Donor Impact Report 2019

SCIENCE SH A P E T HE W ORL D

DONOR IMPACT REPORT 2019

ualberta.ca/science

BECAUSE Awards Endowed $1,401,642

Facilities/Capital $42,388

2019 GIVING

Academic Endowments $3,390,493 Annual Awards $735,527 Annual Programs $844,197

Annual Research $12,870,941

OF YOU

3,304 Total donors

239

First-time donors to Science

51

Staff donors 1200

277 Corporations

TOTAL 3,304

2,252 Alumni

438 Other Individuals 118 Other Organizations

8

800 600

New planned giving donors

400 200 0 5–9 years 10–14 years 15–19 years 20+ years

219 Foundations

MILESTONE DONORS

DONOR DEMOGRAPHICS

1000

STUDENT THANK-YOU DAY INNOVATION, INDUSTRY, AND BRIGHT IDEAS What do a Game Boy, a smoothie, and a high school math test have in common?

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T TURNS OUT they’re all ways that Faculty of Science undergraduate students are showcasing their innovative ideas—and they’re all winning projects of the Idea Fund.

The program, supported by a generous donation from AltaML, an Edmonton artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning company co-founded by University of Alberta alumni Cory Janssen (’04 BCom) and Nicole Janssen (’02 BCom), awarded cash prizes to extracurricular student projects that had been evaluated by a panel of judges from the Edmonton tech community.

Eight teams of students participated in the inaugural program over the fall semester in 2019. The program invited them to take their ideas beyond research and coursework and to demonstrate progress on any science or

technology project that excited them. The Idea Fund and the three cash prizes of $1,000 for the winning teams were made possible by AltaML’s support.

“We strongly believe in the world-class talent at UAlberta, and programs like this help continue to foster that talent,” says Chad Langager, vice-president (product) at AltaML and a member of the judging panel. “The Idea Fund is a great platform for students to showcase the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. These values are core to AltaML, so it made providing support for the Student Innovation Centre and the Idea Fund a quick decision on our end.”

AltaML is focused on building applications powered by applied machine learning to drive innovation in industry. The company has established the AltaML Professorship in Natural Language Processing in the Faculty of Science, which in September 2019 was awarded to AI expert Lili Mou (computing science).

AltaML’s ongoing support demonstrates its commitment to supporting AI and student excellence on campus and beyond—and working with UAlberta to position Alberta as a world leader in AI.

GB2TWITTER Winning project GB2Twitter exemplifies the spirit of a hacker project. Computing science student Daniel Chu set out to adapt an old piece of hardware to a modern application, by enabling an original 1989 Nintendo Game Boy to send tweets via Twitter.

ECOBLEND Other projects had a more entrepreneurial focus, such as winning project EcoBlend, by team members Cameron Walters, Farouq Sadiq, Xin Xu, and Daniel Nguyen.

The team conceptualized a pop-up smoothie stand for supermarkets, helping sell fruits and veggies nearing their sale-by dates in a convenient—and tasty—format: smoothies.

“The Student Innovation Centre is a fantastic space with an even better community,” says Nguyen. “Participating in the Idea Fund exposed us to other brilliant minds within the university, helping us expand our network in many unique fields.”

A CROWD LIKE THIS MIGHT SEEM STRANGE NOW, BUT BEFORE COVID-19 CHANGED OUR ABILITY TO MEET ON CAMPUS, STUDENT THANK-YOU DAY WAS A PERFECT WAY TO BRING STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF TOGETHER TO SHARE

EACH YEAR ON STUDENT THANK-YOU DAY, FACULTY OF SCIENCE STUDENTS SHARE THEIR MESSAGES TO THE DONORS WHOSE SUPPORT HAS HELPED THEM ACHIEVE THEIR DREAMS OF STUDYING SCIENCE. HERE, DEAN MATINA KALCOUNIS-RUEPPELL JOINS STUDENTS IN THE STUDENT INNOVATION CENTRE—AN EXTRACURRICULAR STUDENT PROJECT SPACE MADE POSSIBLE BY DONORS— TO JOIN IN EXPRESSING OUR GRATITUDE FOR YOU AND THE LIFE-CHANGING IMPACT OF YOUR SUPPORT.

