New Trail Winter 2011 by University of Alberta Alumni

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U n i v e r s i t y

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TARA WHITTEN’S

Winning Ways FOUR-TIME COMMONWEALTH MEDAL WINNER

HENRY MARSHALL TORY: U of A’s First President THE ART OF WINE —AND LIVING: A South African Sojourn SERENDIPITOUS SCIENCE: Science Through the Side Door

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RUDY WIEBE

THOMAS WHARTON, INTRODUCTION

“Wiebe is one of Canada’s powerful myth makers and storytellers of the past half-century.” ~ QUILL & QUIRE $39.95 paper • 552 pages • Appendices, selected bibliography

Prodigal Daughter A Journey to Byzantium M Y R N A K O S TA S H

A geographical, historical, and spiritual odyssey by a master of creative nonﬁction.

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Will the Real Alberta Please Stand Up? G E O TA K A C H

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J.B. Harkin Father of Canada’s National Parks E.J. (TED) HART

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People of the Lakes Stories of Our Van Tat Gwich’in Elders/ Googwandak Nakhwach’ànjòo Van Tat Gwich’in V U N T U T G W I T C H I N F I R S T N AT I O N & S H I R L E E N S M I T H Fifty years of Elders’ oral histories recount 150 years of Aboriginal living in Canada’s north. Winner of eight awards! $34.95 paper • 456 pages • Full-colour, 125 colour images and B&W images, maps, glossary, bibliography, index

Bosnia In the Footsteps of Gavrilo Princip T O N Y FA B I J A N Cˇ I C´

Modern travel memoir spans history in trailing the ghost of Archduke Ferdinand’s assassin and WWI’s primary catalyst, Gavrilo Princip. $29.95 paper • 264 pages • 45 B&W photos, maps, index 2010 Silver–History, Independent Publisher Book Awards

Too Bad Sketches Toward a Self-Portrait ROBERT KROETSCH

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Taking the Lead

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Strategies and Solutions from Female Coaches | DRU MARSHALL, INTRODUCTION

SHEILA ROBERTSON, EDITOR

A deep look at female coaching—its values and tribulations— by leaders in the ﬁeld. $34.95 paper • 312 pages • B&W images, tables

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N u m b e r

features Cover story

10 On the cover: Track cyclist Tara Whitten, ’07 BSc. Tara is fresh off a gold and three bronze medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India, and this winter she’s competing to maintain her first-place ranking at the 2011 World Cup. Photography by Thomas Alleman.

33 Life in Reverse

Winning Ways

Two grads head down to Nicaragua to live the Life of Riley

Tara Whitten — the U of A’s four-time Commonwealth Games medal winner

Iceland Cometh

Serendipitous Science

A trip to the island nation forged out of fire and ice

The Big Lebiedowski

Earthworm Invasion!

Barn Dance Donations

Four research discoveries that weren’t exactly planned

24 Henry Marshall Tory U of A’s first president set his sights on “uplifting the whole people”

Do you receive multiple copies of New Trail magazine? If you would prefer to receive only one copy at this address please contact us at alumrec@ualberta.ca or call 780-492-3471; toll free 1-866-492-7516.

ISSN: 0824-8125 Copyright 2005 Publications Mail Agreement No. 40112326 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Office of Alumni Affairs, University of Alberta, Main Floor, Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5J 4P6

It’s worming its unwanted way into Alberta’s boreal forest

Bar None Endowments help out students in financial need

Also inside Look in the centre of the magazine for the Alumni Recognition Awards nomination form.

The Art of Wine—and Living Unique South African wines offer vintages with a family flare

departments 3

Your Letters Our readers write to us

44 Bookmarks Featuring U of A authors

Bear Country Goings-on around the U of A

46 Alumni Events Engage with your alma mater

10 Question Period A student interviewing session

49 Class Notes Keeping classmates up-to-date

12 Learning Curve Education doesn’t end with school

52 In Memoriam Bidding farewell to friends

15 Whatsoever Things Are True A column by Aritha van Herk

56 Photo Finish The picture-perfect finale

A two-time grad is building a Messerschmitt... in his garage

New Trail

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Call: 780-492-3224 or 1-800-661-2593 Fax: 780-492-1568 Online: www.ualberta.ca/alumni Write: University of Alberta, Office of Alumni Affairs, Main Floor, Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5J 4P6

This University of Alberta Alumni Association magazine is published three times a year and mailed free to over 138,000 alumni. The views and opinions expressed in the magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the University or the Alumni Association. All material copyright ©. New Trail cannot be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Winter 2011

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Supervising Editor Cynthia Strawson-Fawcett, ’05 BA Editor Kim Green Associate Editor Sarah Ligon Contributing Editor Jodeen Litwin, ’90 BSc(HEc) Art Director Lisa Hall, ’89 BA Advisory Board Kathy Garnsworthy Deb Hammacher Tom Keating Lawrence Kwok, ’04 BSc(Eng) John Mahon, ’76 BMus, ’83 MBA Frank Robinson OFFICE OF A L U M N I A F FA I R S

Sean Price, ’95 BCom, MBA Associate Vice-President Cynthia Strawson-Fawcett, ’05 BA Director, Marketing, Communications & Affinity Relationships Gina Wheatcroft, ’94 BEd Director, Alumni Programs * * * Brandon Aune, ’09 BEd Assistant, Alumni Branches Karla Barron, ’06 MA Chloe Chalmers, ’00 BA Coordinators, Students & Young Alumni Colleen Elliott, ’94 BEd Coordinator, Alumni Special Events Coleen Graham, ’88 BSc(HEc), ’93 Med Executive Project Manager Kim Green Communications Manager Lisa Hall, ’89 BA Coordinator, Graphic Communications Jennifer Jenkins, ’95 BEd Assistant, Alumni Special Events Sarah Ligon Communications Coordinator Jodeen Litwin, ’90 BSc(HEc) Coordinator, Alumni Recognition Ann Miles Assistant Alumni Services

Executive Committee President Jane Halford, ’94 BCom Past-President / Vice-President Nominating & Bylaws Jim Hole, ’79 BSc(Ag) Vice-President: Alumni Awards Anne Lopushinsky, ’79 BSc(SPA) Vice-President: Scholarships Don Fleming, ’76 BEd Board of Governors Representatives Bill Cheung, ’86 LLB Jim Hole, ’79 BSc(Ag) Senate Representatives Judy Zender, ’67 BA Stephen Leppard, ’86 BEd, ’92 MEd, ’03 EDD Faculty Representatives Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences Kirstin Kotelko, ’06 BSc Arts Michael Janz, ’08 BA Augustana Jason Collins, ’97 BA Business Rob Parks, ’87 BEd, ’99 MBA Campus Saint-Jean Cindie LeBlanc, ’01 BA Dentistry Cornell Lee, ’01 BSc, ’03 DDS Education Don Fleming, ’76 BEd Engineering Glenn Stowkowy, ’76 BSc(Eng) Extension Mary Pat Barry, ’04 MA Graduate Studies Mark Ramsankar, ’87 BEd, ’04 MEd Law William Ostapek, ’83 LLB Medicine Richard Fedorak, ’78 MD Native Studies Darlene Bouvier, ’91 BA, ’09 BA(NA) Nursing Janis Sasaki, ’83 BSc(Nu), ’87 LLB Pharmacy Adam Gordon, ’08 BSc(Pharm) Physical Education & Recreation Hugh Hoyles, ’66 BPE Public Health Grant Frame, ’87 BSc, ’93 MHSA Rehabilitation Medicine Anne Lopushinsky, ’79 BSc Science Luca Vanzella, ’81 BSc, ’88 MSc Members at Large Terry Freeman, ’82 BCom Brent McDonough, ’77 BSc, ’79 BEd

Cristine Myhre Coordinator, Alumni Chapters John Perrino, ’93 BA(RecAdmin) Coordinator, Alumni Branches Andrea Porter, ’03 BCom Finance and HR Administrator Tracy Salmon, ’91 BA, ’96 MSc Manager, Marketing & Special Events Angela Tom, ’03 BA Assistant, Alumni Education Diane Tougas Assistant to the Director Vi Warkentin Assistant, Alumni Chapters Debbie Yee, ’92 BA Coordinator, Electronic Communication

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ALUMNI COUNCIL 2010/11

Executive Director Sean Price, ’95 BCom, MBA

Winter 2011

Academic Representative Randy Wimmer, ’87 BEd, ’96 MEd, ’03 EdD Ex Officio Honorary President Indira Samarasekera Vice-President (External Relations) Debra Pozega Osburn Executive Director, Alumni Association Sean Price, ’95 BCom, MBA Dean of Students Frank Robinson Students’ Union President Nick Dehod Graduate Students’ Association President Roy Coulthard

Up Front

e all take different, and often unexpected, paths through life. In fact, sometimes we even surprise ourselves when the path we take is very different than the one we had originally planned. The university experience is very common to this theme. There are some for whom their original path does not waver or branch out into areas of interest unanticipated or unimagined. But rare is the student who doesn’t meander down at least one or two forks in the road to becoming an alumnus. The university experience is famous for pushing us in directions we never dreamed possible. That’s what makes the experience so unique. Not only is it comprised of exceptional opportunities for learning and discovery inside the classroom and out, but it’s also invaluable for what we learn about ourselves in the process — the limitless potential when opening one’s self to a world of higher education. At the U of A, students and faculty come together from all walks of life and all corners of the globe for a life-changing learning experience in pursuit of Quaecumque Vera— the University’s motto, “whatsoever things are true.” That motto was adopted by the University from the very beginning when President Henry Marshall Tory was in charge of carving a university out of the wilderness. Tory, featured in this issue, is a perfect example of someone who was open to the opportunities that different and unexpected paths afforded him. His original intent was to become a Methodist minister, not, as it turned out, the founder of four universities, including ours, as well as Canada’s National Research Council. This issue also features stories of U of A researchers who were intensely interested in researching one topic, only to find their research pointing down a path they hadn’t quite expected. It is this serendipity in life than often allows us to make some of our greatest discoveries—whether we are trying to find the cure for cancer, trying to bring education to the people, or just trying to find ourselves.

Jane Halford, ’94 BCom

Sean Price, ’95 BCom, MBA

President, Alumni Association

Associate Vice-President, Alumni Affairs; Executive Director, Alumni Association

Your Letters Trudeau Scholars are highly

Congratulations

ments and Trudeau Scholarship

I would like to congratulate the

award. Unfortunately, the story

gifted individuals who are

Your “Photo Finish” caption

New Trail staff on a beautifully

reads more as a partisan repre-

actively engaged in their fields

on the last page of the Autumn

presented and thoroughly inter-

sentation of Pierre Elliot

and are expected to become

2010 edition of New Trail triv-

esting Autumn edition (volume

Trudeau [’68 LLD Honorary]

leading national and interna-

ializes the human cost of the

66 number 2). This is the first

than about a highly regarded

tional figures. Only 15 Trudeau

Gulag. Tens of millions (rather

time that I can remember reading

U of A scholar.

Scholarships are awarded each

than “scores”) of political pris-

year in Canada to support doc-

oners perished in the camps.

toral candidates pursuing

Magadan and its subsidiaries

research of compelling present-

in Kolyma and other sub-Arctic

day concern. In light of this

regions were some of the most

year’s U of A Celebration of

notorious camps. A personal

Research & Innovation, in

historical perspective of the

which 2009 Trudeau Scholar

horrors of these places and the

the whole thing cover to cover.

Rather than capture the

Don Upton, ’59 DDS

attention of the reader with a

Calgary, AB

headline extolling the virtue of high quality and innovative

Gulag’s Human Cost

Objectionable Conduct

research, money (i.e. “prize

As past University of Alberta

academic end-game. Yes, the

recipients of Trudeau Scholar-

award provides the highest

ships we are extremely proud

level of research and network-

of the 2010 awarding of a pres-

ing funding for doctoral stu-

representative were invited and

tigious Trudeau Scholarship to

dents in Canada. However, the

attended, we find the article’s

Libe Garcia Zarranz in the

funding is only a small part of

representation of the most

Department of English and

the award’s benefit. A Trudeau

prestigious doctoral award in

Film Studies. We would, how-

Scholarship provides continu-

Canada to be objectionable.

ever, like to express our con-

ous and high-quality support

Ken Caine, ’98 BSc, ’08 PhD;

emigrated to the U.S.S.R. in

cern about a story in New Trail

from the Trudeau Foundation:

Patti Laboucane-Benson,

the 1930s to build a Ford auto

(Autumn 2010, pg. 6). The

an engaged, critical and intel-

’90 BPE, ’01 MSc, ’09 PhD;

plant and who was the sole

article is intended to celebrate

lectually innovative family of

Lucas Crawford; Lisa Szabo;

Libe’s research, accomplish-

scholars, mentors and fellows.

Christopher Cox

money”) is suggested as an

recipients and a Foundation

Russian political prison system in general can be gleaned from Victor Herman’s autobiographical book, Coming Out of the Ice: An Unexpected Life. This is a story of an individual whose American family

survivor of several thousand Americans who went there to accomplish this goal and who

China Grows

Ideology was foremost. It

were abandoned by their own

Regarding the cover story of

wasn’t until later that the

government to their fate.

the Autumn 2010 issue of

Chinese government went by

Another valuable source

New Trail, a U of A connec-

the pragmatic dictum that, “it

describing the Ford plant

tion with China was made as

mattered not whether the cat

fiasco and an overview of that

early as 1972, when a group

was black or white, but

event is The Forsaken: An

of U of A students and grads,

whether it caught the mouse.”

American Tragedy in Stalin’s

led by Gerry Glassford, ’64

There was always the capabil-

MA, of the Faculty of Physical

ity of technology, but it cer-

Russia, by Tim Tzouliadis. As Canadians, we have no idea of what suffering truly is.

A mother taking her child to daycare via sidecar in 1972.

tainly wasn’t a priority at the

Republic of China. It was a

was placed on sport pro-

industry, peasants and stu-

time when the country was

grams, schools, communes

dents were all working

emerging from its Cultural

and various cultural pursuits.

together guided by the book,

Revolution. “Ping Pong diplo-

The overall message was that

Quotations from Chairman

macy” was the new buzz-

China would only advance at

Mao, better known in the

word. The Alberta group of

a speed that the rural classes

West as the “Little Red Book.”

more than 30 was one of the

(“peasants,” as they were

first to be allowed to visit

known then) could absorb so

China. The visit’s emphasis

as not to leave them behind.

Frank Cosentino, ’69 MA, ’73 PhD Eganville, ON

Education, went on a monthlong tour of The People’s

time of our visit. The military,

Dale Nicoll, ’75 MD Victoria, BC

We would like to hear your comments about the magazine. Send us your letters via postal mail or e-mail to the addresses on page 2. Letters may be edited for length or clarity.

Winter 2011

new trail

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bear country

Buried Alive R

escuing miners stuck over half a kilometre underground wasn’t something covered in any of the classes Kevin Neveu, ’82 BSc(Eng), took at the U of A. And although his team didn’t actually perform the dramatic rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners watched live by millions around the world in October 2010, they were close. Neveu is CEO of Calgary-based Precision Drilling, which had an oil and gas rig in the Copiapó, Chile, region near

where the San Jose mine collapsed on August 5, 2010. Seventeen days later the 33 trapped miners were found alive and Chilean authorities quickly contacted the company to see if the rig was available to help in rescue efforts. Three companies, including Precision Drilling, using different types of rigs were recruited to work on the rescue simultaneously. A drill owned by the Chilean mining company GeoTech reached the miners first, hauling the very grateful men out of the ground.

The Precision Drilling plan was, says Neveu, “probably the lowest-risk solution of the three. We were providing an elevator shaft, a steel-cased shaft from the mine to the surface with virtually no risk of failure.” In that respect, the challenge was no different from any other drilling job, Neveu says, adding that neither the company nor its drilling team allowed emotions to get the better of them. “It is easy to get caught up in the exuberance,” he says. “It would have been easy to rush this rig and get it down there before it was ready. But I wanted to make sure we treated this as a business decision, as an executional challenge no tougher or easier, no more or less important than anything else we do.” Neveu stood less than two metres from the rescue shaft as several of the miners were brought to the surface and says he was reminded of a similar event 40 years ago. “Apollo 13 is probably the closest comparison I can make. Like everyone else watching, you have a strong sense of relief — you have all those emotions — you are astonished to see them come out of the ground. “I am really proud of our guys who worked 12-hour days for six weeks,” he continues. “I was just happy to be out there with our guys and share with them the congratulations we had from the minister of mines and the president’s wife.” —Richard Cairney To see more images of the Chilean rescue visit www.precisiondrilling.com and look under “Investor Centre.” The Precision Drilling rig— set up near the original mine shaft — which drilled down to about 30 metres from the trapped miners. Inset: Kevin Neveu (middle, in green) with Chilean First Lady Cecilia Morel and Minister of Mines Laurence Golborne, to his right. Winter 2011

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bear country

Home & Native Land

ark Twain famously quipped, “Buy land, they ain’t making it anymore.” Well, the U of A may not have bought any land, but it sure is a lot more land rich thanks to Edwin, ’57 BSc(Eng), and Ruth Matteis, ’58 BA, who recently donated their 5,000-hectare ranch in Southern Alberta to the University. The gift ensures the land will forever remain a working ranch as it complements the University’s agricultural research infrastructure already in place, including the 4,900-hectare Kinsella Ranch in central Alberta, the 325-hectare St. Albert Research Station, and other land holdings. The couple bought the 19 sections of what is currently called the Three Walking Sticks Ranch in 1977, and, in December 2010, they donated it to the University to ensure it will remain a ranch in perpetuity. “We have this marvelous piece of land, and we don’t want to see it sub-divided and abused,” says Ruth. The ranch is situated near Duchess —about 150 km east of Calgary —and is composed primarily of rangeland, with about 280 hectares of cultivated land. To honour this gift, the University is establishing the Mattheis Chair in Rangeland Ecology and Management. “No other university in Canada has access to a natural research lab of this kind,” says U of A President Indira Samarasekera. “Indeed,

new trail

Winter 2011

only a very few universities in all of North America have the rangeland resource that the U of A now has.” In accepting this more-thangenerous donation, Samarasekera also called it “truly historic” and an “unprecedented gift.” Later that month she had to find new superlatives to describe another donation —the gift of their family home, called “Soaring,”by Sandy, ’90 LLD (Honorary), and Cécile Mactaggart, ’06 LLD (Honorary). “Sandy and Cécile Mactaggart are among this University’s greatest friends, supporters and benefactors,” says Samarasekera. “The sheer generosity of giving the University their home leaves us humbled. The Mactaggarts have simply transformed us, and their relationship with the University is a dynamic force as the U of A continues to grow.” The Mactaggarts’ philanthropic and volunteer relationship with the U of A

dates back several decades. Their giving —along with the resulting matching funds their donations have generated from government —equal an unprecedented $100 million for the University. “Cécile and I were always convinced that the University of Alberta could become the internationally recognized university it has become — a place of respected learning and discovery, a place of culture — and in doing so help build the city of Edmonton itself,” says

Sandy. “This gift is another way we hope we can continue to help build Edmonton and the University of Alberta.” Go to www.museums.ualberta.ca/ mactaggart to see an art collection the Mactaggarts donated to the University.

Above: "Soaring," the MacTaggarts' Edmonton home. Below: Ruth and Edwin Matteis (left) with John Kennelly, dean of the U of A faculty of agriculture, and U of A President Indira Samarasekera.

