectionism as a Mediator of Suicidal Ideation in Patients with Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

ALUMNI

Cole Walsh. Chris Hammond photo

Student’s love of research takes him to the Ivy League

Michael Sullivan. Chris Hammond photo

Economics major banking on 'eureka' moment at Stanford, Yale MICHAEL SULLIVAN IS a numbers guy.

His enthusiasm for the patterns and theorems of mathematics combined with an interest in history has provided the St. John’s native with a perfect match for his abilities: the study of macroeconomics.

His chosen field of study is already paying out dividends. After picking up his bachelor of science in the spring

“Economics provides a mathematical way of understanding things that historians and social scientists study, and economists use math like a language in order to study social problems.” of 2016 — as well as the Governor General’s Silver Medal and Gold Medals for Academic Excellence for Economics and Pure Mathematics — he left Newfoundland and Labrador for a one-year research assistant position

at Stanford University. In the 2017-18 academic year, he plans to pursue a PhD in economics at Yale University, where he has already been offered a scholarship.

Mr. Sullivan says economics provides a mathematical way of understanding things that historians and social scientists study, and economists use math like a language in order to study social problems. While some ideas are best expressed verbally, others require models that quantitatively connect the ideas.

He says it begins on the page, with writing down ideas and thoughts that look at what the relationship between various variables in society.

Then it becomes a matter of more rigorously asking what connects these things, writing a mathematical model, collecting data and seeing whether the hypothesized model actually fits data.

That isn’t something you can do with purely verbal information.

He credits the individual attention received from various members of the economics department for “making his education.”

COLE WALSH DIDN’T come to Memorial University with the intention of doing research. In fact, he’d be the first to tell you he didn’t even know what research was when he started his undergraduate degree at Grenfell Campus.

But when an earth sciences professor offered the former Nameless Cove resident a short-term position in a lab, a career in research was born. Mr. Walsh has since gone on to a variety of projects while combining his new love with an honours degree in math and physics.

Those include projects at Memorial’s St. John’s Campus with Dr. Danny Summers in the math department looking at electrons in the earth’s magnetosphere, Dr. Kris Poduska in the physics department doing radiocarbon dating of archeological samples and Dr. Ivan Booth, also of the math department, on black holes. This past summer he worked again with Dr. Poduska, on a project involving magnetic clams.

Mr. Walsh also spent some time at the University of Toronto working on the IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory project.

This fall Mr. Walsh headed off to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, to begin a six-year PhD program. It’s a huge move for him, considering he’s never visited the United States and until recently didn’t even have a passport.

While at Cornell he hopes to focus on his studies for the first couple of years before delving into thesis research for the last four. His biggest decision will be choosing an area of focus out of the many he’s enjoyed.

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ALUMNI

GALACTIC POTENTIAL BETHANY DOWNER’S CHILDHOOD dream of blasting off into space is one step closer.

The Memorial graduate recently finished a bachelor of science degree in geography, and began a master of space studies at the International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg, France.

The international institution of higher learning is dedicated to the development of outer space for peaceful purposes through international and multidisciplinary programs.

Buzz Aldrin is the university’s chancellor; faculty members include astronauts, space agency leaders, space engineers, space scientists and other international experts in technical and non-technical space-related fields.

One of 40 students chosen from thousands of applicants worldwide each year, Ms. Downer received a €12,000 scholarship from the European Space Agency. The 12-month program offers intensive classes, workshops, labs, projects and field trips in all disciplines related to space programs and enterprises, space sciences, space engineering, space policy, space law, business and management and space and society. It also includes a 12-week internship at a space organization or affiliated host institution.

If eligible, Ms. Downer could then go on to an optional second year, during which she would complete a thesis project. Following graduation, she hopes to attend flight school to receive her pilot’s license.

While a degree from ISU is not a required step for an aspiring astronaut, alumni—of which there are only a few hundred in number—are highly regarded and many have gone on to become astronauts, or have found senior positions within space organizations worldwide.

In fall 2016, Ms. Downer was also selected

by Corporate Knights as one of Canada’s 2016 30 under 30 in Sustainability—a celebration of young leaders across Canada pushing for systemic change.

Bethany Downer.

Chris Hammond photo

ALUMNI

New Supreme Court justice graduated with degrees in science, arts IT’S NOT ONLY the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that has its first Supreme Court justice.

Justice Malcolm Rowe, an alumnus of Memorial University, holds bachelor’s degrees in both science and arts (political science).

He attended Memorial from 1970-75, where he was awarded the gold medal for political science and the Birks medal for leadership, both in 1975.

He then headed to Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Ont., where he earned his LL.B. He was called to the bar of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1978 and became a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1986.

Justice Rowe was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1992. In 1996 he became clerk of the executive council and secretary to cabinet in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador before being appointed to the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court, Trial Division, in 1999. He was elevated to the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001.

