Nov. 4, 2015 Volume 48 | Number 5
A m e m o r i a l u n i v e r s i t y o f n e w f o u n d l an d p u b l i c a t i o n
Registration Mail No. 4006252
Piece of history By Elizabeth Furey
HSIMS PHOTO
The Faculty of Medicine will celebrate Commemorating our Legacy, a symposium reflecting on Dr. Cluny Macpherson, Newfoundland medical doctor and inventor of the first gas mask in the First World War, on Monday, Nov. 9. The full-day event will feature a range of speakers who will deliver talks on Dr. Macpherson and the many medical military contributions the province has made through the years. “Dr. Macpherson is truly a pioneer in Newfoundland medical history,” said Dr. James Rourke, dean, Faculty of Medicine. “Not only did his invention impact the lives of thousands, it changed the way the Great War was fought.” ARCHIVIST Stephanie Harlick holds an original First World War gas mask created by Dr. Cluny Macpherson.
See GAS MASK on page 3
Hibernia Offshore Operations Simulator Facility officially open By Leslie Earle
The Fisheries and Marine Institute officially opened the Hibernia Offshore Operations Simulator Facility Friday, Oct. 30. This new simulator will provide offshore operators with advanced and customized training for the supply and support of offshore facilities and production platforms. The Hibernia Offshore Operations Simulator is housed at the institute’s Centre for Marine Simulation (CMS) in a new two-storey facility that was added to the Marine Institute campus this past winter. The facility includes a six degree of freedom motion platform that replicates a wide range of at sea conditions and vessel vibrations, a visualization system to represent
offshore operations in real time and an instructor station to co-ordinate and oversee training scenarios. The construction of the facility was made possible by donations of $4.4 million from the Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. (HMDC) and $750,000 from the provincial government’s Infrastructure Funding Program. “Creating a learning environment that simulates Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore conditions will enhance our overall approach to safety,” said Jennifer Walck, president of HMDC. “This simulator will better prepare our workforce for the conditions they encounter offshore, and ensure they have the ability to practice operations in a controlled environment.” “Our advanced technology sectors
such as ocean technology continue to grow and are attracting people from all over the world to our shores, and the Hibernia Offshore Operations Simulator Facility is an excellent addition to our suite of training infrastructure to supply and support our offshore industry,” said Clyde Jackman, minister, Advanced Education and Skills. “As a government we are very pleased to provide financial support for continued excellence in training for the offshore. Both the growing offshore sector and continued excellence in post-secondary training further support the goals of our Population Growth Strategy, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s 10-year strategy for supporting individuals and families who choose Newfoundland and Labrador as their home.”
Using the Hibernia Offshore Operations Simulator, CMS will train new and existing personnel at the Hibernia Offshore Operations Simulator Facility in complex tasks, such as positioning and mooring of offshore structures, deep water anchor handling, supply operations alongside platforms, iceberg management and subsea operations. The simulator will also be used to rehearse operations and develop and evaluate procedures as part of risk assessments. The facility will also enable CMS to continue spearheading research in the areas of equipment design, ice navigation, technology transfer and simulation development with the aim of making offshore operations safer and more efficient.
7 Lasti n g r e m e m b ra n c e
8-9 Fa l l co n vocatio n
12 M u lti pl e i n t e l l i g e n c e
See HIBERNIA on page 3
features
6 Natio n a l p r e s e n c e
Memorial’s School of Pharmacy is seeking a rock star researcher. Is it you?
A cartographer at the Queen Elizabeth II Library helped a First World War historian piece together the puzzle of the location of Caribou Hill in Turkey.
The Gazette features three rousing orations delivered to this fall’s honorary graduates.
Is a Memorial engineering student Canada’s smartest person? CBC Television will decide.
Alumni spotlight
Dennis Flynn photo
ambassador Dr. Jawahar (Jay) Kalra, M.Sc.’72, PhD’76, B.Med.Sci.’79, MD’81, can add a new honour to his list of achievements: Outstanding Community Service Award recipient. Dr. Kalra proudly accepted the honour during Memorial’s 34th annual Alumni Tribute Awards on Oct. 19. Born in India, he immigrated to Canada in 1971 to complete postgraduate studies at Memorial. He left an indelible mark on campus life and has since gone on to become a pioneer in Canada’s medical profession. Contributor Jeff Green spoke with Dr. Kalra following this year’s awards gala.
Dr. Jawahar (Jay) Kalra
Recognized in his adopted hometown of Saskatoon as a community builder, social advocate and cultural
JG: What were your first impressions when you arrived here in the early ’70s? JK: I arrived in January and was bracingly introduced to a Canadian winter. While the weather was a tad of a shock to say the least, the hospitality and warmth of the people took my fears away. I fell in love with St. John’s and it made me feel at home instantaneously! Still today, I feel that St. John’s is a kind of hometown for me. I am a Newfoundlander!
JG: Why Memorial? JK: After completing my
JG: What was your reaction to receiving the Tribute Award? JK: It was very humbling. I was honoured and proud of my alma mater and I was delighted to return. To me, this award is a symbol of the work we have done as volunteers for our communities and is a reminder that there is more to do.
undergraduate education, I was exploring further avenues to pursue my higher education abroad. I had heard and read that Canada was a land of opportunity. Memorial was an up-and-coming university and had a very good graduate program in biochemistry.
JG: Why do you volunteer? JK: My father was a known
JG: How important was your Memorial education to your future success and career? JK: Very important. In fact it has set the stage for what I am today. While I was a student in medical school, I was privileged to be the first Canadian to win a student research award at the Eastern Student Research Forum in Miami, Fla. The award recognized our groundbreaking research on the metabolites of the cardiac drug digoxin. Subsequently, we started a student research day to share research findings at the medical school. It is truly remarkable to see how much research is being carried out in the Faculty of Medicine today.
philanthropist and was dedicated to worthy causes. I truly believe in the motto “in service for community.” I have always felt welcomed into whatever community I was in and that sense of welcoming made an impression on me. Service to the community is a fundamental strength of our great province and our nation. Canada is a place where every person, by volunteering, has the opportunity to make this country better and to promote harmony and diversity in our communities. It is important to return something to society and to help others however we can.
EDITOR Mandy Cook GRAPHICS Mike Mouland
Manuels River Interpretation Centre photo
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS
By Bojan Fürst Special to the gazette Yaffle.ca is Memorial’s online connecting tool. One of its most significant jobs is to provide a way for people from outside Memorial to ask for research help. With hundreds of communitysuggested opportunities to choose from, your next project is just a click away. Here’s one...
T h e o p p ort u n it y
Built around the natural and cultural heritage of Manuels River, the Manuels River Interpretation Centre is a hidden gem on the Northeast Avalon. “The centre is a great spot for families to visit and explore,” said Laura King, the centre’s science outreach manager. Ms. King is passionate about the centre and is looking to expand its offerings, and build its connection to Memorial’s students and faculty through experiential learning and public engagement opportunities. “We are really hoping that Memorial can help us out with creating an amazing natural sciences experience for our visitors and we think that we have a lot to offer to students and faculty looking to make their class projects or research projects responsive to community needs,” said Ms. King. In particular, the centre is hoping to connect with the biology
Manuels River Interpretation Centre is looking for Memorial’s help in conducting detailed surveys of wildlife in the area.
department regarding a variety of projects including a detailed survey of wildlife in the area. The projecT
The centre is interested in conducting baseline surveys for all the major wildlife groups. They have field guides for plants, trees, insects, fish, fungi, mammals, and birds; however, they are hoping to harness Memorial’s faculty and students to help them conduct rigorous, systematic surveys and identification work. “We would love to have a good general list of the species that can be found on and near the river, and where,” said Ms. King. “The list could be used for exhibit development and serve as a guideline and inspiration
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for future biodiversity research.” The group is interested in working with Memorial in a variety of ways, from hosting experiential learning classes to engaging in a citizen science program. “We feel this could be a great opportunity for everybody,” said Ms. King. “In the end, we would all benefit from having a better understanding of the biodiversity of our area.” If you are interested in working on this project or would like more information about the project and applied research funds available through the Harris Centre for projects such as these, please contact Bojan Fürst, manager of knowledge mobilization at the Harris Centre at bfurst@mun.ca or at 864-2120.