Serve on the University of Alberta Senate A

pplications are being accepted for public positions on the University of Alberta Senate. The deadline is March 1, 2011. Successful applicants will begin a three-year term on July 1, 2011. Senators serve as ambassadors, advocates, bridge-builders, catalysts and celebrants. Each Senator volunteers an average of 50 to 75 hours of their time a year. Chancellor Linda Hughes, ’03 LLD (Honorary), is the current

chair of the Senate and represents the public interest in the University. Senate Mission: “To inquire into any matter that might benefit the University and enhance its position in the community.” — Post-Secondary Learning Act 2003 Additional information and the application form are available on the Senate website at www.ualberta.ca/senate.

Magical Moments A

fter recovering from surgery five years ago, Peter Wightman, a former U of A sessional instructor, decided to do something new and rejuvenating before returning to work. So he attended a program called ELLA—Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association—that was established in 2001 in partnership with the U of A’s Faculty of Extension. ELLA is for adults 50-plus who want to explore a diverse range of courses and activities that promote physical and mental well-being. “I felt like I was 18 again,” says Wightman about attending his first ELLA session. After retiring as an audiologist, Wightman and his wife, Anne, moved to Kimberley, B.C., a small city that boasts all the recreational amenities the Wightmans adore. But they soon found they missed certain things about Edmonton, such as ELLA, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Now they maintain a house in Kimberley and a condo in Edmonton that Wightman returns to frequently to sit on three different ELLA committees that meet throughout the year.

“It’s not just intellectual and stimulating new-idea classes,” says Wightman, 61. “There are also fun classes.” He smiles recalling one such class, theatrical story-telling, where classmates wrote and performed an only slightly tongue-in-cheek skit which credited ELLA for “Keeping My Marbles.” Wightman is among dozens of volunteers with the non-profit organization who ensure that the three-week-long spring program runs smoothly and at minimal cost. Noma Morrissey, ’57 Dip(Nu), the group’s 74-year-old former publicity chairman, says, “There’s nothing quite like this in Canada. ELLA is a magical organization.” To learn more about ELLA go to www.extension.ualberta.ca/ella. —Don Retson

Rhodes Worthy ther people win the Rhodes Scholarship, not me,” says Rhodes Scholar winner Braden O’Neill, ’09 BSc. “I am humbled, excited and have a lot of work ahead of me, but this is an opportunity of a lifetime.” Currently in his second year in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary, O’Neill’s area of interest is the impact of medical humanities and patient experience on health policy. While at the University of Oxford in England O’Neill plans to work with the Health Experiences Research Group, a world-renowned team undertaking qualitative research to understand people’s experiences of health and illness. Those chosen for this prestigious scholarship—established in the will of Oxford graduate Cecil Rhodes in 1902—not only have to excel academically, but they also have to demonstrate character, leadership ability and physical rigour. O’Neill, a former competitive swimmer, worked as an outreach worker in Edmonton and plays a key role in a student-run medical clinic for homeless people in Calgary. O’Neill is the 65th U of A alumnus to be honoured with a Rhodes Scholarship, placing the University behind only McGill and UBC as the Canadian university with the most such scholarships, and well ahead of such American powerhouses as Berkeley, UCLA and Michigan State. Go to www.canadianrhodes.org to learn more about the Rhodes Scholarships.

“O

Rob Hislop

bear country

Thinking

Czarnietzki with some of his simulation subjects.

Big

“W

e’ve worked with some incredible local companies that are amazingly innovative within their own industries,” says Andrew Czarnietzki, ’07 BDes. The “we” in question is 3DI HighFidelity Simulations, the Edmontonbased company with a 15-member staff —12 of whom have U of A degrees — of which Czarnietzki is the co-founder and technical director. The company began in 2005 by offering architectural simulations so that people could take a virtual walk through buildings that didn’t yet exist, including the then-unbuilt Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton. “We started entirely with architecture,” says Czarnietzki.“But our primary focus now is physics-based simulations for mining, energy and construction. What 3DI mainly does now is build computer-generated advanced interactive simulations that look, sound and feel like the real thing so that people can, for instance, learn how to properly operate heavy equipment before they ever climb into the driver’s seat. This helps enhance employee safety, cuts

down on training costs, and saves wear and tear on expensive equipment. Think of flight simulators where pilots get to crash —or not —virtual planes and you’ll have a good idea of what 3DI is up to, albeit in a scaled-down version. One of the “incredible local companies” that 3DIs has worked with is the Edmonton-based MARL Technologies Inc. Working with the engineers at MARL, 3DI developed a design verification model for a submersible core drilling platform designed to be operated by remote control at depths of up to three kilometres under the sea.

Cell Mates

The plastic solar cell team: Brian Worfolk (U of A PhD candidate) holding the solar cell, with Jillian Buriak to his left and Ken Harris, ’98 BSc, ’03 PhD, to his right.

As for what the future holds for 3DI, Czarnietzki hopes it involves a little extraterrestrial excursion in a virtual environment. “I would love to simulate the next Mars Rover or something for NASA,” he exclaims. “We shared a booth with a Mars Lander Prototype at a tradeshow —very cool stuff! If not that, I’m always in awe of the sheer size of mining equipment. One day I would love to build a simulator for the world’s largest dragline.” Draglines —super-large excavation systems such as those used in the tar sands —rank amongst the largest mobile equipment ever built to operate on land, typically weighing about 2,000 metric tonnes. You certainly can’t blame a boy for thinking big. For more on 3DI go to www.3di.ca.

U of A research team has made a breakthrough in plastic solar cell technology, extending the life of an unsealed cell from just hours to eight months. In the very competitive field of solar-cell technology research this step forward by the U of A in conjunction with the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) is a major accomplishment. Jillian Buriak — professor of chemistry at the U of A, NINT principal investigator and member of the research team — uses a simple analogy to describe the “sandwich structure” construction of the solar cells. “Consider a clubhouse sandwich with many different layers,” she says. “One layer

Master Mind U

of A student Weiyang Liu, ’05 BSc, ’10 MSc, recently had his master’s thesis chosen as the best of the year in an annual competition sponsored by the Western Association of Graduate Schools. Part of the University’s interdisciplinary team developing a two-technology treatment that specifically targets cancerous prostate glands, Liu’s winning master’s thesis was on the use of a lightsensitive drug to treat the disease. Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer in men over 50, although many never have symptoms, undergo no therapy, and eventually die of other causes. However, currently one in six Canadian men will require prostate cancer treatment with the possible side effects of surgery including incontinence and impotency.

absorbs the light, another helps to generate the electricity, and others help to draw the electricity out of the device. Normally, the layers don’t stick well, and so the electricity never gets out, leading to inefficient devices. We are working on the mayonnaise, the mustard, the butter and other ‘special sauces’ that bring the sandwich together and make each of the layers work together. That makes a better sandwich and, in our case, a better solar cell.” Inexpensive, lightweight plastic solar cell products already exist on a small scale. But think of the roof of a house

“Our prostate cancer drug is injected into a patient,” says Liu, “but it only begins killing cells when it’s activated or turned on by laser light, which is guided by tiny fibre optic cables that have been inserted into the patient’s prostate gland. This delivers the cancer treatment right to the prostate, unlike chemotherapy, which attacks the whole body.” The drug component of the treatment is in clinical trials, and the U of A team— John Tulip and Ronald Moore were Liu’s supervising professors—is hopeful the light component will go into clinical trials in 2011. “We were up against large California schools like UCLA, CalTech and UC Berkeley,” says Liu about his winning thesis. “So I’m very proud that we won.” To learn more about the Western Association of Graduate Schools go to www.uidaho.edu/wags.

covered in plastic solar cells instead of shingles or a car coated with them so that they’re providing electricity to a battery to power the vehicle. The team estimates it will be four to six years before plastic solar panels are massproduced. But, when it happens, solar energy will be available to everyone. Getting eight months of high-capacity performance out of the plastic solar cell is a good indication that, says Buriak, “the next generation of solar technology belongs to plastic.” Go to www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/nint.html for more information on the National Institute for Nanotechnology.

Provost wants your input I

n late 2010, Provost and VicePresident (Academic) Carl Amrhein put together a 27-member Academic Policy and Process Review task force (APPR) to look at some of the ways the University’s rules and processes may present unnecessary barriers to student engagement and prevent students from having positive and rewarding experiences at the University. Two of the topics under early discussion are the transfer of credits for U of A students studying abroad and the results of a recent admissions process review by the Office of the Registrar. Sometimes students studying abroad don’t know if the credit is transferable until they return to the U of A and this may pose a barrier to students taking on the experience. The admissions process review provided a number of areas that may need more detailed research, including consistency of communication with students across the institution, transfer between programs at the University and streamlined admissions processing. If you have any suggestions about University of Alberta rules or procedures that may require review by the task force, feel free to forward suggestions to appr@uhall.ualberta.ca. Go to www.provost.ualberta.ca for more on the APPR. Winter 2011

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question period

TARA WHITTEN, ’07 BSC Tara Whitten, winner of a gold and three bronze medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India, takes a break from training for the 2011 Track Cycling World Cup to talk with third-year student and fellow athlete Paula Findlay.

What made you switch? I had some success in skiing, but I wasn’t consistently successful on the international team, and I felt like I was still a ways from that point. So I started cycling just for fun, and everything moved really quickly. What do you like so much about cycling? It has a bit of everything. You need a lot of speed and power and endurance, but you also need to be smart and have tactical sense. And things happen quickly so you have to have fast reactions. It’s exciting. Is there anything you don’t like about it? There can be crashes. I don’t like crashes. Have you had many? No, I’ve been lucky. But I’ve seen some nasty ones, and it’s a little bit scary. Do you have any regrets about leaving cross-country skiing, especially after seeing the Vancouver 2010 Olympics? Well, I do miss skiing and I miss winter because right now I spend my winters training in Los Angeles. But I was just really excited to see the people I knew doing so well, and I feel like I’m in the right sport. I know I’ll be more competitive in London than I might have been had I qualified for Vancouver. 10

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Did you participate in a lot of different sports growing up? I was very active when I was young. My family is very active. My dad actually competed in mountain biking when I was growing up, and we followed him to races around the province. We did a lot of mountain biking as a family, we went on canoe trips and ski trips, but cross-country skiing was the first thing that I did competitively. Were you training on the cross-country national team while an undergrad at the U of A? Yes, on and off. The first few years of my undergrad I was on the junior national team, so I would miss quite a bit of school for competitions, but it was manageable. When I made the transition to being a senior skier I decided to move to Canmore and train fulltime, so I took four years off school. Then one year I didn’t make the national team, so I came back to Edmonton and continued to ski and finish my undergrad. How did you balance the demanding training schedule with a heavy school load? There were certain semesters that I knew would be more of a challenge, so I would take maybe three or four courses instead of a full load. Was there any way in which your education contributed to your sporting career? Oh, I think so. Because I was doing both school and sport I learned how to be very efficient, which I think has helped me as an athlete and in everything that I do. And, on top of that, being a scientist

Thomas Alleman

You’ve had lots of successes in cycling, but this is actually a relatively new sport to you. When did you start competing seriously? I first got on a track bike in 2005, but I was still cross-country skiing competitively, so it wasn’t until July of 2007 that I started doing it seriously.

influences the way I think about training. I’m very analytical about my training. I always want to understand why I’m doing something, and I think that’s really helped me to define my training and to be very methodical about how I approach it.

Road Rules Track cycling is held on 250metre wooden tracks that are banked up to 45 degrees in the corners and uses special track bicycles with one fixed gear and no brakes. Cyclists either train for the sprint or endurance races.

You’re currently in the middle of a PhD at the U of A. What are you studying? I’m studying neuroscience in an electrophysiology lab in the psychology department with Dr. Clayton Dickson. I’m looking at rhythmic electrical activity in a particular area of the brain—the hippocampus—during sleep-like states. But I’m putting it on hold for two years as I prepare for the London Olympics.

Tara is primarily an endurance racer— taking gold in the omnium and points race at the 2010 Track Cycling World Championships and bronze in the points race and individual pursuit at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. However, she also competed— and won bronze— in the team sprint at the Commonwealth Games. Sprint: 200 to 1,000 metres (1 to 4 laps) focusing on raw speed Endurance: varies from 12 laps to 200 laps (3 km to 50 km) Individual pursuit (3 km or about 3.5 minutes) Team pursuit (3 km or about 3.5 minutes) Points race (25 km or about 30 minutes) Omnium (6 sprint and endurance events over 2 days)

Why is L.A. your training base for the Olympics? Because track cycling internationally is held on indoor 250metre wood tracks, and we don’t have any of those in Canada at the moment — although Edmonton is trying very hard to get one. For now, L.A. has the only international-standard velodrome in North America.

Does cross-country skiing still play into your training schedule? I don’t do a lot of cross-training, actually. When I go back home, I ski a little bit, but not a lot. What do you do in your down time? Do you ever just hop on your bike and go for a ride? Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of down time. When I do I try to just rest and recover and do normal things like go out for dinner and see movies with my friends, maybe go camping or something. I don’t do much biking in my free time. Last summer, I went mountain biking with my parents in Moab, Utah, and I broke my elbow. You’re primarily a track cyclist, but you recently won a gold medal in the road time trial at the Commonwealth Games. Is there a big difference between racing on the track and on the road? Which do you prefer? I prefer the track, but I really enjoy the time trial on the road as well because it’s actually really similar to the kind of racing I was used to as a skier. The time trial for women usually lasts 30-45 minutes, which is right in the range of the typical event

in cross-country skiing. And it’s just you and your bike on the road, which is something I like. But because road racing and track racing are different seasons, I am able to do both.

What are your plans for after London 2012? Well, I have about two years left in my PhD, so I’d really like to go back and finish it. Would you try to compete in Rio in 2016? Or maybe you’d like to try a different sport? At a certain point there are other things I want to do in my life, but at the same time I love competing and training, so it’s hard to say. Read Paula’s full interview with Tara at New Trail online: www.newtrail.ualberta.ca

Delly Carr

What does a typical training day look like for you leading up to a big competition? Maybe two-to-three weeks out I’ll be training twice a day with high intensity workouts, mostly on the track, just trying to overload a little bit. Then I’ll taper down in the last 10 days or so leading up to the competition.

Road bicycle racing is held outside, on pavement, just like in the Tour de France. Tara only began competing in road racing in the past year, but already she has claimed a gold medal in the time trial at the Commonwealth Games. Mass Start: All racers start at the same time and race for 3.5 hours (about 130 km) Time Trial: An individual cyclist races against the clock to complete (20–30 km), usually in about 30–40 minutes.

Interviewer Paula Findlay is working on her undergraduate degree in science at the U of A and hopes to pursue a career in medicine. She is a Canadian national team triathlete, who recently won backto-back World Championship Series races in London and Kitzbühel, Austria, and is currently ranked fifth in the world. Next up on her schedule is a World Cup race in Australia in March.

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learning curve

Skipping School When it came to educating her own children, one U of A alumna found it best for everyone to drop out By Theresa Shea, ’97 PhD

n 2003, when my eldest son turned school age, I realized I didn’t want to be separated from him, nor did I want his two younger siblings to spend half their day missing their big brother. So we decided to skip kindergarten. The following year, we decided to skip grade one. My children are now 12, 10 and eight, and we’re still skipping school. From the beginning, despite my initial nervousness, I felt like I was getting away with something big. How could I, with my various levels of traditional education, come to appreciate or even recognize that my own children could be educated differently? More importantly, how does this awareness affect my own ability to learn as well as my relationship to the rapidly-changing kinds of knowledge and skills that the contemporary world requires? The basic tenet of homeschooling is to trust that children will, through their own active engagement with the world, naturally discover their areas of interest, and, when they do, they will seek out and attain whatever level of education is required to work in their chosen field. Witnessing the daily wonder and enthusiasm with which my children tackled each day, I couldn’t help but reflect on my own schooled childhood where nothing occurred “naturally.” Reading was taught. Spelling was taught. Math was taught. Even physical education was taught. Nothing that I had “naturally” learned up until I attended school (like walking and talking, two enormous achieve-

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ments) seemed to count. At school, other people (teachers) held the coveted knowledge, and it was their job to give it to me and my same-aged classmates, and we were all supposed to learn it at the exact same rate. By contrast, my children, having been read to for years, naturally learned how to read between the ages of 8 and 10 without phonics instruction or spelling

“Reading was taught. Spelling was taught. Math was taught. Even physical education was taught. Nothing that I had ‘naturally’ learned... seemed to count.” tests to measure their progress. Had they been in school, reading would have been forced on them earlier. Who knows, maybe one of them might even have been identified as “learning disabled.” By the time children are 13, however, you can’t tell the difference between a child who first read at age four and one who started to read at age 10. So what’s the big hurry? More importantly, how many children unnecessarily suffer and are made to feel inadequate if they’re not on the proper learning curve?

In 1885, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus coined the term “learning curve.” He conducted research on memory and memorization and described his findings regarding both the learning curve, or rate at which knowledge is gained, and the forgetting curve, a related graph that measures how quickly memorized information is lost. His findings quickly led to the popular use of learning curves as a means of measuring progress. The forgetting curve, however, has been largely ignored, yet the ways in which we forget are highly instructive. Ebbinghaus’s research revealed that much of our forgetting occurs immediately after acquiring knowledge. My own early schooling was spent cramming information for tests and then subsequently forgetting it. This was not a behaviour unique to me. In Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense, best-selling author David Guterson recounts a classroom experiment he often practiced when he was a teacher. He’d prepare his students for a test on Friday, and then he’d spring the exact same test on them the following Monday. None of his students ever matched their initial test score. A student who has an interest in a particular subject will likely do well in that subject. Conversely, a student who is bored senseless in whatever is being taught will have to work very hard to make the information stick (at least until the test, after which the forgetting can take place).

Illustration by Nickelas Johnson

In my case, math was what finally defeated me. Although I enjoyed a functional math literacy, as soon as calculus and physics entered the mix, my brain, heavily invested by now in the forgetting curve, crashed. I went from being an honour student to having serious selfesteem issues. Yet all along I knew I wanted to be a writer! A prescribed school curriculum, however, didn’t allow me to focus on my strengths. Do all writers need to understand complicated mathematics? Similarly, do all aspiring mathematicians require the skills to write fiction or poetry? Shouldn’t gaining a functional literacy in both math and English suffice? Why not leave the advanced courses to the students whose interest in them accompanies their aptitude? When I was 16, I no longer believed in the usefulness of school. Working would be more preferable, I thought, so I became a dropout statistic. Eight years later, I applied and was accepted to McGill University as a mature stu-

dent. I studied literature and I wrote. Finally I was using school for its proper purpose — to further my knowledge in something I was actually interested in.