A lecturer in public and constitutional law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, for two years in the early 1990s, Justice Rowe has served as a member of the Council of the Canadian Superior Courts Judges’ Association since 2005.

He was chair of the Advisory Committee on Federal Judicial Appointments for Newfoundland and Labrador from 2006-12.

He is the author of What Is the Constitution of a Province, a chapter in the book Provinces, edited by Prof.

Christopher Dunn and published in 2015. From 2002-16, he was involved with Action Canada, a youth leadership development program, as an advisor, mentor and member of the national selection committee.

Mark Stacey.

Chris Hammond phtoto

Computer science alumnus bringing programming to all ages EVERY TWO WEEKS, in a computer lab on the St. John’s campus, dedicated programmers get together to share their knowledge and skills with the general public.

Code Club is just one service provided by CodeNL, a group committed to improving computer programming education in Newfoundland and Labrador.

At Code Club, people of all ages and skills can drop in to get assistance with something they’re working on or to learn something new.

Mark Stacey, a bachelor of science alumnus, runs CodeNL with the organization’s founder, James Flynn. As a computer science student at Memorial, Mr. Stacey became heavily involved in the Computer Science Society. The group wanted to raise the profile of their department and programming in general, so in 2014 they hosted an Hour of Code event at O’Donel High School, Mr. Stacey’s alma mater in Mount Pearl. The one-hour introduction to computer science, hosted annually around the world as part of Computer Science Education Week, aims to demystify code and show that anyone can learn the basics.

The event went over so well the group wanted to take the idea further.

They decided instead of doing their own thing with the Computer Science Society, they would join forces and consolidate their efforts with CodeNL. However, many of their volunteers are either current computer science students or graduates from Memorial.

In addition to teaching code and offering a regular speaker series with local computer programmers and technology professionals, another focus of CodeNL is advocating for computer programming education in the public school system.

Mr. Stacey believes understanding the basics of coding is important for everyone, regardless of their current or future occupation, and that it’s a vital skill in the digital age.

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ALUMNI

Young alumni develop technology to transform oil industry

Nicholas Brown. HSIMS photo

Science student recognized with self-directed learning award

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NICHOLAS BROWN IS a creative and critical thinker, an explorer and an adventurer, and is someone who persistently seeks the answers to questions that interest him in his field of study.

He is also the recipient of the inaugural Memorial University Award for Outstanding Self-directed Learning. In recognition of his accomplishments, he was presented with a framed certificate and a cash award of $1,000 at a ceremony on May 9, 2016.

The new graduate of Memorial’s bachelor of science (honours) program has gone above and beyond the typical expectations of student performance, deeply and meaningfully engaging fellow undergraduate students, graduate students and professors and demonstrating independence in carrying out and evaluating his learning.

Dr. Noreen Golfman, provost and vice-president (academic) presented the award and said Mr. Brown was able to combine his interests in psychology and ocean environments with scuba diving and envision a future career in which he will contribute to animal behaviour research and conserving marine ecospheres.

During the ceremony, Mr. Brown presented an overview of his self-directed learning experience, reflecting on his desire to push boundaries and challenge convention as he worked toward the completion of his honours project, which focused on the sea cucumber’s response to predatory sea stars.

He spoke of the value of detailed planning, clear communication and collaboration and noted that he developed skills in leadership and time management over the course of his work. Mr. Brown also acknowledged the assistance of faculty members, graduate student researchers and undergraduate student assistants, specifically praising his co-supervisors, Dr. David Wilson and Dr. Pat Gagnon, for their assistance and inspiration.

The Memorial University Award for Outstanding Self-directed Learning is the first of its kind at Memorial, and celebrates undergraduate students with the qualities and skills that enable them to manage their own learning and successfully undertake self-directed learning projects during their formal studies.

TUCKED AWAY IN a small lab on the ground floor of the Chemistry-Physics Building, a trio of eager young scientists have plans to transform the province’s oil industry.

Liam Whelan, Josh Walsh and Lucas Stewart are the minds behind Spectroleum Labs, a local chemical sensing start up that has developed an innovative piece of technology they say will positively impact business and the environment.

The company is developing an environmental sensing platform for the offshore oil industry. Their technology enables oil producers to reduce the costs and challenges in the regulatory monitoring of offshore produced water.

By implementing their technology, oil producers will be able to rapidly and efficiently monitor and screen for any contamination they would release in the marine environment.

Mr. Stewart is a native of St. Bernard’s.

He holds a B.Sc. in chemistry and recently completed the coursework and research for a master’s degree in chemistry. Mr. Whelan grew up in Mount Pearl, and holds a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. in chemistry. The third member of the team, Mr. Walsh, is a native of Pasadena. He also holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in chemistry and is currently completing his PhD in the subject.

Spectroleum began in August 2015.