Courtenay Alcock Laura Barron Jennifer Batten Melanie Callahan Rebecca Cohoe Nora Daly Krista Davidson Kelly Foss Elizabeth Furey Leslie Earle Pamela Gill Jeff Green Janet Harron Jill Hunt
Jackey Locke Virginia Middleton Cathy Newhook Michelle Osmond Lisa Pendergast David Penney Marcia Porter Kristine Power Dave Sorensen Melissa Watton Meaghan Whelan Susan White Heidi Wicks Laura Woodford Sandy Woolfrey-Fahey
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Kelly Hickey PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Hammond ADVERTISING Mandy Cook T. 709 864 2142 mandyc@mun.ca Next gazette deadline Nov. 18 for Nov. 25 publication. The gazette is published 17 times annually by the Division of Marketing and Communications at Memorial University. Material in the gazette may be reprinted or broadcast without permission, excepting materials for which the gazette does not hold exclusive copyright. gazette, Room A-1024 Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s, NL A1C 5S7 T. 709 864 2142 F. 709 864 8699 mandyc@mun.ca ISSN 0228-88 77 With the exception of advertisements from Memorial University, ads carried in the gazette do not imply recommendation by the university for the service or product.
www.mun.ca/gazette
Cont’d from GAS
MASK on page 1 Medicine Founders’ Archive. “The assortment of discussions is sure to interest a variety of people.” The plenary speaker of the day, Andrew Robertshaw, is a military historian, broadcaster and educator from the United Kingdom and is well known for his work on combining archaeological techniques with archival research to show what life was like on the frontlines of the battlefields. His talk will discuss the gases used during the First
Presentations throughout the day will focus on various aspects of war, from the use of the gas mask in the First World War to a glimpse of modern-day medicine from a Faculty of Medicine alumnus currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. “We have professors, archivists, physicians and a former lieutenant-governor all speaking at the symposium,” said Stephanie Harlick, archivist, Faculty of
World War and the impact Dr. Macpherson made on the Great War. The Faculty of Medicine also recently acquired an original gas mask from the First World War, which will be unveiled during the symposium and will be on permanent display. “Having one of Cluny Macpherson’s original gas masks on permanent display in the Faculty of Medicine is something we are very excited about,” said Ms. Harlick. “It is a piece of history that will live on in the
Medical Education Centre for years to come; a reminder of the dedication of the people of our province to the world. I think Cluny summed it up when he wrote, ‘We… belong to a profession which does not register nor patent its discoveries but gives them freely in the cause of humanity.’” Commemorating our Legacy takes place on Monday, Nov. 9, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Please register by Wednesday, Nov. 4 at medfound@ mun.ca or (709) 777-6208.
“The Fisheries and Marine Institute prides itself on being Canada’s most comprehensive centre for education, training, applied research and industrial support for the ocean industries,” said Glenn Blackwood, vice-president, Memorial University (Marine Institute). “The Hibernia Offshore Operations Simulator is the latest in training technology for the offshore sector and will ensure today’s workforce is equipped with the unique training they require to safely perform complex tasks and react to conditions in the harsh marine environment such as that off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. We are grateful to Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd., the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the provincial government for their support in making this new facility possible.” The new simulator will complement the wide range of marine and offshore training simulators currently housed at CMS, including one of only three full motion ship’s bridge simulators in the world.
ANGIE BISHOP PHOTO
Cont’d from HIBERNIA on page 1
A view into the Hibernia Offshore Operations Simulator at the Marine Institute.
The high cost of textbooks: An extra burden for students The first day of classes is always marked with the handing out of syllabi and learning about class expectations. On each syllabus there is a “required textbooks” section, normally filled with online readings and the listing of textbooks. Having already paid tuition, the cost of textbooks each semester tends to sneak up on students. Although Memorial University has one of the lowest tuition costs in the country, when students buy their textbooks it can be an additional financial burden. Buying at the bookstore as the first option would not be so daunting for students if textbooks were affordable. Sometimes prices seem to increase when new editions are published. Often new editions of textbooks will be similar to the previous edition, with perhaps one chapter being edited or supplying new information. This leaves students trying to decide if they should drop extra cash on a more updated version or purchase a second-hand copy that could have outdated information. Before spending big money at the bookstore, there are alternatives. Students can refer to the “MUN Used Textbook Sale” page on Facebook and sometimes are lucky enough to get second-hand textbooks from other students who are reselling. Other times, scrolling down these postings,
sometimes for hours, can lead nowhere. As a fourth-year student, I have gone down both paths. Sometimes I have given in to purchasing a new textbook and regretted the decision, wishing I had bought it second-hand. The reverse has also been true. Such was the case last semester, when I decided to purchase my Political Science 1000 textbook second-hand, and regretted this choice as it contained outdated information. This semester I purchased a combination of new and old books, spending approximately $400. Many professors are aware of this financial burden and try to find alternative solutions. To make life easier, some professors will refer to online readings and avoid required textbooks altogether. Many seasoned students on a tight budget will base their course selection on which professor offers cheap textbooks, or no textbooks at all. Other times, students enrolled in classes that require expensive textbooks and have no second-hand
option available will opt out of buying them. This can be risky, as professors will often refer exam questions back to the textbook. Plenty of times, however, professors never refer back to the textbook, so not purchasing such “required textbooks” can sometimes work to a student’s advantage. In my personal experience, purchasing the textbook is preferable. Even if a professor never directly refers to it, the information in it usually connects to class discussion. It can also be a great tool for exam study and finding ideas for research papers. Students who prefer to purchase textbooks but cannot find them in the bookstore or online should not fret. Sometimes professors supply textbooks for use in the library or have extra copies in their office. Going the extra mile of asking the professor about these options can save money. While the cost of textbooks creates an extra financial burden for students, alternatives are available if you look in the right places.
Maria Browne is a fourth-year English and communication studies major. She can be reached at mariakbrowne@gmail.com.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Q&A with VP Indigenous, UArctic
Gerald Anderson MI’s director of development and engagement Gerald Anderson has been appointed vice-president Indigenous with University of the Arctic (UArctic). Gazette contributor Leslie Earle caught up with Mr. Anderson about some of his priorities going forward.
LE: What interests you most about the role? GA: Most of my experience over the past 28 years has been with Indigenous groups in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, and Nunavik. I am looking forward to expanding beyond the Canadian Arctic and connecting with
Indigenous groups circumpolar on how we can build meaningful partnerships and support one another. LE: What are some of the priorities for you? GA: Building strong, meaningful relationships between UArctic and Indigenous communities and their organizations. It’s very important we work together to explore how we can combine academic research and traditional knowledge in a way that is meaningful to northern areas. LE: What are you most looking forward to? GA: I am looking forward to working with Indigenous groups across the
Arctic to learn about how UArctic can assist with solutions to northern challenges. Meeting with all Indigenous groups will be one of my first priorities. LE: How will your experiences at MI help you in this role? GA: Over my time with MI, I have helped with various training plans for Nunavut, Nunatsiavut, Innu Nation, Federation of Newfoundland Indians and the Labrador Métis Nation. I’ve also worked closely with the Miawpukek First Nation in Conne River to develop and deliver a long-term fisheries and marine training program. My experiences in these areas will help to guide me in my new role as I work to develop and strengthen relationships with Indigenous groups in other northern countries. LE: What has been one of the most rewarding aspects of your work at MI that you hope to carry forward in some way? GA: We have focused on helping youth gain employment in the fisheries sector and marine transportation industry by bringing the training to those who would otherwise be unable to access the necessary education. It has been very rewarding and I hope that I’ll be able to inspire similar outcomes through my role with the UArctic. Mr. Anderson succeeds Dr. Keith Chaulk, former director of Memorial University’s Labrador Institute, in the role, and will serve an initial three-year term effective immediately.
Labrador Institute director takes up new post; search currently underway By Mandy Cook
Since Keith Chaulk’s arrival at the Labrador Institute (LI) in Happy ValleyGoose Bay eight years ago, Memorial University’s presence in the mainland portion of the province has grown considerably. During his tenure, the former director of LI oversaw the number of staff grow from five to 25, including interns from other universities, graduate students and visiting artists during recent months, and improved facilities and funding for staff and faculty to implement research and educational programming on the ground in Labrador. The Labrador Institute’s mission is to bring the needs and interests of Labradorians to the university, and to facilitate actions that will bring the capacities of the university to bear on these needs and interests. From that starting point, Dr. Chaulk approached the role keeping in mind the university’s primary strategic priorities: research, teaching and learning and public engagement. In terms of research, there has been a heavy emphasis in recent years in
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Dr. Isabelle Côté, assistant professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, published a blog entry in New Security Beat from the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. It can be found at http://bit.ly/1Pr7KoY.
notable Dr. Jerome Delaney, associate professor in the Faculty of Education, attended the 2015 International Education Leadership Symposium in Zug, Switzerland, recently and presented a paper titled Educators’ Perceptions of the Characteristics of Effective Principals. The conference, held every second year, was attended by 750 academics primarily from Europe, Asia and Australia.
obituaries PETER BELL Peter Bell, a retired employee and former curator of Memorial University’s Art Gallery, passed away in September 2015. He was 97. KRYSTYNA MARIA PAWLOWSKA Krystyna Maria Pawlowska, a retired employee of the Faculty of Science, passed away Oct. 9, 2015. She was 69.
