Jennifer Lanthier

The world is mourning University Professor Emerita Ursula Franklin, one of Canada's most accomplished scientists and educators and one of its most renowned feminists and peace activists.

Franklin, who died at the age of 94, was born in Germany and educated in Berlin. After surviving the Holocaust, she came to the �ؿ�ζSM as a postdoctoral student in 1949. Following 15 years as a senior scientist with the Ontario Research Foundation – where her research on strontium-90 in baby teeth was instrumental in achieving a moratorium on atmospheric nuclear weapons testing – she rejoined U of T in 1967 as the first female professor of what is now known as materials science and engineering.

“Throughout her life and career, University Professor Ursula Franklin made remarkable contributions to the U of T Engineering community, the engineering profession and the world,” said Cristina Amon, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “Her pioneering spirit and inspirational role model will be greatly missed, and I know that her extraordinary legacy will continue to inspire future generations of engineers.”

U of T President Meric Gertler also paid tribute to Franklin, saying, “Ursula Franklin was a U of T and global pioneer -- as a scientist and educator, as an activist, and as a woman. While we mourn her passing, we also celebrate her brilliant legacy of accomplishment and influence. We are very proud and grateful to count her among the most distinguished leaders in the history of the �ؿ�ζSM."

Read a U of T News interview with Ursula Franklin

Listen to a CBC interview with Franklin

Read her interview with The Atlantic

Franklin pioneered the field of archaeometry, applying modern materials science to the dating of archaeological artefacts. In 1984, Franklin became the first woman to receive the title of University Professor, the highest academic rank at U of T. She delivered the Massey Lectures in 1989 and holds more than 40 honorary doctorates. In recognition of her humanitarian work, Franklin received the United Nations Association’s Pearson Peace Medal in 2002.

She was also a resident and senior fellow at Massey College. Hugh Segal, the Master of Massey College, described her as “one of Canada's and the world's most important interdisciplinary scholars. With a background in the sciences, engineering and physics, a strong scholarly engagement and achievement in philosophy and remarkable lifelong advocacy for peace, humanism, and the human priorities for technology, Dr Franklin's work will live on for centuries to come. Her presence at Massey, and her mentoring of Junior Fellows, was always of huge importance.”

In honour of Franklin, the �ؿ�ζSM flag will be flown at half-mast across the three campuses on Tuesday, as well as at Massey College. There is no public funeral planned.

U of T News reporter Romi Levine spoke with Karen Suurtamm, an archivist at �ؿ�ζSM Archives & Records Management Services. Suurtamm, who assisted Ursula Franklin in archiving her records, notes that the records are available to researchers (go to http://utarms.library.utoronto.ca/dr-ursula-franklin%E2%80%99s-archival-papers-now-open-researchers for more information.

On working with Franklin

About 18 months ago we got in touch with [Franklin] to talk about acquiring the rest of her collection. In 1996, she donated a lot of her materials that she accumulated up until then. So we wanted to complete the collection.

I met with her several times and then worked with her assistant to pack up her records that were at Massey College and in her home and in a storage facility.

And then I met with her to talk about her life and what kinds of materials she had and what was important to her.

On Franklin’s legacy

She’s a remarkable woman. What I find so fascinating about her even just in reading through her materials – her correspondence and papers – she was involved in so many things. She was so accomplished as a physicist and engineer, a scientist, and then she extended that into her work into social responsibility as a scientist.

On top of that she’s a Quaker and pacifist and a feminist and an active member of Voice of Women (now the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace). So she’s doing all this stuff on top of being a mother as well.

As she’s juggling all of this, she has this amazing clarity of purpose and clarity of thought. She never really seemed frazzled, she always seemed to know what she was doing and why and what was important to focus on. That’s what really stood out to me about her and what really inspired me.

On fighting for women

A woman in engineering at that time – you can imagine – it’s not the most welcoming climate.

I think for her she has such a focus and vision that she just carried on. She always fought for women in science. You see in her correspondence she’s always trying to leverage other women and promote other women – the people she was mentoring. Once she became more well-known and everybody was contacting her to give her awards or honorary degrees or have her speak she would always try to push them toward other people she was mentoring that were up and coming to promote other women in the field. She was very outspoken about that as well – making sure there’s a real place for women.

On the scope of the collection

It’s about 150 boxes and that includes textual records – handwritten and typewritten correspondence and articles. It includes photographs, posters, artifacts - there’s about 150 tape recordings, audio cassette recordings of her talk.

That’s preserved here in the U of T archives and it’s open and available to researchers who want to access it.

CBC Radio's Matt Galloway talks with Roberta Bondar about Franklin

A year in the life of Canada’s top-ranked university: from the country's first hand and forearm transplant to @UofTDrizzy

lanthierj — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 13:12:45 +0000

A year in the life of Canada’s top-ranked university: from the country's first hand and forearm transplant to @UofTDrizzy

lanthierj Wed, 07/06/2016 - 09:12

Jennifer Lanthier

Veronica Zaretski

Author legacy

Jennifer Lanthier and Veronica Zaretski

Topic

City & Culture

Subheadline

Students, faculty, staff and alumni who made 2015-2016 at the �ؿ�ζSM an academic year to remember

They helped welcome refugees, launched startups, won countless awards, and led research breakthroughs on cancer-causing proteins, why everyone is better off when kids walk to school, whether dinosaurs had lips and much, much more.

Students and faculty at the �ؿ�ζSM spent the academic year working to make the city, the country and the world a better, healthier, more sustainable place. And across the globe, people took notice – with international rankings that placed U of T eighth of the world’s top public universities and surveys that ranked U of T grads among the world’s most employable.

It isn’t possible to capture all the highlights of 2015-2016.

But here are six reasons why U of T students, faculty, staff and alumni made it a year to remember.

ONE: STUDENTS WHO MADE HEADLINES

The school year had barely started when a team of alumni and students created the fastest human-powered vehicle in the world. And things never really slowed down after that.

Read about the students who were awarded prestigious Trudeau Foundation scholarships

Read about U of T’s Rhodes Scholars

Read about U of T Drizzy

Read about U of T’s newest grads

And who were the innovative teachers who inspired and connected with those students? Work-study student Krisha Ravikantharaja goes behind the scenes in Canada’s largest classroom for her series: Inside Con Hall and reporter Arthur Kaptainis profiles winners of the President’s Teaching Awards.

TWO: SOME SERIOUSLY GLOBAL CITIZENS

Photo above and all photos below by Johnny Guatto

Pretty much every university these days talks about fostering global citizenship. But at U of T, global citizens are everywhere. Here are just a few:

Undergrad Quan Le travelled to Rwanda for economic research funded by the World Bank and Innovations for Poverty Action, a U.S. non-profit,

Undergrad Alexa Waud travelled to Brazil to investigate the country’s approach to alleviating poverty.