“The basic tenet of homeschooling is to trust that children will, through their own active engagement with the world, naturally discover their areas of interest. . .” To this day, I do not have a high school diploma. I do, however, have a PhD. Naturally, when my children reached school age my own discomfort with compulsory education made me question sending them there. I knew firsthand that force-feeding information to children destroys their natural love of

learning. Children love to learn, but they don’t necessarily love to be taught. Homeschooling is the most revolutionary decision I’ve made as a parent. Giving my children the freedom to chart their own educational paths didn’t come naturally to me, and certainly each day brings unique challenges. But I have learned over the years just how powerful a child’s own will to learn can be, and that lesson has also given me a sobering insight into what little faith we actually have as a society in our children’s creative and intellectual capabilities. Of course, I can’t pretend to know what information my children will need when they’re adults. However, by allowing them to pursue their own interests, I believe their natural, enthusiastic engagement with the world will be their best preparation for these rapidlychanging times in which we live. Theresa Shea, ’97 PhD, is an Edmonton-based freelance writer and homeschooling mother of three. Winter 2011

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whatsoever things are true

Parrhesia & Rhubarb Writer and alumna Aritha van Herk, ’76 BA, ’78 MA, on speaking one’s mind and the vegetable of promise

efore he died, in a series of lectures at University of California, Berkeley, the distinguished French philosopher Michel Foucault discussed the concept of parrhesia, arguing for a personal relationship to truth through an expressive frankness. For the Greeks, parrhesia meant to speak one’s mind, without rhetoric or blandishment, directly and to the point. Its second meaning was to ask pardon in advance for the discomfort kindled by such candour. Parrhesia implies risk; it requires courage to declare uneasy facts like, “The emperor has no clothes.” I learned plain speech from my parents. My mother told no lies, but she was a gifted exaggerator. Eloquent and loquacious, my mother could spin a metaphor into amazing proportions. If she had to wait for an appointment, it took not just forever but “an eternity.” If she wanted to make a point, she did so with a fierce exclamatory delight that could be very funny, although her bluntness occasionally took people aback. Some would say that she had a wicked tongue, but I think of her oral dexterity as astringent, creative. This candid fluency was hers despite the fact that she did not really speak English until her thirties. As an immigrant to Canada from the Netherlands, she had no

formal instruction, but learned the complex idioms of this language from my siblings’ schoolbooks. She was a woman who loved language, and had her life been different, she would, I am convinced, have found a way to spend it working with words. Language was to her an amazing tool: persuasive, malleable and sometimes

“Rhubarb can describe a heated dispute, usually over insignificant matters.” tricky. She knew only too well that language could be an instrument of both truth and lies, and that trust was a matter of effective communication. Some of her trenchant observations, even if I did not believe them at the time, have turned out to be resoundingly true. She died last summer, and I am reminded often, to my own surprise and with fresh grief, of what she said or what she would have said. As is the case with many children who lose parents, we turn, for comfort, to their words, spirit echoes that continue to connect. That whisper in memory’s ear is probably our most important inheritance, a ghostly thread from those deceased to the surviving world. My father, who died six years ago, was a quiet man whose voice I hear less often than my mother’s. I think of him most in the spring when the heirloom rhubarb that I transplanted from his garden into mine begins to

poke through patches of leftover snow. A magnificent rhubarb plant, enormous, with leaves that could serve as umbrellas, it unfurls with heartening reliability. Every year, when I pick the first stalks, I have an internal conversation with my quiet and reflective father. Rhubarb is one of the few plants determined to flourish in our unforgiving climate. In this northern hemisphere, where warmth before June is a fond hope, rhubarb’s arrival is a version of promise, a covenant of reemergence. I use my father’s rhubarb deep into the summer for every possible concoction that can be made from that tart vegetable. “To rhubarb” also means muffled rather than sharp declamation. As a dramatic term, it refers to a group of actors giving the impression of indistinct background conversation, made by mumbling “rhubarb” over and over again, used because the word contains no sharp or recognizable phonemes. Rhubarb can describe a heated dispute, usually over insignificant matters. Here is a word that can be both instrument and obfuscation, while the real vegetable, impertinent as it is determined, presents an audacious face to the retreating back of winter. Rhubarb is a tonic, fresh and tart, without guile. Purgative and sour, it is the vegetable version of parrhesia. Memory and grief, trust and rhubarb, together gesture toward an intimate parrhesia that we all, with loss, must face. When someone we love dies, truth and lies map a new dimension, the foreign country occupied by those who have said goodbye, but who still speak volumes to our trust.

Aritha van Herk is the author of novels, non-fiction and hundreds of articles and reviews. She lives in Calgary, Alberta. Winter 2011

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Harper Perennial Sale For the month of February, dozens of select titles from the Harper Perennial selection of books are on sale at 25% off!

University of Alberta

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Iceland Cometh By Hayley Dunning

A geology student takes us on a tour of the land of fire and ice

Photos: Hayley Dunning, Istock Photo, Wikipedia Commons.

henever people ask me what it was like to live in Iceland for a year, I tell them, “it was the best year of my life.” I fell in love with Iceland when I first visited with my family. I was 16 at the time and vowed to return. To be honest, I based my choice on which university to attend in my native England on the fact that the program offered a year abroad in Iceland. In my third year of studies, my dream came true: I moved to Reykjavik for one year to study earth science at the University of Iceland. I had fallen for Iceland’s open nature, both in its culture and landscape. Iceland is true Viking country, settled 1,100 years ago by the Norse who brought their ancient language and unique horses. The hardiness of those horses is a valuable trait in a country swept by winds gathered from the whole Atlantic and chilled over Iceland’s many glaciers. Although true

to its name, Iceland’s cold is neatly balanced by volcanic forces that shape the country’s stunning landscape and provide free and green geothermal energy.

Smoke City Despite its name, which means “Bay of Smoke,” Reykjavik is a wonderful city. It has everything you could ask for in a capital city—theatres, cinemas, stores, museums, concert halls—just with a lot fewer people. (About 200,000 people— two thirds of Iceland’s population —call the city home.) Three of Reykjavik’s most popular viewing sites provide excellent perspectives of the city and the surrounding area, and walking between them will show you much of the city in just under a day. Start with a trip up the bell tower at Hallgri´mskirkja Church to see the city spread out below. Since wood and turf were the primary building materials for the first 1,000 years of Iceland’s

Svartifoss waterfall in Skaftafell Park and, at the top of the page, the glacial lagoon Jökulsarlon.

settlement, there are few old buildings in Reykjavik. Hallgrímskirkja is no exception, first commissioned in 1937 but not finished until 1975. State architect Guðjón Samúelsson designed the church to resemble the landscape’s basaltic lava columns. In front of the church is a statue of explorer Leif Eriksson, the Icelander regarded as the first European to land in America, nearly 500 years before Columbus. Winter 2011

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The Hallgr´lmskirkja Church in Reykjavik, designed to resemble basaltic lava columns that form Iceland's landscape, and (right) the geyser Strokkur erupts.

Viking exploration is also celebrated at the second stop on the tour beside the Sólfar (The Sun Voyager), a sculpture by Reykjavik’s harbour representing a Viking ship. This is an excellent spot to sit and watch the sunset over the city’s protective mountain, Esja. The last stop on the city tour is Perlan (The Pearl). It combines energy, culture and fine dining all in one landmark complex. Here, a large glass dome that gives the building its name perches upon huge geothermal water storage tanks, which provide the entire city with natural hot water. Inside is the Saga Museum of Viking history, a Christmas store (open year ’round), and the fanciest dining spot in the country. Although dining at Perlan’s revolving restaurant was never within my modest student budget, there is a great ice-cream parlour on the lower level that provides the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon spent on the complex’s viewing deck where you can take in the 360-degree panorama over the “Bay of Smoke.”

The Golden Circle The day-loop of wonders around Reykjavik is known locally as the “Golden Circle” and includes the sites of Geysir, which gives its name to all geysers worldwide, Gullfoss (Golden 18

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Falls) and Thingvellir, the site of the original Icelandic parliament, which is nestled in the great rift valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the separation between the European and North American tectonic plates. (Reykjavik, incidentally, lies on the North Amer-

waterfall—usually adorned with a picture-perfect rainbow. For even more local colour, consider stopping off at Kerio, a volcanic crater lake on the drive to Thingvellir where brilliant red volcanic rock frames a pool of dark green water.

The South Coast

The Sólfar, or The Sun Voyager, sculpture.

ican side, so while I studied in Europe politically speaking, as a geology major I always say that I technically studied in North America.) Although the original Geysir rarely erupts nowadays, its little brother, Strokkur, happily spouts hot water several metres into the air every five to seven minutes. The surrounding area is a stunning array of colours, from the green and yellow sulphurous streams of water to the azure blue pools cloudy with heat-loving bacteria. Close by is Gullfoss with its powerful, cascading

Beyond the Golden Circle, just a few hours’ drive from Reykjavik, are some of Iceland’s most breathtaking sites. Along the coast to the east is Seljalandsfoss, a waterfall you can walk behind. Just beyond that is Skogafoss, a tall and wide sheet of water streaming over a cliff in front of Eyjafjallajökull—the glacier capping the volcano that famously erupted this past spring, bringing air travel in Europe to a grinding halt. If by this time the waterfalls and their complicated names are starting to run together, our trip throws up some variety in the form of Sólheimajökull, a long tongue of glacier that you can walk right up to. Beyond is the enchanting town of Vik, with its black, sandy beaches and jagged black basalt columns stretching out into the sea. Past Vik, the glacial fun really begins at Skaftafell National Park, which boasts the largest ice cap in Europe. You can hike around the glacier or take a guided

The famous Blue Lagoon, the natural geothermal spa — its pale blue waters are full of minerals like sulphur and silica and are said to cure skin ailments.

walk on it. In the summer you can hear the eerie sound of cracking ice as the glacier retreats. Finally, the last stop to the east is Jökulsárlón, the glacial lagoon where you can take a boat trip that glides between the towering icebergs or wander down to the ocean’s edge, where small pieces of iceberg lay washed up on the shore in perfect contrast to the black volcanic sand.

One Ring Road to Rule Them All Continuing east from Jökulsárlón on Iceland’s famous Ring Road One brings you to the east fjords, where the town of Seydisfjördur will give you a taste of the country’s fantasy-book landscape. Just north of town is My´vatn, a lake with green-water craters and troll-shaped lava statues. Close by is the volcanic area of Krafla, a lava field that erupted less than 40 years ago and still steams and bubbles in places today. (It is so exposed I got burnt walking around the lava plains after just a few hours.) The last area on the circuit is the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, the setting for Jules Verne’s classic novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Although there are no volcanic tubes here that feature prehistoric animals and lead to

southern Italy, as the story suggests, the glacier that caps the peninsula does offer an ethereal experience to those who hike the narrow track that leads past the 1,400-metre summit.

when I always feel welcomed back by the flocks of puffin who seem to greet me in their smart tuxedo-suits before flying away over the dark and menacing lava fields of Eldfell. Hayley Dunning is in the second year of her Master’s degree in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the U of A, where she analyses volcanic ash and survives colder winters than in Iceland.

Further afield Although it’s not on many itineraries, the Westman Islands off the southern coast of Iceland hold a special place in my heart. Reached by ferry or a short plane ride, the main island, Heimaey (pop. 4,036), is home to the volcano Eldfell. It erupted unexpectedly in 1973, creating a 231-metre-high mountain where a meadow had once been. After I finished my year in Iceland, I was so inspired by the natural energy I saw there that I made volcanology my specialty. I am studying Eldfell as part of my master’s thesis research. I have since visited the island in the harsh winter and the more gentle summer,

Interested in seeing Iceland for yourself? Join other U of A alumni as they visit Gullfoss, Geysir and Heimaey Island—just to name a few of the sites mentioned here —on the Alumni Association’s Learning on Location Travel Program, “Iceland: Land of Fire and Ice,” (July 16–24, 2011). Visit www.ualberta.ca/alumni/travel for more information.

Little Known Facts About This Little Country • Although Iceland only has one Nobel Laureate, author Halldór Laxness, it is still the country with the most Nobel prizes per capita.

• The Icelandic Phallological Museum, in Húsavik, is exactly what its name suggests: a museum containing a collection of penises belonging to almost all of the country’s land and sea mammals. (www.phallus.is)

• Due to the lack of trees, a local Icelandic joke goes: “If you are lost in an Icelandic forest, just stand up.”

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Richard Siemens/U of A Marketing Services

Serendipitous Who? Nat Kav Plant biochemist and biotechnologist (and his research team) Where? Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences What Were They Looking For? Kav and his research team were investigating the novel idea of introducing an antibody gene into canola plants to see what affect it would have on Sclerotonia stem rot, a fungal disease that attacks the stem of the canola plant and has the third highest deleterious impact on Alberta canola growers. They didn’t know what to expect since this technique is typically used only to combat viral diseases and not fungal diseases. What They Found? Not only were they surprised that the antibody gene seems 20

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to work in test trials against the onset of Sclerotonia stem rot, but they were even more surprised when it also showed great promise in tackling two other pernicious fungal diseases that afflict canola: blackleg disease — the secondmost significant disease affecting Alberta canola producers — and Clubroot, the single-most feared disease. What Does The Future Hold? If the antibody gene Kav introduced works so well in preventing stem rot in canola plants, whose to say it won’t work to protect some of the 400 other plant species — such as carrots, oats, corn, sweet peas, broccoli and cauliflower — that are susceptible to the disease?

The economic benefit to Canadian agriculture could be staggering. Canada is the world’s top exporter of canola and the industry annually generates $13.8 billion of economic activity, $12 billion of which is in western Canada. “You need at least two or three growing seasons to have robust data and do it at multiple sites,” says Kav, which explains why any commercial product developed from his findings is years away. “But you never know what’s going to happen in another plant species until you do it. Nature is full of surprises.” For more ALES-related research go to www.ales.ualberta.ca/afns.

Michael Holly/U of A Marketing Services

Science

It’s often the case that research ostensibly undertaken to investigate one area of interest can yield unexpected results in another. That’s why researchers always keep an open mind to the possibility that what they set out to investigate can lead to further discoveries. Here are four U of A research avenues that led to more than what was initially anticipated.

Where? Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry What Were They Looking For? Michelakis — named the November 2010 Researcher of the Month by Canadians for Health Research — was looking for a new approach to the treatment of cancer but had no idea that using DCA (Dichloroacetic acid) in his study would prove so promising. Scientists and doctors have used DCA for decades to treat children with inborn errors of metabolism due to mitochondrial diseases. Mitochondria — the energy-producing units in cells — have been connected with cancer since the 1930s, but, until recently, researchers believed that cancer-affected mitochondria are permanently damaged and that this damage is the result, not the cause, of the cancer. What They Found? Michelakis — whose specialization is actually in cardiology — began using DCA for the successful treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Like cancer, pulmonary hypertension is caused by the uncontrolled proliferation of cells. When it was discovered that DCA was useful in reviving the canceraffected mitochondria in pulmonary hypertension patients, Michelakis thought to try it with cancer patients. The results astounded him. The research team found that the normalization of mitochondrial function resulted in a significant decrease in tumour growth. What Does The Future Hold? “This work is one of the first studies in humans to support the emerging idea of altering the metabolism of tumours as a new direction for the treatment of cancer,” Michelakis says. “One of the really exciting things about this compound is that it might be able to treat many differ-

Who?

Evangelos Michelakis Professor of medicine (and his research team)

ent forms of cancer, because all forms of cancer suppress mitochondrial function.” The DCA compound is not patented or owned by any pharmaceutical company and, therefore, would likely be an inexpensive drug to administer. However, since DCA can’t be patented, Michelakis is concerned that it may be

difficult to find funding from private investors to test DCA in clinical trials. If you'd like to discuss funding for DCA research contact Holli Bjerland at holli.bjerland@ualberta.ca or 780-407-6524. For more information on DCA research go to www.dca.med. ualberta.ca. Winter 2011

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Bouvier, ’91 BA, ’09 BA(NA) Richard Siemens/U of A Marketing Services

Who? Darlene Where? Faculty of Native Studies

What Was She Looking For? Bouvier was looking to trace her own family roots for an honours research project to earn her native studies degree. “I thought I wrote this just to fulfill a requirement for my degree,” says Bouvier. “But it turned out to be much more.” What She Found? What began as a personal quest fuelled by pride in her heritage has since turned into a legacy document that is not only helping Bouvier’s family claim their identities as Métis people, but is helping complete strangers as well. The family “tree” Bouvier thought she was creating turned into what she calls a “large bush that extended from southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan to the Northwest Territories. The biggest surprise for me was the extent of the connection. I didn’t know the Bouviers in Manitoba or the Northwest Territories were related.” These people to whom she is only tangentially related found their own sense of deep-rooted belonging through her research. “It brought such joy to everybody,” she says. Bouvier also uncovered her own family’s until-then unknown ties to the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in the tiny Saskatchewan community of Ile à la Crosse, where her paternal great-greatgreat-grandfather, Jean-Baptiste Bouvier, worked for the post beginning in 1804. Bouvier discovered that four generations of Bouvier men worked for the HBC as voyageurs, fishermen and general labourers, while the women maintained the post compound even as they kept their own gardens, crops and families.

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What Does The Future Hold? The genealogical report of the Bouvier family — dating back to the late 1700s — provides her family and other people in northwestern Saskatchewan with evidence they might be able to use to prove eligibility for Métis membership cards. Member

ship would entitle them to Aboriginal harvesting rights such as hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering on the land they’ve occupied for over 200 years. Go to www.ualberta.ca/nativestudies for more Native Studies research and publications.

Michael Holly/U of A Marketing Services

Marek Michalak

Who? Vice-Dean/Research and biochemistry professor (and an international team of medical researchers) Where? Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry What Were They Looking For? They were researching a specific type of gene that is responsible for the protein folding ability in cells. Depending on the protein and their purpose in a cell, they “fold” themselves into certain shapes to perform their function, assembling themselves based on the instructions they get from genes in the cell. But if protein-folding functions in cells don’t work properly, it can lead to a host of diseases, including multiple sclerosis. What They Found? They wanted to see what would happen if they removed a specific chaperone — a protein used in the cell-folding process— called calnexin. In doing so, they inadvertently created a

neurological disease in their experimental models. The laboratory models had numerous mobility issues and the speed of messages being relayed in the nervous systems of the test subjects were delayed as well. The symptoms displayed were very similar to the symptoms seen in people with myelin impairment diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. “This was a totally unexpected result,” says Michalak, “and an excellent example of how curiosity-driven research contributes to our understanding of human diseases.” What Does The Future Hold? “It was a surprise,” says PhD student Allison Kraus, about the research findings that

she and Michalak came up with. “We never expected to find out what we did. Then we needed to expand our study, and that’s when it became a bigger and more collaborative effort with numerous researchers around the globe becoming involved.” Michalak and Kraus say their findings provide a step forward in understanding the complexity of neurological diseases that may one day lead to the development of better treatments. The next step for researchers is to study DNA from people with certain neurological diseases to see if this gene contains mutations that could contribute to their disease. Go to www.biochem.ualberta.ca for more research news.

To read about other accidental discoveries — from Viagra to Silly Putty — see this story at www.newtrail.ualberta.ca

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Henry Marshall Tory along with Edward, the Prince of Wales, at the University of Alberta convocation in 1919. Facing page: Tory with A.C. Rutherford, Alberta’s first premier.

HenryMarshall Over 100 years ago the founder and first president of the U of A set his sights on higher education’s whole people. That goal would also see Tor y go on to be the principal founder of the University of University and the Khaki University during World War One. He also created and erected a “Temple National Research Council —as well as the forerunner to the Alber ta Research Council.