Northern growth
the area of natural resources, but marine sciences, Indigenous education, linguistics, health, the economic history of Labrador and archaeology have all been well represented by a long list of Memorial faculty, visiting scholars, master’s and doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows who have been and continue to be based out of LI. Notably, Dr. Scott Neilsen, an employee at LI, is primary researcher of an archeological excavation in Sheshatshiu, currently one of the largest digs in Eastern Canada. LI’s research station, in nearby North West River, which was renovated during Dr. Chaulk’s time as director to accommodate the needs of LI researchers, now houses state-of-theart, high-end analytical laboratory equipment to conduct progressive scientific research in areas of geoscience, chemistry and agricultural science. The Labrador Institute has experienced substantial development in curriculum development, as well. In partnership with the Nunatsiavut Government and College of the North Atlantic, LI delivered a bachelor of social work degree program for Inuit
papers & presentations
students and is currently running a bachelor of Inuit education degree program – both including culturally relevant curriculum for Inuit participants – entirely in Labrador. Dr. Chaulk also raised the international profile of Memorial in recent years. In October 2013 he was installed as vice-president Indigenous for the University of the Arctic (UArctic) at a ceremony held in Reykjavik, Iceland – a role he filled for the past two years. As vice-president Indigenous, Dr. Chaulk provided strategic oversight of Indigenous perspectives within the University of the Arctic (UArctic) and worked to ensure the organization contributed to the well-being of northern Indigenous communities. UArctic is a co-operative network of about 150 universities, colleges and other organizations, committed to higher education and research in the North. Dr. Chaulk took up new duties with the National Energy Board in Calgary, Alta., last month. A search committee has been established for the director’s role at LI and will embark on its work in the coming weeks.
MARY JOSEPHINE BARRON Mary Josephine Barron, a retired employee of the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, passed away Oct. 14, 2015. She was 85. DR. ALBERT COX Dr. Albert Cox, a retired employee and former dean, Faculty of Medicine, and vice-president (professional schools), passed away Oct. 14, 2015. He was 87. THOMAS PATRICK BAKER Thomas Patrick Baker, an employee with Facilities Management, passed away Oct. 15, 2015. He was 57. SELENA BRIDGET DELAHUNTY Selena Bridget Delahunty, a retired employee of the Mathematics Learning Centre, Faculty of Science, passed away Oct. 21, 2015. She was 74.
Frameworks in action
Memorial’s frameworks in action
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Community development below zero By Rebecca Cohoe
Cold and ice don’t faze Faculty of Arts graduate student Rudy Riedlsperger. Along with instilling a tolerance for sub-zero temperatures, his childhood in the alpine climate of Austria has inspired a lifelong curiosity about the Arctic, and a desire to share that interest with others. These days, he’s working towards a PhD in the Department of Geography and has just returned from Arviat, Nunavut, where he’s part of a project looking at climate change adaptation in the North, with a particular focus on the challenge of northern housing. “Thawing permafrost is among the big challenges for construction
in northern environments,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out what adaptation options are available to provide safe and sustainable housing on thaw sensitive soils.” Along with the deeply technical aspects of his work, Mr. Riedlsperger and his colleagues are addressing the complicated challenges of transferring research into policy by working with community partners to make sure lessons learned make a real difference. “I have learned from working with community members that a key consideration for them is to see the relevance or applicability of the research,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily matter to them if “outsiders” come to the community to do research — but for people to become fully engaged in the research, they need to see the benefits for their communities.” Another aspect of Mr. Riedlsperger’s work is sharing the things he’s learned and the public engagement relationships he’s formed with “southerners.”
Submitted photo
The three overarching frameworks guiding Memorial’s future direction — the Research Framework, the Teaching and Learning Framework and the Public Engagement Framework — are the result of several years of consultations with the university community and the people and organizations of Newfoundland and Labrador. This regular feature will help showcase the frameworks in action by sharing projects and highlighting the successes that are bringing them to life.
From right, Kelly Kigusiutnak a member of the Young Hunters Program, helps graduate student Rudy Riedlsperger drill for permafrost cores in the community of Arviat. the action at the Saturday, Nov. 21, Sea-Hawks basketball games. From building close community connections in the North to sharing stories and experiences in the South, for Mr. Riedlsperger it all comes down to making a positive difference in the world, from the hyper local all the way to a global context. “There seems to be a real focus on the Arctic right now,” he said. “Hopefully our work will help foster sustainable Arctic communities that are adapted to environmental and socio-economic changes, where people feel safe and look forward to their future.” Mr. Riedlsperger’s PhD research in Arviat is funded by ArcticNet and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency through a collaboration between Memorial’s Dr. Trevor Bell and the Yukon Research Centre.
Along with taking some time to analyze and assess data that he collected in Arviat, he’ll also spend the next couple of weeks preparing for Geography Awareness Week, running Nov. 16-21. The theme for the week of outreach activities, organized by Memorial’s Department of Geography, is The Arctic At Our Feet. “As geographers, we’re hoping to convey our close engagement with the people, societies and environments of the Arctic through our teaching and research,” he said. An 11-metre by 8-metre floor map of the Canadian Arctic will provide the centrepiece for a number of interactive events for the St. John’s campus and Northeast Avalon communities. Planned public venues for the map include The Rooms, the Manuels River Hibernia Interpretation Centre, the GeoCentre and in between
By Heidi Wicks
Students studying pharmacy and psychiatry will soon be able to refine their communication and collaboration skills by helping patients quit smoking. Funded by Memorial’s Teaching and Learning Framework (TLF), the Smoking Cessation Program (SCP) will allow students in the School of Pharmacy and Faculty of Medicine, Discipline of Psychiatry, to be part of an innovative experiential learning experience that will enhance their professional competencies to provide a service to community members and also contribute to research around the scholarship of teaching and learning. The project incorporates the School of Pharmacy’s three strategic directions: teaching and learning, research and a commitment to support pharmacists’ expanded scope of practice and contribute to a more efficient and sustainable health-care system. Dr. Leslie Phillips, School of Pharmacy and Faculty of Medicine, as well as program lead, says the program is an ideal model for inter-professional student
learning, which is essential when producing future practitioners who can think innovatively and collaboratively. She says the program is readily adapted to include other health professional students and health promotion activities and allows for students to apply their learning about smoking cessation in a real-life practice setting as well as support the health needs of the local community. “Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest smoking rates in Canada and tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the world today,” said Dr. Phillips. “For every two individuals that you can help stop smoking, you’re saving one life. That’s pretty significant. If our clinic can add to the resources that are out there and help people quit, that would be a great contribution.” The program also reflects the need to train pharmacy students to be capable of practising to the full scope of the profession. Dr. Phillips says pharmacy practice has shifted from product-focused to patient-focused and that pharmacists’ scope of practice is expanding to provide services such as immunizations, the
CHRIS HAMMOND photo
Pharmacy and psychiatry students: kicking the butt with smoking cessation
From right, Dr. Leslie Phillips used smoking cessation medications to help her colleague Karen Brown kick her 25-year smoking addiction. treatment of minor ailments like cold sores, and will soon include a supporting role in chronic disease management. “It is our responsibility as educators to make sure pharmacy students complete their education and enter the profession practice-ready,” she said. “Enabling pharmacy students to participate in advanced practice activities are critical to the success of the curriculum and achievement of professional competencies.” The SCP will operate out of the School of Pharmacy’s Medication Therapy Services (MTS) Clinic – a
non-dispensing, pharmacist-led clinic that will provide comprehensive medication therapy assessments and other professional services to patients. Pharmacy students will work under the supervision of pharmacists to receive a high quality educational experience in an innovative pharmacy practice setting. The clinic will be located at the school’s Tiffany Court location in St. John’s. Dr. Phillips says one of the benefits of having the program take place in the MTS Clinic is that all activities have a built-in evaluation or research component which means there is a venue available to formally assess the effectiveness of the teaching and learning taking place in the program. “The students in the program will be exposed to tools and techniques associated with research and evaluation activities, and we anticipate this will foster a culture of research and expose students to the potential for communitybased research in future practice.” The SCP will begin in January 2016. Patients can be referred by a health-care professional or self-refer. For referrals or further information, please contact Dr. Leslie Phillips at 777-8299 or lphillip@mun.ca. For more information on the MTS Clinic, please visit www.mtsclinic.ca.