Team Attollo created “talking stickers” to improve the literacy for impoverished children around the world. And entrepreneurs from the Banting & Best Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship worked on a low-cost light, easy to turn-on light, tested in the Philippines.

Faculty and students at The Munk School of Global Affairs tackled everything from privacy issues in the age of big data to participatory budgeting in Canada. You could see its experts debating Canada’s foreign policy future on the eve of the federal election and issues such as terrorism, ISIS and the global refugee crisis a month later.

U of T student delegates participated in the COP21 conference in Paris (and shared their impressions of the summit with U of T News. )

THREE: THE CITY EXPERTS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT WE NEED (AND DESERVE)

Need an expert on infrastructure, water treatment, transit, municipal revenue sources, urban forests, energy grid, food deserts, voting, public art, guns and gangs, slippery sidewalks, the school system? U of T has all of them and more – even the university’s president is a cities expert. [link to TV interview] How did students and faculty use the city as a living laboratory?

In Shauna Brail’s urban studies course community needs were matching with learning opportunities.

Eric Miller, head of U of T’s Transportation Research Institute was asked by Mayor John Tory to analyze his SmartTrack transit plan.

“The more capacity you can build in the downtown, the better off everyone is, including U of T,” said Miller.

He wasn’t the only one working to solve the city’s transit woes. Students travelling to universities in Toronto may spend hours on their way to class in a single day – and that affects their studies, involvement in university events, and overall quality of life. So U of T, York University, Ryerson University and OCAD University collaborated on StudentMoveTO where students completed a survey on their travel experience to and from their university.

"The initial goal was to seek ways to help inform public policy and ultimately to improve the commuting experience for our students,” President Meric Gertler wrote in U of T Magazine. “But we believe the data will help improve the quality of life for everyone in the Toronto region."
Read more about StudentMoveTO.

Sometimes U of T was literally building the city. Take U of T Scarborough’s new Environmental Science and Chemistry Building. Or how about the downtown Toronto campus’ Landscape of Landmark Quality project introduced in this academic year. After months of consultations with university stakeholders and the wider public, a team comprised of KPMB Architects, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) and Urban Strategies released a plan that shows revitalized public spaces of the St. George campus.

FOUR: RESEARCH THAT IS CHANGING THE WORLD

Why does QS rank U of T tops in Canada in all its research categories? We didn’t have time to ask the literally thousands of faculty, grad students and undergrads who work on everything from fundamental research to innovations that spark startups. But here are just a few examples of the people who are already changing the way we see the world and how we live in it.

The prestigious Killam Prize was awarded to four U of T recipients this year and U of T also gained 34 new Canada Research Chairs.

Neuroscientist Christopher Honey and astrophysicist Jo Bovy, both in the Faculty of Arts and Science, won the Sloan Fellowship.

These ten U of T researchers have been awarded NSERC Strategic Partnership Grants, supporting research such as designing new materials for electrolysing clean fuel and data-driven knowledge mobilization.

These five U of T scholars received NSERC prizes for research that will support research ranking from looking into billion-year-old water, the evolution of plants, faster disease diagnosis, and microbial energy.

From the private sector to the public sector, potential partners and backers recognized the University’s strength in research.

Read about the largest research grant in U of T’s history: $114 million for the design and manufacture of cells, tissues and organs that can be used to treat degenerative disease. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dropped by to show his support for U of T’s CCRM, the commercial arm of Medicine for Design.

U of T announced that its facilities at the MaRS West Tower will host the first JLABS incubator in Canada. Of the first 22 companies selected to be part of JLABS @ Toronto, at least eight have ties to U of T and its partner hospitals: Nanovista, 6Biotech, App4Independence, AvroBio, DNAstack, Ketogen Pharma, Ubiquitech and Proteorex Therapeutics Inc.

And the Ontario government invested in the Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship, designed to support and accelerate economic growth and long-term prosperity in Ontario and Canada. Read more about the CEIE.

FIVE: LOCAL HEROES

It’s true, what they say: Canada needs more U of T.

From the country’s new Parliamentary Poet laureate, Professor George Elliott Clarke, to the latest winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize, staff member and alumna Liz Howard, and all the students and recent grads prepping for Fringe, members of the U of T community made more contributions to our culture and quality of life than we can list.

Read about the alumna behind Under the Gardiner

Read about the alumni appointed to the federal cabinet

But it was a year of more than awards and honours. Classes had barely begun last September when the U of T community banded together in a show of solidarity and courage, denouncing violence against women in the wake of threatening online comments targeting women and feminists at the university. And throughout the academic year, scholars stepped up to work on some of the longest-running but most pressing challenges any university must face. Read about:

Sexual violence prevention and support
Sustainability
Beyond Divestment: Taking Decisive Action on Climate Change
Mental health
Truth and Reconciliation

And although it’s great to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges it’s also important to take care of things at home. This year, U of T was named one of:
•   Canada’s Greenest Employers
•   Canada’s Family-Friendly Employers
•   Top Employers for Canadians Over 40
•   Best Diversity Employer

SIX: A DEEPLY ENGAGED COMMUNITY

Throughout the year, U of T faculty weighed in on important topics for U of T News, The Bulletin, and media organizations around the world.

Read what they had to say in the federal election.

And students did their bit to get out the vote.

But while members of the U of T community don’t shy away from tough topics , they also love to celebrate.

“What isn’t our community engaged with on social media?” says Michelle Cortes, U of T’s manager of online and social media. “Our most popular posts across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are things that give people a reason to be proud and connected with U of T.

“Looking back at this year our most popular topics were U of T’s global rankings announcements, the emergence and overwhelming popularity of @UofTDrizzy in the fall and the U of T takeover of the iconic Toronto sign down at Nathan Phillips Square.”

During the past year, the @uoft Instagram and Twitter accounts surpassed 20,000 followers and the U of T Facebook page surpassed 250,000 followers, Cortes said.

“Sometimes goofy and at other times serious, social media continues to be a place where our community talks about the things that matter to them.”

The Varsity’s hardworking student journalists engaged U of T students in a wide range of political and social issues, including left-wing privilege on campus, the federal election results, and a discussion on cultural appropriation, a look at the UTSU lawsuit of its former leaders and the disqualification of team 1UofT from UTSU election.

“Part of the reason that it is really interesting to be working in student journalism at U of T is because there is such a diversity of interests,” said Alex McKeen, The Varsity’s current editor-in-chief, adding sexual violence policies and mental health issues and support are important to students.

“U of T has a really long history and The Varsity has a long history (since 1880), so when we dive into an issue like feminism we instantly dive into our own archives and flip through our own paper. It’s something that humbles us a bit to look back on this institution and this paper and how both have evolved over time.”

To read more news, research and community stories from the past academic year, take a look at U of T’s recently revamped news site. Looking to share a tip or propose a story idea for the coming academic year at U of T? Contact UofTNews@utoronto.ca.