They took part in a mentoring program through the Genesis Centre, Memorial’s business incubator for technology startups, and in April clinched top spot during Pitch and Pick, an event where aspiring entrepreneurs pitched business ideas to a panel of judges and a packed audience at Bitter’s Pub and Restaurant.

The team is quick to point out the research behind their technology began at the university. They credit the support of the Department of Chemistry as well as its researchers, Drs. Christina Bottaro and Erika Merschrod, and Dr. Kelly Hawboldt from the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science in helping cultivate their ideas.

Technology the company relies upon was developed through a project led by the trio of professors.

ALUMNI

Memorial alumni play a large role in the Fogo Island residency program. Dr. Andrew Kerr photo

Fogo Island’s geologist-in-residence program a big draw for alumni Dr. Andrew Kerr, an adjunct faculty member with the Department of Earth Sciences and a Memorial alumnus Ancient ripple ma rks in

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SINCE 2013, MEMORIAL University alumni have played a large role in a unique variation on the residency program on Fogo Island, through a project developed in conjunction with the Shorefast Foundation and the Fogo Island Inn. Geology at the Edge is a geologistin-residency program sponsored by the Shorefast Foundation, and was established to add to the body of knowledge on and about Fogo Island and Change Islands, N.L. It aims to combine the understanding of geological heritage with sustainable economic development focused upon geotourism – tourism that creates conditions for the socio-economic wellbeing of communities while maintaining their cultural and ecological integrity. It is Canada’s first community-focused geology residency program and modelled on artist residency programs.

(PhD ’90), was the first official geologist-inresidence in Fogo, and has been followed by several other Memorial alumni,

including Sheridan Thompson (M.Sc. ’14), Kevin Sheppard (B.Sc. (Hons.) ’97, M.Sc. ’00), Jane Wynne (M.Sc. ’83), Scott Schillereff (PhD ’92) and Jack Botsford (PhD ’87).

The program covers travel costs and provides the geologist with a house to live in for the duration of the stay and a stipend for food and other expenses.

Participants are encouraged to bring their families or accommodate visits by professional colleagues. The program is open to Canadian and international scientists and welcomes applications from Memorial alumni, faculty and graduate students.

The program is administered on behalf of the Shorefast Foundation by geologist Paul Dean (B.Sc. ’72, M.Sc. ’78) and is overseen by a committee which includes geologist Frank Blackwood (B.Sc. ’73, 31 M.Sc. ’76).

DEVELOPMENT

New psychology lecture to honour late faculty member Dr. and Mrs. Satti Paddi and Parvati Reddy. Submitted photo

PHYSICS SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLIC LECTURE NAMED FOR REDDY FAMILY

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THE DEPARTMENT OF Physics and Physical Oceanography is home to a new annual lecture and undergraduate scholarship.

A generous donation from Drs. Sethu, Bharati and Suresh Reddy in honour of their parents has led to the endowment of the Dr. and Mrs. Satti Paddi and Parvati Reddy Memorial Scholarship and Lecture.

The scholarship will be awarded annually to a student beyond their first year who is a declared major in the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography. The purpose of the annual lecture is to attract a well-spoken leader in the broadly defined area of physics research or discovery, with a goal of providing wide-reaching benefit to both the general public and the university community.

Dr. Reddy, a distinguished resident of Newfoundland and Labrador since 1963, was a professor emeritus and the former head of the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography. He was an excellent teacher and very active in his research field of experimental atomic and molecular spectroscopy.

In addition to his passion for research and teaching, Dr. Reddy was a proponent of volunteerism and served

Marisa Dusseault, here with Jolanta Lagowski, head of the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, is the recipient of the first Dr. and Mrs. Satti Paddi and Parvati Reddy Memorial Scholarship. Kelly Foss photo

in health and educational activities, community and citizenship organizations, and human rights, ethnic diversity, cultural development and national unity associations.

Dr. and Mrs. Reddy have both been recognized by the greater Newfoundland and Labrador community for their volunteerism and community activities.

In 2001, A. M. House, then lieutenantgovernor of Newfoundland and Labrador, presented the Newfoundland and Labrador Volunteer Medal to Dr. Reddy for 35 years of service.

DR. PATRICIA CANNING passed away in November 2015.

The Dr. Patricia Canning Memorial Lecture in Child Health and Development was established through generous gifts and pledges from her family and friends.

The first lecture in the series will take place in March 2017.

The purpose of the lecture series is to attract a leader in the broadly defined area of child health and development research or discovery, with a goal of providing wide-reaching benefit to both the general public and the Memorial University community. The speaker will have an international reputation and have produced extensive research on issues relevant to researchers, policy-makers and practitioners.

As a child psychologist, educator and researcher who began her career at Mount St. Vincent University in Bedford, N.S., the aim of Dr. Canning’s work was to understand what maximizes children’s health, well-being, learning and family functioning and to turn that understanding into concrete practices and policies to support children’s development.