Star search Pharmacy seeking rock star researcher Are you the next Tier 2 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Chair in Health Care Sustainability and Policy Evaluation? At Memorial’s School of Pharmacy, the search is on. “We need an innovative, energetic mind and a forward-thinker to bridge the gap in research capacity and assume a leadership role in this province and in Atlantic Canada around health economics and sustainability,” said Dr. Carlo Marra, dean. “Someone who will address distinct geographic, demographic and socio-economic challenges to sustainable health care through research and knowledge translation strategies. Someone who holds a sustained track record of innovation, is a leader and mentor, who has a proven ability to develop collaboration through their extensive external network in order to leverage the strengths of our school and university, and boost us into a new chapter of research.” The individual will direct research that aligns with the institute’s mandate for health research themes – health systems services and/or social, cultural, environmental and population health – and will support two of the research themes identified in Memorial’s Strategic
Memorial employees make an impact with United Way In 2015 Memorial University employees contributed almost $30,000 through the annual payroll deduction campaign to support the United Way of Newfoundland and Labrador. Memorial is a founding supporter of United Way Newfoundland and Labrador and is committed to this important partnership. A local, notfor-profit organization, United Way was formed by the community 10 years ago and has established itself as a focused and efficient fundraiser. Dr. Doreen Neville, associate vice-president, academic planning, priorities and programs, is a proud contributor through Memorial’s payroll deduction program. “What I love about the United Way is their unique ability to take many perspectives from the community and get consensus on the greatest areas of need,” said Dr. Neville. “The committee structure that’s set up locally includes representatives from a broad range of areas who are highly qualified and knowledgeable about socio-economic issues in the province. So, when they deliberate and decide where the funds are needed most, I feel confident that my contribution – no matter how big or small – has a real impact.” Dr. Neville is referring to the United Way Community Fund. That fund has three focus areas and within these categories fit a range of important registered charities in Newfoundland
Research Intensity Plan: governance and public policy and social justice. Rising health-care costs consume almost half of most provincial budgets in Canada, according to the 2013 National Health Expenditure Trends Report. The report also cites Newfoundland and Labrador as having the highest total health expenditures per capita in Canada, with an alarmingly high number of chronic diseases such as hypertension, arthritis, diabetes and heart conditions. The same report states that 59 per cent of residents in Newfoundland and Labrador over the age of 12 report at least one chronic disease, poor health behaviours like smoking, heavy drinking or obesity, and lower than average health-system indicators, such as satisfaction with services. In 2013 the province spent $7,132 per capita on health care – the most in the country, with 77 per cent of that money coming from the public sector. These numbers were forecasted in the report to increase. “So the need for research in health sustainability is loud and obvious, in this province more than anywhere,” said Dr. Marra, who believes there is a potential for pharmacists to help alleviate this strain on the health-care system.
and Labrador. Broadly, these three focus areas can be described as: moving people out of poverty by addressing basic human needs, improving access to social and health support services, and childhood learning and development. The United Way has structured their program to also allow individuals to choose their preferred registered charities as an alternative or in addition to the general community fund. In terms of the program at Memorial, selecting these different options is easily done through the payroll deduction form available on the university’s United Way web page. The end result is giving that allows maximum input and impact. “When you make a donation to the United Way Community Fund, your dollar supports not one, but dozens of charities across Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Tammy Davis, executive director, United Way Newfoundland and Labrador. “These charities look to United Way for support for key projects they are unable to fund independently. Projects integral to ensuring our province is truly great for everyone. Our donor support – your support – is what makes these projects and programs possible and ultimately what creates a better province for us all. Together we are possibility.” If you are a Memorial University employee and would like to join the Memorial United Way team by giving through payroll deduction in 2016, visit: http://www. mun.ca/mununitedway/support/payroll. php. To start automatic deductions in January 2016, simply print and complete the deduction form (on legal size paper), insert it into an envelope and either place it in internal mail or hand deliver it to the Payroll Office on the fourth floor of the Arts and Administration Building. The deadline to sign up is Nov. 27.
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Artist Elayne Greeley’s illustration of the School of Pharmacy’s annual report includes a Canada Research Chair. Dr. Marra also says the chair could propel Memorial University to take health-care sustainability strategies in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Canada to the next level and strengthen an emerging area of the university’s research. “We already have the expertise to be a leading institution in this type of health research – having a Canada Research Chair in Health Sustainability will further amplify Memorial’s national presence in regards to health research.” Dr. Marra, Dr. Laurie Twells and
Dr. J.M. Gamble, School of Pharmacy, as well as key researchers such as Drs. Brendan Barrett and Pat Parfrey in the Faculty of Medicine, will mentor the successful applicant. The federal government’s Canada Research Chairs Program (CRPC) stands at the centre of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top countries in research and development. For further information, please visit www.mun.ca/pharmacy/about/Research_ Chair_job_ad.pdf.
Movement IQ Physical education through dance By Sandy Woolfrey-Fahey
Members of the National Ballet School jette-ed by the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation for its annual outreach visit to Newfoundland and Labrador recently. The women facilitated a session with Dr. Erin Cameron’s Movement Concepts class. “We are here at Memorial talking about how to introduce dance into physical education,” said Ashleigh Powell. “We are showing students that dance is a skill they already have and help them pick out elements of what they are already doing that they can turn into dance movements or dance activities.” Ms. Powell and her colleague Angie Seto spoke to students in the class about how dance is based on basic movement skills and is a language that everyone speaks. “You don’t necessarily need to be trained in dance for years to teach dance, do dance or love dance,” Ms. Powell said. “We hope that we light a spark in one or two students so they think dance might be something they want to incorporate more in their lives.” Appreciating dance is not something new for Kaitlin Hobbs, a student in the Movement Concepts class. She first attended the National Ballet School when she was 10
SUBMITTED photo
By Heidi Wicks
From left, Angie Seto and Ashleigh Powell from the National Ballet School.
years old. She says she is pleased her fellow HKR students are getting to experience dance in this way. “It is awesome that they (the school) can come to Memorial and do classes because they can share their knowledge and wisdom,” said Ms. Hobbs. “People who have never danced can gain insight into what dance really is.” Ms. Hobbs is currently a professional dancer locally who has aspirations to continue to dance on the local and national stage. The school’s visit to the province is part of a partnership with St. John’sbased Kittwake Dance Theatre.
By Kristine Power
It is the discovery of a lifetime for historian Frank Gogos. When he finally stood on Caribou Hill in Gallipoli Turkey, he felt pure elation. “I had to take a breather,” he said. A hundred years ago during the First World War, standing exactly where Mr. Gogos was standing, eight members of the Newfoundland Regiment took hold of the treacherous hill under the leadership of Lt. James Donnelly. The men were in trenches only 200 metres from Turkish lines and were exposed to enemy fire. They fought and held off snipers and eventually secured one of the largest territorial gains for the British Army in Suvla Bay. The ridge was named Caribou Hill in the Regiment’s honour, although no commemorative monument was ever placed there. It’s exact location has never been determined – until now. The sparse rugged landscape had changed over the years and that, combined with a fragmented historical record, made it difficult to find the exact spot. On his previous trip to Turkey, Mr. Gogos was given detailed survey maps of the area from 1916 by a local inn keeper. These maps, along with
existing information of battlefield maps and historical anecdotes describing the general area, were all pieces of the puzzle that ultimately led to the map created by Mr. Mercer. “When I went this time, with the revised map, I knew exactly where we were headed. We found proof of occupation,” said Mr. Gogos. “There was some evidence of sandbag use around the top of the hill… and broken British rum jars.” “We started out with piecemeal maps that gave us some of the information we needed in the end, and that, combined with the information found in the Nangle collection really helped pinpoint Caribou Hill,” said Mr. Mercer. The Thomas F. Nangle Collection in the Archives and Special Collections Division of Memorial University Libraries brings together papers and research of Lt. Col. Thomas F. Nangle, the Newfoundland government’s representative on the Imperial War Graves Commission. He was instrumental in supervising the building of many memorials to honour the fallen of the Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont Hamel, Gueudecourt, Monchy-le-Preux and Masnières in France, and at Courtrai in Belgium. He also oversaw the construction of the National War Memorial in St. John’s. Lasting Remembrance, one of the many commemorative activities supported by Memorial University to mark the centenary of the First World War, showcases the libraries’ physical, digital and web-based
SUBMITTED photo
Lasting remembrance: Mapping Turkey’s Caribou Hill
From left, Frank Gogos and David Mercer in the Map Room at the QEII Library. collections in areas related to the First World War with the intention to increase accessibility and encourage new and collaborative research. “The project is part of reaching out and getting the information to the public,” said Mr. Mercer. “It highlights the resources we have in the library collections, in our archives, the books we have gathered over the years, our maps, and also our expertise in the library and on campus. Lasting
Remembrance pulls all this together to help researchers, families and all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians better understand this province’s contribution to the First World War.” Lasting Remembrance will be a featured session in an upcoming free symposium, Before Beaumont Hamel, there was Gallipoli, on Saturday, Nov. 14, in the Bruneau Centre, IIC-2001. For more information, please visit www.mun. ca/WW100/news.php?id=6231.