How do great universities build great cities?

sgupta — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 13:25:45 +0000

How do great universities build great cities? sgupta Mon, 09/29/2014 - 09:25

Cutline

U of T's Munk School of Global Affairs welcomes "an astounding 33,000 visitors annually" to its seminars, conferences, lectures and other public events, says President Meric Gertler (photo by Dominc Ali)

Jennifer Lanthier

Author legacy

Jennifer Lanthier

Topic

City & Culture

Top Stories

President

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

The "unknown, invisible" but crucial role of U of T students, faculty, staff and alumni

Universities play a key role in building and strengthening cities, helping them connect with the world and reinvent themselves in dynamic ways – and it’s a symbiotic relationship, says award-winning urban theorist and �ؿ�ζSM president Meric Gertler.

"A strong university helps build a strong city and the reverse is also true: a strong city helps build a strong university,” Gertler told the sold-out crowd of urban experts, planners, students and activists. The Big City, Big Ideas event was hosted by the Institute on Municipal Finance & Government at the Munk School of Global Affairs on September 18.

“We need to leverage this relationship to our mutual advantage to advance our shared prosperity.”

But the crucial role of the university as a city builder is easily overlooked, Gertler said – even in Toronto, where Canada’s top-ranked university fuelled more startups between 2009 and 2012 than any other single North American institution.

Gertler used the example of alumnus Bill Buxton and U of T’s computer science department – ranked among the top 10 in the world – to illustrate the ways in which U of T’s faculty and the 16,500 students the University graduates each year bring both dynamism and stability to the region and help connect the city to the world.

Buxton, who graduated with an MSc in computer science from U of T in 1978, is an adjunct professor. Working with U of T colleagues and the company Alias/Wavefront (now part of AutoDesk), Buxton helped lead a revolution in human-computer interfaces and graphics. Along the way, Alias has provided more internships for U of T students than the computer science department can track, and many of its employees, recruited from U of T, have gone on to launch their own startups, Gertler said.

"When Buxton and his colleagues were developing multi-touch screens at U of T, one in four of Ontario’s jobs were in manufacturing, and sectors such as automotive parts and final assembly dominated the Ontario economy,” Gertler said. “Today, the Toronto CMA [census metropolitan area] is the third largest technology hub in North America, comprising some 43 per cent of Canada’s tech sector investment. And firms such as Alias/Autodesk have played a key role.”

Buxton’s unsung accomplishments do more than simply illustrate ways in which U of T connects its urban region to the world and helps its economy adapt and grow, said Gertler. The Buxton story is emblematic of U of T’s role as a city builder in a key way:

“Hardly anyone here knows it.”

Acknowledging that “some institutions are better at telling their stories than others,” Gertler listed a few crucial ways the unsung success of U of T has fuelled its symbiotic relationship with the region of Toronto.

Rankings & Collaborations
“U of T is indeed among a handful of top universities in the world,” Gertler said, “far and away the top-ranked institution in Canada.”

Statistics show U of T is second only to Harvard in terms of research productivity and impact, Gertler said. That level of research excellence “marks Toronto as an important node in the global flow of ideas,” he said, and ensures that when the world’s top researchers seek partners for collaborations, they turn to U of T.

"In 2012 alone, authors with a U of T affiliation produced over 14,000 publications in scholarly journals and collaborated with colleagues at over 8,000 institutions in hundreds of municipalities around the world.”

Education

With 48 per cent of U of T’s 83,000 students receiving needs-based financial aid and one in six the first in their family to attend university, U of T is not only one of the world’s top research institutions but one of its most accessible, Gertler said.

“It’s really rare, increasingly rare, to find these two characteristics combined in one place,” Gertler said. “Why does it matter? What does this mean for the GTA, and for Ontario and Canada?

“It underscores how U of T functions as a critically important portal of opportunity for all segments of our diverse population, helping this region leverage more fully the talent that is born here or arrives here from across Canada and around the world.”

Innovation & Entrepreneurship
“The truth is, you cannot situate a university just anywhere and expect it to trigger the formation of a local innovation cluster,” Gertler said, pointing out that the Toronto region’s success as an emerging innovation and entrepreneurship powerhouse rests on a high quality of life that encourages U of T’s graduates to remain in the city to build their careers and businesses.

With U of T’s academic community recently creating more startups than MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Caltech, Harvard and others, “this is the very essence of resilience and reinvention,” said Gertler. (Read more about entrepreneurship at U of T.)

Integration & Partnerships
Gertler said U of T directly employs more people than Chrysler and GM employ in all of Canada combined. The economic stimulus from the expenditures of the university and its students adds up to $12 billion a year for Ontario – most of that within the GTA. But the stabilizing role of the university goes further, he said, with students learning by working in partnership with community organizations throughout the region.

"Our dentistry students, for example, served 78,000 patient-visits in their clinics last year as part of their training,” Gertler said. “Half of these patients were children or seniors and 87 per cent had no health insurance at all.”

Building on this kind of community outreach and increasing U of T’s partnerships with GTA colleges and universities is a priority, Gertler said.

"Clearly we have some remarkable partnerships and there are many aspects of the status quo that are unknown, invisible or not well appreciated," Gertler said.

"We have to help everyone understand the value of the remarkable resources we have in this region. And then we all have to work together to make the region – and all of those privileged to work, study and play here – happier, healthier and more prosperous.”

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Farley Mowat, Canadian storyteller, activist and icon

sgupta — Mon, 12 May 2014 09:56:22 +0000

Farley Mowat, Canadian storyteller, activist and icon sgupta Mon, 05/12/2014 - 05:56

Cutline

In 1996, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship, RV Farley Mowat, was named in his honour

Jennifer Lanthier

Author legacy

Jennifer Lanthier

Subheadline

Reflections on the award-winning author and �ؿ�ζSM alumnus

Canadians across the globe are remembering passionate and prolific author Farley Mowat, renowned for his environmental activism, iconic works of fiction and love of adventure.

"Many Canadians of his generation came to know whole regions of this country because of and through his books,” said Associate Professor Nick Mount, of the Department of English at the �ؿ�ζSM. “Our idea of the Canadian North, especially, was largely shaped by Mowat - a place he created in our collective imagination, populated by The People of the Deer, where you learned to Never Cry Wolf or become Lost in the Barrens.”

Mowat, who died at 92, was a U of T alumnus (BA, 1949 from University College) and the recipient, in 1973, of an honorary degree. In 2012, he was named as one of University College’s inaugural “alumni of influence.” The author of such well-known books as Owls in the Family and The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be, Mowat published more than 40 adult's and children's books in a literary career that spanned many decades, winning the Governor General’s Award in 1956 for the novel, Lost in the Barrens.

"Mowat’s great gifts were his passion for his subject matter and his ability to tell riveting, colourful tales, whether he was writing fiction or nonfiction, whether for children or for adults,” said Assistant Professor Robert McGill, who teaches Canadian literature and creative writing.