A champion for children, especially the most vulnerable, she left her mark on improved education and community programs and services, including early promotion services for families, prevention programs for children with special needs and their families, and early childhood education and childcare.

FACULTY

Meet our new

CANADA RESEARCH CHAIRS

Dr. Alex Bihlo, Canada Research Chair in Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing. Chris Hammond photo

MEMORIAL HAS APPOINTED two new Canada Research Chairs (CRC) in the Faculty of Science – one of the country’s highest honours for research excellence.

Memorial is now home to a total of 15 CRCs. Kirsty Duncan, the federal minister of science, made the announcement on Feb. 9, 2016 at the University of British Columbia. The new CRCs are Dr. Alex Bihlo, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing and Dr. John Jamieson, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Marine Geology.

Tier 2 Chairs, tenable for five years

Dr. John Jamieson, Canada Research Chair in Marine Geology.

Chris Hammond photo

and renewable once, are exceptional emerging researchers acknowledged by their peers to have the potential to lead in their field. For each Tier 2 Chair, the university receives $100,000 annually for five years Dr. Bihlo says being named a CRC will play a “key role,” in his current and future research career. A former postdoctoral fellow at Memorial, he says he was eager to return to this province to conduct research.

Dr. Jamieson says the support from the CRC program provides him with the “freedom to hit the ground running.” He is focused on setting up a radioisotope lab while making plans to head out on the water and explore the world’s seafloor. He’s investigating the

mineral potential of the deep oceans.

Created in 2000, the CRC program has helped attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds to post-secondary institutions in the country. Currently, there are more than 1,700 Canada Research Chair holders working in natural sciences and engineering, health and social sciences and humanities at more than 70 postsecondary institutions in Canada.

Memorial is home to CRCs in areas such as Aboriginal studies; natural resource sustainability and community development; marine bioscience; environmental science; and neuroscience and brain repair, among others.

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FACULTY

PSYCHOLOGY’S DR. AIMÉE SURPRENANT APPOINTED DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES

Dr. Aimée Surprenant Chris Hammond photo

DR. AIMÉE SURPRENANT is the newest dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

She began a five-year term on June 1, 2016.

Dr. Surprenant has held increasingly senior academic positions at Memorial since 2006. She comes to the School of Graduate Studies from Memorial’s Faculty of Science, where she held the position of professor in the Department of Psychology. She previously completed a one-year term as acting associate dean (administration and undergraduate) in the Faculty of Science.

Prior to arriving at Memorial, Dr. Surprenant served as director of undergraduate studies and professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. She also held academic positions at Indiana University, where she was a visiting

assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and a post-doctoral Fellow in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences.

Dr. Surprenant holds a BA in psychology from New York University, and a M.Sc., M.Phil. and PhD in psychology from Yale University. An expert in the intersection of auditory perception and memory, she has been continuously funded since 1992 by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation (U.S.) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and has been the recipient of numerous other grants and engagement awards. Dr. Surprenant has served on a grant panel for NSERC and has adjudicated award and funding competitions for faculty, undergraduate and graduate students.

SCIENCE, MEDICINE NETWORKING EVENT HELPS GROW RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY

Researchers in Science and Medicine came together at a connector event to discuss opportunities for future collaboration. HSIMS photo

Dr. James Rourke at the Medicine and Science connector event. HSIMS photo

FACULTY MEMBERS IN Science and Medicine came together on May 19, 2016, for a special networking event.

For the first time, researchers in both units sat down to discuss their individual areas of research and possible opportunities to work together.

The idea came about when Dr. Proton Rahman, associate dean of research with the Faculty of Medicine, met with Dr. Len Zedel, associate dean of research and graduate studies with the Faculty of Science, to consider potential opportunities for collaboration between the two faculties.

Dr. Zedel suggested they invite all faculty to a “connector event” instead and, to gauge interest, discussed the idea with department heads in the Faculty of Science. Their response was beyond his expectations, with interest from virtually all units – including some he hadn’t anticipated to hear from at all.

He stresses while the collaboration was initiated by Medicine, any time there are collaborations across disciplines, it opens up opportunities for research in new areas.

The format of the event saw presentations on a mix of research projects that spanned basic sciences, clinical research, community-based projects and more. Researchers from both faculties give short, minute-anda-half talks using one Powerpoint slide to highlight important points. At the conclusion, presenters mingled and made their own arrangements for follow-up discussions.

Both associate deans say feedback since then has been overwhelmingly positive, with researchers suggesting it be done again with different faculties, or even networking events for those just within their own faculties.

FACULTY

Earth Sciences professor named Terra Nova Young Innovator

Dr. Penny Morrill Chris Hammond photo

A $50,000 RESEARCH award is allowing a Memorial University scientist to build and test a new atmospheric methane gas sampler. If proven successful, the new technology could be utilized in a variety of applications ranging from detecting new oil and gas reservoirs to searching for life on Mars, making Memorial the first location east of Ontario performing this type of cutting-edge research.