‘Happy memories’ Grenfell Campus celebrates four decades of history As Grenfell Campus celebrates its 40th anniversary, faculty members are reflecting on some of the first students to sit in Grenfell’s laboratories and classrooms. Dr. Geoff Rayner-Canham has been at Grenfell since the beginning. He continues to maintain close contact with many of his students, including Dr. May Kung-Sutherland, who has earned international acclaim for her work in bio-technology. “A university education is not just about sitting in lectures,” he said. “At Grenfell, then and now, part of the educational experience is that personal factor. I still recall young May Kung from back in 1975. Like so many of our students, she blossomed in the small campus environment and she has since gone on to great accomplishments.” Originally from Corner Brook, Dr. Sutherland graduated from Herdman Collegiate in 1974 and was eager to begin her university career at the newly opened Western Regional College. She spent two years studying under some of Grenfell’s first instructors,
including Dr. Rayner-Canham, Prof. Henry Mann and Prof. David Freeman. “I was very much at home in the chemistry lab at the college (Grenfell Campus),” said Dr. Sutherland from her home in Bothell, Wash. From her humble beginning at Grenfell Campus, Dr. Sutherland has seen her career reach great heights. She is a research scientist and was part of the discovery and development of drugs for the treatments of osteoporosis and cancer. While Dr. Sutherland’s life may have drifted far from this small Newfoundland and Labrador city, memories of Grenfell linger. “I have happy memories of working with fellow students in the chemistry lab,” she said. “I remember doing chores such as scrubbing lab benches and cleaning glassware to the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel on the 8-track cassette player in the lab and reagent room. I remember those days every time I hear Mrs. Robinson and Bridge over Troubled Water.” Anniversary celebrations took place at Grenfell Campus that
From far right, The Once band members and alumni Phil Churchill, Geraldine Hollett and Andrew Dale headlined a concert to celebrate Grenfell’s 40th. honoured its history and recognized its accomplishments during the past 40 years. A social was held with alumni in St. John’s, members of the first class had lunch with Dr. Mary Bluechardt, vice-president (Grenfell Campus), and faculty and staff who studied at Grenfell participated in a panel discussion. Musical group The Once, made up of theatre
alumni Phil Churchill and Geraldine Hollett and bachelor of music graduate Andrew Dale, performed an intimate concert in the GCSU Backlot, entertaining the crowd with stories of their first performances together while studying at Grenfell. The celebrations were held in conjunction with I Love Grenfell Oct. 23-28.
F A L L C O NV O C A T I O N 2 0 1 5
Friday, Oct. 2, 10 a.m., Corner Brook
Friday, Oct. 23, 10 a.m., St. John’s
Oration honouring Robert Wells
Oration honouring Robert James Joy
Madam Chancellor: Whereas Memorial
Madam Chancellor: There is, in all
University of Newfoundland “may, without examination, confer a doctoral degree honoris causa upon any person whom the university, on the resolution of Senate, may deem worthy of such a degree;” And whereas the Honourable Robert Wells has been nominated for the degree of doctor of laws, honoris causa; Now therefore I am pleased to report on “An Inquiry into the Career of the Honourable Robert Wells, Q.C.” A search of printed sources reveals that Robert Wells’s public career may be said to begin with the Rhodes Scholarship in 1953, an award that sent him far offshore to study at Oxford University. On his return to the province, he became a civil servant, a particularly apt title in his case, in 1960 writing a Report on Resettlement in Newfoundland, in which, among much bureaucratic discussion, he expresses admiration for the “seemingly incredible chances which have been taken in the floating of homes” to new locations. His correspondence with families seeking further information about the resettlement process shows an attention to detail and eagerness to provide full and accurate information that indicates the value he attaches to the concerns of others. Through examination of his online curriculum vitae we learn that at about the same time in his legal career that he achieved the landmark of the Queen’s Counsel designation in 1972, Robert Wells threw himself into the turbulent waters of provincial politics, serving as member for Kilbride, and as minister of Health and Government House Leader from 1975-79. He also served his profession as president of the Law Society of Newfoundland and of the Canadian Bar Association, service for which he was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws by the Benchers of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2002. More importantly for the purposes of this inquiry, he served on the Canadian and International Bar Associations’ Committees on Human Rights as well as working on issues of judicial ethics, and was the first person in Canada made an honorary member of the Canadian Police Association, after representing members of the Newfoundland Constabulary in their efforts to recognize their right to due process and improve their pay through a collective agreement. After 22 years as a justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Honourable Mr. Wells retired, and now works in innovative dispute resolution, a natural development of the interest in alternatives to trial and litigation that he worked on during his careers as a lawyer and a jurist.
Consultation with members of the Newfoundland and Labrador bar establishes that Mr. Wells is regarded as a consummate gentleman, who worked very well with juries during his days as an advocate. The inquirer learned that Mr. Wells, in a friendly and lively conversation with an articled clerk at a Canadian Bar Association barbecue, did not reveal more than his name until the young clerk asked what firm he was with, to which Mr. Wells quietly responded, “I’m a Supreme Court Judge.” Nor did he speak other than with perfect politeness to a member of the bar appearing before him when that member offered as precedent a case which Mr. Wells, as advocate, had lost. Justice Wells merely remarked, “I know the case very well.” More recently, an articled clerk who attended Mr. Wells’s lecture on alternate dispute resolution asserted that he would be the perfect grandfather to read The Night Before Christmas. And thus we arrive at the final stage of this inquiry, the appointment of Mr. Wells as the commissioner of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry in 2009 following the tragic loss of Cougar Flight 491. Mr. Wells brought all of his experience to bear on his inquiry, weighing evidence from numerous sources, calling on the testimony of experts, and also relying on what he has called “the wisdom of non-experts,” a reliance evident in his report on resettlement and confirmed in his experience of jury trials. In his pursuit of the fullest possible investigation Mr. Wells went so far as to undergo the training given to offshore workers in preparation for helicopter flights. The report and recommendations he produced have led to significant changes in procedures, greater involvement of workers in safety processes and a greater confidence in the safety of the enterprise. Mr. Wells continues to advocate for offshore safety. This inquiry establishes, therefore, that Mr. Wells has undertaken diligent research, advocated for those seeking better working conditions, presented cases, weighed evidence, made recommendations and pronounced sentence, not only with the purpose of settling the individual case, but also with the aim of developing new methods of achieving justice, fairness, safety and representation, and ensuring that those standards are widely disseminated and enforced. Based on the evidence presented, this report has as its single recommendation, Madam Chancellor, that you confer the degree of doctor of laws, honoris causa, on Robert Wells. E. Holly Pike University orator
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old cultures, a tendency to create legends which in some cases explain the past, in others revise that past or profit from it. Our culture is not free of this tendency: the St. John’s tourism strategy is built around at least two legends – that it is the oldest city with the oldest street. But what about a family that has a legend in its past and does not market it? That can be said to be the case with Bob Joy’s maternal line, the Pikes of Pondside, Carbonear. In 1602, a young Irish princess was travelling from France when her ship was taken by Dutch pirates. From this plight she was rescued by the privateer, Peter Easton, a rescue which led to a romantic entanglement with one of his officers, Gilbert Pike, marriage, settlement in Newfoundland and, likely, the founding of Carbonear, birth of the first English child here – wait, but what of the Guy child in Cupids, why is the child not the first Irish child, why does her purported gravestone have, as its earliest date, 1770 and a man’s name? Are we to see in the Pikes’ neglect of their romantic past a characteristic essential to a great actor – the ability to see the truth and present it clearly? Robert Joy began his career as an actor and a musician in high school and, according to his brother John, remarked as they went up to rehearsal one day, “Wouldn’t you like to be doing this for the rest of your life?” No, said John, but clearly Bob was enraptured and, even though intended for the respectable professions of law or medicine, he was caught by the snare of the stage. Nonetheless, it did take him some time to extricate himself from his respectable prospects. Entering Memorial he continued to be involved with amateur theatre but, to his parents’ great relief, his first summer job was at a wilderness camp in Ontario. They did not realize that allowed him to sneak off to see inspiring productions at Stratford and deepen the appeal of theatre. In 1972 he appeared to have settled on an academic career – only vaguely respectable – and, with the University Gold Medal in English, Bob Joy set out to do an MA at the University of Toronto. Barely there, he was nominated as Rhodes Scholar and went to Oxford the following year. While home on Easter holidays, Bob joined the cast of CODCO and applied to Oxford for a leave of absence. That leave was not granted so he gave up that most prestigious of scholarships to be an actor, a profession with as much certainty as a roulette wheel and probably