“The broad appeal of his stories, especially during the key nationalist period of the 1950s and 60s, meant that Mowat was highly influential in shaping popular ideas about Canada—in particular, with regard to Aboriginal peoples, the North, and the natural environment."

A founding member of The Writers’ Union of Canada, Mowat was awarded a lifetime membership in the union in 2007.

"His profile, humour, spirit, and energy were large factors in the creation and early effectiveness of our organization,” TWUC chair Dorris Heffron said in a statement. “He said he would stand on his head in a public square, wearing his kilt, if necessary to promote Canadian Literature. Fortunately, or not, he never found that necessary. Dear Fabulous Farley. He is truly unforgettable."

As news of Mowat’s death spread, Canadians spoke of his passion for the north, for the natural world, and for the country’s First Nations.

“Very sad to hear that Farley Mowat has died,” tweeted CBC Radio host Jian Gomeshi, who later devoted his Q essay to Mowat. “A man who was unafraid to speak out for the Canada he believed in and held dear. RIP Farley.”

An estimated 15 million copies of Mowat's non-fiction and fiction works have been sold across the globe. Along with tales of adventure in Canada’s wilderness, Mowat – who had served in the Second World War - also explored the horrors of battle in a number of works, including the moving memoir And No Birds Sang, published in 1979.

“Mowat’s place and stature on university courses remained wonky throughout his career because his books were not easy to place in academic courses,” said Professor Emeritus Sam Solecki. “His popular novels weren’t strong enough to stand by the side of MacLennan, Richler, Munro and their peers. People of the Deer, The Desperate People and Never Cry Wolf raised ethnographic, political and environmental issues but weren’t quite academic studies. The same point can be made about his books about Russia or the second world war.

"I suspect that his legacy will depend on the fate of those works that turned our attention north, to socio-political and environmental issues that are still with us," Solecki said. "It’s worth keeping in mind that Mowat, like Pierre Berton or Peter C. Newman, didn’t write with an academic readership in mind.

"He was a significant contrarian who knew that his audience was the general public and it was to that public he directed his various concerns.”

An Officer of the Order of Canada, Mowat was known for speaking his mind on a range of issues; he opposed the seal hunt, decried Canada’s treatment of Aboriginal peoples and was in the news most recently for his opposition to plans to provide wireless Internet service in Canadian parks. Among the many awards he received during his long career were the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, the Vicky Metcalfe Award and the Hans Christian Andersen International Award for children's literature and, in 2010, a star on Canada's Walk of Fame (see photo at right by Tabercil via Wikimedia Commons).

Controversy dogged him in his later years, as critics took him to task for exaggerating or inventing details in some of his works, blurring the lines between non-fiction and fiction.

“There’s no dispute that Mowat mixed fact and fiction in his work, " said Solecki, "but he did so at a time when many critics and philosophers, following Nietzsche and Derrida, had argued that all statements are fundamentally figurative and therefore unstable in their referentiality, truth is a relative rather than absolute concept, and the lines between genres like fiction and history are porous.

“In retrospect the attack on Mowat’s creative attitude to facts is a short footnote in an era’s shift of attitude. Mowat was probably simultaneously irritated by the attacks and thrilled by the extensive media attention. He was never as simple as he tried to appear to be.”

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Departing Provost Cheryl Misak: A Profile

sgupta — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 11:59:48 +0000

Departing Provost Cheryl Misak: A Profile sgupta Tue, 08/27/2013 - 07:59

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Provost Cheryl Misak is known at U of T to be “an incredibly supportive and intellectually generous mentor,” according to her former graduate student, Danielle Bromwich.

Jennifer Lanthier

Author legacy

Jennifer Lanthier

Our Faculty & Staff

Staff

Provost

Renowned philosopher Cheryl Misak is completing her term as provost – the chief academic and budget officer – of the �ؿ�ζSM, a role she has held since 2009.

“Cheryl Misak has made a huge contribution to the University as provost”, says President David Naylor. “I’ve thought at times that Cheryl was somehow genetically engineered for academic leadership. She has a dazzling analytical mind, a natural affinity for very smart students and great scholarship, and a profound understanding of the mission of the modern university. Package that up with vision, empathy, comfort with delegation, and boundless energy – and it’s no wonder that so much was accomplished on Cheryl’s watch.”

Misak’s latest book, The American Pragmatists, was published by Oxford University Press in April. This fall, she will teach a graduate course at New York University in the history of philosophy.

“Philosophy is about listening to reason and that’s a good thing in an administrator,” says fellow philosopher Professor Donald Ainslie, principal of U of T’s University College. “Too often administrators aren’t susceptible to argument – they’ve already decided what they’re going to do– but Cheryl has an open mind and can be persuaded. That’s a powerful capacity.”

That Misak’s expertise includes pragmatism, a philosophical position that links experience with truth, is also important, says Ainslie. He tells a story about a colleague who taught at the University of Lethbridge years ago.

Needing help “figuring something out”, the colleague was given the name of an undergraduate student with a reputation for solving problems: Cheryl Misak. Ten years later, that same colleague was teaching at Oxford University and again needed help. This time, it was a graduate student everyone recommended: Cheryl Misak.

One of Misak’s great gifts is her capacity to understand what’s important in a system and what’s not, says Ainslie.

“She has a really deep understanding of the systems that make the University what it is and the important elements that will take it to the next level. Her use of the budget model, for example, has been brilliant,” Ainslie says. “She’s used it to address some longstanding, historic inequities across the three campuses…and to help units do the things the University cares about, like connecting undergraduate students with graduate students and strengthening the first-year experience and the students’ transition into U of T.”

Misak credits a strong team of vice-provosts, deans and principals with helping to ensure that all students reap the benefits of attending a top-flight research institution.

“The �ؿ�ζSM is Canada’s research powerhouse. It’s the only university in Canada that consistently makes it into the top 20 in the world, across a vast range of disciplines. We need to preserve that gem for the country and make sure that that research strength is everywhere in our teaching mission, both with respect to graduate students and undergraduate students,” Misak says. “If you go to other universities in Canada you will find Canada Research Chairs, for instance, not doing any or much undergraduate teaching, whereas our finest researchers want to be in the classroom and we have increased those opportunities for them.”

Misak began her U of T career teaching philosophy at the Mississauga campus.

“I never set out to be an administrator,” Misak says. “I was a very happy being a jobbing philosopher. But I was asked to become chair of the philosophy department and I found that if you care about something and it turns out you can be effective at nurturing and making it better, it’s hugely rewarding.”

That stint as chair marked the beginning of a series of administrative appointments. Misak moved to the downtown campus to take the helm of the Philosophy department but returned to Mississauga when asked to become dean of that campus.

“I cared deeply about the Mississauga campus and this was just at the point when it was departmentalizing,” Misak says. “It had three big amorphous departments of humanities, social sciences, and sciences but now that the campus had become the size of a stand-alone university it was time to have more finely individuated departments.

“It was a really important moment…and I was keen to take on that challenge.”