Environmental geochemist Dr. Penny Morrill, an associate professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, is the latest recipient of the Terra Nova Young Innovator Award, supported on behalf of the partners in the Terra Nova oil field by Suncor as operator.

The prestigious award recognizes and supports outstanding young faculty members whose research is particularly innovative and whose specific proposal has real potential to make a significant impact on society.

Dr. Morrill’s research focuses on finding new ways to sample, concentrate and source methane which is vital in the search for discovering new oil and gas reserves, developing new climate change models and searching for life on other planets. She is collaborating with Dr. Susan Ziegler, Memorial’s Canada Research Chair in Environmental Science and Dr. Shuhei Ono, associate professor at the famed Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.

In addition to advancing her research, Dr. Morrill says Suncor Energy’s financial support will also allow her to recruit and train top graduate students as part of her research project.

Since joining Memorial in 2008, Dr. Morrill has authored 13 scientific publications. She has presented her research at national and international conferences and has given more than 10 invited talks. Her research is supported by funding agencies such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canadian Space Agency and the Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador.

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FACULTY

Earth Sciences prof named Fellow of the Geological Society of America

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DR. STEPHEN PIERCEY, a professor of Earth Sciences, was elected as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA).

Society Fellowship is an honour bestowed on the best of the profession by election at the organization’s spring council meeting. Existing fellows nominate GSA members in recognition of their distinguished contributions to the geosciences.

Dr. Piercey has made significant contributions to the field of economic geology, particularly the genesis and tectonic setting of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits and associated magmatic rocks. His research has led to a better understanding of the relationships between style and type of mineralization and tectonomagmatic processes globally.

The newly elected fellows were recognized at the GSA annual presidential address and awards ceremony on Nov. 1, 2015 in Baltimore Maryland.

As part of the ceremonial gala, Dr. Brosnan, accompanied by Dr. Margaret Brosnan, entered the ballroom through an honorary sabre arch formed by cadets of the Ross Volunteer Company. The Ross Volunteers are the official honour guard for the Governor of Texas. Submitted photo

Biochemistry researcher honoured by American university DR. JOHN (SEAN) Brosnan has been inducted as a Fellow of the Texas Institute for Advanced Studies (TIAS).

Established by Texas A&M University in 2010, the institute selects faculty Fellows from among top scholars who have distinguished themselves through outstanding professional accomplishments or significant recognition. Only 35 individuals have been inducted to date, including several Nobel laureates.

The minimum qualification for consideration is election to one’s home national academy, the Royal Society of Canada in the case of Dr. Brosnan, and an outstanding research program that permits interactions with researchers and students on-campus at Texas A&M University. Fellows are recruited for visiting appointments that will last from three to 12 months, though those 12 months may be spread over multiple years.

In the field of amino acid biochemistry, Dr. Brosnan is known

for his groundbreaking research into kidney and inter-organ metabolism of amino acids and one-carbon units. His most significant contributions concern understanding how several amino acids can be converted to glucose, a key element in our ability to withstand prolonged starvation; the regulation of amino acid metabolism by hormones; and how glutamine is used to regulate our acid-base status. Dr. Brosnan’s most recent work examines how vitamins— folate, in particular—can facilitate one-carbon metabolism. He is also exploring the key role that formic acid plays in that process.

As a TIAS faculty Fellow, Dr. Brosnan will collaborate with facultyresearchers and graduate students from the departments of animal science, poultry science, and nutrition and food sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences from the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and from the Texas A&M Health Science Center.

FACULTY

o

t Dr. pho ond Har amm old (H H s i r ank) Williams. Ch

Late Earth Sciences professor to be inducted in the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame IN JANUARY 2016, the late Dr. Harold (Hank) Williams, of the Department of

Professor emeriti recognized Dr. Edgar Goodaire has been accorded an honour reserved for highly distinguished faculty members.

The retired Department of Mathematics and Statistics professor was accorded the distinction professor emeritus, an honour reserved for highly distinguished faculty members. He was publicly recognized at a fall 2016 session of convocation.

A professor emeritus or emerita is a retired member of the faculty who has served at least 10 years as a regular fulltime faculty member and held the rank of professor upon retirement. The prime criterion for nomination is a sustained and superlative record as a scholar, as a teacher or as an academic administrator or any combination of these.

Earth Sciences, was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame “recognizes and honours the legendary mine finders and builders of a great Canadian industry.”

Candidates are individuals who have demonstrated outstanding lifetime achievements to the benefit of the Canadian or world mineral industry in the areas of exploration, corporation building, technical or supporting contributions, or mining in society.

The island of Newfoundland inspired Dr. Williams during his fruitful years with the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) and prolific career at Memorial University in St. John’s.