as much respectability. And he gave it up to play not Broadway or the Old Vic or even Stratford but in Bay d’Espoir. In doing so he became part of the legend that is CODCO, joined that remarkable troupe of actors who so altered the direction of Newfoundland theatre and the way in which mainlanders perceive this place. This is not small stuff. More was to come. His great skill as an actor meant he got noticed by famous directors and, consequently, got great parts. In 1977 Eli Wallach cast him in The Diary of Anne Frank, Louis Malle gave him a role in Atlantic City, Milos Foreman asked him to play a mad millionaire in Ragtime. This also puts him in the company of famous actors such as Susan Sarandon, Burt Lancaster and – is this the prize? – Madonna. Bob Joy was her boyfriend in Desperately Seeking Susan. The recognition of these roles aside, he has also received three Genie nominations as well as the Drama-Logue Critics award. In the last decade he has been back here almost every year adjudicating the Provincial Drama Festival, for Republic of Doyle, and, wonderfully, in Ed Riche’s play Hail. Two years ago, as Dr Sid Hammerback, he made a brief return to the respectability of the medical, legal and academic professions and lectured his brother’s fellow judges on the CSI effect – on the impact of that wildly popular television show on juries and judges and officers of the court. His carefully-argued, well-reasoned paper deals with the claim that CSI influences jurors: Joy points out that lawyers and judges do so as well – it is part of their legal obligation. He notes the important and valuable fact that CSI has made jurors more demanding of evidence, made victims of crime realize the importance of protecting and preserving evidence of all kinds. Why has he done so well? Colleagues say it is because he is the consummate professional with a run of wonderful personality traits: adventurous (he did abandon the Rhodes for acting), gifted (a fine musician as well as an actor), well organized (a trait uncommon to many actors) and considerate (he was CODCO’s peacemaker). Chancellor, I present to you for the degree of doctor of letters honoris causa, this most remarkably accomplished actor whose example inspires our own community: Robert James Joy. Shane O’Dea Public orator
Client-centred approach
Web-based, one-stop researcher portal launching end of November By Moira Baird
Friday, Oct. 23, 3 p.m., St. John’s
Oration honouring Dr. Sylvester James Gates, Jr. Madam Chancellor: When he made his 1953 B-film Spaceways, Londonborn director Terence Fisher could not have envisioned its unique, if indirect contribution to the advancement of science. The film itself is a fairly dreadful Cold War melodrama set in a drab military research station in the English countryside. Typical of genre films of the period, it features a corny love story, soup-pot space helmets and a plodding dramatic score. It’s no Plan 9 from Outer Space, but… but I digress. Whatever its artistic shortcomings, through its early influence on today’s honorary graduand, Spaceways is probably most significant in helping launch the curiosity of a singular mind into the world of physics, thereby contributing to the development of theoretical understandings of supersymmetry, string theory and the very foundations of the universe. Indeed, there was much in Spaceways to inspire a young boy sitting in a darkened St. John’s theatre in the mid-1950s—a boy whose American military father was posted to faraway Newfoundland and whose parents indulged their son’s interest in space travel. There was resonance for young Jim Gates, no doubt, in the movie’s military landscape of trucks, bunkhouses and uniforms, which he would have grown up around at Fort Pepperell. Full of space rockets and secret agents, the film captures both the technological optimism and Cold War paranoia of the time. But most inspiring of all, Spaceways featured scientists, including the lantern-jawed American engineer, Dr. Stephen Mitchell, the exotic European mathematician Dr. Liza Frank (coolly played by Eva Bartok), and various fusty British types. And these scientists were not just eggheads at lab benches, they were heroes: space travel pioneers pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. They were unwavering in the face of intrigue, betrayal and even death when, in the climactic scene aboard a damaged rocket ship, Dr. Frank radios back to base the crew’s discoveries about the rocket’s design failings. (Don’t worry, folks, they survive in the end.) From this (and other) seeds of inspiration and education grew Dr. Sylvester James Gates’ fascination with physics and mathematics. Beginning with his doctoral work at MIT, he pursued pioneering theoretical understandings of supersymmetry and supergravity, investigating the basic forms and forces that underlie the universe and hold it together. This theory suggests that these forms (string-like filaments) and
forces (like gravity and electromagnetism) constitute a “marriage,” as Dr. Gates describes it, “where the stuff of our universe and the things that cause the stuff to clump together are intertwined.” Supersymmetry and supergravity themselves form principal theoretical components of superstring theory, which aims at nothing less than uniting quantum mechanics and general relativity in a unified theory of the universe. Through his work on these questions, Dr. Gates has joined the best minds in physics in the quest for theoretical unification of the forces and forms that make up the world. Becoming a leader in this field, Dr. Gates has been a professor at MIT and Maryland, Fellow at Harvard and CalTech and, this year, Roth Distinguished Scholar at Dartmouth. He has also been a visiting researcher at Canada’s own Perimeter Institute. In addition to his brilliant scholarly career and academic laurels, Dr. Gates promotes the public understanding of science through his many public appearances and his gift for communication. He serves on President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and he is a celebrated advocate for and popularizer of science and mathematics. This commitment stems from his belief that, “like great art and great music… great science belongs to everybody.” Like a novelist, playwright or filmmaker, Dr. Gates tells stories about theoretical physics and the structure of matter and energy— just with the language of mathematics. In these stories, he finds the beauty and poetry of the universe; just as Arab and Asian cultures shared their timeless tales of A Thousand and One Nights, Dr. Gates and his colleagues derive, in their foundational text Superspace, “a thousand and one lessons in supersymmetry.” Thus, we must thank Spaceways for its inadvertent inspiration of the young Jim Gates. He never got to outer space, but his own story shows that, whether gazing at the stars through a movie screen or pondering the elegant, if difficult patterns of advanced mathematics, sic itur ad astra: “thus one goes to the stars.” Madame Chancellor, for his many inspiring contributions to science and society, I present to you, for the degree of doctor of science honoris causa, Sylvester James Gates, Jr. Arn Keeling University orator
Memorial University’s web-based researcher portal is launching Nov. 30. The new portal, which will be launched in two phases, is aimed at researchers requiring human research ethics approvals and those undertaking funded research. Phase One launches Nov. 30, allowing researchers – both inside and outside the university – to submit applications online to the three human research ethics boards: • Memorial’s Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research • Grenfell Campus Research Ethics Board • The provincial Health Research Ethics Board Phase Two will be launched in the winter of 2016. At that time, principal investigators and their research teams will be able to use the portal to submit applications for funding through the university’s Research Grant and Contract Services department. In the coming weeks, researchers will be able to go online to request a portal account and to register for training sessions. “We’ll kickstart the portal on Nov. 30,
providing researchers with a one-stop, online approvals process for human research ethics boards,” said Dr. Richard Marceau, vice-president (research). “The Phase Two launch of the researcher portal represents a sea change in how Memorial will process research grant requests and support our faculty members. “Our goal is to continue to improve services to our researchers and the new portal takes us to the next level in delivering a more client-centred applications and approvals process.” The portal will also route researcher applications to deans, department heads and review committees for approval and sign-off. As a funding application moves through each stage of the process, the principal investigator and research team will be kept apprised of approvals and changes via email and within the portal’s work-flow log. Post-approval activities, such as annual renewals and amendments, can also be entered into the researcher portal – linking all these activities to the original application. Further updates on the researcher portal, including how to request a portal account, how to register for training sessions or where to find instructional material, will be posted in the coming days at www.mun.ca/research.
Entrepreneurship Training Program returns to Memorial By Libby Carew Special to the gazette
Graduate students who aspire to start their own company have until Friday, Nov. 6, to apply to Memorial’s Entrepreneurship Training Program (ETP). The program, which won an award from the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers, is now in its third year. ETP is open to full-time graduate students who are interested in starting a business and learning the core skills and knowledge necessary for entrepreneurship. That includes risk-taking, problemsolving and creative thinking. This year’s ETP features local entrepreneurs who will share their “lessons learned” in key theme areas. Kicking things off will be Mark Kennedy, a high energy entrepreneur who started as a lawyer and founded Celtyx Software, a company that builds and sells software for the film and television industry. Ali Modir, founder of NL Pita, is a confirmed speaker, as are Jon Butler of Tebbl, Mandy Woodland and Karen Moores.
Participants will also be immersed in the fundamentals of business with lectures from the Faculty of Business Administration and presentations from members of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science who are also entrepreneurs. Beginning Nov. 18, the program will run 16 weeks and take participants through a series of workshops, lectures and seminars, providing them with the training and resources they need to develop their business ideas. Universities and colleges across North America are rolling out entrepreneur education programs to cultivate a generation of innovators. Thanks to the culture of entrepreneurship that exists in Newfoundland and Labrador, Memorial can lead the pack. Libby Carew is program co-ordinator for ETP at Memorial. She runs a public relations consultancy focused on promoting entrepreneurs in the technology, tourism and public sector. Her client base includes Verafin, Bluedrop and Mitacs. For information about ETP, please visit www.mun. ca/cdel/Student_Programs/ETP.