Two years later, Misak became acting vice-president and principal of the UTM campus.

“The Campus Police reported to me and Facilities and Services reported to me - it opened up a whole new world,” Misak says. “It turns out administrative jobs are deeply interesting.”

Misak, who received a BA from the University of Lethbridge, an MA from Columbia University, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford, is also a widely respected researcher with more than 40 scholarly articles. She has published and edited books with Oxford University Press, Routledge, and Cambridge University Press.

Misak is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and has been a Humboldt Fellow at the Goethe University in Frankfurt, a Visiting Fellow of St. John's College Cambridge, and a Rhodes Scholar.

And she plays a devastating game of tennis.

“Cheryl is very competitive,” says Ainslie. “She wants U of T to win. She wants U of T to get the best students, she wants U of T faculty to get the awards and she wants the University to be recognized as not just the best in Canada but one of the world’s leaders.”

Keeping U of T on its trajectory of excellence isn’t easy, Misak says.

“It’s remained one of the best universities in the world even though other universities are so much better funded than we are. People don’t really understand that we run almost on fumes, and yet we run one of the top research institutions in the world.”

With less funding to bring to its research partnerships, U of T must leverage its research excellence, says Misak. U of T’s involvement in CUSP, the New York City-based Centre for Urban Science and Progress, is one example.

“CUSP is focussed on both research and education and it will be a wonderful opportunity for our students to get to spend some time in NYC and learn about the problems facing that city as well as the problems facing Toronto, London, Bombay, etc.” Misak says. “We need to continue to make these very selective, very high-end partnerships at the University. But we have very little money to put into these partnerships – so what we put into them is our enormous research strength.”

Along with pragmatism, Misak’s own research focuses on the theory of truth, moral and political philosophy and, more recently, the philosophy of medicine.

In 1998 Misak almost died from a catastrophic infection that landed her in the emergency room of St. Michael’s Hospital with acute respiratory distress syndrome. She spent weeks in a drug-induced coma before recovering.

In the language of the ER, her kind of case is known as a “big save”.

Over the next decade, Misak analyzed and researched her experience. She served as a patient representative on St. Michael’s critical care committee and published a series of articles for medical journals, emerging as a powerful voice on myriad aspects of her ICU experience, from the phenomenon known as ICU delirium, to the physical challenges of rehabilitation, to end-of-life issues.

“I have had the wonderful good fortune to speak to thousands and thousands of critical care people.” Misak says. “I usually end these talks by saying that what I’m suggesting is a terribly unfair burden to place on their shoulders, because the circumstances involved in critical care medicine are incredibly complex morally. Their primary job is to haul people away from death’s door, but they also have to make beastly and important ethical judgments.

“But I think it’s important to articulate just how complicated these issues are and that’s where being a philosopher comes in handy. That’s what we do: we unwind complexities and we take things that one might have thought not complex, and we show that they are in fact complex.”

Outgoing President David Naylor notes that Misak has at the same time a keen ability to bring clarity and focus to the most elaborate problems. “Cheryl makes hard things look simple. She cuts through all the noise and complexity to get at the academic and strategic core of any issue. She also has a wicked sense of humour and contagious positivity – two attributes that lifted everyone’s spirits whenever there was some crisis or conflict.”

Danielle Bromwich, assistant professor of Bioethics and Metaethics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, recalls her time as Misak’s graduate student.

“Cheryl’s an incredibly supportive and intellectually generous mentor,” says Bromwich. “In 2004, Cheryl offered me the chance to co-teach an upper level Pragmatism course with her at UTM. Despite being excited, I was more than a little terrified by the prospect of teaching with one of the leading scholars in the field. But Cheryl believed in me. And she has this amazing ability to make daunting tasks seem not only manageable, but fun.

“Despite her schedule, she spent countless hours… giving me the kind of calm and constructive feedback that boosted my confidence in the classroom. It’s because of Cheryl’s mentoring that I won the Martha Lile Love teaching award that year, and developed a love of teaching.”

Misak’s entire family has invested in U of T: her husband is a professor of Law and Philosophy; her son just finished his undergrad in Peace, Conflict, and Justice Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs and is off to Oxford to do an MPhil in Comparative Politics; her daughter is going into her third year, studying Immunology. Both children are graduates of the Vic One program.

“I believe that the �ؿ�ζSM gives an unparalleled undergraduate education because we have stellar faculty members and our undergraduates have such wonderful access to them,” Misak says. “So despite the fact that it probably wasn’t easy for them as the provost’s kids – although they have a different last name – I strongly encouraged them to come to the �ؿ�ζSM because I knew they would have a great education. And indeed they have had a great education.”

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Meet U of T's five newest Sloan Fellows

sgupta — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:54:37 +0000

Meet U of T's five newest Sloan Fellows sgupta Tue, 02/19/2013 - 06:54

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Bianca Schroeder is one of five new Sloan Fellows at U of T (photo by Ken Jones)

Jennifer Lanthier

Kurt Kleiner

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Kurt Kleiner and Jennifer Lanthier

Faculty of Arts & Science

UTM

Our Faculty & Staff

They’re known for their path-breaking work in computers, mathematical sciences and chemistry – now these five �ؿ�ζSM researchers comprise half of Canada’s Sloan Research Fellows for 2013.

Bianca Schroeder, assistant professor of computer science; Ruslan Salakhutdinov, assistant professor of statistics; Robert Young, assistant professor of mathematics; Dwight Seferos, assistant professor of chemistry; and Vinod Vaikuntanathan, assistant professor of computer science will receive the two-year, $50,000 awards.

"I've always been attracted to mathematics," said Vaikuntanathan (pictured left), an expert in modern cryptography. “I get to design and use beautiful mathematical techniques to solve interesting, real-world problems related to privacy and security. I design new types of encryption systems that allow us to not just store and transmit encrypted data, but perform sophisticated processing on it (while the data stays encrypted).”

A non-profit institution based in New York, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation makes grants in support of original research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economic performance. This research has important implications for society, said Vaikuntanathan.

"We live in a world where a vast majority of our personal information - highly confidential data such as financial and medical records, e-mails, and indeed, our entire digital self - is now stored and processed by third party cloud services such as Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, Google Drive, Dropbox and numerous others,” he said. “Protecting this new electronic information world is paramount to the success and stability of modern society.”

For Seferos, carbon neutral energy is the key challenge facing the world today.His lab prepares polymers that can be used as the semiconducting component of a solar cell.

"In order for solar (a carbon neutral energy source) to be be adopted by the global community, the cost must be lower,” said Seferos (pictured left). “Current solar cells use silicon or inorganic thin films. Polymers or plastics have the potential to be a less expensive alternative.”

The polymers can also be potentially used for printable electronics, displays, light sources and power supplies, said Seferos.

“I was drawn to chemistry and polymer science because I get to build new molecules that I hypothesize will have useful high-tech properties,” Seferos said. “But I would say that being a scientist in general is an outstanding profession. You get to test hypothesis and discover new knowledge.