THEIR GRATITUDE FOR DONORS LIKE YOU.

MATH TUTOR The third winning project took a different tack with its innovative thinking—helping encourage next-generation innovators and scientists.

Team members Jacob Mellick, Gabriela Landberg, Michelle Wang, and Janukan Sivajeyan identified math as a subject that frequently proves a stumbling block for students in high school, and decided to tackle the problem with an automated tutor.

Drawing from a public bank of exam questions, the team’s prototype allowed students to generate a list of sample problems, input their work, and check to see if their answers were correct. The team also showed off plans to implement a study community that would help students help each other in their studies.

MARGARET-ANN ARMOUR STUDENT ADVISING CENTRE

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ARGARET-ANN ARMOUR (’70 PhD, ’13 DSc) dedicated her life and career to diversity and the advancement of women in science. To honour her incredible legacy, the Faculty of Science student services centre has been named the Margaret-Ann Armour Student Advising Centre.

Born in Scotland in 1939, Armour earned her first two degrees at Edinburgh University. After emigrating from Scotland to Canada, she began her PhD studies at the University of Alberta. She was hired in 1979 as the assistant chair in the Department of Chemistry.

In 1982, Armour led a committee exploring how to increase the number of women in science, and became the founding co-chair of Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science, and Technology (WISEST), a program encouraging women.

Armour delighted in sharing her love of science with youth and has been nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in raising awareness among school-aged girls, educators, parents, and employers of the importance of encouraging women to take up careers in science and engineering.

In 2005, she was named associate dean of diversity in the Faculty of Science—the first position of its kind on campus. Over the course of work that continued until just weeks before her death in 2019, Armour helped increase the percentage of females in faculty positions from 14 to 22.

Armour’s legacy lives on in the many individuals, institutions, and networks shaped by her kindness, integrity, and commitment to equity and inclusiveness. Her dedication to the community shines through in the leadership she nurtured within various organizations of which she was a part.

NEXT GENERATION

BECAUSE OF YOU, STUDENTS ARE EQUIPPED FOR SUCCESS EVERY YEAR THROUGH THE SCHOLARSHIPS, RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES, AND MORE THAT YOUR SUPPORT FUNDS—HELPING ENSURE THAT STUDYING AND ADVANCING SCIENCE REMAINS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL.

SUPPORTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF INDIGENOUS SCIENTISTS

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N THE FALL 2019 issue of Contours, we shared the story of professor emerita Susan Jensen (’70 BSc, ’75 PhD), who has been a proud supporter of the Faculty of Science along with her husband, Chris, for more than 20 years, helping to support students.

Last year, Jensen began funding the Susan Jensen Indigenous Support Endowment, the first support endowment in the Faculty of Science for Indigenous students, supporting students via scholarships and bursaries, with a portion of the fund made flexible to meet the area of most need for Indigenous students each year. The inaugural recipients share how that support has had an impact on their studies: The first recipient of the Susan Jensen Indigenous Support Scholarship is Samuel Savard, who recently graduated with a BSc in neuroscience—with first-class standing.

Savard says highlights from his time at UAlberta included working with and completing research projects in both the Ted Allison (biological sciences) and David Eisenstat (oncology) labs, and that he has been accepted to medical school for the fall.

“UAlberta always stood out to me for my studies, due to our huge selection of research to get involved with and undergraduate programs to support those interests,” says Savard. “I was thrilled to be recognized with this scholarship.

It’s always encouraging to be supported by your university for your academic efforts in school and research.”

The second inaugural recipient of the scholarship is Ryley McClelland, who also graduated this spring, with an Honors BSc in immunology and infection. McClelland will return to UAlberta in the fall to pursue graduate studies investigating respiratory viruses.