First Safety Summit held By Michelle Osmond
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) held its first Safety Summit on the St. John’s campus Oct. 30. Nearly 50 people attended the event, which included presentations on safety tools, resources, Memorial’s safety culture and incident reporting, among other topics. “Over the last few years we have made significant investments in safety, such as increasing the number of safety advisors, providing safety training to faculty, staff and students, working with specialists to help us with our radiation, biological and chemical safety programs,” said Barbara Battcock, director, EHS. “This Safety Summit is the next step to engaging our safety leaders on campus to ensure everyone is thinking about safety in everything we do.
“It is so important for us to lead from the top down to establish a culture of health and safety at the university.” — Jennifer Keytes
“The people who took part in this summit will be ambassadors
A READING OF THE PLAY
RADICAL
The playwright, Dr. Charles Hayter, will also be in attendance and will respond to audience questions. Glowing commentaries about this play are available at https://twitter.com/radicaltheplay.
FRIDAY, NOV. 13, 7:30 P.M.
Room AA-1046, Arts and Administration Building Memorial University, Elizabeth Avenue, St John’s.
Admission to this reading of Radical is free, but seating is limited.
Parking is available at Lot 15B, Memorial University main campus off Elizabeth Avenue, ($2 parking fee applies).
THE BACKGROUND: In the early 1970s, Dr. Vera Peters, radiation oncologist at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital, discovered that women with early breast cancer could be cured with lumpectomy (removal of the tumour alone) rather than the standard mutilating radical mastectomy. She mu embarked on a quest to change surgical practice, but her ideas met with considerable skepticism and even hostility from the medical establishment. It was not until the end of her career that randomized trials confirmed her results and tr surgical practice started to change. Radical, a play about Dr. Vera Peters, was written by Dr. Charles Hayter.
THE PLAYWRIGHT: Dr. Charles Hayter is an award-winning writer, teacher, historian and physician based in Toronto, Ont. He is currently staff radiation oncologist at the Peel Regional Cancer Centre, Mississauga, Ont. and Adjunct Associate Ass Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Toronto. Since 2005, Dr. Hayter has devoted his creative energies to playwriting. His acclaimed one-person show Lady-in-Waiting, about a doctor with a secret life as a drag queen, won the award for Best Writing: One Person Show at the Fresh Fruit Festival in New York City in 2008. Dr. Hayter is a full member of Playwrights’ Guild of Canada.
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for our safety culture,” added Ms. Battcock. “We’re really excited to be part of this positive movement at Memorial where people take ownership of their safety.” Mike Harding, manager, finance and administration, School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, attended the session. He says the biggest takeaway for him is the emphasis on how safety is everyone’s responsibility. “The Employee Health and Safety Orientation Handbook and other handouts are a great tool for both the new and longterm employee,” he said. “It is so important for us to lead from the top down to establish a culture of health and safety at the university,” said Jennifer Keytes, director, Animal Care Services, who also attended. “We are certainly on the right track, with lots of great new initiatives, including eAlerts and Memorial’s Incident Management System. We also have a long way to go, so it’s critical to have everyone on board. The event was very useful for bringing together all the areas of responsibility for Memorial employees and students.” The Grenfell Campus Safety Summit will take place on Thursday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m.4:30 p.m. at the Glynmill Inn. More summits are being planned for later this fall.
In brief The Gardiner Centre will begin offering the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD)-Rotman Directors Education Program in October 2016. This 12-day course is the leading program for experienced directors in the public and private sectors in Canada with a network of more than 3,800 graduates across the country.
St. John’s is the second city in Atlantic Canada to host the program, the first launching in Halifax last year. Jointly developed by the ICD and the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, the program attracts high-calibre participants from some of Canada’s most renowned public, private and Crown corporations.
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Tuesday, Nov. 10 Assertiveness and Self Confidence, 9 a.m.12 p.m., TBD, Sponsor: Learning and Development, Human Resources Application to Graduate School: Tips and Strategies, 3-4 p.m., Online Webinar, Sponsor: School of Graduate Studies
Wednesday, Nov. 11 MUN Cinema Series: Phoenix, 7-8:40 p.m., Cineplex Theatre, Avalon Mall, Sponsor: MUN Cinema
Thursday, Nov. 12 CHIRIS HAMMOND PHOTO
Higher Education For Memorial Employees: Opportunities To Become A Graduate While You Work, 1-2 p.m., IIC-2014, Sponsor: Learning and Development, Human Resources
Experiential learning Chris Eustace, a member of the Sea Wolves re-enactment group, demonstrates some Viking warrior techniques outside Queen’s College during Dr. Shannon Lewis-Simpson’s Norse Archaeology class recently.
out & about For more on these events and other news at Memorial, please visit www.today.mun.ca.
Wednesday, Nov. 4 Bachelor of Social Work Information Sessions, 12-1 p.m., CL-2012, Sponsor: School of Social Work Spanish Film Festival, 7-9:30 p.m., A-1043, Sponsor: Latin American and Caribbean Studies Research Group Ten Thousand Villages Fair-Trade Sale, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., The Landing, UC-3018, Sponsor: Chaplaincy Nursing Information Session, 7-9 p.m., Western Regional School of Nursing, third floor, H-2956, Sponsor: Centre for Nursing Studies, School of Nursing, Western Regional SON The Accordion on New Shores, 7-9 p.m., MMaP Gallery, second floor, St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, Sponsor: Memorial University, MMaP, School of Music Human Kinetics and Recreation Information Session, 1-1:50 p.m., SN-4063, Sponsor: Academic Advising Centre Wessex Society Lecture, 8-9:30 p.m., Hampton Hall, Marine Institute, Sponsor: Wessex Society MUN Cinema Series: Coming Home, 7-9 p.m., Cineplex Theatre, Avalon Mall, Sponsor: MUN Cinema An Afternoon in the Garden, 2-3 p.m., Botanical Garden, 306 Mount Scio Rd., Sponsor: Memorial University Botanical Garden Think On Your Feet , 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Gardiner Centre, BN-4019, Sponsor: Gardiner Centre An Introduction to Graduate Studies at Memorial University, 3-4 p.m., Online Webinar, Sponsor: School of Graduate Studies
Backyard Composting Session, 12:30-1:30 p.m., UC-3018, The Landing, Sponsor: Botanical Garden, Community Garden Faculty Bible Study, 12-12:50 p.m., HH-2005, Sponsor: Phil Heath Hepatitis C Virus Infection Causes Multiple Forms of Programmed Cell Death in Infected and Neighbouring Uninfected Cells, 12-1 p.m., Lecture Theatre D, Health Sciences Centre, Sponsor: Division of BioMedical Sciences Project Management Symposium, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Hampton Inn and Suites, St. John’s , Sponsor: Gardiner Centre
Friday, Nov. 6 Aliens vs. Natives: (Association) Football and the Development of a National Identity in Newfoundland: 1870-1916, 2:30-4:30 p.m., SN-2033, Sponsor: Department of Political Science The Practice of Qualitative Research in the IS Discipline: An Evolutionary View and Some Implications for Authors and Evaluators, 1:303 p.m., BN-4000, Sponsor: Faculty of Business Administration Sawneys vs. Coddies: (Association) Football and Newfoundland’s National Identity 18781916, 2:30-4:30 p.m., SN-2033, Sponsor: 300 Prince Philip Dr. Adiposopathy as an Independent Predictor of Insulin Resistance, 1-2 p.m., SN-4015, Sponsor: Department of Biochemistry
Saturday, Nov. 7 Beach Cleanup for Research, 12-3 p.m., Topsail Beach, Conception Bay South, Sponsor: Department of Sociology, Department of Biology
Monday, Nov. 9 PhD Oral Defence of Stefanie Brueckner, 1-3 p.m., IIC-2014, Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation, Sponsor: School of Graduate Studies
Thursday, Nov. 5
Commemorating Our Legacy: Reflections on Dr. Cluny Macpherson and Newfoundland’s Medical Military Contributions, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Main Auditorium, Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences Centre, Sponsor: Faculty of Medicine
English Department Visiting Author Series, 8-9 p.m., Suncor Energy Hall, School of Music, Sponsor: Department of English
HR Policy Essentials, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Gardiner Centre, BN-4019, Sponsor: Gardiner Centre
The Magic of Waves in Complex Media: Using Ultrasonic Spectroscopies to Explore Remarkable Wave Phenomena and Materials, 7-9 p.m., A-1043, Sponsor: Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography Thesis Club: Copyright Considerations for Graduate Students, 1-2 p.m., Room 2860, Health Sciences Centre, Sponsor: Division of BioMedical Sciences