"It is always fun to come to work.”

For Schroeder, Salakhutdinov and Young, coming to work means heading to U of T Scarborough’s Department of Computer & Mathematical Sciences (CMS).

“It’s almost unprecedented,” said David Fleet, CMS chair. “For a relatively small department to be recognized with three Sloan fellowships in one year is an outstanding accomplishment.”

CMS has been able to recruit excellent young researchers largely because of U of T’s strong reputation in mathematics and computer science, said Fleet.

“We’re able to attract some of the world’s top talent when we hire.”

Schroeder’s groundbreaking studies are helping companies understand the reliability of massive, internet-scale systems; her work is closely followed by companies such as Google.

“One of my big goals is to gain a better understanding of how things break and why,” she said.

She recently found that that computers work just as well at higher temperatures than generally thought and recommended operators reduce air conditioning to save money and prevent carbon emissions.

Salakhutdinov (pictured left) focuses on machine learning—one of the most exciting, high-impact areas of computer science. He is building techniques that allow computers to make sense of vast amounts of data.

Google, Microsoft, IBM and Netflix all use deep models pioneered by Salakhutdinov to develop better image retrieval systems and improve speech recognition.

“I’m trying to build intelligent systems that can find interesting structures in big data sets,” he said.

Young (seen in the video below) conducts research that explores different aspects of geometry and geometric group theory.

His collaborations and findings have had impact in a number of fields including medicine; he recently partnered with a theoretical biologist to construct a model for wave propagation in the heart.

“On behalf of the �ؿ�ζSM research community, congratulations to these professors and thanks to the Sloan Foundation for these marvellous awards to some of our rising stars,” said Professor Peter Lewis, U of T’s associate vice-president (research and innovation). “These awards are vital in enabling researchers and scholars who are emerging leaders in their fields to further their careers and the contributions they can make to society.”

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Explaining adrenal glands for Scientific American

sgupta — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 09:35:31 +0000

Explaining adrenal glands for Scientific American sgupta Mon, 01/21/2013 - 04:35

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Alumni Nigel Morton, Dorea Reeser, Raluca Ellis and Mike Ellis at a Chemistry prom (photo courtesey Dorea Reeser)

Jennifer Lanthier

Author legacy

Jennifer Lanthier

Topic

Subheadline

Graduate student, alumni create winning video

The Scientific American challenge: create a two-minute video explaining a body part or process in a fun and engaging way using seven household objects – string, rubber bands, balls, pens, paper, cups and paper clips.

The winners: a creative team including �ؿ�ζSM PhD student Dorea Reeser, alumna Raluca Ellis, alumnus Nigel Morton and alumnus Mike Ellis.

Best friends from their years together in the Department of Chemistry, Reeser and Elis honed their science engagement skills running demonstrations for U of T’s Science Rendezvous and Girls Rock Science. But with Ellis now at Harvard University for post-doctoral work, collaborating on the video posed a challenge.

“We only had a few days to do it in October, because Raluca and Mike, her husband, were going to be in town,” Reeser says. “We had one entire day of shooting in and outside of [chemistry building] Lash Miller – we story boarded it a day or two before, also in Lash Miller because there’s a great common room where we could sort of spread things out.”

Jointly narrated by Reeser and Ellis, the video also stars Ellis’s husband Mike, a comic book artist and novelist who graduated from �ؿ�ζSM Mississauga, as well as Reeser’s boyfriend, Morton, a classicist who completed his undergraduate degree at U of T and a master’s degree at the University of Chicago.

With friend Jason Lee wielding the camera, the result, The Adrenal Glands, is a light-hearted and memorable explanation of the role and importance of the adrenal glands.

“We started off thinking about muscles and how muscles work and the nervous system – but it was all too big to handle in two minutes,” Reeser explains. “Somewhere along the way we started talking about adrenaline.

“We just really like science – we didn’t go into this knowing exactly how the adrenal system worked, so we had to research it. And we’re really interested in educating high school students so we have experience making presentations geared to non-scientists.

"But there were a few times when one of the boys would say ‘don’t use that word, it’s too science-y’ and that was part of the challenge and the fun of it.”

In awarding the top prize to The Adrenal Glands, the judges uniformly praised the educational value and clarity of the video. Their comments, published at Scientific American, emphasize teams’ inventive use of props and humour, clear message and polished production values, from quick edits to clear sound.

“Adrenal Glands was the hands down winner for me,” Emmy-award winning science documentary producer Chad Cohen told Scientific American. “Not only did the team elegantly and creatively incorporate all of the required props into their story, they revealed the inner workings of an important body system with clarity and pizazz.

“In two minutes we learn what the adrenal gland is, why we have them, how they work, and even, through some Oscar worthy performances, get to experience what they do. Thanks to this, I’ll be rethinking my graphics budget…from now on it’s just paper, rubber bands, and cups. Highly original and a pleasure to watch.”

Winning the competition does not come with a large cash award although Reeser is looking forward to her year’s free subscription to Scientific American. But the judges’ encouraging words are perhaps the greatest prize, says Reeser, citing a comment by judge Kirsten “Kiki” Sandford, a science media personality.

“She said she’d love to see more videos from our team,” says Reeser. “That’s really rewarding and motivating for us.”

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From the research lab to the operating room

sgupta — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:03:37 +0000

From the research lab to the operating room sgupta Mon, 09/17/2012 - 09:03

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Professor Paul Santerre is chief scientific officer for Interface Biologics (photo by John Guatto)

Jennifer Lanthier

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Jennifer Lanthier

Topic

Subheadline

Medical device clears regulatory hurdle in the United States

What began in the Dentistry lab of Professor Paul Santerre more than a decade ago is now Interface Biologics Inc. (IBI) - a privately-held company poised to transform the market for medical devices in the United States.

Through its licensing partner, AngioDynamics, IBI has just cleared a major regulatory hurdle that will allow a medical device using its polymer-based additives to be used in the United States.

“This is a transformative event for Interface Biologics and signals the beginning of what we hope will be a very successful commercialization effort,” said Thomas Reeves, president and chief executive officer of IBI.

IBI’s additives are used to improve devices such as ports or catheters which are implanted in the body. These additives, marketed under the name Endexo, have now been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in AngioDynamics’ BioFlo PICC – a peripherally inserted central catheter - in the United States.

The body’s own defense systems are primed to attack anything foreign – including devices that could help save a patient’s life. The result: blood and tissue build up in or around the device, clogging blood vessels and causing worsening side effects or symptoms for patients and even requiring doctors to remove or replace the devices.

Endexo aims to change that.

Added to the device during the manufacturing process, Endexo alters the surface of the device, making it harder for blood or tissue to build up and clog the device. And, unlike coatings that are sometimes applied to medical devices to reduce blockages, Endexo does not break down quickly or alter the physical properties of the device.