A GSC mapping program on the island led to his seminal 1964 paper, The Appalachians in Northeastern Newfoundland: A Two-Sided Symmetrical System, which advanced the groundbreaking concept of plate tectonics for the first time. His landmark paper and 1967 geological compilation map of Newfoundland represented the first on-land syntheses of an orogenic belt in a tectonic framework. They were also

Dr. Goodaire has an impressive research record. His committed and scholarly teaching, contributions to the university and to the broader community, and his infectious “can-do” enthusiasm helped promote many causes important to the intellectual life of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and Memorial University.

He was head of the department from 1991-94 and interim head from 201112. Dr. Goodaire served on numerous departmental, faculty and university committees and review panels prior to his retirement in 2013. He also served on the board of directors of the Canadian Mathematical Society from 1979-81 and on various committees from 1982-2001.

Dr. Goodaire was inducted into the Science Atlantic Hall of Fame in 2013 and received the Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Mathematical Society in 2004.

keystones to J. Tuzo Wilson’s recognition of the concept of an opening and closing proto-Atlantic (Iapetus) Ocean.

Dr. Williams continued his work at Memorial to international acclaim. One of his greatest achievements was a tectonic lithofacies map of the entire North American Appalachian mountain chain from Alabama to Newfoundland, which interpreted terrane divisions across the Atlantic.

The map provided a regional framework for geologists to focus their search for specific types of deposits, which led to discoveries such as the Duck Pond mine in central Newfoundland.

The implications for mineral exploration were exciting, and plate tectonics, once hotly debated, became widely accepted around the world as Dr. Williams helped establish this unifying theory for the drift of continents, the evolution of mountain belts and the formation of related mineral deposit types within mountain belts.

Dr. Williams also inspired a generation of geologists and helped establish Memorial as a leader in earth science research. One of the youngest fellows of the Royal Society of Canada when he was inducted in 1972, he also received many other awards, including the Logan Medal of the Geological Association of Canada.

From 1973 to the present he has continuously received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)/National Research Council (NRC). In addition, he has written six books, 90 refereed journal articles and 52 mathematical reviews.

Dr. Edgar Goodaire.Chris Hammond photo 37

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Faculty of Science holds first teaching and learning retreat

Dr. Danny Dyer and Dr. Christina Thorpe, organizers of the first Faculty of Science teaching and learning retreat, with Kim Myrick, manager of the Teaching and Learning Framework with the Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. Albert Johnson photo

THE FACULTY OF Science held a teaching and learning retreat on April 28, 2016, to give faculty, sessional instructors and contractual employees the chance to talk about their discipline and relate some of their best teaching experiences, while sharing tips and tricks.

Dr. Danny Dyer, the Chair in Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Science, co-ordinated the event with Dr. Christina Thorpe of the Department of Psychology.

One of the goals of the retreat was to remind people that they have a love for their discipline.

Another goal was to bring people together to start a conversation about teaching in the Faculty of Science. Dr. Dyer believes that while many feel

teaching is secondary to research, it’s a major part of an academic’s life and those that do have a strong interest in it should be able to find others who share that value.

He is now working with Dr. Thorpe and Dr. Amy Todd, the Faculty of Science embedded teaching consultant, to co-ordinate a regular lunchtime teaching and learning seminar series and hopes this is just the first of many teaching retreats to come.

As the chair in teaching and learning for the Faculty of Science, Dr. Dyer is one of 13 academics from across Memorial appointed to support teaching and learning at the university. This involves collaborating with colleagues to advance the objectives of the Teaching and Learning Framework, promoting the scholarship of teaching and learning and developing strategies to address common challenges.

SCIENTIFIC DIVING COURSE PUTS MARINE LIFE AT STUDENTS’ FINGERTIPS

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Two students install a sediment trap, a device commonly used by oceanographers to quantify the amount of organic and inorganic particulate matter falling off the water column down to the seabed. Pat Gagnon photo

IN JUNE 2015, a group of undergraduate and graduate students braved the three-degree waters of the Atlantic Ocean daily for two weeks as part of a new course.

The students came from four academic disciplines - Biology, Archaeology, Psychology and Geography – and were participating in the first offering of OCSC4000: Scientific Diving Methods. The course, taught

by Dr. Patrick Gagnon, an associate professor with the Department of Ocean Sciences, took place in and around the St. John’s area.

The idea behind the course was to take students who were already certified recreational divers and show them how to do science underwater using scuba techniques.

The course taught students to safely apply knowledge about equipment and methods used for data collection in underwater scientific research, as well as the skills to plan and execute surveys and experiments with marine organisms in major subtidal habitats.

Students practiced such underwater tasks as mapping habitats, deploying various oceanographic instruments, laying transects and quadrats, drilling holes to anchor structures and mark bottom features, and using lift bags to transport scientific equipment and collection bags.