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“I

ultimate goal — uplifting the British Columbia, Carleton of Science for Canada” — the By Anne Bailey

Glenbow Archives

Tory

seem to have reached the end of my opportunities,” Professor Henry Marshall Tory, ’28 LLD (Honorary), observed to one of his young students in 1904. At that point in his life, Tory had been teaching mathematics and physics for 11 years at the University of McGill and was feeling, it seems, rather dispirited. During those years, he had gained a reputation as an excellent teacher, colleague... and student — earning his master’s in mathematics in 1896 and a doctorate in science in 1903. Early in his studies at Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratories, Tory gained valuable laboratory research experience under J. J. Thomson, the discoverer of the electron, and Arthur Cayley, the greatest mathematician of the time. But it was his late start in the world of academic research that would prove to be both Tory’s Achilles heel and the University of Alberta’s good fortune. At the age of 40, he gave his McGill student what appeared to be a realistic assessment of his future: “I was not trained soon enough and adequately enough for a career in research,” he said, “but I want to promote higher education and I’m going to keep on trying.” With a reputation among his colleagues for ceaseless energy and organizational acumen, Tory, everyone agreed, could be depended upon to deliver. And deliver he did, as 1904 did not mark the end of Tory’s opportunities but, rather, the beginning of his greatest achievements in the promotion of higher education. Armed with talent, passion and, above all, vision, he became the driving force in the history of 20th century higher education and research in Canada. He began that year by setting out for Eastern Canada to establish affiliation agreements for graduate education between McGill and colleges in the Atlantic provinces. A year later he was dispatched on a similar mission to Western Canada where he set up a

McGill affiliate in Vancouver, which eventually became the University of British Columba. It was while on the way back from this trip that Tory made the fortuitous acquaintance of fellow McGill alumnus Alexander Cameron Rutherford, ’08 LLD (Honorary). They met over tea at a gathering of the McGill Graduates Society of Strathcona and Edmonton where they both immediately recognized a kindred spirit. When Alberta became a province in 1905 with Rutherford as its first premier — and self-appointed minister of education — the first act this new government passed was “An Act to Establish and Incorporate a University for the Province of Alberta,” a rather unusual move so early in any province’s life. Nevertheless, Rutherford, a great champion of education of all levels, promptly began planning the University of Alberta. Rutherford knew he would need a forward-looking and indefatigable individual to lead the new university and, after meeting Tory, sensed he had found the natural choice for president. That perception was solidified over the next two years as he and Tory engaged in an epistolary relationship in which they expressed similar views on the importance of the role of the university in modern society. Not only did they agree about how the University of Alberta should be structured, but Rutherford was convinced Tory had the pioneering spirit it would take to will the University into being. In his book Saturday and Sunday, Edmund Broadus — the U of A’s first English professor, who was hired in 1908 — recalls being rather taken aback during his initial encounter with Tory who had travelled to Cambridge, MA, to meet with him. “The president of a university not yet in being, in a province which I had never heard of, in a country which I had never visited, came to Harvard and offered me the professorship of English,” Winter 2011

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McGill University Archives, PR000418

Tory (back row, centre) with staff at McGill’s MacDonald Physics Laboratory, 1905; Tory with his wife Annie Frost shortly after they were married in 1893.

wrote Broadus. “The offer sounded like midsummer madness. I think that what I accepted was, not the position or the salary, but the man.” Once Broadus arrived at the newlyminted University of Alberta, he observed, “outside of the little faculty, there were virtually only two men in the whole province who did not think the establishment of a university in a province only three years old utterly premature; those were the Scotch-Canadian premier of the Province, who had the faith and foresight to make the immediate establishment of a provincial university the cardinal principle of his creed; and the president of the University who had come here to do just that thing, and he had the bit in his teeth.” The University’s founding in 1908 ultimately unleashed the full potential of Tory’s impressive leadership skills. Those protean abilities began to take shape 44 years earlier in the small Nova Scotian village of Guysborough. Born to a conservative, Episcopal father and a liberal, Methodist mother, Tory grew up in a home where good humour and religious devotion were often matched by political and intellectual debate. By the time he was 15, Tory had decided he would attend university, inspired by the story of Thomas Wolsey, the son of a butcher, innkeeper and cattle dealer who rose to become Lord Chancellor in King Henry VIII’s court after receiving 26

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his BA from Oxford as a teenager. That Tory found Wolsey a model for his own life is the first inkling of Tory’s core conviction that education has the power to uplift every person.

“Life for Tory was a grand adventure in which he played the pioneer, the instigator, the inspiring leader and the visionary.” One of Tory’s most important legacies is the secular, democratic ethos he applied to the policies of the U of A. From Tory’s perspective, meeting the needs of the public in all its diversity was a central part of the modern university’s mission. When President Tory addressed the first convocation of the U of A, he outlined a vision of the University founded on the dignity and substance of ordinary people. “The modern state university,” he said, “has sprung from a demand on the part of the people themselves for intellectual recognition, a recognition that only a century ago was denied them.... The people demand that knowledge shall not be the concern of scholars alone. The uplifting of the whole people shall be its final goal.”

To this end, upon his arrival in Edmonton, Tory immediately set out for Calgary and other parts of the province, visiting high schools and talking to principals, rustling up enthusiasm—and new students — for the U of A. It wasn’t an easy job, especially in Calgary, where many were angry with Rutherford’s decision to not locate the University in their city. Tory eventually won them over with his pledge that the University would pay attention to and value the experience of all Albertans and take education into the community through widespread extension efforts. An example of his commitment to that promise is the Department of Extension — now a faculty — that was established in 1912 with the clear mandate of “carrying the University to the people.” Over the next several years, Tory often faced opposition to the establishment of new programs and faculties at the University from professional groups such as doctors, lawyers, accountants and teachers, who preferred controlling accreditation themselves. Armed with ingenuity and exceptional negotiation skills, Tory usually prevailed. Tory’s leadership acumen, combined with his uncommon public empathy, however, may best be illustrated in a little-known episode during the First World War. When war was declared in September 1914, University of Alberta

students and faculty readily enlisted. In total, 484 went to war, and one in six did not come home. Tory deeply felt the loss of so many young men. Although he was far too old to enlist, Tory subjected himself to the gruelling Canadian Officer Corps training with the rest of his younger students and staff. Georgina Thomson, ’19 BA, ’25 MA, a first-year student in 1915, told of a day when a military recruitment officer tried to shame students into enlisting by calling them “slackers.” In her recollection, the officer “had hardly sat down when Dr. Tory was on his feet, informing the officer how many had already gone from the University and how many fallen, while most of the young men present were taking military training on the campus and would leave for overseas as soon as the term finished. If his eyes were angry then, there were other times, when the casualty lists were heavy, that the tears were not far off.” As the war dragged on, Tory looked for some way to do more for these young soldiers. He found it in 1917 when he travelled to France and England at the request of the YMCA to conduct research on how to engage the soldiers’ minds during long periods of inactivity behind the lines. What he proposed was something called the Khaki University, which would provide classes ranging from basic instruction in reading and arithmetic to university-level courses. After his proposal was accepted, he took a leave from the U of A to lead the initiative as its president. Through the final months of the war and the long period of demobilization, Tory managed to create a “campus” in England where approximately 650,000 men attended lectures and 20,000 enrolled in courses. He also worked with fellow university presidents to ensure that Canadian and British universities would accept completed coursework for legitimate credit. It would still be many years before Tory would take permanent leave from the U of A, but the experience of leading the Khaki University laid the foundation for the next two chapters in Tory’s life. Convinced by his war experience that Canada needed to be more proactive

The U of A’s Promise Website Henry Marshall Tory believed that uplifting the whole people should be the purpose of the University. That vision is being upheld today as can be seen and heard at www.promise.ualberta.ca —where students, staff and alumni tell their stories about living the promise. n 1908, the University held its first convocation. Of course, no students graduated since that’s also the year the University commenced classes. But the University could not function until the Senate was established and the Senate could not be established until convocation was brought into being.

So an ad was placed in newspapers inviting anyone who had a degree from a British or Canadian university to pay $2 and register as part of convocation. Three hundred and sixty-four people responded, and it was members of this group who elected the first chancellor and five senate members. At the initial meeting of this new senate, Henry Marshall Tory said: “You are the founders of an institution from which the whole province will benefit.” But Tory went farther than that when he gave a speech earlier at the “convocation” itself. It was there that he said: “The modern state university has sprung from a demand on the part of the people themselves….The people demand that knowledge shall not be the concern of scholars alone. The uplifting of the whole people shall be its final goal. This should never be forgotten.” Margaret-Ann Armour, ’70 PhD, U of A chemistry professor: “The meaning of the ‘whole people’ for me is both the global and the personal. Each individual who comes to the University has the opportunity to be more whole.”

“upliftng the whole people” —Henry Marshall Tory, 1908

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Tory as a colonel during the First World War; a certificate issued to a soldier from the Khaki University of Canada.

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and faith behind an effort to erect a Temple of Science for Canada.” In the end, however, his energy, imagination and desire to continue as president of the NRC were not enough to keep him from being summarily dismissed from the position he held for five years. It must have been one of the most disappointing moments of Tory’s life when he learned the Privy Council had decided that, at 71, he was too old for his job. Unforgivably, he was given only two days notice of his dismissal. For the next few years, Tory tried retirement on for size, if active participation in several Royal Commissions, the Association of Canadian Clubs, the League of Nations Society, the Institute of Intellectual Co-operation, the YMCA and the Canadian Citizenship Council can be called retirement. In 1939, two years after the death of his beloved wife, Annie, he was also elected president of the Royal Society of Canada. It was a chance meeting on an Ottawa street corner in 1941—so legend goes—that presented Tory with his last major opportunity. Bumping into a fellow member of the YMCA board, Tory observed that the streets of Ottawa were becoming increasingly crowded with young men and women drawn to the capital to work in the war effort. The observation must have awakened memories of the Khaki University, for the two men determined that something had to be done to meet the educational needs of these young people. So marks the birth of Carleton College (now University), an institution that sprang up in 1942 under Tory’s leadership as, yet again, president.

On February 6, 1947, Henry Marshall Tory died at the age of 83. His death came swiftly after he contracted the flu three weeks earlier. As one Carleton student wrote, Tory “died all at once,” undiminished by age or loss of vitality. Life for Tory was a grand adventure in which he played the pioneer, the instigator, the inspiring leader and the visionary. He led with fairness, kindness and genuine empathy. At heart, Tory was a consummate student, always learning, observing, thinking and imagining a better way forward. As he once remarked, “I know of no greater adventure than the search for knowledge; no life more pleasurable than seeking to use it for the common good; no joy so great as the joy of real discovery to the well-balanced mind.”

Khaki University certificate CWM 19810561-001 George Metcalf Archival Collection © Canadian War Museum

about its own scientific research, in 1923 Tory became a member of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. By that time, plans to build a National Research Council with laboratories and government scientists had languished for years for lack of government support. As a council member, and later chair, Tory launched a major advocacy campaign, travelling the country speaking about Canada’s vital need for advanced scientific research and the benefits that could be reaped from it by government, industries and the general public. In 1927, the Canadian government finally committed to building a National Research Council in the nation’s capital and asked Tory to be its first president and CEO. As deeply connected to the U of A as Tory was, he saw this as another opportunity to create an institution that would have a profound and positive impact on the education and general welfare of “all the people.” So, at the age of 64, Tory prepared to leave his beloved U of A. One can only imagine what he must have felt when he looked one last time upon the oncebarren piece of land he’d first stepped foot on 20 years earlier and saw students — now 1,600 strong — walking about a fully functional university with eight modern, well-equipped buildings housing five faculties plus related offices. But, it was time to say goodbye and take up a new challenge. Within 18 months of his arrival in Ottawa, Tory had toured scientific laboratories in Britain, France, Germany and the U.S.; led the planning of a 270,000 square foot building complete with lab space, meeting rooms, library and exhibition halls; and signed contracts for its construction. The National Research Council (NRC) that Tory steadfastly willed into being opened its doors in 1932. As R.W. Boyle — director of the NRC’s Division of Physics and Engineering — wrote after Tory’s death, “it was a stroke of good fortune that at the beginning of the great depression there was a man of such amazing energy, great imagination,

The Art of Wine— and Living Forty years ago, Norma Ratcliffe, ’69 BSc(HEc), left the U of A with an insatiable wanderlust. Today, her roots are firmly planted on a South African hillside where she creates some of the region’s most celebrated wines. by Stuart Gradon

Stuart Gradon

Norma Ratcliffe hoists a glass of Warwick Wine Estate’s finest.

white 1996 Mitsubishi Pajero navigates its way along the steep dirt roads in the Stellenbosch wine country in early July 2010. The SUV’s well-maintained shocks can’t hide how rough the hillside trail alongside a vineyard is. It’s winter here in South Africa, so this vineyard’s vines are bare and trimmed, but the rows are well-defined, allowing the late-morning sun to show the region’s lush beauty in the shadow of Simonsberg, or Simon’s Mountain. Norma Ratcliffe, the truck’s driver, points out a jackal buzzard taking advantage of the thermals drifting off the hillside above as she patiently coaxes the vehicle up the rutted roads with obvious experience and self assurance. She then launches into stories of the area’s history — and her own. Warwick Wine Estate, which stretches for 54 hectares in the Stellenbosch-Simonsberg region, was established by Ratcliffe and her late husband over 20 years ago, and since then it has developed into one of the Western Cape’s top wine-producing properties. Like the dirt roads the 62 year old currently drives, her life’s path has been circuitous and unexpected. But it was her trailblazing spirit that led this Alberta girl to become known as the “Grande Dame” of South African wine. In 1969, Ratcliffe graduated from the University of Alberta with a bachelor of science in Clothing and Textiles before heading to Montreal to work for Burlington Industries. Although her specialty of textile chemistry wasn’t directly related to her eventual career, she sees a similarity between it and winemaking: “I think that chemistry has helped me a lot here,” she says. “You don’t think it does, but it does. Wine is science, basically.” While in Montreal she befriended a like-minded woman, and the two hatched Winter 2011

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the idea to travel to Switzerland in 1970. She admits it didn’t take too much convincing for her to leave her job and head off across the Atlantic. “It was a great job, but I had itchy feet,” she remembers. “Like a lot of people of that age, I just earned enough money to go somewhere.” Thanks to obtaining her skiing instructor certification in Montreal, Ratcliffe, a one-time competitive skier, had the perfect credentials to make the most of her time in the snowcapped Swiss Alps. But once the season ended her wanderlust resurfaced. 30

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In 1971 another girlfriend suggested a new adventure, a Greek adventure. Ratcliffe agreed. They eventually settled on the island of St. Stefanos, where they shared a flat and a waitressing job at a nearby restaurant. One day her friend came back to their apartment and said that she had met a couple of nice South Africans. The two men were apparently sailing through some of Greece’s famous waterways, visiting the many islands and islets. The friend arranged for them all

to get together later. It turned out to be a propitious evening, one which would lead to her next adventure: marriage. “I think it was one of those chemical reactions,” she says of meeting Stan, her future husband. After a speedy courtship Stan eventually went home to South Africa, but the two young globetrotters kept in touch while Norma put her efforts towards making enough money to pay for the journey to Africa’s southern tip. South Africa sort of caught her off guard. “I arrived here and said, ‘Wow, this is gorgeous,’ ” she recalls. But the county’s beauty was offset by its regrettable policy of apartheid. However, thanks to living in the country’s more progressively liberal Western Cape province, Ratcliffe managed to acclimatize to her new home and, with Stan,

Stuart Gradon Photos by Stuart Gradon

The Warwick Wine Estate grounds stretching toward Simon’s Mountain and Ratcliffe with some of the fruits of her labour.

got down to the business of living. She soon gave birth to a son and a daughter. Stan, a farmer with a business degree, owned property north of Stellenbosch, which the newly married couple decided to cultivate to produce grapes for the region’s many wineries. Having mastered the grape growing, Ratcliffe eventually decided to try her hand at winemaking itself. Once her children were old enough to attend boarding school, she dove headfirst into the task. In 1984, with second-hand equipment and local help, she produced 1,500 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon, still her best-regarded wine, she says. But after the first barrels she realized there was still much to learn.“I made experimental wine all through the ’70s and came out with the ’84 and found out how much I didn’t know.” More

studying followed, but this time in France. “I did a season in Bordeaux.” It was here she learned the art of winemaking, gaining the knowledge that she’d bring back to turn Warwick Wine Estate into a top producer of wines. Stan managed the earth and the finances, and Norma focused on the winemaking. “It was a good team,” she says. “We added on and added on.” In 1986 they produced Warwick Trilogy, a Bordeaux-style blend. It combined Ratcliffe’s chemistry background with what she had learned in southwestern France to produce what would become one of Warwick’s flagship vintages. They were on their way. But South Africa’s politics kept full success at arm’s length. Although many white South Africans, the Ratcliffes included, didn’t support or embrace the government’s oppressive policy of apartheid, they were affected by its stigma. International opinion was strong, and, as a result, embargoes and

sanctions had been placed on the country for years. South Africa’s industries developed in isolation, winemaking included. While they were successful and profitable within their own borders, true success was unreachable without the support or wealth of the international market. All that changed on February 11, 1990, when Nelson Mandela was released after spending 27 years in prison. Ratcliffe says this moment — even before the first fully democratic elections four years later — was the beginning of something new. “From the day Mandela walked out of jail, the doors opened,” reflects Ratcliffe. “From that day on people were flocking here wanting to buy wine. It started turning into a big business in 1990. It was a whole new ball game.” Timing seemed to work out perfectly for Warwick Estates. When the international market opened up, South Africa’s winemakers were ready for it, as a whole, thanks to shared self-interest. Winter 2011

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Ratcliffe with her son, Michael, and with other members of the family circle, which includes a large contingent of canine companions.

There’s a sense of community amongst the winemakers of South Africa, and Stellenbosch in particular, that Ratcliffe believes is unique to her adopted home. Ironically, it’s a product of the isolation resulting from the dark days of sanctions and embargoes. Ratcliffe remembers a conversation early in her winemaking days with an established winemaker. “He said ‘We want to help you,’” she says. “‘We don’t want anyone in this area making bad wines.’” As a result they assisted her, gladly handing over the secondhand equipment to start her off. “You come back with all this knowledge,” she says of travelling to other wine regions, “and you share it. You have meetings and tell everyone what you’ve seen. How they’re doing this test or how they’re pruning. What they’re doing to the vineyards. What you think is valuable.”

As well as passing down this knowledge to fellow winemakers, Ratcliffe has passed it down to her children, Michael and Jenny. Michael now holds the position of managing director of Warwick Wine Estate and is an ever-present figure on the property, handling day-to-day business. He admits he’s learned much from his mother, in particular, her ability to maintain healthy business relationships with clients. “The most important thing is good old fashion letter writing,” he says of keeping in contact with clients. “They get a handwritten thank you note, with a stamp on it, and they remember that forever.” Relationships are important to the “Grande Dame.” Although her winery has played host to many notable figures, including Desmond Tutu, Leonardo DiCaprio and Burt Bacharach (her per-

Raise Your Glass • The Warwick Estates wines Trilogy ($40*), Three Cape Ladies ($35*) and a Warwick Estates Sauvignon Blanc ($26*) will be available in Alberta in 2011. “We will be carrying all of the above when they arrive in the new year,” says Vinomania owner and wine critic Gurvinder Bhatia, ’87 BSc. Vinomania is located in Edmonton at 11452 Jasper Avenue, or visit their website at www.vinomaniawines.com. *All prices approximate.

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sonal favourite), Norma’s family will always come first. As a testament to her priorities, she politely halted our interview several times to gather visiting grandchildren into her arms and hear their latest news. An even more tangible reminder of the estate’s family roots can be found amongst the vines. Driving her vehicle through the vineyard, Ratcliffe stops to point out a stone cross on a freshly groomed portion of a ridge. She mentions that it has been placed in memorial for Stan. It faces towards Cape Town harbour, in tribute to his love of sailing. From the spot near the cross Ratcliffe looks out across the mist-shrouded valleys with that certain pride reserved for those who make a living off the land. Her legacy appears to be secure. Warwick Wine Estate is, first and foremost, a family endeavour.