“I chose to study at UAlberta because it is close to home, the campus is beautiful, and the undergraduate research opportunities are fantastic. The supports for Indigenous students are great, too,” says McClelland. “When I found out that I had received the award, I felt very relieved and grateful—I didn’t receive any of the scholarships or funding that I had received in past years, so the Susan Jensen award was a welcome surprise.”

A portion of the funding has also been allocated by Dean Matina Kalcounis-Rueppell to support tutoring in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for Transition Year Program students through First Peoples’ House.

“I am incredibly excited and thankful that a portion of the Susan Jenson Indigenous Support Endowment is supporting this program,” says Suzanne Butler, associate director of the program. “Students in the Transition Year Program take a wide range of introductory science courses to fulfil requirements to transfer into programs that focus on health care, computing, psychology, agriculture, environment, and commerce in addition to general science programs. The ability to retain excellent student tutors in a wide range of disciplines to provide one-on-one and small-group tutoring will have a significant and direct impact on the success and retention of Indigenous students at the University of Alberta and specifically on those pursuing STEM career paths. Susan Jensen’s gift will support a new generation of Indigenous scholars and we are so grateful for her support.”

As a professor emerita, Jenson’s support of today’s students is an expression of her personal philosophy of mentorship, science, and paying it forward.

“There are very few cases where one makes a discovery and that’s the end of the story. Science goes on and on and into other hands,” she says. “It’s important that we remember we’re building a foundation for the next generation.”

SCIENCE SUMMER CAMPS FROM THE COMFORT OF HOME

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T’S A FAMILIAR SOUND ON CAMPUS. Each summer, hundreds of K-12 students have joined the Faculty of Science on the University of Alberta campus for Science Summer Camps, and the sound of their excited voices filled the Quad each lunch hour and during outdoor experiments.

This year, COVID-19 meant that in-person camps couldn’t proceed—but the Faculty of Science remains committed to engaging, inspiring, and supporting these future scientists with your support. This summer, we were proud to launch miniature online courses covering the topics of usual Science Summer Camp offerings. This year’s digital approach lets students and their families keep connected to science education and work at their own pace, whenever it works best for their schedules.

“I’m excited for campers to see that science doesn’t always have to be done in a lab,” said camp instructor Dalton Ronan, a Faculty of Science alumnus and after-degree student. “There are ways to explore, experiment, and learn about the universe around you right from your own home.”

The camps offer more than 30 hours of content across five online courses, full videos on the topics, activities to do at home with household materials, interviews with researchers and staff, interactive learning tools, and quizzes. The courses turn kitchens and backyards into laboratories for campers—with parental supervision, of course.

The digital camps also improve accessibility to summer science learning for those not in Edmonton by allowing students in rural communities and outside Alberta to access the course material.

“Support for online programming like this allows us to not only support the community and beyond, but helps provide meaningful employment for our students,” says Cody Steinke, who oversees Science Summer Camps as engagement associate (camps & outreach). “The courses also serve as a great way to introduce future scientists and their families to our staff, museums, and collections, helping connect the University of Alberta to our community.”

IN YOUR OWN WORDS From one generation to the next with Randy and Audrey Lomnes A family’s multi-generational legacy at the University of Alberta has sparked new support for early-career physics researchers, thanks to the generosity of Randy (’64 BSc(Hons), ’65 MSc, ’71 PhD) and Audrey Lomnes.

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he University of Alberta has had an influence on my life in many ways. Both my mother and father attended the University of Alberta in the 1930s. In fact, they met there and started a relationship that lasted more than 60 years. My parents were both school teachers, so education

became a significant part of the home life that my sister and I grew up in.

I attended the university from 1960 to 1965 earning a bachelor and master’s degree in physics, and after two years working in Toronto I decided to return to the University of Alberta to work on a PhD program. About 30 years ago I founded a company with a partner that evolved into a fairly successful computer software company.

