Picking up a National Geographic or Discover magazine will reveal some of the fascinating research going on around the world, but there are plenty of world leading field experts in our own Atlantic provinces. The following is some of the research that I find widely applicable and would not hesitate to slip into my future science classroom at every available opportunity!
I see it as very important that students get an understanding the process of science and what research is currently being conducted at local Universities. The science taught in secondary classrooms provides the basic underlaying principles of science, however, it tends to paint an artificial picture of what scientific researchers actually do. By keeping up to date with current events in the local scientific communities I hope to provide my students will insight as to what discoveries are currently being uncovered as well as prepare them for selecting post-secondary schools that best fit their interests and career goals.
I see it as very important that students get an understanding the process of science and what research is currently being conducted at local Universities. The science taught in secondary classrooms provides the basic underlaying principles of science, however, it tends to paint an artificial picture of what scientific researchers actually do. By keeping up to date with current events in the local scientific communities I hope to provide my students will insight as to what discoveries are currently being uncovered as well as prepare them for selecting post-secondary schools that best fit their interests and career goals.
Dalhousie University Marine Biology and Oceanography
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First and foremost, they have an amazing new building right on the main campus! Having had the experience of going to Dalhousie University for my undergraduate degree, I'm well aware of the importance that is placed on research. There is a lot of leading international research being done here but the Ocean Sciences are really making 'waves'.
Sara Iverson and Ron O'Dor have been making global headlines with their "Ocean Tracking Network". They have recently received funding valued at $45,300,000 (CFI, SSHRC & NSERC). The Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) is a global, distributed, ocean observatory headquartered at Dalhousie University and focused on the use of sonic and other telemetry technologies (satellite tags, archival tags) to document the survival and movements of marine animals, and the correlates of movements and survival with environmental conditions and changing climate.
OTN is just in it's beginning phases but they've made a lot of progress in a short period of time. Take a look at their 2012 report:
Sara Iverson and Ron O'Dor have been making global headlines with their "Ocean Tracking Network". They have recently received funding valued at $45,300,000 (CFI, SSHRC & NSERC). The Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) is a global, distributed, ocean observatory headquartered at Dalhousie University and focused on the use of sonic and other telemetry technologies (satellite tags, archival tags) to document the survival and movements of marine animals, and the correlates of movements and survival with environmental conditions and changing climate.
OTN is just in it's beginning phases but they've made a lot of progress in a short period of time. Take a look at their 2012 report:
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The following video showcases some of the other leading Ocean Science research at Dalhousie:
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For more information about the research being done at Dalhousie University, you can check out OutFront magazine. OutFront: Research that Matters is a magazine that chronicles some of the outstanding research conducted at Dalhousie. Through profiles and feature articles, the magazine shows the tangible impact this research has on our day-to-day lives.
http://www.dal.ca/research/outfront_magazine.html
Proto 2 At UNB
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University of New Brunswick’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering is a world-renowned research facility in biomedical engineering and one of the oldest solely dedicated to this field. It is also the region's prosthetic fitting centre where amputees are provided with state-of-the-art intelligent artificial limbs.
Dr. Kevin Englehart is part of the team of scientists from across North America who have developed Proto 2, a prosthetic arm that has many of the features of a human arm and can move 27 different ways. This latest advancement in prosthetic limb development has earned the team a Popular Mechanics 2007 Breakthrough Award.
What makes the Proto 2 different from all other prosthetic arms is that it is designed to operate using not only muscles, but nerve fibres, and the brain. This will give users the ability to control the arm by thinking. Proto 2 has 80 sensors in the fingertips and palm, which will send signals back to the brain, giving users the ability to feel with the new arm.
Proto 2, still under development, was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the United States, and is managed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Dr. Kevin Englehart is part of the team of scientists from across North America who have developed Proto 2, a prosthetic arm that has many of the features of a human arm and can move 27 different ways. This latest advancement in prosthetic limb development has earned the team a Popular Mechanics 2007 Breakthrough Award.
What makes the Proto 2 different from all other prosthetic arms is that it is designed to operate using not only muscles, but nerve fibres, and the brain. This will give users the ability to control the arm by thinking. Proto 2 has 80 sensors in the fingertips and palm, which will send signals back to the brain, giving users the ability to feel with the new arm.
Proto 2, still under development, was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the United States, and is managed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Aside from the engineering feat of being able to move 27 different ways, I can't get over the neuroscience implications being able to signal the brain so that the user is actually able to feel. I had no idea that neuro-pathway mapping had made such advancements!
I also have a personal connection with artificial limbs due to the fact that one of my younger cousins had a developmental problem were he was born with no lower limbs. As a late teen you'd never know unless he showed you his legs because he's able to move around no naturally with the prosthetics. He appears in a War Amps commercial that airs every now and then but the commercial is so old that he's a toddler in it.
This research has many important applications in a variety of fields and I'll be keeping a close eye on its development.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.unb.ca/difference/biomedical.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/breakthroughs/4224764
I also have a personal connection with artificial limbs due to the fact that one of my younger cousins had a developmental problem were he was born with no lower limbs. As a late teen you'd never know unless he showed you his legs because he's able to move around no naturally with the prosthetics. He appears in a War Amps commercial that airs every now and then but the commercial is so old that he's a toddler in it.
This research has many important applications in a variety of fields and I'll be keeping a close eye on its development.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.unb.ca/difference/biomedical.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/breakthroughs/4224764
Memorial University Green Biofuel Processing
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Sustainability. It is the hot term in research for obvious reasons: With our changing climate, overpopulation, and failing economies, we need models that allow for affordable and green methods of obtaining as well as maintaining resources. Memorial University is generating a lot of global buzz for it's research (see links below), but it was Dr. Kelly Hawboldt's work with the sustainable processing of biofuel that caught my interest due to its relevance not only to my future, but also to that of my students.
Dr. Kelly Hawboldt, a process engineering professor at Memorial, received the 2013 Bantrel Award in Design and Industrial Practice for her major contributions to the field of contaminant removal from gas streams, biofuel from processing waste and emissions from offshore oil and gas operations. The Bantrel Award recognizes innovative design or production activities accomplished in Canada.
Not only has much of Dr. Hawboldt’s career focused on the sustainable processing of natural resources, but she has made significant contributions in processing natural resources sustainably and utilizing the products in remote and harsh environments where infrastructure and the use of traditional processes are limited. This has had a huge impact on the forestry industry.
Dr. Hawboldt and her team work in the area of green processing of natural resources, specifically in developing processes and/or products. The focus of the work has been in areas where location and/or infrastructure limit the use of traditional processing and management approaches to maximize products from natural resources, such as forestry, fish processing and offshore/Arctic oil and gas.
Current research areas include converting forestry residues/wastes from sawmills to fuels and adsorbents through pyrolysis – a high-temperature reactor. The development of a mobile pyrolysis processing system capable of converting woody biomass from a variety of feedstocks, such as sawdust, saw chips and weathered material, to both bio-oil for use as a fuel and biochar for use as an industrial adsorbent will help to ensure the economic viability of small communities and industries.
I love Memorial University's website! It's amazingly easy to navigate and they do a phenomenal job of highlighting their faculty and the research being done. Into the Deep is their 2012-2013 research report and it brilliantly showcases the various researchers' works in such a way that makes it understandable and relatable to the general public without sacrificing the technical aspects.
I highly recommend visiting the following sites, especially the first one:
http://www.mun.ca/intothedeep/
http://www.mun.ca/research/
I highly recommend visiting the following sites, especially the first one:
http://www.mun.ca/intothedeep/
http://www.mun.ca/research/