• Join fellow alumni in an Educated Palate wine tasting session. visit www.ualberta.ca/alumni/educatedpalate for more information.

• If you’ve taken MICRB 265 or NUFS 361 or 363 then you’ve got what it takes to get a deeper look into all foods fermented. “Brewing, Enology and Food Fermentation”— AFNS 402, is regularly offered by Dr. Lynn McMullen in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science. Go to www.ales.ualberta.ca. • Visit www.warwickwine.com for more information on the Warwick Wine Estate.

Shaun Brandt (left) and Cam Service (right)

Dale MacMillan

Moving Forward with “Life in Reverse” Two Business grads have embarked on the adventure of a lifetime— cameras and surfboards in tow

ast November 17, while his business school classmates were walking across the stage at Jubilee Auditorium to collect their diplomas, Shaun Brandt, ’10 BCom, 24, and his friend, Cam Service, ’09 BCom, 23, had already embarked on their first career move: a 13,000-kilometre journey from Alberta to Nicaragua, where they plan to live the sort of life most people only dream about for retirement. On that day the two Edmontonians were crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and had just aired the first installment of Life in Reverse, their documentary for the fledgling Internet television network Third Storm. The 22-episode

series — now a third of the way through its first season — follows the duo as they create a new life for themselves in San Juan del Sur, a low-key fishing village in the Nicaraguan rain forest and, coincidentally, home to some of the best surfing in the world. While there, they plan to begin construction on an eco-home, which will be the home-base for Honesty Clothing, the small ethical clothing line they founded while still students at the U of A, and search for a local textile manufacturer that meets their company’s strict code of conduct. Oh, they’ll also do a lot of surfing. And did they mention that they don’t speak Spanish, have never

built so much as a tree house, and are complete surfing novices? No matter. The concept of the show — and at the heart of Brandt and Service’s worldview — is the belief that there’s no need to wait until retirement to move to paradise and start living out one’s dreams. The pair hopes to build a business they’re passionate about while enjoying each day to the fullest — and they hope that the trials and tribulations they encounter along the way will keep viewers tuning in for more. It may seem like an odd career move for two successful business grads. While most of their classmates are building up their business wardrobes and climbing Winter 2011

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Jason Headley

the corporate ladder, Brandt and Service are hitting the surf in board shorts, shooting and editing video, and hammering away at agreements with product sponsors. But the pair insists that they are, in fact, making excellent use of their business degrees. “The truth is, everything that we’ve done to make this project work has been taken directly from what we learned in school,” says Service. “How to write a proposal to advertisers or licensing music for the show — even just the mindset of taking the idea of a trip and a surf house and turning that into a business concept. I wouldn’t have been able to comprehend that without my business degree.” The idea started just two summers ago when they were running a landscaping company together. “One day we were joking around about how cool it would be to build a surf house — your retirement home — before you even started your career,” remembers Service. A few weeks later, Brandt happened to be vacationing in Nicaragua when he found himself stranded in San Juan del Sur with a few hours to kill. So he asked a local real estate agent to show him properties in the area. “I wasn’t really serious,” says Brandt, “and he didn’t take me seriously, but I guess he thought I was really wealthy — or that my parents were really wealthy.” The properties he saw that day were all in a developed area on one of the best beaches in Nicaragua and were all way out of his price range, but a few months later, when the bubble burst in the global real estate market, the realtor called him back to say that the price had gone down substantially. “We made a lowball offer,” says Brandt. “We still didn’t have the money, but it got accepted.” So they raided their personal bank accounts, built up over summers of landscaping, and got a loan from their parents for the rest. For the record, no, their parents aren’t wealthy. “They’re just teachers,” says Service. Nonetheless, even with the land bought and paid for, all they had title to was a piece of undeveloped beach-

From left to right: Shaun Brandt, Cam Service and their filmographer Jason Headley on top of their 1999 Ranger Rover before embarking on their 13,000-km journey from snowy Edmonton to the sandy beaches of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.

front with hookups for water and electricity. And though they were not to the manor born, they didn’t relish the thought of camping out in the Nicaraguan rain forest. “My parents could help finance the $35,000 property, but they couldn’t

“[E]verything that we’ve done to make this project work has been taken directly from what we learned in school.” —Cam Service, ’09 BCom finance $100,000 to build a house,” says Brandt. “So it came down to how could we raise that kind of money? And the way to do it was to sell advertising. That’s what we’re good at. And the show just grew from there.” Early on in the concept, they met executives from Third Storm, which was just getting up and running. Unlike other Internet-based sports channels, with user-generated video content,

Third Storm was looking to be a TV channel on the Internet, developing original broadcast-quality shows. In Brandt and Service and their Nicaraguan surf fantasy, the channel found just the kind of story it was looking for to headline the network’s debut season and has signed on to pay all the production costs for the 22-episode show. “A lot of people just see this as a YouTube thing, where we’re just broadcasting our vacation,” says Brandt. “But I’m hoping that once they’ve seen a full episode they’ll see that it’s a lot more impressive than a webisode — that it’s quality that sells.” One of the most surprising aspects of the project is the high production value of the show, which looks as good as anything you might see on prime time— and is often a lot more entertaining, with lush scenery, the hijinks of a roadtrip buddy film, and, of course, lots of surfing. And remarkably, Lethbridgebased filmographer Jason Headley has filmed it all with nothing more than a trio of digital SLRs and a single glide camera, and then edited it on a laptop computer — often from the back seat of the team’s 1999 Range Rover.

Jason Headley

Brandt and Service searching for waves en route to South America.

Despite the quality of the show and its growing viewership (10,000 and counting), the project is struggling financially. “We left Edmonton with enough cash to get us to Nicaragua and with the belief that we would raise enough through other means to follow through with the rest of the project. So far that hasn’t been the case,” says Brandt. Although they have delivered on their end, funds promised by various sponsors haven’t yet come through due to what they have been told was “a rough quarter.” The hold-up means that plans to break ground on their eco home and get their clothing line into production have been put on the back burner. For now, they’re camping out in their little piece of paradise and documenting their adventure — struggles and all — for the whole world to see.

However, the journey is as important as the destination for this intrepid pair. “My goal is to have the type of experience we initially talked about of having the chance to build our retirement home before we’ve started our careers,” says Brandt. “And at the end of the day, if we wind up with nothing more than a really nice home video, I’ll be fine with that. We just want to do something we’re truly passionate about, because that’s when you produce your best work.” And don’t be fooled. They aren’t afraid of a little hard work. For months they’ve been logging 80- and 90-hour weeks, working three jobs to get this project off the ground. It turns out that producing a half-hour documentary every two weeks is a lot more demanding than any office job might have been.

“It’s a lot of hard work and believing in the idea,” says Service. Ultimately it was that combination that sold the network on this unlikely pair and their far-fetched dream. “It’s what we’ve said from the beginning,” says Brandt. “We’re not selling surfing.We’re not selling travelling.We’re selling a dream that every Albertan, every Canadian, every North American shares: that it doesn’t matter if you have money. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have anything else. It just takes a dream and passion and hard work. And I think, so far, we’ve proved this.” But what possessed two land-locked Albertans to stake their life savings — and a year of their lives — on a risky business venture and on surfing, a sport with which they’ve had so little experience? “We’ve both been involved in other board sports for a long time. We snowboard and skateboard and long board,” says Brandt. “I think that every Canadian that’s been on a board wants to be on a surfboard.” “And once you’ve done it, it’s the most addictive thing in the world,” adds Service. “If I wasn’t so white and didn’t burn so easily, I would be out there for 12 hours a day,” says Brandt. “You can either be constantly working to get the next wave or you can just sit there and enjoy the scenery. Either way it’s fun.” And that pretty much sums up the type of life they have planned for themselves down in San Juan del Sur, no matter how long it may last: working constantly to get their business projects off the ground— except when they’re just sitting around and enjoying the scenery. —Sarah Ligon

Connect with Life in Reverse on the web: • See full episodes of the show at Thirdstorm.tv

• Follow the guys on their adventures in Nicaragua through their blog (thirdstorm.tv/life-in-reverse/blog/)

• Facebook (facebook.com/pages/ Life-in-Reverse)

• Twitter (@LifeinReverse) A key component of the show is creating a community of viewers and encouraging their participation in the planning of future episodes, so Brandt and Service are eager to connect with viewers— especially fellow alumni.

Winter 2011

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The Big Lebiedowski A two-time grad is going for a three-peat with his U of A PhD... but that’s only his day job

t’s a good thing the Messerschmitt Bf-109 German fighter plane Lech Lebiedowski, ’03 BA, ’05 MA, is currently restoring in his garage can’t fly because you can bet the lack of a pilot’s licence wouldn’t stop him from trying to get it airborne. And that wouldn’t be a good thing. The first restoration the 35-year-old graduate student undertook as a 12 year old sort of blew up in his face. Well, not sort of. It did. It was an old Second World War motorcycle that he found in a forest outside of his hometown of Warsaw, Poland. “It was probably a 1939 SHL military bike,” says Lebiedowski. “But it had no surviving identification marks. It was a quick restoration, not a good one. I had the bike running very swiftly, but it caught fire while I was riding it. The gas tank had a hole in it, and gas was

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dropping on the ignition wire. The gasoline exploded, and the flames touched my face. After that, the engine and the gas tank were gone, but I was okay and so was the rest of the bike. A month later we were back on the road. For a while I was the youngest kid to ride a motorcycle to school. Naturally, I had no license, helmet or any papers. I had this bike until we moved to Canada in 1994. It will always have a special place in my heart.” You could say that looking for things to restore or rebuild became something of a passion for Lebiedowski after the discovery of that motorcycle... but you’d be wrong “By 12 I had an extensive collection of ‘antiquities’ [his emphasis] that I traded for motorcycle parts. I had good instincts and unbelievable luck. ‘Treasure hunting’ ” [his emphasis again] was and

always will be my greatest passion. Restorations and my PhD are only a small side effect of that. Some of my students [he teaches the history of technology] claim that the Indiana Jones film was made about my life. But this is not the case… the film was first.” Lebiedowski has literally unearthed hundreds of items, from coin deposit boxes to tanks and planes, at first without even the assistance of a metal detector. He’s also spent a lot of time underground in urban explorations, including in Hitler’s underground bunkers. But his first big restoration project was a Japanese kamikaze plane—a Yokosuka Ohka—that he restored while a U of A undergrad. Where on earth you come up with something like that on the Canadian prairies is something he’ll only say is “a long story. I

Far left: The Messerschmitt Bf-109 without its wings on. “I have everything for it including the original landing gear,” says Lebiedowski. “All I am missing is one fork for the tail wheel and space and time to assemble it.” Left: Lebiedowski heading underground for some more “treasure hunting.” Below: A Messerschmitt Bf109 on the ground in Russia in 1942.

knew of its existence, but getting it into my backyard was another story. As far as I remember it took me only three months to restore it, but it was mostly body and interior work—easy. I had no garage back then, so I did all the work in my backyard on a picnic table. It’s now in private hands.” As for the Messerschmitt, he located the wreck in Europe over 10 years ago using a metal detector. Parts of the nose section were the first to come to the surface, and over the years Lebiedowski salvaged more parts. The Bf-109 was a standard fighter of the Luftwaffe and was flown in the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. This one was shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft gun at the end of the war in 1945, but no positive identification of its serial number was possible. Lebiedowski came up with the idea of recreating the missing parts for this Messerschmitt from scratch as a way to productively take advantage of the long Albertan winters. “But,” he says, “I had no idea back then that it would

take me over six years of work and many disappointments along the way.” The Messerschmitt project is almost done and Lebiedowski says that were it not for his PhD work—on the history of science and technology in the

“Treasure hunting was and always will be my greatest passion. Restorations and my PhD are only a small side effect of that.” Faculty of Arts—he would have completed it by now. He expects it’ll be ready to taxi down a runway in late spring. But it will never fly. When compared with other Bf-109 restorations currently being undertaken by large institutions his, he says, is a low-budget affair. “I managed to

keep it under $100,000. Initially, I was planning to find a space for it in a museum, but the reality of things is that I need money to move on with my other adventures and museums are unable to pay for my work, so I will have to sell it to a private collector.” As for those other adventures, if he restores another airplane, it will be a Second World War German bomber that he will finish excavating this coming summer. “It will make a fantastic restoration project for it has a full combat history,” he says. And there is the possibility of finding a Tiger tank that, if its location is confirmed, he’ll donate to a museum for restoration. There’s also that continued exploration of Hitler’s underground headquarters for which he’s built a robot to access areas he can’t squeeze into. “I am hoping to find some more hidden tunnels and chambers,” he says. “I know they are out there but getting inside is another issue… and another adventure.”

—Kim Green

Winter 2011

new trail

Earthworm Invasion! The lowly worm is just one of the creatures making its way to Alberta’s boreal forest . . . where it doesn’t belong

can be reduced. This width has since he environmental impact of when settlers become the industry standard. Alberta’s oil, gas and forestry brought plants In the course of their research, Boutin and soil from Europe or when ships industries on Alberta’s boreal and Bayne also discovered some trou- dumped soil used for ballast on shore. forest is well-documented. But behind bling trends. New mammals, birds, the litany of headline-grabbing issues In the early 1980s, two new earthworms and plants that didn’t belong are other less well-understood effects of worm species found their way into there were all showing up in northern Alberta, and while that may be good human encroachment on this sensitive Alberta, with possible catastrophic ecosystem. A group of researchers from news for gardeners and fishermen, effects for native species. This kickthe U of A’s Department of Biological earthworms are the kind of under-thestarted a new direction for the ILM Sciences has been quietly working with radar species that can have a huge industry players, the provincial impact on boreal forests by government and other conchanging the layers in the cerned groups to shed a light on soil, altering the way nutriwhat some of those effects are. ents are distributed, and U of A biological sciences determining the makeup of professor Stan Boutin, ’77 BSc, plant communities. holds the chair in Integrated None other than naturalLandscape Management (ILM), ist Charles Darwin — who studied worms for some that — for almost a decade time — came to the conclunow — has been coordinating sion that, “it may be doubted research to assess the total if there are any other anienvironmental cost of developmals which have played such ment in Alberta. In collaboraErin Cameron (background) and her crew prepare to head into the bush an important part in the histion with U of A biology procatalogue one of the invasive species that has taken up residence tory of the world as these fessor Erin Bayne — and a small to in Northern Alberta. lowly creatures.” army of assistants — Boutin has One study has shown that each year team — examining how human activibeen working on creating an ecologion an average acre of cultivated land, ties in the boreal forest are helping cally-informed land-use plan for north7,200 kg of soil can pass through invasive species encroach on this area ern Alberta and, by extension, the earthworms and be deposited atop the and how this might change the forest. boreal forest across Canada. ground — almost double that amount One invasive species Boutin and One of ILM’s early finds was that by can be moved in really wormy soil. Bayne hadn’t initially planned to study reducing the size of seismic lines — the “They’re one of the few things that was earthworms. Earthworms were three- to 12-metre wide swaths cut can cause a huge transition in the wiped out in Canada during the Ice through the forest for energy exploecosystem,” says Boutin about earthAge over 20,000 years ago and were ration — to less than two metres wide, worms. “Over time they can cause a likely reintroduced to North America their cumulative ecological footprint

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Rebecca Richardson

The coyote, brown-headed cowbird and white-tailed deer are among some of the other invasive species invading parts of Alberta.

boreal forest is the white-tailed deer. Their arrival could have devastating effects on the woodland caribou population as wolf populations could rise due to the increase in prey putting a further strain on the threatened caribou that traditionally were the only ungulates living in the boreal forest.

Ryan Bushby

major change in the whole plant community, and this isn’t recognized at all.” Boutin and Bayne recruited PhD candidate and 2009 Vanier Scholarship winner Erin Cameron, ’05 BSc, ’08 MSc, to help them investigate the effects earthworms are having in Alberta’s boreal forest. And despite all the snickers she got for taking on the un-charismatic earthworm as a research subject, Cameron expanded the project into a major undertaking, complete with a public relations campaign (worms.biology.ualberta.ca). Cameron began her research by looking at the mechanisms of earthworm introduction to the boreal forest and found that they were more likely to be present at boat launches and near roads. “At the boat launches,” says Cameron, “the species found are ones commonly used for fishing bait, which suggests that fishermen are leaving them behind.” Cameron has developed models showing that in the next 50 years half of Alberta’s boreal forest will suffer some form of an earthworm invasion, which could lead to major changes in insect, invertebrate and small plant communities that could cascade upwards to affect tree and vertebrate communities as well. A more conspicuous invasive species that historically has never been in the

An American robin eating an earthworm. (Right) Poster promoting Erin Cameron’s earthworm campaign.

PhD candidate Kim Dawe is working with the ILM team to study the mechanisms behind deer expansion in the boreal forest, which she theorizes is either due to cut blocks and seismic line clearings providing good growing grounds for the grass the deer like to feed on or to climate change. As for which one it is, the jury’s still out, but Dawe suspects that both play a role. “If it’s a climate change issue, there’s probably not

much we can do at this point,” she says. “But if it’s a land-use issue we may be able to take some management actions to help caribou.” Besides worms and white-tailed deer there are other species infiltrating the boreal forest, including the brownheaded cowbird and the coyote. “Coyotes have now reached Kluane Lake in the Yukon, and the first ones were just seen in Yellowknife,” Boutin says. “The pattern of their expansion is almost exactly the same as for deer.” Coyotes will be one of the major research focuses of the ILM group going forward. Ultimately, both Boutin and Bayne reinforce the importance of gathering accurate scientific information and applying that knowledge to large-scale land-use planning initiatives. “What we might have expected about something is not necessarily what’s actually happening,” says Bayne. And he’s got ILM’s earthworm research to back that statement up. — Lucas Habib, ’06 MSc Visit www.biology.ualberta.ca/faculty/ stan_ boutin/ilm to learn more about Integrated Landscape Management.

Winter 2011

new trail

1969 photo of a square dance the Aggies would hold in high-traffic areas to promote awareness of Bar None.

Barn Dance Donations Bar None Endowments help students in need

uring Reunion Weekend in the fall of 2010, about a dozen alumni of the 1950 class from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Agriculture gathered in a darkened classroom after the annual faculty brunch. Celebrating their 60th anniversary since graduating, the classmates from what is now the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences watched with great interest as one of their cohort, Cy McAndrews, played two videos he made during previous reunions in 1990 and in 2000. The classmates chatted, laughed and shed a tear or two as they watched and listened to their peers — some present, some not, and others who had passed on. It’s not unusual for many of these classmates to gather together and share memories. In fact, some of the members of the class of ’50 still get together every month for lunch, a tra-

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dition they started about 20 years ago. The agriculture class of 1950 is known as the largest class in the University’s history with 127 graduates. It’s also known as being the most active class when it comes to giving back to their alma mater. Not only did the class participate in the founding of the annual party known as Bar None in 1948, they also started the Bar None Endowment Fund in 1997. The idea behind the Fund was to help students, particularly from rural regions, who needed some assistance with the daunting bills for tuition, room and board. “There was a need to set something up that would help with those costs,” explained the late Joe Gurba. But the class soon discovered that the Fund wasn’t going to grow as much as they had hoped unless they enlisted outside help. So, just as they had done with Bar None, the class opened it up to anyone who shared their cause. “We said,

‘let’s open it up to all the classes in the Faculty of Agriculture and alumni and anybody else who would like to contribute,’ ” said Gurba. “So it took off from there.” And take off, it did. In less than 10 years, the Fund grew to more than $1 million and was helping out more than 40 students. Today, the Fund sits at over $1.6 million and is continuing to grow. A new goal has been set of reaching $3 million by 2015, to coincide with the Faculty’s 100th anniversary. Many Aggies have contributed to the Fund, including the class of ’61 who are currently raising money for an endowed Bar None fund, and the class of ’64, who already have one. The biggest donor to Bar None is a 1962 grad. For its part, the class of ’50 has endowed three Bar None scholarships, one for a student in each of second, third and fourth year, as well as three named scholarships.