AngioDynamics had already received regulatory clearance to sell its BioFlo PICC with the Endexo technology in Canada. Both clinical results and sales have been impressive, said Reeves. A recent study at a Vancouver hospital reported dramatic clinical differences between the company’s PICCs and those of a competitor.

“The BioFlo PICC had a 48% reduction in occlusions – the inability to infuse or aspirate – and a 38% reduction in the need to use t-PA, which is a drug used to break up blood clots,” Reeves said. “It also showed a 37% reduction in deep vein thrombosis, a very serious and life-threatening complication.

“This ‘real world’ data is the key behind driving commercialization of this new product so we hope to see further studies published on the clinical benefits of the BioFlo PICC with Endexo technology in the near future.”

Joseph DeVivo, president and CEO of AngioDynamics, called Bioflo with Endexo technology “a truly disruptive technology” because it reduces thrombus without the use of blood-thinning drugs such as heparin, antibiotics, or antimicrobials generally associated with coatings.

Clearing this latest regulatory hurdle opens up a much larger market for the product. AngioDynamics holds an estimated 15% of the $375 million U.S. PICC market. Analysts expect the company to apply for FDA approval for additional products using the IBI technology such as BioFlo ports and BioFlo dialysis catheters.

“This technology, which started in Professor Santerre’s lab at the U of T, and was spun out as a separate company in 2001, has been funded by Canadian venture capitalists (current investors are BDC, Covington, and the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund), and has been resident at MaRS since the facility’s inception,” Reeves said. “By clearing this latest regulatory hurdle, IBI is on its way to being one of the great successes in the life sciences ‘ecosystem’ that we are all trying to engender.

“We’re proud of the Canadian success story that IBI has become.”

Professor Santerre continues to play a leadership role at IBI as chief scientific officer, while also directing the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering at U of T. In 2010, he received the Julia Levy Award from the Canadian Society for Chemical Industry for Commercialization of Innovation in Canada in the field of Bio-medical Science and Engineering.

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U of T atmospheric physicist discusses ozone, climate change and the Quadrennial Ozone Symposium

sgupta — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 09:23:25 +0000

U of T atmospheric physicist discusses ozone, climate change and the Quadrennial Ozone Symposium sgupta Wed, 08/29/2012 - 05:23

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U of T students, Xiaoyi Zhao, Lin Dan, Cristen Adams, and Joseph Mendonca. (photo by Volodya Savastiouk)

Jennifer Lanthier

Author legacy

Jennifer Lanthier

Features

Physics

Environment

As leading international scientists gather in Toronto to discuss new findings on ozone and climate change for the 22nd Quadrennial Ozone Symposium, U of T News spoke with Professor Kimberly Strong about her research, the Arctic ozone hole and atmospheric research at U of T.

Tell us a bit about your research – why is it so important to take ground-based, balloon-borne and satellite measurements of the atmosphere?

Measurements are vital to understanding what is happening in the atmosphere. Satellite measurements provide us with a global picture of our atmosphere, but ground-based measurements are also important. They provide long time-series, fill gaps in the satellite data record and play an important role in validating and assessing the quality of satellite measurements.

My research involves remote sounding of the atmosphere using ground-based, balloon-borne, and satellite instruments, for studies of stratospheric ozone chemistry, climate and air quality. We use a variety of spectroscopic techniques to measure the chemical composition of the atmosphere, combining these measurements with other datasets and computer models to improve our understanding of atmospheric processes and long-term changes.

One focus of our research is stratospheric ozone chemistry and the recovery of the ozone layer due to the phasing out of ozone-destroying chemicals under the Montréal Protocol.

Although we have a good understanding of ozone science, the atmosphere can still surprise us. The Arctic stratosphere, in particular, is highly variable from year to year, and in 2011, unprecedented chemical ozone depletion was observed in the Arctic. Ongoing space- and ground-based measurements continue to be essential to monitor the changing state of the ozone layer and the chemicals that control the ozone budget, especially in the polar regions. We need to unravel the links between ozone depletion and climate change in the years ahead.

Where do you conduct your field research?

We make ground-based measurements here on campus, at the �ؿ�ζSM Atmospheric Observatory (TAO) and in the Arctic, at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) at Eureka on Ellesmere Island. We are also involved in two Canadian satellite missions, both supported by the Canadian Space Agency, which are being used to study the ozone layer: the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE; for which U of T physics professor Kaley Walker is deputy mission scientist) and OSIRIS on the Odin satellite.

You’re the director of the training program at PEARL – how is this Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory important for students?

I am the director of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program (NSERC CREATE) training program in Arctic atmospheric science.

Our program takes advantage of the unique capabilities of PEARL (pictured right, photo by Dan Weaver), and aims to provide students and postdoctoral fellows with training in Arctic atmospheric science, including the use of state-of-the-art instrumentation and analysis of large data sets. The students supported under this program benefit from the significant investment that Canada has made in PEARL; they have access to a world-class facility, unique data sets and a large team of researchers with a breadth of expertise.

The goal of the training program is to significantly enhance the educational opportunities available to young researchers interested in polar, atmospheric, and climate sciences, enabling them to build collaborations and networks, and to develop scientific, technical, communications, and organizational skills. The training program includes formal and informal supervision, an exchange program, an annual summer school, research symposia, an undergraduate summer internship program and an industrial partnership program.

Why does U of T have an atmospheric observatory?

TAO was established in 2001 and we have been making regular measurements there since May 2002. The primary instrument at TAO is an infrared spectrometer that is a part of an international network called the Network for Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). We follow measurement and analysis protocols defined by the network and submit our composition measurements to the publicly available NDACC database. These data are used by us and others for a variety of studies, such as the detection of changes and trends in atmospheric composition and understanding their impact on the stratosphere and troposphere, validation of atmospheric measurements from satellites and testing and improving theoretical models of the atmosphere.

How important are international or multi-national collaborations in this area?

Atmospheric science tends to be highly collaborative, bringing together scientists with expertise in physics, chemistry, measurement techniques, laboratory studies and modelling. Such collaborations are crucial to advances in our field.

Can you tell us a bit about the international ozone conference taking place in Toronto this week?

The Quadrennial Ozone Symposium (QOS2012) is the flagship meeting of the International Ozone Commission (IO₃C) and it has been held approximately every four years since the IO₃C was established in 1948.

The theme for this congress is Ozone in our Changing Atmosphere. Given the renewed interest in ozone in light of last year's first-ever Arctic ozone hole, the meeting will bring together scientists from Canada, the United States and around the world. The Arctic ozone hole, which has similarities with the ozone hole over Antarctica, has given a new sense of urgency to international research and demonstrates the potential for climate change to compromise the recovery of the ozone layer. Measurements made at PEARL by PhD students Cristen Adams and Rodica Lindenmaier contributed to this discovery.