After a merger, this company now operates under the name Faronics, with its main operations in Vancouver and international offices in Singapore, California, and the United Kingdom. While I am no longer part of this organization, the company provided me with the financial resources to realize most of my goals in life.

Around the time that the computer software company was formed, I met my current wife Audrey. We have been fortunate to be able to live a very rewarding life and have been able to travel extensively throughout the world, including to all seven continents and more than 100 countries.

I have always wanted, at some point in my life, to be able to make some contribution that will help others. With the exit from my business affairs, my wife and I found ourselves in a position where we could pursue our philanthropic interests. We have both felt very strongly that education is one of the most valuable components in life. An education can be a huge benefit to an individual

A NEW FRAME OF MIND EEG headsets transform learning for neuroscience students

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IFTY EEG HEADSETS, donated by InteraXon Inc., the makers of Muse, the Brain Sensing Headband, are changing the way undergraduate students learn in the University of Alberta’s Department of Psychology.

“EEG, also known as an electroencephalogram, takes an electrical measure of brain activity,” explains Kyle Mathewson (psychology). “When large groups of neurons are active together, they create an electrical signal that is large enough to be measured on the outside of the head.”

InteraXon is a Toronto-based company that specializes in wearable brain-sensing technology such as the Muse headband, a lowprofile, wearable device that measures activity in the brain. Traditional EEG technology has been too expensive for large-scale teaching.

But advances in the field by companies such as InteraXon have made these tools vastly more accessible—and therefore excellent for teaching undergraduate students.

Thanks to InteraXon, each pair of students in Mathewson’s 100-person undergraduate

and in so doing can make a contribution to the betterment of our country. We decided that our philanthropic activities would be used to enhance education.

I felt that I would like to do something to benefit the Department of Physics at my alma mater. My first inclination was to set up a student scholarship, but after talking with Samantha Pearson, assistant dean of advancement in the Faculty of Science, we discussed the idea of setting up an award to help a starting professor in physics—and that idea had an appeal to me. As a result, we were proud to set up the Randy and Audrey Lomnes Early Career Award Endowment in Physics.

In our philanthropic work we have tried to do our part to encourage education from the elementary school level to the university level. My own life experiences have been very much influenced and enriched by the time I spent at the University of Alberta and specifically from my studies in physics.

Although I did not build my career in physics, I feel that the knowledge that I obtained in that field has helped me in many ways.

The discipline of science helps one with strategies to help solve problems.

The knowledge that science offers helps one to better understand the world. You find yourself in a position to make better decisions based on facts and not simply on whims and emotions.

—RANDY LOMNES

neuroscience course receives their own headset to use for the semester, providing hands-on research experience that simulates modern neuroscience research.

“Using the Muse was an amazing experience,” says Michael Calaresu, a student in Mathewson’s course. “Every week, you’d go to class, and within a few minutes, the whole room was busy recording their own brainwaves. It felt like we’d gone from just reading about neuroscience to actually practising it. Hands-on learning really changes how you think about the stuff you’re studying.”

While the global COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of teaching in post-secondary institutions around the globe, the portable and accessible nature of the EEG headsets may soon allow students to continue this valuable learning from home.

SCIFUND The Science, Creativity, and Innovation Fund (SCIFund) allows investments made today to foster innovation and inspiration to change the Faculty of Science and the world.

A flexible fund able to support the initiatives when they need it the most, the support of donors like you to the SCIFund enables immediate impact through key annual initiatives, while building a robust endowment that ensures the ability to seize opportunities for breakthroughs and global impact.

In 2019, your support of the SCIFund generated more than $185,000 that enabled Science Summer Camps, undergraduate awards, diversity initiatives in science, research excellence, and career development opportunities for students, and much more.

To learn more and for ways to give to the Faculty of Science, visit ualberta.ca/science/alumni-and-giving/give-to-science.