Bar None Begins n the years following the Second World War, the University of Alberta was alive with an interesting and sometimes bewildering mix of men and women: some returned from overseas military service and some teenagers newly graduated from high school. It was often difficult for students of such varying ages and backgrounds to find common ground. But the Aggies took things into their own hands within their Faculty and organized field days, dances and social events. One such dance was described in a 1946 edition of The Gateway: “Denim decked dudes and gingham garbed gals relived the spirit of the old west to the rollicking rhythm provided by Frog Fraser and his Frontiersman. The Barn was never livelier, according to the management, and from where we stood we can well believe the statement.” This was the Faculty’s first western-themed dance that they had heavily promoted on

Bar None 1958

campus to create a lot of interest. But many of the Aggies of the day came from small, closely-knit, rural communities and could not understand the concept of excluding anyone from a social function. So one spring afternoon in 1948, when a group of Aggies got together to plan that year’s upcoming Ag Club dance, it was decided that spring they

So what is it about the class of ’50 that inspired them to want to help out in the way they have? Most of the classmates will tell you it’s in no small part because of their shared experience as soldiers in the Second World War. “I would suppose 75 percent of the class were veterans of the Second World War,” said Gurba, himself a veteran. “We were pretty serious about education, pretty serious students. We liked to have a good time, but we realized we had to get on with it.” Cy McAndrews agrees. Also a ’50 grad and a veteran, McAndrews added that his classmates were generally a little more mature than those coming out of high school and had a different attitude. “We’ve always been quite close to one another,” he says. “I think it really is the result of all of us being veterans and coming in at the same time. A lot of us were married and

would put on a dance that anyone could attend. They would, in effect, “Bar None.” Complete with square dancers, live orchestras, mock “branding,” a staged bullfight, and a (non-alcoholic) saloon, the first high-spirited hoedown became a popular annual fixture of campus life that, to this day, is known as Bar None.

were having problems getting started in life. There was quite a bit of helping each other out.” Gurba added that soldiers depend on teamwork, on banding together to achieve a common goal. “You depend on the guy around you to do his job or else you’re in danger,” he said. “I think that philosophy carried on when the war was over.” Gurba also believed that his classmates felt it was important to practice in the community those things which they fought for in the Second World War. In short, the class of ’50 was one whose members were forged by war and who understood, perhaps more than most, what it means to help others when the need arises. —Michel Proulx Visit www.newtrail.ualberta.ca to read about some of the Bar None Scholarship recipients.

How An Endowment Works Investing in an endowment is a thoughtful way of leaving a legacy. Endowments at the University of Alberta can be established to support faculty, students and research initiatives in perpetuity. The University invests your endowment so the interest income supports the designated purpose, while the principal remains intact and grows. A percentage of the interest is expended annually, with the balance of interest earned added to the endowment principal to protect it against inflation. Attaching your name to an endowed award ensures your family, friends and the community will witness your commitment to advancing knowledge and excellence for generations to come. If you would like to support the Bar None Endowment Fund, you can choose between the general Bar None Endowment Fund that supports student awards across all departments in the Faculty of ALES, or you can choose to support or establish a named Bar None Endowment for students in a particular program or to support international experiential learning opportunities. Under the Bar None name, all awards are granted based on a combination of academic achievement and leadership activities including volunteerism and community involvement. For more information about endowments, please contact the Gift Planning Unit. Donate to the U of A at www.giving.ualberta.ca. Name:______________________________

Address:____________________________ ___________________________________ Telephone:___________________________ e-mail:______________________________ Contact us at: Development Office, Gift Planning Unit Enterprise Square 3rd Floor, 10230 Jasper Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4P6 Telephone: 780-492-0332 Toll Free: 1-888-799-9899 e-mail: giving@ualberta.ca Winter 2011

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Following

the

trails

Footsteps

University

Alberta

Alumni

“Transmutation” (4" x 6") aquatint, dry-point, chine-collé, pigment-transfer and found object.

his piece called “Transmutation” by Sergio Serrano, ’09 BDes, was the third-place winner in the sixth annual Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition. The approximately 900 entries came from all over the world with this year’s first-place winner from Bulgaria while second-place went to an American. “I was pretty excited when I found out I’d won,” says Serrano, whose print is a variation of a piece from a larger work—an artist’s book inspired by The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges. “The 20 prints in the book are illustrations of obscure objects representing various imaginary beings with strong symbolic ties to alchemy,” he says. “The last illustration is the Ouroboros — traditionally, a serpent devouring its own tail, often used to represent the cyclical nature of the alchemists’ work. “Transmutation is the transformation of one thing into another, in particular of common metals into gold or silver. The print of this same name shows the Ouroboros—illustrated as a strange, gearlike object—motionless and suspended in an ambiguous space. The words below it and the marker in between them suggest a state of transformation but do not hint at the specifics of the change.”

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bookmarks The Ghost Brush Katherine Govier, ’70 BA HarperCollins Canada, harpercollins.ca

Rudy Wiebe

he finest of pre-modern Japan’s female artists have been overshadowed by male masters, for whom some probably worked as “ghost painters” (the Japanese word, daihitsu, literally means “substitute brushes”). Whereas many modern viewers can recall Katsushika Hokusai’s views of Mount Fuji, few know of his daughter Oi— an accomplished artist and the inspiration for Katherine Govier’s The Ghost Brush. This mesmerizing novel conjures her as a spectral narrator named Oei, who recounts her vexed but loving relationship with her father. He helps liberate Oei from societally imposed gender roles but also frustrates her professional ambitions. Preternaturally determined, Oei finds in the entertainment district and vibrant culture of 19th-century Edo (now Tokyo) space to develop her artistic and sexual independence. Striking beyond that worldly milieu, she achieves a personal integrity and artistic immortality that even Hokusai does not enjoy. Govier’s characterization of earlymodern Edo and works by Katsushika Oi and Hokusai is vivid. Oei proves a compelling medium for articulating the predicaments and responses of Japanese women living in a time of social flux, and Oei tells an engrossing tale. The novel occasionally threatens a disconcerting chord: esoteric burials and courtesans practicing martial arts suggest a lingering fascination with an exotic Orient. However, these features, like the novel’s narrative conceit, also vivify such historical phenomena as Edo urbanites’ taste for ghost stories and staged beauty. Reviewer Walter Davis is an Assistant Professor of Chinese and Japanese art history in the U of A’s Department of Art and Design and the department of East Asian Studies. Katherine Govier

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Collected Stories, 1955-2010 Rudy Wiebe, ’56 BA, ’60 MA, ’09 DLitt (Honorary) Introduction by Thomas Wharton, ’91 BA, ’93 MA University of Alberta Press, uap.ualberta.ca

udy Wiebe is recognized in Canada and internationally as a novelist, teacher and writing mentor, yet he is better known for his lengthier works of fiction than for his short stories. As Wiebe himself remarks in the preface to his Collected Stories 1955–2010, “In a lifetime of writing, hundreds of stories meander, drift, leap up, collapse or vanish, and occasionally reincarnate themselves in your imagination.” The pieces gathered in this latest collection represent the 50 short stories that Wiebe has finished over the years, and they cover an astonishing range of characters and time periods.

Wiebe is best known for his explorations of his native Mennonite culture and his people’s travels from Europe to North America. The stories in this collection echo this wandering in their characters, whether First Nations, Métis or European. The characters shift, at times rooted in a particular landscape, but frequently changing with the seasons or with the cyclical hardships of famine, disease and settlement. In all cases, Wiebe takes on the voices of his characters — from aboriginal people and traders to farmers and artists — with careful attentiveness to their particular histories. His voice as author is versatile; he becomes each of his myriad characters, right down to their manner of speech and the historical details of their personal narratives. Underpinning it all are the various landscapes, rendered in such minute detail as to almost become characters themselves. This collection charts the growth of a writer who has consistently revealed himself intimately attuned to the stories of the world: “[H]e will listen to those voices speaking now for as long as he lives.” (from “Speaking Saskatchewan,” 1989) Reviewer Jenna Butler teaches Creative Writing at Grant MacEwan University and is the author of five collections of poetry.

Prodigal Daughter: A Journey to Byzantium Myrna Kostash, ’65 BA University of Alberta Press, uap.ualberta.ca

rodigal Daughter begins with a puzzle: Who is St. Demetrius? And why can’t Myrna Kostash resist him? This puzzle leads the Edmonton author to undertake an historical and personal journey. The book begins as an intellectual quest. Kostash travels through the Balkans to uncover the political and cultural significance of Demetrius. Here Kostash gives an historical account of the way that Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbians and Macedonians have fought for possession of Demetrius. The writing is lively, told through interviews, mythological descriptions of the saint, and visits to ancient churches. But this is not the crux of Prodigal Daughter. The intellectual journey ends with the chapter

“Lord, have Mercy.” Talking to an icon painter, Kostash suddenly discovers that her quest is not intellectual, but spiritual. She wants transcendence; she wants to be moved by a force from outside herself. The second half of Prodigal Daughter explores this spiritual side of her journey. Kostash is at her strongest when describing the people and places that she visits — the churches, the basilicas, her participation in the Thessalonian festival of St. Demetrius. These old places, rich in history and myth, are covered in iconography and they all evoke closeness and comfort of place — Demetrius protecting his people from the bitter and dangerous world. But, despite the richness of the old world, Kostash is not yet spiritually at home. Instead, it is in the moving epilogue that she brings her journey to conclusion. Moved to tears by an intimate liturgy offered in a near-empty Edmonton church, Kostash finds herself protected from the business and, we presume, emptiness of the outside world. The orthodoxy of her childhood, now informed by the story of Demetrius, finds root in a moment of personal epiphany. Although we never learn precisely who Demetrius is — or whether he even existed — her puzzle is solved. Reviewer Jeff Stepnisky, ’94 BA, ’98 MA, is a professor of sociology at Grant MacEwan University.

Myrna Kostash

NON-FICTION:

Last Call (photographs) George Webber, ’73 BA Rocky Mountain Books, rmbooks.com

Love that Lasts By Elizabeth Campbell Huss and Dennis Huss, ’82 BA Pandora Press, pandorapress.com

Hockey Gods at the Summit Frank Cosentino, ’67 MA, ’73 PhD General Store Publishing House, gsph.com

Live to Dream Devan Nychka, ’03 BEd Available through pdbookstore.com

She Was a Booklegger: Remembering Celeste West Edited by Tony Samek, Moyra Lang, ’07 BA, ’09 MLIS, and K.R. Roberto Library Juice Press, libraryjuicepress.com

Let Food Be Your Joy and Medicine Rita Brungs, ’82 BEd Available from amazon.com

The Amdahl Graphics… 1974…1975… 1976 Raymond St. Arnaud, ’75 BA Available through raymondstarnaud.com

Confessions of a Former Cosmetic Dentist Michael Zuk, ’84 BSc, ’86 DDS Celebrity Press, celebritypresspublishing.com

FICTION AND POETRY:

Dead Bird through the Cat Door Jan Markley, ’83 BA Gumboot Books, gumbootbooks.ca

Creature Feature David Mannes, ’76 BEd, ’82 Med Clublighthouse Publishing, clublighthousepublishing.com

The Mystery of the Cyber Bully Marty Chan, ’90 BA Thistledown Press, thistledownpress.com

Breathless at St. Bride’s Patricia Trudeau, ’77 Dip(Ed) Moose Hide Books, moosehidebooks.com

The Women’s Club Laurie Clayton, ’78 BA, and Michael Crawley Blake Publishing, johnblakepublishing.co.uk

The Second Trial Rosemarie Boll, ’79 BA, ’83 LLB Second Story Press, secondstorypress.ca

Extensions Myrna Dey, ’62 BA, ’65 MA NeWest Press, newestpress.com Winter 2011

new trail

Alumni Events

For more events and up-to-date information, subscribe to e-trail, the Alumni Association’s monthly electronic newsletter, at www.ualberta.ca/alumni/e-trail.

February 10, 2011 — Edmonton, AB Purchasing your first home? Don’t leave anything to chance! Make an informed decision with expert advice from realtors and a mortgage specialist. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/educatedwallet.

February 17, 2011 — Edmonton, AB Surprise your Valentine with a night of chocolate and coffee tasting with Kerstin’s Chocolates and Transcend Coffee. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/educatedpalate

February 18, 2011 — New York, NY Cocktail reception at the Harvard Club of New York with President Indira Samarasekera and Alumni Association President Jane Halford. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/events

February 19, 2011 — Vancouver, BC Enjoy a night out with other alumni at the Pacific Theatre to see the play My Name is Asher Lev. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/events

February 24, 2011 — London, UK Meet current MBA students at this alumni reception. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/events

February 26, 2011 — Phoenix, AZ Join us for the annual Alumni Brunch in Phoenix at the Paradise Valley Country Club. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/arizona2011

March 10, 2011 — Edmonton, AB Wish you could do more with your money? “The Smart Money” is an investment seminar where financial expert Jim Yih, ’91 BCom, explains the how-to’s of various investment options. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/educatedwallet

March 11, 2011 — Vancouver, BC The Dental Alumni Association invites all U of A dentistry grads attending the Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver to a complimentary hors d’œuvres and cocktails reception at the Fairmont Waterfront in the Princess Louisa Suite from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/events

Ongoing Events in Edmonton Alumni Book Club Join fellow alumni and delve into the world of literary fiction. Each session is centred on a theme, and faculty members will join the meetings to provide additional insight into the novels. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/bookclub Walter Johns Alumni Circle Come back to campus for a regular sampling of the vibrant intellectual and cultural life of the University. The Walter Johns Alumni Circle features lectures and presentations by top faculty members and an opportunity to meet and mingle with fellow alumni. Sessions are held the third Thursday of the month from September to April, 10:00 a.m. to noon. Call 780-492-1835 or visit www.ualberta.ca/alumni/johnscircle.

April 7, 2011 — Edmonton, AB Will you be ready? Learn about wills, personal directives and guardianship, estate planning and taxes from financial expert Jim Yih, ’91 BCom, and lawyer Avideh Musgrave, ’00 LLB. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/educatedwallet

April 17, 2011 — Vancouver, BC Join us for our annual spring brunch at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/events

April 28, 2011 — Edmonton, AB Learn to buy locally—and not just at the farmers’ market! Phil Dixon, ’80 BSc(Ag), of Sunfresh Farms will explain the benefits of eating locally and show how to shop for locally grown produce. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/educatedpalate

May 29, 2011 — Edmonton, AB Participate in the annual Memorial Service to honour alumni and students who have passed away in the previous year. For more information please call 780-492-0866.

The Alumni Association is planning events from coast-to-coast this coming spring. Look for us in the following cities: Fort McMurray, Lethbridge, Victoria, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, San Francisco/Napa Valley area, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth

Check www.ualberta.ca/alumni/events for more details as information becomes available. new trail

The Alumni Association in Your City

Having fun at the Hong Kong Holiday Event on December 4, 2010.

Winter 2011

1) Lynn Oliynyk, ’94 BSc, ’97 BSc, ’01 MSc, and Todd Oliynyk, ’02 PhD, at a Melbourne, Australia, alumni event on November 30. 2) The Nursing class of 1970 held their 40-year reunion in June. 3) Souvenir postcard from the festive photo booth at the Alumni Holiday Social held at Dewey’s on December 2. 4) Sarah Chan, ’03 BA, with keynote speaker, The Honourable Peter

4 7

10 11

E. Lougheed, ’51 BA, ’52 LLB, ’86 LLD (Honorary)—both Gateway alumni—at the Gateway’s 100th Anniversary Dinner on November 20. From Alumni Weekend, held September 22 to 26: 5) Lloyd Walker, ’45 BSc(Eng), and family at the Gala Dinner. 6&7) Student Clara Sung’s name was drawn in the “Kick to Win

Your Tuition” contest held at the Bears’ Football Game. She didn’t manage the field goal, but she did win free books for the year. 8) Marc Kennedy, ’05 BCom, gold medalist in curling at the 2010 Olympic Games, poses with Michael Kuly, ’67 BA, ’70 BEd and wife Genedina at the Green and Gold Breakfast. 9) A sold-out auditorium at the Pecha Kucha Night presentation.

10) Women’s hockey coach (R) Melody Davidson, ’86 BPE, and (L) Lillian Fishman, ’36 BSc(HEc), whose institute has done groundbreaking cancer research, chat after receiving their Distinguished Alumni Awards at the Alumni Recognition Awards ceremony. 11) Reuniting with a hug at the Green and Gold Breakfast. Winter 2011

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The Educated Palate Go beyond Kraft Dinner and expand your culinary horizons. FEBRUARY 17: CocoJava — An evening of chocolate and coffee presented by Kerstin’s Chocolates and Transcend Coffee [$25] MARCH 23: Gourmet Tastings with d’Lish — Learn to pair wines with

Alumni Education Programs

cheeses and chacuterie meats with beer!

[$25, includes food and beverages]

APRIL 28: The Localvore’s Dilemma — Join Sunfresh Farms and learn how to support local farmers at your grocery store. [$15]

The Educated Wallet You work hard for your money — make sure it works hard for you in return. FEBRUARY 10: Home Sweet Home — First-time home buyers’ seminar [$15 or $25/couple] MARCH 10: The Smart Money — Investment seminar [$25, includes light dinner] APRIL 7: You Can’t Take it With You —

Learning doesn’t end when you get your degree. Sign up for our Alumni Education programs and meet fellow alumni, gain new skills and keep the joy of learning alive.

Wills, personal directives, taxes, and estate planning [$25, includes light dinner]

Walter Johns Alumni Circle Lecture Series Enjoy a sampling of the vibrant intellectual life on campus at these monthly presentations by some of our top faculty. [February 17, March 17, April 21, $5/session]

TED Talks @ Lunch For more information or to register visit:

www.ualberta.ca/ alumni/education or call 780-492-1835 or toll free 1-800-661-2593

Work or live in downtown Edmonton? Join us at these monthly lunchtime meetings and be inspired by some of the world’s most fascinating thinkers. [February 23, March 23, April 27, Free]

Alumni Book Club Meet fellow alumni for stimulating discussions about three books. Share your ideas and hear the thoughts of faculty experts. [March 3, April 7, May 5, $15 for 3 sessions]

c lassnotes

’50s

’54 Robin Stuart, BA, ’56 BEd, ’66 Dip(Ed), of Leduc, AB, writes to say: “I taught for the County of Minburn (1955- 56) and the County of Ponoka (1956-1972), and was a school principal for Ponoka for eight years. From 1972 until retirement in 1990, I worked for the Alberta Teachers’ Association. During most of my post-graduate years and up until just recently, I was a church organist and choir director. In 2005 I received an Arts and Culture Recognition Award from the City of Leduc for musical contributions to the community. For several years I served on a sub-committee of the Royal Canadian College of Organists that promotes an annual series of pipe organ concerts in Edmonton, the ‘Sundays at 3 Series.’ I have also been active with the University of Alberta Mixed Chorus Alumni Association.” Robin adds that he and his wife, Glennie Stuart (Johnson), ’56 BEd, have four children who graduated from the U of A.