Friday, Nov. 13 Disturbing, Threatening and Violent Behaviour Awareness Information Session, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., PE-2001, Sponsor: Office of the Chief Risk Officer Deadline to Register: Presentation Skills, 9 a.m.5 p.m., Arts building, Sponsor: Learning and Development, Human Resources Bachelor of Social Work Information Sessions, 1-2 p.m., CL-2012, Sponsor: School of Social Work Design and Implementation of a Relative Localization System for Ground and Aerial Robotic Teams, 1-3 p.m., IIC-2014, Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation, Sponsor: School of Graduate Studies Radical!: A Reading of the Play, 7:30-9:30 p.m., A-1046, Sponsor: Faculty of Medicine Lecture: Thespis Meets Hippocrates, 12-1 p.m., Main Auditorium, Health Sciences Centre, Sponsor: Faculty of Medicine Anti-Trafficking Legislation as Victim Rescue: How the United States Adopted its Current Frame, 12-1 p.m., SN-4087, Sponsor: Department of Gender Studies Speakers’ Series An Epidemiologist on Mission with Medecins Sans Frontieres: Public Health in Resource Poor Settings, 1-2 p.m., Theatre B, Health Sciences Centre, Sponsor: Division of Community Health and Humanities
Monday, Nov. 16 Entrenching the ‘Ecological Indian’: Aboriginal Peoples and the Environmental Protest in James Bay and Clayoquot Sound, 12-1 p.m., SN-4030, Sponsor: Aboriginal Studies Minor Program Lean Operational Excellence for Service Organizations, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Gardiner Centre, BN-4019, Sponsor: Gardiner Centre Department of Geography hosts the Arctic Alive Giant Floor Map, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., D.F. Cook Recital Hall, School of Music, Sponsor: Department of Geography
Tuesday, Nov. 17 Multicultural Arts and Crafts Market, 10 a.m.3 p.m., UC-3013, The Loft, and mezzanine area, Sponsor: Internationalization Office
Terry Fox Movie Night, 7-9:30 p.m., IIC-2001, Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation, Sponsor: Residence Life, Housing Research Data Management: Best Practices, 12:10-1 p.m., Meeting Room, Health Sciences Library, Sponsor: Health Sciences Library Availability Estimation and Management for Complex Processing Systems, 1:30-3:30 p.m., IIC-2014, Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation, Sponsor: School of Graduate Studies
Wednesday, Nov. 18 Spanish Film Festival, 7-9:30 p.m., IIC-2001, Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation, Sponsor: Latin American and Caribbean Studies Research Group Science Information Session, 1-1:50 p.m., SN4063, Sponsor: Academic Advising Centre MUN Cinema Series: A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, 7-8:50 p.m., Cineplex Theatre, Avalon Mall, Sponsor: MUN Cinema An Afternoon in the Garden, 2-3 p.m., Botanical Garden, 306 Mount Scio Rd., Sponsor: Memorial University Botanical Garden Science Career Talk, 12-1 p.m., The Landing, UC-3018, Sponsor: Science Matters The Best of Both Worlds: Part-Time Study at Memorial University, 3-4 p.m., Online Webinar, Sponsor: School of Graduate Studies
Thursday, Nov. 19 Brown Bag Lunch and Learn: Making Time Work for You, 12-2 p.m., A-2065, Sponsor: Employee Wellness Office, Department of Human Resources Thesis Club: Copyright Considerations for Graduate Students, 4-5:30 p.m., Room 2860, Health Sciences Centre, Sponsor: Division of BioMedical Sciences Mindful Eating in the Home: The Vibrant Materiality of Food, 1-2 p.m., A-5014, Sponsor: Food Advocacy Research at Memorial
Friday, Nov. 20 Deadline to Register: Working Towards Balance, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Arts building, Sponsor: Learning and Development, Human Resources
Tuesday, Nov. 24 Presentation Skills, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., TBD, Sponsor: Learning and Development, Human Resources
Wednesday, Nov. 25 Arts Information Session, 1-1:50 p.m., SN4063, Sponsor: Academic Advising Centre MUN Cinema Series: Learning to Drive, 7-8:30 p.m., Cineplex Theatre, Avalon Mall, Sponsor: MUN Cinema BioMedical Sciences Research Forum: Presentations on Biomedical Engineering, 5-6 p.m., Medical Education Center, Room 1M101, Sponsor: Division of BioMedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine An Afternoon in the Garden, 2-3 p.m., Botanical Garden, 306 Mount Scio Rd., Sponsor: Memorial University Botanical Garden An Introduction to Graduate Studies at Memorial University, 3-4 p.m., UC-4002, Sponsor: School of Graduate Studies
Is a Memorial engineering student Canada’s Smartest Person? By Jackey Locke
CBC’s competition series, Canada’s Smartest Person, on Oct. 25, earned fourth-year electrical engineering student Katy Warren a spot in the finals to compete against six other finalists to claim the title of Canada’s Smartest Person. The St. John’s-native beat out three other competitors to earn her place in the finals. Competitors completed a series of challenges — definition dilemma; human lie-detector challenge; logical pipe-fitter challenge; stack of shapes challenge and step squad, double-points dance challenge — and the two top scores competed in the final challenge, The Gauntlet, for the big win. While she was very focused on the challenges, Ms. Warren wasn’t sure how it would all turn out. “It was so close all night, I really couldn’t have been sure until the end of the last challenge when they announced the scores,” she said. “Andrew, one of the competitors, had been comfortably ahead the whole time, so it was a surprise to all of us when Petros, another competitor, and I were tied for the lead after the double-points dance challenge.”
SARAH hALL PHOTOGRAPHY
Winning in the fourth round of
Katy Warren To her surprise, Ms. Warren said the challenge she thought would be the easiest, the definition dilemma challenge, was her toughest. Contestants were given difficult words and were asked to choose their definition, a synonym or an antonym. “I expected to do well with that one having been in spelling bees when I was younger,” she said. “But those words were really something else! I think I’d only even seen two of them before, so it was a lot of educated guesses.” Some educated guesses, maybe, but the 21-year-old was confident and calm through all the challenges, smiling her way to the top, which, it turns out, is her strategy for the finale.
“The finale is going to be a whole new kind of challenge,” she said. “All of us have won an episode and shown that we can handle the pressure. It’s a hard thing to prepare for, since all of the challenges are surprises the day we do them, so all I can really do to get ready is practice deep breathing and get myself emotionally prepared for it. In a high-intensity situation like this, the main thing to hold me back would be my own nerves or self-doubt, so if I can get those things out of the way I know it will go much better for me.” The Canada’s Smartest Person finale will air on CBC TV on Nov. 22, at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT).
Living and learning New graduate travels to attend convocation after completing online degree By Courtenay Alcock
shy away from long-term goals. While working as a paramedic in Antigonish, N.S., he graduated from Memorial with a bachelor of business administration degree. It was an accomplishment seven years in the making. Mr. Lukeman traveled to St. John’s to attend his convocation ceremony on Oct. 23; it was his first time in the capital city since he was born here 29 years ago. Balancing full-time employment with family commitments, Mr. Lukeman wanted to upgrade his education to open up future career opportunities. He chose the online program so he could complete it on his own time, while continuing to work and volunteer in his community. “Having a family and being employed, I couldn’t stop everything to further my education,” he said.
CHRIS HAMMOND PHOTO
Chris Lukeman is not one to
Chris Lukeman completed his BBA online and graduated at the fall convocation ceremony in St. John’s. “I looked at online programs all over Canada, but Memorial had the best offering.” He says the journey seemed daunting at the beginning, but found that breaking it down semester by semester allowed him to stay focused on his goal. “The online format meant I
12 gazette | Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 | www.mun.ca/gazette
could complete course work around my work schedule or whenever I had downtime and wherever I was,” he said, jokingly adding that he never watches television. “The hardest part was the first step, committing to the goal. Then it was just baby steps from there on out, and before I knew it, it was done.”
Laird lecture: The magic of waves By Kelly Foss
A distinguished professor emeritus with the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manitoba will deliver the Faculty of Science’s 2015 Elizabeth R. Laird Lecture. As leader of his university’s Ultrasonics Research Laboratory, Dr. John Page’s research focuses on the properties of waves in complex materials, with one notable outcome being the first unambiguous demonstration of the Anderson localization of classical waves in a 3-D system. He uses ultrasonic techniques to study a wide range of materials with interesting internal structures, one example being biological materials of importance in food science. “Waves in complex materials can often behave in strange ways, which continue to fascinate us and enrich our basic understanding of wave physics,” he said. “Examples range from strikingly large variations in wave speeds to the remarkable trapping of waves by disorder. “Other extraordinary effects include negative refraction, in which waves bend the opposite way to normal, and superabsorption, enabling partial cloaking of objects.” His public lecture, titled The Magic of Waves in Complex Media: Using Ultrasonic Spectroscopies to Explore Remarkable Wave Phenomena and Materials, will take place Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. in A-1043. A reception will follow the public lecture and parking is available in lot 22. This lecture marks the 17th Elizabeth R. Laird Lecture hosted by Memorial University. The Laird Lecture was established by a bequest from Dr. Elizabeth Laird, a prominent Canadian physicist who held posts at Yale, Cambridge, Chicago, Mount Holyoke and Western Ontario in the first half of the 20th century.