Another important aspect was to help them develop effective data writing and management systems for different types of habitats and underwater conditions.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

ONLINE OCEAN SCIENCE COURSE RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD FOR USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Oceans 1000: Exploration of World Ocean, an online course, received a national award. Pictured is a screen capture of the course. Annie Mercier photo

New Memorial apps support statistical learning STATISTICS DEALS WITH the collection, analysis and interpretation of data.

Because it applies across disciplines, statistics is often incorporated as a compulsory course in many academic programs. But, as students will attest, it is one of the most difficult courses to learn and even professors agree that teaching an introductory statistics course is challenging.

Dr. Asokan Variyath, an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, says

today’s technology plays a vital role in modern teaching of statistics. With recent advancements in the technology available, some statisticians have been opting to develop their own web-based statistical apps for teaching assistance.

Using apps in statistics courses helps focus student attention on new material and stimulates interest while highlighting the targeted principles needing to be learned. Unfortunately, many apps suffer from poor presentation, a lack of statistical thinking process and software issues.

In 2012, a new undergrad course at Memorial, STAT 1510 - Statistical Thinking and Concepts, was introduced for first year students with the overall objective of improving the undergraduate statistics program.

Dr. Variyath taught the course and

MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY HAS been recognized with a national award for its innovative use of educational technology in an online Ocean Science course.

In May 2015, the university accepted the award from the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE) at the CNIE-RCIE & CAUCE 2015 Conference in Winnipeg.

Oceans 1000: Exploration of World Ocean, received the Award of Excellence and Innovation in the Integration of Technology in Instructional Design/Teaching and Learning for the incorporation of Prezi as an exploration tool in an online environment.

Oceans 1000 is the first online development for the Department of Ocean Sciences. It is an introductory course that has a flipped-classroom design, combining face-to-face lectures and online interactive activities in the format of 11 virtual oceanographic expeditions to help engage the learner. Students are required to take on the role of a research scientist and complete an online expedition, log book, and online mini-quiz each week before they attend class, leaving class time available for discussion, and more facilitative and problem-solving approaches.

It took nearly two years to translate Dr. Annie Mercier’s original idea of virtual oceanographic expeditions into the blended course. Dr. Mercier is content author and an associate professor with Ocean Sciences.

began developing and implementing his own web-based statistical apps to improve the student learning process.

With the help of a MUN undergraduate computer engineering student, Jacob Parsons, they developed a series of apps using JAVA programming. Two other statistics graduate students, Tharshanna Nadarajah and Chithran Vasudevan, worked on the Memorial-funded project and were engaged in quality control testing. Faculty members of the math and stats department provided additional suggestions and feedback.

The first applets were used in the STAT 1510 course in 2012, with more being developed and implemented in the years since. Feedback from students using the apps has been encouraging and the department intends to continue constructing more applets.

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COMMUNITY Memorial University and partners celebrate Science Literacy Week

From left are Dr. Sheila Garland; Kathleen Wall, Memorial’s employee wellness consultant with the Department of Human Resources; Rebecca Collins and Hilary Power. Chris Hammond photo

FACULTY-STUDENT TELY 10 TEAM RAISING FUNDS FOR YOUNG ADULTS WITH CANCER BRIGHT AND EARLY on Sunday, July 24, 2016, Dr. Sheila Garland, a number of her students and all of the Team Memorial participants were at the starting line in Paradise for the 89th annual Tely 10 road race.

“They used their first race as a way to help raise funds for Young Adult Cancer Canada (YACC), an organization that supports young adults as they move through and beyond the disease.”

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While many runners are a repeat sight at the popular event, Dr. Garland, an assistant professor of psychology and oncology, and students Hilary Power, Hannah Lane, Rebecca Collins, Megan Van Wijk, Erin Oreilly, Megan Luther, Amanda Kennedy and Bridgette Green were all Tely 10 newbies.

They used their first race as a way to

help raise funds for Young Adult Cancer Canada (YACC), an organization that supports young adults as they move through and beyond the disease.

Dr. Garland’s research area is focused largely on improving quality of life and outcomes for people who have been diagnosed with cancer and she began working with YACC almost as soon as she started at Memorial. Through her exposure to what YACC does to connect young adults with cancer across Canada, and as someone who falls into the age range of individuals they would support, it has become a cause that is personally relevant to her.

When Dr. Garland put the idea of a Tely 10 YACC fundraiser out to her students, they jumped at the chance to get involved. Their passion for the cause helped drive their efforts as they worked towards their goal of raising $5,000.

The small team was joined at the race by a large contingent of other Memorial University runners and walkers comprised of faculty, staff, pensioners and their family members.

FOR ONE WEEK in September, universities, libraries, museums and other partners put on a nationwide festival of science.

Science Literacy Week highlights Canada’s outstanding scientists and science outreach from coastto-coast. It aims to showcase the excellence and diversity of Canadian science and show how exciting is.

In 2016, the week ran from Sept. 18-24 and began in Newfoundland and` Labrador with a fun science fair with hands-on demonstrations, science story times and shows in the Avalon Mall, St. John’s.