’56 Ross Gould, BSc(Ag), ’79 MAg, writes that he and his wife, Kay Gould, ’89 BSc(Nu), retired to Calgary in the mid-’90s to be closer to their son and granddaughter and three hours closer to a hike in their beloved Rockies. “We started a bed and breakfast, which we ran for six years until it became obvious that it was interfering with our summer hiking plans,” writes Ross. “Kay has now taken up serious quilting. One was featured in the book of art quilts, Luscious Landscapes, by Joyce Becker.” Ross has become very active in the Calgary choral scene and currently sings with four choirs. He is also an avid photographer, amassing a collection of wild flower photos from the couple’s world travels, most recently on a Russian research vessel through the Northwest Passage and a driving tour of the Arctic.“But our most ambitious trip was three-and-a-half months in Tasmania and New Zealand, including a six-week camping tour around the whole of Australia.”

’57 Barbara Paterson, (Dip)Arts, ’88 BFA, of Edmonton, AB, had her larger-than-life bronze sculpture of Emily Carr installed on the grounds of The Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC, in October. You can see Barbara’s sculptures all over

Canada, including at the St. Albert city hall and on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, where her monument, The Women are Persons, was unveiled in 2000. Barbara is married to U of A professor emeritus John Paterson, ’55 Dip(Ed), ’56 BEd, ’57 BA. Jim Plecash, DDS, ’74 MSc, of Edmonton, AB, was awarded the U of A Dental Alumni Association’s (DAA) 2010 Outstanding Achievement Award— the highest award bestowed by the DAA. Jim is a past-president of the DAA and, before retiring in 1999, held many positions in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, including assistant dean, clinical director, chairman of the division of oral diagnosis and director of patient management. He was also the dentistry representative on Alumni Council for three years, from 1988-1991.

’59 Victor Snieckus, BSc, of Kingston, ON, a Queen’s University professor emeritus, has been named Lithuania’s 2010 laureate of physical, biomedical and technological sciences. The award honours a lifetime of scholarly and research achievements by a Lithuanian scientist working abroad.

’66 Brian Manson, BEd, ’69 Dip(Ed), writes that he retired from teaching and counselling with the Edmonton Public School Board in 1999 and has relocated to North York, ON, to be near his grandchildren. Brian adds that he is currently awaiting the publication of his first non-fiction novel. ’68 Bindra Thusu, MSc, of London, England, recently received the Education Partnership Award at the Getenergy Event 2010 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The award was in recognition of the academyindustry partnership between the geology department at Jammu University in Eni, India, and the earth sciences department, at University College London. Bindra is a senior research fellow at University College London and a visiting professor at Jammu University. “The award also belongs to the U of A as the roots of my ideas were sown there,” writes Bindra. “I am now planning to bring together the U of A with the universities in Jammu and Kashmir along similar lines for which we bagged the Getenergy award.”

’60s

’60 Esther Starkman, BA, ’67 BEd, of Edmonton, writes that she will have one of Edmonton Public School’s six new buildings named for her— at a K-9 school in the Terwillegar neighbourhood. Esther has enjoyed a career as an instructor in the Edmonton public schools and at Norquest College in Edmonton. She was a two-term school trustee (1989-92 and 199293 as chair). Esther was also involved in Edmonton’s first “ReadIn” in 1990 and continues to be involved in this annual city-wide event as honorary chair. This fall marked Read-In’s 20th anniversary. ’64 Eugene Lechelt, BSc, ’66 MSc, ’69 PhD, of Vancouver, BC, recently received the Arthur Napier McGill Award from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind for his exceptional leadership in the areas of blindness prevention and rehabilitation services. Eugene is a U of A professor emeritus.

’69 Myra Davies, BA, of Vancouver, is a spoken word and performance artist with several CDs in release and a solid reputation in the European alternative music scene. Her latest CD, Cities and Girls, was a nominee for best album in the 2010 Qwartz International Electronic Music Awards in Paris, France. This fall, Myra was in Toronto to perform “The 50 Minute Ring,” her Gesamtkunstwerk on Wagner’s Ring Cycle, with Toronto musicians Christopher Willes and Gregory Oh and fellow Albertan, media artist Lee Henderson. Visit www.myspace.com/myradavies for more on Myra.

’70s

’70 Valerie Elias (Otto), BSc(Pharm), writes that after 29 years working in various management positions at the University of Alberta Hospital, she and her husband, Bob, retired to Carman, MB, where they golf, ride their Harley’s, and are working full-time to build their home-based business: Turkey Duck Gazebo Bird Feeder, Ltd. Valerie adds that she and Bob are a pair of snowbirds who have wintered in Arizona for the past four years. ’71 Tako Koning, BSc, of Luanda, Angola, was awarded the 2010 Public Service award by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. This award was given in recognition of Tako’s voluntary service to the geological profession and various humanitarian projects over the past 18 years while living and working in Nigeria and Angola. Doug Steinburg, BA, ’72 BLS, writes that the Autumn edition of New Trail managed to reach him in Montpellier, France, where he and his wife, Carol Steer, ’70 BA, ’72 BLS, are living while Carol completes a research sabbatical. “I retired from the practice of law in 2006,” writes Doug, “and since March of this year have taken on the position of president of the International Board of L’Arche International (www.larche.org), the organization founded in 1964 by Canadian Jean Vanier and dedicated to revealing the unique gifts of developmentally disabled adults. There are 137 L’Arche communities in 40 countries around the world, including one in Edmonton.”

’74 Rod Ayres, BPE, ’75 Dip(Ed), has recently retired after 35 years as a teacher, administrator, coach, counsellor and bus driver, mostly in Alberta’s St. Paul School System. Rod adds that he’s now using his free time to renovate his house.

’75 Karen Lundgard, BSc(Med), ’77 MD, a family doctor in Peace River, AB, was recently named one of Canada’s 2010 Family Physicians of the Year by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. ’76 David Mannes, BEd, ’82 MEd, has published a darkly humoured horror/sci-fi book called Creature Feature through Clublighthouse Publishing. Winter 2011

new trail

ALUMNI AMBASSADORS Over 50? Life is for learning

Volunteers giving their time and talent in support of the University of Alberta

Spring Classes for Older Adults May 2 to 20, 2011 Join the Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association (ELLA) today and turn your retirement into the rich experience of learning something new. ELLA offers members excellent value on dozens of classes offered on the U of A campus. No exams, no papers, and best of all – no prerequisites. Some of the best U of A professors, and other fine instructors, deliver quality classes. To find out more about becoming an ELLA member, please contact us:

780.492.5055 www.extension.ualberta.ca/ella email: exella@ualberta.ca

Alumni can get involved and give back in many ways: • giving career advice • recruiting students • helping with Alumni Association events giving back to the community through special projects • To learn more about becoming an Alumni Ambassador, visit www.ualberta.ca/alumni/ambassador or contact Jennifer Jenkins at 780-492-6530.

Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association in partnership with U of A Faculty of Extension

communications and technology graduate program We help people discover and apply the communications ideas and technologies of tomorrow

mact.ca 50

new trail

Winter 2011

’76 Janet Manning (Gellvear),

Cathy Watts, ’70, Dip(PT), of Saskatoon, SK, attended the 40th class reunion for the physiotherapy class of 1970 at Terratima Lodge near Rocky Mountain House, AB, in September 2010. The class was given the opportunity to donate to the Catherine M. Pearson Sarcoma Research Fund in honour of classmate Catherine M. Pearson (Bell), ’70 Dip(RM), ’76 BScPT. “We lost a well-loved classmate to this disease a couple of years ago,” says Cathy. “We truly missed her at our gathering.”

BSc(HEc), writes, “I am now retired to Chapala, Mexico, and I love the palm trees and constant sunshine!”

’77 Patricia Trudeau, Dip(Ed), of St. Albert, AB, has authored a third novel, Breathless at St. Bride’s (www.mooseheadbooks.com), featuring amateur sleuth Agnes, the main character in Patricia’s two previous novels, Bodies on Belmont Drive and Select-a-Part. ’78 Laurie Clayton, BA, of Georgetown, ON, has written a new novel with her partner, Michael Crawley, titled The Women’s Club, one of 10 novels commission by Blake Publishing in the UK for their new fiction crime imprint, Max Crimes. Laurie writes that her “one and only career choice” was to be a writer: “I studied novel and poetry writing with Doug Barbour in the U of A English department and playwriting with Sharon Pollack in the drama department—and we must have done something right because I was writing a half-hour drama for the National Film Board before I had even graduated.” In addition to writing two episodes of Skyland, a Gemini-winning animation series, she writes genre novels, short stories and feature film scripts. “I also teach writing at Winghill College, passing on what was so generously given to me at the U of A.” Glenn A. McNamara, BSc(Eng), was recently appointed as the CEO of Petromanas Energy and named to the company’s board of directors.

’79 Jan Selman, MFA, just completed two terms as chair of the U of A’s Department of Drama. During that time she was awarded

’82 Earl Evaniew, BCom, ’86 BA, ’89 LLB, of St. Albert, AB, was appointed Queen’s Counsel. Earl is assistant chief legislative counsel for the Government of Alberta. Dennis Huss, BA, of Waterloo, ON, has penned a chapter on the “Management of Money in Marriage” in the book Love That Lasts, which was written by his wife, Elizabeth Campbell Huss, and recently published by Pandora Press. Love That Lasts focuses on long-lasting marriage and offers stories by a number of couples on how they have managed their long-term relationships. Dennis is a management consultant and financial planner.

’82 Donald Kennedy, BSc(MechE), Back row: Barb Heinzen (McNab), ’70 Dip (RM); Ina Van Groen, ’70 Dip(RM), ’95 BSc PT; Janice McLean (Gainer), ’70 Dip(RM), ’75 BSc PT; Donna Stickland, ’70 Dip(RM); Ingrid Pfaefflin, ’70 Dip(RM); Elaine Pederson (Chesney), ’70 Dip(RM); Bonnie Ellerbeck, ’70 Dip(RM); Front row: Cathy Watts (Drabble), ’70 Dip(RM); Pat O’Connor, ’70 Dip(RM); Alice Babb, ’70 Dip(RM); Pat Tannant, ’70 Dip(RM); Janet Rogers (Bell), ’70 Dip(RM).

the University’s inaugural Leadership Award. She is currently completing a six-year Community-University Research Alliance, in collaboration with theatre companies, health organizations and an interdisciplinary team of researchers. She is now returning to the Department of Drama as professor of acting, directing and community-based theatre. Donna Barrett, BA, ’87 MEd, ’07 PhD, was recently appointed superintendent of Alberta’s Northland School Division. Experienced in developing student programming for literacy and mathematics, she recently worked with a Rotary Club International project on literacy involving school principals in Belize.

’80s

’80 Bill Anderson, MD, was recently recognized with the Canadian Medical Association’s 2010 Sir Charles Tupper Award for Political Action in recognition of his tireless efforts to educate government, policymakers and the public. Sandra Woitas, BEd, ’96 MEd, was recently appointed as executive director of the new Edmonton Public Schools Foundation. ’81 Bruno Séguin, DDS, writes that he has been practicing dentistry in his hometown of Ottawa since 1982 and is proud to announce that he now has two daughters following in his footsteps, “both are now in dental school at l’Université de Montréal.”

’88 MSc, ’05 PhD, of Edmonton, AB, was awarded the Ted Eschenbach Prize by the American Society for Engineering Management for the best article published in 2010 in the Engineering Management Journal. The article, “Flogging the Innocent,” is available at www.donkennedy.ca.

’84 John T. Chapman, BSc(Eng), of Laguna Niguel, CA, has been promoted chief technical officer of the Access and Transport technology Group at Cisco. John also retains the title of Cisco Fellow and is the only Cisco employee to hold both titles simultaneously. John joined Cisco when it was a start-up company and has been there for over 20 years. He holds over 70 patents and has pioneered many of the technologies in the area of DOCSIS and broadband communications.

’85 Louis Francescutti, MD, ’87 PhD, an emergency-room physician and U of A professor, was recently appointed as President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for a two-year term.

Convenience veni i ence more than just a great location Conference Services

780-492-6057 780-492-6 6057 | conference.ser conference.services@ualberta.ca vices@ @ualberta.ca Winter 2011

new trail

In Memoriam Harold Lavell Morrison, BSc(CivEng), of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

’57 Carol Jean Harvie (Campbell), Dip(Nu), of Olds, AB, in August 2010

Gerald Alfred Edwards, BEd, of Calmar, AB, in June 2010

John Maclean Lawrence, BSc(ChemEng), of Oakville, ON, in June 2010

Gary Thomson Hannon, MD, of Wenatchee, WA, in July 2010

John Robert Jameson, BSc(CivEng), of Calgary, AB, in August 2010

Neville William Parry, BSc(Pharm), of Fort Saskatchewan, AB, in October 2010

Julian Wynnyk, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010

Kathleen Mary Brook, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

’38 Irene Lillian Patry (Carson), Dip(Nu), ’39 BSc(Nu), of Guelph, ON, in August 2010

Raymond Joseph Nadeau, BEd, ’55 BSc, ’84 MEd, of Barrhead, AB, in October 2010

’58 Donald Maurice Collinson, DDS, of Calgary, AB, in September 2010

Marie Janette Hammond (Martinson), BSc(HEc), of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

’39 Oscar Alvin Erdman, BSc, ’41 MSc, of Calgary, AB, in July 2010

Thomas Jack Hall, BSc(ChemEng), of Calgary, AB, in July 2010

’41 Jack Butterfield, BSc(Ag), of Westfield, MA, in October 2010

William Albert Dexter, BSc(ChemEng), of Vancouver, BC, in September 2010

Katherine Maud Davidson, BSc(HEc), of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010

Winifred Paege (Norquay), Dip(PHNu), of Victoria, BC, in August 2010

’59 Delbert Roger Wright, BSc(MineralEng), of Calgary, AB, in September 2010

’42 James Hugh Chesney, BSc(MiningEng), of Edmonton, AB, in July 2010

’51 Arlene Elizabeth Meldrum, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

George Albert Perkins, DDS, of Nanaimo, BC, in April 2010

’67 Allan James Yates, MD, of Columbus, OH, in August 2010

Edward Trayor Linney, BSc(ElecEng), of Calgary, AB, in September 2010

Omer Wayne Shupe, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

Michael Woyewoda, BEd, of Whitecourt, AB, in October 2010

Jean Ellen Jordan, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010

Peter Kenneth Symborski, BSc(CivEng), of Celista, BC, in October 2010

Thomas Kostiuk, BSc(CivEng), of Stony Plain, AB, in April 2010

’60 Frank Joseph Ackerman, BEd, of Lethbridge, AB, in April 2010

Norma Jean Bowen, BEd, ’69 Dip(Ed), ’72 MEd, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

Tom Mayson, BA, ’52 LLB, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

James Gerard McKendry, BSc(CivEng), of Calgary, AB, in October 2010

’52 John Herbert McClure, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

Kenneth Michael Monner, BSc, of Ottawa, ON, in July 2010

Margaret Alice Rootes (Haynes), BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

James Mah Ming, BA, of Red Deer, AB, in October 2010

’53 Louise Mary Gajdostik (Giacchetta), Dip(Ed), ’58 Dip(Ed), of Coaldale, AB, in June 2010

William Joseph Hague, BEd, ’68 PhD, of Qualicum Beach,BC,in September 2010

The Alumni Association notes with sorrow the passing of the following graduates:

’37 Elisabeth Mona Bradley (Bounds), Dip(Nu), ’38 BSc(Nu), of Calgary, AB, in September 2010

’43 Jean Claudia Robertson (Asselstine), Dip(Nu), ’44 BSc(Nu), of Perth, ON, in October 2010 Robert Graham Black, BA, ’44 LLB, of Calgary, AB, in August 2010 Russell Alexander Hemstock, BSc(MineralEng), ’47 MSc, of Calgary, AB, in August 2010

’44 Janett Baker (Pearson), BCom, of Ponoka, AB, in May 2010 ’46 Betty Jean Runyon, Dip(Nu), of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010 ’47 Robert Shortreed, BSc(ElecEng), of Brentwood Bay, BC, in August 2010 ’48 Gordon Philip Retallack, Dip(Pharm), of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010 Percy Alexander Meiklejohn, BSc, ’62 BEd, of Victoria, BC, in June 2010 Raymond Russell Brown, BSc, ’50 MSc, of Madison, WI, in June 2010 Robert Mckay Taylor, BSc(ElecEng), of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

Reuben Ben Hashman, BSc(Pharm), of Calgary, AB, in October 2010 Royden Otto Fisher, BSc(PetEng), of Calgary, AB, in August 2010

John Thomas Boulton, BSc(Pharm), ’62 DDS, of Calgary, AB, in September 2010

’61 Dennis Arden Jensen, BSc(MechEng), of Calgary, AB, in September 2010 James Arthur Kelly, BA, ’66 Dip(Ed), of Calgary, AB, in September 2010 Thomas Morrow, BSc(Ag), ’64 BEd, of Thorsby, AB, in November 2010 John Ivor Clark, MSc, of Calgary, AB, in September 2010

’49 Allan Wilson Beattie, BSc(Ag), of Calgary, AB, in September 2010

’54 Elizabeth Isabella Wiznura (Holmes), Dip(Nu), of Edmonton, AB, in June 2010

Charles Richard Bingley, BSc(ElecEng), of Oakville, ON, in August 2010

Kathleen Soltice (Kranz), BA, of Calgary, AB, in July 2010

Sylvia June Birds, Dip(Nu), of Penticton, BC, in June 2010

Howard Richmond McDiarmid, BSc, of Victoria, BC, in August 2010

’55 Joan Hollies (Cox), Dip(Nu), ’56 BSc(Nu), of Qualicum Beach, BC, in April 2010

Willem Dammeyer, BSc, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

Kenneth Albert Hodgson, BCom, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010 Richard Francis Moyse, BSc(CivEng), of Oakville, ON, in August 2010 Robert Edward Cook, BSc(ChemEng), of Calgary, AB, in October 2010 Vincent John Murphy, BSc, ’51 MD, of Calgary, AB, in August 2010

’50 Emery Gruninger, Dip(Ed), ’57 Dip(Ed), ’59 BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010

Ralph Anton Gorrie, Dip(Ed), ’59 BEd, ’69 MEd, of Vegreville, AB, in August 2010

Galen Ernest Loven, BSc, ’59 BEd, of Victoria, BC, in October 2010

new trail

Winter 2011

Steve Faminow, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in October 2010

’65 Helen Wilinski, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010 James Ingham Elliot, MSc, ’69 PhD, of Manotick, ON, in August 2010

’66 Ann Forrest, BEd, ’70 MEd, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

Verner Bertil Loov, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

’68 Barry Patrick Fleming, BSc(Pharm), ’72 DDS, of Red Deer, AB, in October 2010 Harold Ted Rodnunsky, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2010 Joan Marilyn Ballah, BEd, ’78 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010 Sonya Louise Zylstra (Bubel), BCom, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