Canada is a world leader in ozone science, with over two decades of study of the Arctic atmosphere and a research program that began in the 1930s. Notable Canadian achievements include the development of the world's most accurate ozone-measuring instrument (the Brewer spectrophotometer, named after former U of T physics professor Alan Brewer) and the creation of the UV Index by Environment Canada.

The Montréal Protocol, the international agreement to protect the ozone layer, was also signed in Canada, on September 16, 1987. Under this agreement, concerted international action has been taken to reduce the emission of industrial chemicals that continue to threaten the ozone layer -- the natural layer of gases in the upper atmosphere that protects life on Earth from the damaging UV rays of the sun.

QOS2012 is being held at the Toronto Sheraton Centre from August 26 to 31. It is being hosted by the International Ozone Commission and supported jointly by Environment Canada, International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences, Canadian Space Agency, Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, NASA, �ؿ�ζSM, York University, Kipp & Zonen and Solar Light.

The �ؿ�ζSM is actively involved in QOS2012. Physics professors Kimberly Strong and Kaley Walker along with Dr. Pierre Fogal and post-doctoral researcher Stephanie Conway are members of the local organizing committee; PhD student Felicia Kolonjari is the volunteer coordinator; outreach facilitator Ashley Kilgour is assisting with the organization of the Teachers' Day Event and many U of T students and post-doctoral researchers are participating as volunteers and presenters. The Faculty of Arts and Science, and the Department of Physics have provided sponsorship support and the School of Graduate Studies has a booth at the conference.

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Rosie MacLennan: gold medal trampolinist at the 2012 Olympics

sgupta — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 16:05:02 +0000

Rosie MacLennan: gold medal trampolinist at the 2012 Olympics sgupta Tue, 08/07/2012 - 12:05

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Rosannagh MacLennan at the London 2012 Olympic Games (photo by Mike Ridewood, courtesy of the Canadian Olympic Committee)

Jennifer Lanthier

Author legacy

Jennifer Lanthier

U of T graduate Rosie MacLennan became the first Canadian to win a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics on Saturday – cheered on by throngs of supporters across the university and around the world.

“I was really thrilled – she did a perfect performance,” said U of T alumnus Norman Lane, who watched from his home in Hamilton, Ontario.

The 92-year-old Lane shares a unique bond with the 23-year-old MacLennan: both are U of T alumni who medalled in the Olympics in London – with Lane bringing home a bronze in canoeing in 1948.

“It wasn’t considered to be very interesting back then – I think there was a little piece in the paper about two inches long,” Lane said. “They’re more interested in it now.”

In fact, the riveting performance that won MacLennan a personal best score of 57.305 along with the gold medal even elicited a private phone call from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and a public statement praising her accomplishment.

“Through her hard work, dedication and sportsmanship, Rosie has proudly represented Canada on the world stage,” Harper said.

MacLennan, who graduated from the �ؿ�ζSM with a bachelor's degree in Physical Health Education in November, shortly after winning gold in trampoline at the Pan Am Games, is set to return to U of T this fall to begin pursuing her master’s degree.

Despite all the attention, MacLennan managed to update her blog, where she described what it was like to give that final, golden performance after the qualifying rounds.

“The routine itself is a bit of a blur but after landing and seeing the smile on my coach’s face, I knew it was good and it felt good," said MacLennan. " Sitting and waiting for your score seems like such a long time but when it finally came up, I honestly couldn’t believe it! I had never broken the 57 mark in my life!"

MacLennan also talked about the medal ceremony.

“Competing my final routine was a highlight because that’s the moment I was doing what I loved and was really in the zone but I have never felt so proud to stand on top of the podium, watching the flag raise and hearing the anthem play. I will never forget that moment or all the people that helped me get there.”

One of those people who helped MacLennan reach the podium is her friend and former training partner, PhD candidate Sarah Gairdner. A former world champion in double mini trampoline, Gairdner retired from competition in 2008.

Despite the demands of instant fame, MacLennan was able to return Gairdner’s calls later that day.

“It was about one in the morning in England and she was just getting back to her place, and we had a really nice chat,” Gairdner said. “It was funny because she’s an Olympic champion but she’s still just little Rosie who’s the sweetest, most wonderful person in the whole world. I don’t know what I expected but she sounded just the same, totally modest. She said ‘I talked to Stephen Harper on the telephone and my Twitter account has just exploded!’ She was just overwhelmed and excited.”

The pair continue to text each other, with Gairdner kidding MacLennan about her new-found celebrity.

“You know you’re famous when Justin Bieber tweets about you,” Gairdner said. “But Rosie’s also a really great student and a humanitarian and I know she’s very passionate about giving back. She’s got all these really great goals and I think having school on the horizon is important.

“For an athlete to have all that focus on the Olympics and then suddenly it’s over? That can be a real challenge. I know for me it was a lifesaver to have my graduate studies, to funnel your energy into a productive outlet.”

Lane echoed those sentiments. When he returned from London in 1948, he plunged into his graduate studies at U of T in mathematics – although he continued competing in canoe for many years.

MacLennan is wise to combine sport with graduate studies, he said.

“It was a diversion from the heavy thinking, the heavy research thinking,” said Lane, a former mathematics professor with McMaster University. “I used to think of mathematical problems as I was training.”

Associate Professor Margaret MacNeill of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, taught MacLennan as an undergraduate and is looking forward to working with her on research for her MSc.

“You see her close her eyes, doing her visualization techniques, and controlling her breathing,” said MacNeill, who watched the event live and during the rebroadcast. “I think my heart rate was probably higher than hers because she has the skills to control it and bring it down!”

MacLennan is “a gifted athlete and a fabulous student, so it’s nice to see her achieve in everything that she’s doing,” said MacNeill, adding her experience in London may help inform her research into social responsibility and health promotion – including the potential for athletes to use their celebrity to promote active living and health.

MacLennan is already demonstrating that potential, said Professor Ira Jacobs, dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, noting that MacLennan and Gairdner spearheaded a fundraising event for the new Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport earlier this year.

“We could not be more proud of Rosie,” Jacobs said. “Having the self-discipline and work ethic to meet the rigorous academic demands of a BPHE degree while training and competing to be among the best in her sport are amazing accomplishments.”

For her part, MacLennan is keen to share glory with her fellow athletes, a list that includes a number of U of T athletes. While some U of T athletes competed for other countries (swimmer Luke Hall for Swaziland, beach volleyball’s Elodie Li Yuk Lo for Mauritius and taekwondo’s Andrea St. Bernard for Grenada) the Canadian team includes U of T’s Sarah Wells (hurdles); Josh Binstock (men’s beach volleyball); Michael Braithwaite (rowing); Crispin Duenas (archery); Michelle Li (badminton) Colin Russell (swimming) and Donna Vakalis (modern pentathlon).

“I am honoured to be a part of the Canadian team with such amazing athletes and so thrilled I made my country proud,” MacLennan wrote in her blog. “Every athlete here representing Canada is someone to be tremendously proud of for their dedication, perseverance, hard work and relentless efforts!

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