Other events included public lectures, nature and bird watching hikes, hands-on science demonstrations and programs for educators and youth group leaders at various locations, including the Johnson GEO CENTRE, Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium, local public libraries and various sites around Memorial University, including the Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University’s Botanical Garden and the Chemistry-Physics building.

In only two years, founder Jesse Hildebrand says the week has grown beyond his wildest dreams: from one city and five events in 2014, to more than 300 events with over 140 partners in 40 cities across Canada in 2015. Newfoundland and Labrador is at the forefront of that growth.

With more than 30 events over the week, he says St. John’s is the most participatory city in Canada by a huge margin, per capita, and the highest generally in all of Canada.

COMMUNITY

Science Rendezvous: A hands-on celebration of science

Walk For Families is the largest fundraising event for Ronald McDonald House. This year’s event included teams from Memorial University. Submitted photo

STUDENTS, STAFF SOUGHT FOR ANNUAL RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE FUNDRAISER

THERE’S A GOOD chance if you grew up in Newfoundland and Labrador, or are raising children here, you have stepped through the doors of the Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre. You might have also had an overnight stay, or knew a friend or family member who required one.

For the residents of this province who live some distance away from St. John’s, that can sometimes pose a significant challenge.

Stephen Patten, a third-year psychology student, has been

volunteering with Ronald McDonald House Newfoundland and Labrador since shortly after it opened in the fall of 2012. The facility is a home-away-from-home for families who have to travel to the city so their child can receive medical care at the Janeway.

The Red Shoe Crew – Walk for Families is Ronald McDonald House’s largest fundraising event. Mr. Patten is the event’s metro regional development co-ordinator.

This year he worked to involve Memorial University students, faculty and staff in the fundraiser as well as raise awareness about it across the province. To that end, he recruited teams from commerce, pharmacy, human kinetics and recreation, among others, to participate.

The fifth annual St. John’s Red Shoe Crew – Walk For Families took place Sept. 25, 2016 at the Mews Community Centre, with teams walking around Mundy Pond.

SCIENCE RENDEZVOUS, AN annual free, all-ages public event, hosted by the Faculty of Science, gave participants the chance to do fun and safe hands-on science activities Saturday, May 7, 2016, on the St. John’s Campus.

Representatives from the departments of Ocean Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Biology, Earth Sciences, Chemistry and Physics and Physical Oceanography, as well as Let’s Talk Science, set up activities in the lobby of the Science building and labs on the second floor of the Chemistry-Physics building.

Memorial University’s participation in Science Rendezvous 2016 showcased science, technology, engineering and mathematics in a fun and entertaining way to people of all ages. By celebrating science and bringing researchers together with the general public, the university hopes to help foster a strong culture of science in this province.

Science Rendezvous is the marquee event of Science Odyssey, formerly known as National Science and Technology Week, 10-days of discovery and innovation which took place May 6-15, 2016. Led by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, it is geared to engage and inspire Canadians of all ages with accomplishments and activities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Every year Science Rendezvous partners with research and community organizations to give the public exciting hands-on and unprecedented access to Canadian research. This year’s ninth annual festival saw over 300 free events take place in partnership with 40 of Canada’s top research institutions and more than 120 community organizations across 30 cities. Events spanned from Vancouver to St. John’s, and took place in venues ranging from small community centres to university campuses and large public parks.

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COMMUNITY

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COMMUNITY

MEMORIAL’S MUSICAL CONNECTION TO SOMME COMMEMORATIONS ON JULY 1, 2016, when most Canadians were gearing up for Canada Day celebrations, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians were marking a more somber event – the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

“For three years, the organization fundraised for a tour of honour, which took them through the battlefields of France to honour the sacrifice of Newfoundlanders who died during the First World War.”

Nathalie Vanasse, who plays flute and piccolo with the band, completed a degree at Memorial before becoming an employee. Matt Keels is a trombonist and Memorial student. Chris Hammond photo

Three Memorial University staff members and a student were among those gathering for commemoration events at the Newfoundland Memorial in Beaumont-Hamel, France.

David Mercer, Queen Elizabeth II Library; Nathalie Vanasse, Department of Chemistry; Ruth Leake, Centre for Institutional Analysis and Planning; and business student Matt Keels are members of the Church Lads Brigade (CLB) Regimental Band. For three years, the organization fundraised for a tour of honour, which took them through the battlefields of France to honour the sacrifice of Newfoundlanders who died during the First World War. The CLB sent musicians, spouses and other supporters from the CLB Band auxiliary, as well as a contingent of youth and their officers. Memorial University’s Living Memorial Commemoration Fund awarded four grants worth a total of $10,000 to Mr. Mercer, Ms. Vanasse, Ms. Leake and Mr. Keels to assist with their travel to Beaumont-Hamel for the historic event.

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