’69 George Henry Sutherland, BSc(MechEng), of Rochester, NY, in March 2010 Gordon A. White, Dip(Ed), ’71 MEd, of Red Deer, AB, in July 2010 Lascelles Alexis Gayle, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in August 2010 Linda Carol Loewen (Bray), BSc, of Vancouver Island, BC, in September 2010

’70 Andre Norman Gareau, BA(Hons), ’73 MA, ’80 PhD, of Canmore, AB, in October 2010 Carolyn Mae Quinn (Young), BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

Wesley Johnston, BSc(Pharm), of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010

’62 Curtis Leonard Lund, BEd, ’70 BSc, ’76 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010

William Alexander Weir, BSc(CivEng), of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

Robert Pearson Margot, BEd, ’72 BA, of Sherwood Park, AB, in August 2010

Henry Joseph Meronyk, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

’56 Atsushi Nabata, DDS, of Kamloops, BC, in May 2010

Robert Smilanich, BEd, ’66 MEd, of St. Albert, AB, in July 2010

Janko Misic, MSc, ’74 PhD, of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010

Einar Winfred Huse, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in August 2010

Rodney L. Throndson, BEd, ’66 Dip(Ed), of St. Albert, AB, in August 2010

John Joseph Miletich, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

Paul Joseph Bourret, Dip(Ed), ’59 BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010

’63 Elsie Gertrude Perreault, BEd, in September 2010

Knox Benoit Davidson, BSc(ChemEng), of Calgary, AB, in August 2010

Deirdre Christina Mckay, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

Margaret Emily Skett, BEd, ’94 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

Dennis Michael Lanuke, BSc, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

Mildred R. Stefanick, BA, ’71 Dip(Ed), ’72 BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

John Patrick Byers, MBA, of Edmonton, AB, in July 2010

’71 Betty Margaret Trotter, BEd, of Red Deer, AB, in July 2010 James Kenneth Clark, BEd, of Enderby, BC, in August 2010 Martha R. Derman, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010 Ruth Frances Hyslop, BA, ’77 BEd, of Calgary, AB, in October 2010

’72 Lillyann Esther Knight, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010 ’73 Gary John Bigg, BA, ’79 LLB, of Calgary, AB, in July 2010

Mark Alexander Mackay, BSc, of Arviat, Nunavut, in August 2010

’81 Anthony Joseph Amerongen, BCom, of St. Albert, AB, in August 2010 Fred Kinas, BSc(Pharm), of Calgary, AB, in September 2010 Kelly James Shaughnessy, BMedSc, ’83 MD, of Woodstock, ON, in October 2010 Wenzel Hanik, BA, of Liburn, GA, in April 2010

’82 Antony Sepanzyk, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

Jacques Joseph Paulin, BFA, of Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2010

’83 Phyllis Irene Hempel, BSc(Nu), ’92 PostgradDip, of Camrose, AB, in July 2010

James John Buchkowsky, BSc(MechEng), of Calgary, AB, in October 2010

’84 Joseph John Zizek, BSc(MechEng), ’88 BA, of Edson, AB, in October 2010

Roma Florence Dartnell, BEd, ’76 Dip(Ed), of Calgary, AB, in September 2010

’87 Avril Emelia Glen, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

’74 Glenda Kathleen Mathew, BEd, of Kamloops, BC, in July 2010 Sydney Frederick Smith, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010 Terresa Lynne Melville, Dip(Nu), of Calgary, AB, in September 2010

’75 Fairley Mackay Boyle, BEd, ’79 BA, of Grimshaw, AB, in October 2010 Joseph Donald Dunnigan, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010 Ruth Ursula Leipziger, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in August 2010

’76 Allan Francis Leboldus, BSc, ’78 DDS, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

’89 Lisa Mary Pelzer (Wyc), BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010 ’89 Mary Semenyna (Lloy), BSc(Nu), of Calgary, AB, in October 2010 ’91 James Clark Dubarry, BCom, of North York, ON, in September 2010 Wayne Joseph Paltzat, BSc(CivEng), ’93 MEng, of Sherwood Park, AB, in October 2010

’92 Hazel Dell Tokarsky, BA, ’95 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in July 2010 John Douglass Guy, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010

Lloyd Edwin Atkin, BSc(CivEng), of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010

’93 Alvin James Hoshizaki, BSc(MechEng), of Calgary, AB, in August 2010

Robert Trent Bronson, BCom, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

Philip John Heaton, BSc(MechEng), of Calgary, AB, in October 2010

’77 Errol Wayne Moen, BEd, of Camrose, AB, in September 2010

’94 Karen Dawn McKnight, BSc(Nu), of Lacombe, AB, in September 2010

Gilly Ethel Brand, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in June 2010

Moneca Tylor, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010

James Richard Mabee, BSc, of Edmonton, AB, in September 2010

’99 Bradley Arthur Lazowski, BA, of Newbrook, AB, in October 2010

’78 David Peter Chisholm, BCom, of Victoria, BC, in October 2010 Jason Benjamin Edwards, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in October 2010 Joyce Susanne Hordern-Zutter, MSc, of Sherwood Park, AB, in September 2010

’79 Martin Sheldon Shostak, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in August 2010 ’80 David Walter Hewko, BCom, of Calgary, AB, in October 2010

’04 Taralyn Nicole Klym, BEd, of Sherwood Park, AB, in August 2010 ’09 Bradley Byron Howe, BSc(MechEng), of Wetaskiwin, AB, in July 2010 *** Submit remembrances about U of A graduates by sending a text file to alumni@ualberta.ca. Tributes are posted on the “In Memoriam” webpage at www.ualberta.ca/alumni.

’86 Paul Alpern, BCom, ’89 MBA, ’91 LLB, was recently appointed vicepresident, secretary and general counsel of Stantec Incorporated. Christina Andrews, MLS, was recently elected Canadian president of the Daughters of Penelope, an international organization that promotes Hellenism, education, philanthropy, civic responsibility and family and individual excellence. Charles Boberg, BA, an associate professor of linguistics at McGill University, has just published a book on Canadian English called The English Language in Canada. Greta Cummings, MEd, ’03 PhD, recently received the Order of Merit for Nursing Research from the Canadian Nurses Association. She is a professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the U of A. George Feledichuk, BCom, of Plano, TX, writes that he recently finished his MBA through the Keller Graduate School of Management in Richardson, TX, and that he is currently working as a Grade 11 special education instructor. “I have taught U.S. History and U.S. Government for the last six years— funny, since I’m from northern Alberta,” he writes. George would like to get in touch with any other U of A alumni living in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.

’87 Paul Jeffrey Mason, BA, ’91 LLB, was recently appointed as a judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta. Thomas Trofimuk, BA, of Edmonton, recently received more good news regarding his award-winning novel Waiting for Columbus: it was selected for this year’s edition of Britain’s Richard and Judy Book Club (www.richardandjudy.co.uk). That’s not all—the word from Hollywood is that Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jose Rivera (The

Valerie Henitiuk, ’85 BA, ’88 MA, ’00 MA, ’05 PhD, has been awarded a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship to help support her sabbatical year at Harvard University, where she is working on a book project and co-editing two other volumes—one on the work of W.G. Sebald and the other translating a collection of Indian language women’s short stories into English. Valerie is a senior lecturer in the School of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia in the UK, where she serves as acting director of the British Centre for Literary Translation. Motorcycle Diaries) is in negotiations to write the movie adaptation of the book for the big screen.

’88 Neil Grahn, BA, and Marianne Copithorne, ’82 BFA, ’03 MFA, have recently hit Canada’s airwaves with “The Irrelevant Show,” a sketch comedy act that runs on Saturday mornings on CBC Radio One. The show features live music and sound effects and is recorded in front of a live audience in Edmonton. ’89 Uttandaraman Sundararaj, BSc(Eng), of Calgary, AB, received a 3M National Teaching Fellowship in June—the most prestigious award of post-secondary teaching excellence in Canada. Uttandaraman is head of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Calgary.

Lubomyr Luciuk, ’84 PhD, of Kingston, ON, recently received the Shevchenko Medal, the highest form of recognition bestowed by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, for his distinguished service as a researcher, educator and advocate to the Lubomyr Luciuk, second from right Ukrainian-Canadian community. Lubomyr is a professor of political geography in the Department of Politics and Economics at the Royal Military College of Canada. Winter 2011

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’90s

’90 Marty Chan, BA, launched the fourth novel in his mystery series for kids. The new book, The Mystery of the Cyber Bully, pits a trio of kid detectives against a bully lurking on the Internet and is available in stores across Canada. Also watch for the published version of Marty’s stage play, The Forbidden Phoenix, which will hit bookstores in December. Richmond Gateway Theatre will present a live production of the play (with music and lyrics by Robert Walsh) in April 2011.

’91 Marie Fontaine, BA, writes that she has been living in Germany since 1993 and is now working at the University of Applied Sciences in Osnabrueck, Lower Saxony, teaching business English in the Faculty of Business Management and Social Sciences. “Not sure how I ended up in Germany speaking the language of Goethe and Schiller instead of Almodóvar’s mother tongue,” says the double major in Spanish and Women’s Studies. “I followed my husband to Northern Europe, and I have missed my hometown ever since. I do make my way back to Canada as often as I can. I have a 15 year-old daughter and a master’s degree from the University of Osnabrueck, where I majored in English Language and Literature. My father was an announcer for CBC radio in Edmonton, and, oddly enough, I realised at the age of 44 that this is what I have always wanted to do. Now that I have a new lease on life as a single woman, I’m starting to take courses to make this dream come true.”

Aruna D’Souza, BA, was recently appointed as associate director of research and academic programs of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Located in Massachusetts, the Institute is an art museum and a centre for research and higher education, dedicated to advancing and extending the public understanding of art.

’92 Sean Caulfield, BFA, ’96 MFA, of Edmonton, writes that he has an art exhibition opening in January at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary titled “Perception of Promise: Biotechnology, Society and Art.” Sean is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Printmaking in the U of A’s Department of Art and Design. Bobbi Windsor, BEd, and sister Cori Windsor, ’98 BSc(Nu), started Terrafrog Clothing Corporation, a company that produces environmentally conscious workout gear, just three years ago. Their limited edition garments have since begun showing up on store shelves in Manhattan as their line was recently picked up by New York’s Kinespirit Studios.

’94 Chris Opio, ’95 PhD(Ag), has been selected as a top-10 finalist for the CBC’s “Champions of Change” initiative (www.cbc.ca/change). He received $10,000 for the Northern Uganda Development Foundation, an organization that he co-founded, which promotes locally sustainable sources of safe drinking water, as well as improving farming practices, health education and small business enterprises in partnership with the local people. Chris, a professor of forestry at the University of Northern British Columbia and a graduate of the U of A’s Department of Renewable Resources, was inspired by his memories of the

unsafe water his family was forced to drink in his native Uganda to find a way to help people there gain access to safe drinking water—and hopefully avoid the water-borne illnesses that have claimed the lives of so many. To date, the Northern Uganda Development Foundation has opened 29 wells, providing more than 42,000 people access to clean water. The “Champions of Change” winner will receive $25,000 to further their cause.

’95 Analea Wayne, BA, ’98 LLB, of Sherwood Park, AB, was recently named president of the Alberta branch of the Canadian Bar Association and will be joining The Counsel Network as a recruitment consultant in January 2011. Jeff DiBattista, MSc, ’00 PhD, pedalled 6,931 kilometres across Canada on an 82-day adventure. His trek started in Tofino, BC, in June 2010, and he was accompanied for part of the trip with his family. In addition to living out one of the items on his bucket list, he also helped support the Canadian Cancer Society. Jeff is a principal at Dialogue, formerly Cohos Evamy, an architectural and urban planning services firm.

’96 Marla Middleton-Freitag, PhD, was recently awarded Medicine Hat College’s Academic Achievement Award. The coordinator of the College’s office technology program, she was recognized for her dedication to lifelong learning and for her innovative methods to improve teaching and learning experiences for students. Linda Stollings, BEd, writes, “After seven-and-a-half years living in Kamloops, BC, and completing a master of educational technology

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Alberta municipal election news: Bruce Decoux, ’78 MEd, ’97 PhD, was recently elected Mayor of Crowsnest Pass, AB. In Edmonton, Ben Henderson, ’84 MFA, Don Iveson, ’01 BA, Kim Krushell, ’95 MLIS, and Linda Sloan, ’03 BSc(Nu), were re-elected as City Councillors in the 2010 municipal elections. degree at UBC, I have returned to Edmonton, where I work at Grant MacEwan University as an instructional designer.” Andrew Haynes, LLB, has been appointed associate general counsel, global corporate, for BP in London, England, where he will oversee BP legal’s global treasury activities and corporate mergers and acquisitions.

’97 Gordon Harris, LLB, ’97 MBA, writes that he has moved back home to Waterloo, ON, where he is running the second office of Graves-RichardHarris LLP. ’98 Devon Rowe, MSc, and Leslie Driver-Rowe, ’98 MSc, of Vancouver, WA, writes to announce the birth of their son Birkeley John Rowe in December 2008. Birkeley joined sisters Avery (then five) and Jordan (then three). Unfortunately, his sister Jordan passed away when he was just three months old. Jordan suffered from a congenital brain malformation and severe medical fragility and developmental delay; however, Devon and Leslie write that for those three months Birkeley was able to “rest and snuggle with his sister every day.” You can follow the Rowes on their blog at devonandleslierowe.blogspot.com.

THE BANFF CENTRE

’00s

’00 Dorothy Ludwig, BA, of Langley, BC, and Lynda Hare were the bronze medalists of the women’s pairs 10metre air pistol shooting event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. David Legg, PhD, of Cochrane, AB, was recently elected president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, a position held 25 years earlier by his mentor and fellow U of A alumnus, Robert Steadward, ’69 BPE, ’71 MSc, ’02 LLD (Honorary). Ben Sanami Morrill, BA, writes that he has been working with Potters Without Borders since 2006 to fight waterborne disease in developing countries with a ceramic water filter technology. Ben writes that “anyone interested in our activities should please contact sanami@potterswithoutborders.com.”

’03 Tom Barber, BA, recently became manager, government grants and contracts, in the Office of Research at the University of Waterloo. Tom writes that he’s lucky he gets to commute to work with his wife Aimée Morrison, ’04 PhD, an assistant professor in UW’s Department of English, and their four-year-old daughter, Aline, who attends the campus pre-school. Jennifer Dien Bard, ’03 BScMLS, ’08 PhD, of Los Angeles, CA, and Kennard Tan, ’06 MD, of Coquitlam, BC, were both recently certified as diplomats of the American Board of Medical Microbiology (ABMM). The ABMM certification is the highest credential that a doctoral-level clinical microbiologist can earn.

The following alumni were recently recognized in Edmonton’s Avenue magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” list for their leadership, success, and community service: Amanda Babichuk, ’01 BCom, owner of d’Lish Urban Kitchen and Wine Bar; David Benjestorf, ’00 LLB, general manager and chief legal counsel of Alldritt Development; Chris Bolivar, ’04 BA, owner and managing director of McRobbie Optamedia; Darren Bondar, ’98 MBA, president and founder of Watch It!; Michael Brechtel, ’06 BCom, community organizer and the director of strategy of McRobbie Optamedia; Chris Buyze, ’03 BA, partner and designer of Battle Lake Design Group; Chris Craddock, ’96 BFA, actor, writer, director, and current writer-in-residence at Edmonton Public Library; Richard R. J. Cui, ’02 BA, musician, CEO and president of business development at PlanIt Sound; Mark Fitzsimmons, ’99 BEd, president of Psychometrics

Canada; Christine Kasturi, ’02 BSc(NuFS), owner of two businesses: New Mama and IronMama; Katherine Lomax, ’96 BEd, president and creative director of Elegant Touches; Tegan Martin-Drysdale, ’02 BSc(Eng), project manager for ProCura Real Estate Services; Kyle Murray, ’94 BSc, ’04 PhD, director of the School of Retailing in the U of A’s School of Business; Brent Oliver, ’00 BA, co-founder of Foundation Concerts; Aidan Rowe, ’95 BFA, assistant professor of design studies at the U of A; Joshua Semchuk, ’02 BFA, communications manager for the Citadel Theatre; Tim Shipton, ’99 BA, president and founding member of Alberta Enterprise Group; Emmy Stuebing, ’98 BA, executive director of the Alberta Emerald Foundation; Zoe Todd, ’06 BSc, an advocate for Aboriginal rights and a dedicated volunteer; Tyler Vreeling, ’07 BDes, principal designer and president of Fat Crow Design; Catherine Vu, ’01 BCom, owner of Pro-Active IT Management Inc.; Analea Wayne, ’95 BA, ’98 LLB, president of the Canadian Bar Association, Alberta Branch; Kristina Williams, ’05 MBA, Swedish consul to Edmonton and director of investments at Alberta Enterprise Corporation.

’04 Jhenifer Pabillano, BA, of

’07 Melissa

Vancouver was recently named to Mass Transit’s “Top 40 Under 40” list and her blog, pabillano.com, has been named “Best Blog” by the American Public Transportation Association. Jhenifer is the online communications advisor at Vancouver’s Translink.

Krystofiak, BDes, has just completed work as a set decoration coordinator for the second season of the hit TV show, Glee. She has also worked as a graphic designer for the movie Transformers 3 and production designer for The Shattering and Conception.

’05 Peter Weeks, MEd, has recently taken up a new position as principal of J.T. Foster High School in Nanton, AB. Fancy C. Poitras, BA, writes that after completing her master of public policy degree at Simon Fraser University in April, she moved to Ottawa to take a position as a policy analyst for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

poster in the health sciences division, which is currently pending acceptance for publication. Rick Harris, BEd, of St. Albert, AB— one of the newest crop of U of A alumni— writes, “I am very proud to be a University of Alberta grad, having earned my degree later in the life through part-time studies while working full-time in a senior management position, and I found my June 8 convocation to be incredibly uplifting. Sean Gillen, BPE, of Edmonton, writes that just five months after graduating he has been offered a fulltime job as the sport development manager of the Special Olympics of Alberta. “I have accepted, and I thank the physical education professors at the U of A for preparing me,” writes Sean.

’10 Angela Lau, BSc, only months after graduating from the U of A, is already garnering much attention for her research on tuberculosis screening methods. She recently received an award for her work at the Rising Stars of Research conference at the University of British Columbia for her

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new trail

photo finish

Team Player

ne thing that’s clear about this photo is that it’s the 1918 University of Alberta Varsity female basketball team — that had yet to take on the moniker of “Pandas.” We also know that the women’s basketball team used to play games in an addition behind Athabasca Hall completed in 1914 that provided space for a larger dining room and a gymnasium. The space was also used for examinations, dances, teas and Sunday morning church services. The man holding the basketball is none other than Cecil Race, ’23 MA, who had a longterm career in administration at the U of A and was, by all accounts, a renowned gentleman. Apparently the “effort” to have Race return as coach of the team paid off, as illustrated by this item found in the December 19, 1918, issue

new trail

Winter 2011

of The Gateway. “Basketball enthusiasts will be glad to know that Miss Martin is back in her old position as president of basketball. All of last year’s senior team are here, and the junior team has most of its members. There is enough good material to arouse great enthusiasm for places on the team. An effort is being made to have Mr. Race train the team as he did last year, and Miss Fabb train the other girls thus giving more girls a chance to practice. The three practices so far have been well attended.” If you can identify anyone else in this photo, please let us know. February 12, 2011 will be the last regular season Pandas game ever played in the Main Gym. Both the Pandas and Bears will play next season’s games at the under-construction Go Centre on South Campus.

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