Media invited to experience 91��ɫ’s new $1M telescope before public opening

��TORONTO, September 30, 2019 – 91��ɫ is expanding its foothold in astronomy with a shiny new one-metre, custom telescope which boasts the most powerful optical performance ever experienced at a university campus in Canada.

For students, astronomers and members of the public, the new PlaneWave PW1000 fully-automated telescope will provide a deeper view into space to see clearer images of distant galaxies and cosmic objects.

Media are invited to 91��ɫ’s on Tuesday, October 1 to learn how the telescope works, look through the telescope lens, and hear from Faculty of Science students who are using the telescope to see more detailed images of space. For these students, the new instrument means more hands-on learning experiences and more undergraduate research opportunities.

Media will also hear from second-year students who are doing classroom assignments where each of the 30 students in the class is assigned to locate a different galaxy in the night sky, image it and learn its unique characteristics.

In a role reversal, Sunna Withers, a 21-year-old science student, will show 91��ɫ Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell how to do “galaxy hunting” using the new telescope, which was funded through a $500,000 donation from the Carswell Family Foundation. That donation was matched by 91��ɫ and the Faculty of Science, for a total investment of $1 million.

Some students used to spend hours using 91��ɫ’s older telescope searching the night’s sky for distant galaxies – almost as difficult as finding a needle in the haystack. The new telescope is a huge upgrade for the students because it means less time searching the night sky and more time analyzing the data thanks to the telescope’s pointing accuracy from the high-resolution absolute encoders on each axis.

As a physics professor at 91��ɫ, Allan Carswell worked out of the Petrie Science and Engineering Building next to the Observatory that now bears his name.

“Everyone is awestruck by the night sky,” said Carswell. “It stimulates a sense of our place in an unimaginably vast universe. Teaching astronomy to our youth is an ideal introduction to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers.”

The media event will happen one day before it opens to the public on Wednesday, October 2 (public viewing is 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.). Members of the public should note that the Observatory has a new registration process that requires guests to reserve their free tickets online due to the limited capacity in the Observatory’s dome. While the public viewings on October 2 and October 9 are already at capacity, members of the public are encouraged to for future public viewing dates.

Watch a video with student Sunna Withers explaining why galaxies are important:

See a video with Professor Paul Delaney talking about how the new telescope benefits students:

Download two images of NGC 7331, a spiral galaxy about 40 million light-years away, captured on the new and on the older .

WHAT: Unveiling of 91��ɫ’s new, one-metre telescope

WHEN: Tuesday, October 1 at 11:30 a.m.

WHO:

• Allan Carswell, 91��ɫ Professor Emeritus, Carswell Family Foundation
• Paul Delaney, Professor, Faculty of Science
• Sunna Withers, Student, Faculty of Science

��WHERE: Allan I. Carswell Observatory, 91��ɫ, located on the third floor and north-west corner of the Petrie Science and Engineering Building, 4700 Keele Street (see #17 on this ). Paid visitor parking is available at the Arboretum Lane Parking Garage or the Thompson Road Lot (see #80 or #79 on this ).

RSVP: Please RSVP to the media contact below as space is limited.

91��ɫ champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91��ɫ students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91��ɫ U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91��ɫ is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni.

91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 647-654-9452,��vthomps@yorku.ca

The post Students set to do “galaxy hunting” on largest telescope at a Canadian university appeared first on News@91��ɫ.

Media invited to experience 91��ɫ’s new $1M telescope before public opening

��TORONTO, September 30, 2019 – 91��ɫ is expanding its foothold in astronomy with a shiny new one-metre, custom telescope which boasts the most powerful optical performance ever experienced at a university campus in Canada.

For students, astronomers and members of the public, the new PlaneWave PW1000 fully-automated telescope will provide a deeper view into space to see clearer images of distant galaxies and cosmic objects.

Media are invited to 91��ɫ’s on Tuesday, October 1 to learn how the telescope works, look through the telescope lens, and hear from Faculty of Science students who are using the telescope to see more detailed images of space. For these students, the new instrument means more hands-on learning experiences and more undergraduate research opportunities.

Media will also hear from second-year students who are doing classroom assignments where each of the 30 students in the class is assigned to locate a different galaxy in the night sky, image it and learn its unique characteristics.

In a role reversal, Sunna Withers, a 21-year-old science student, will show 91��ɫ Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell how to do “galaxy hunting” using the new telescope, which was funded through a $500,000 donation from the Carswell Family Foundation. That donation was matched by 91��ɫ and the Faculty of Science, for a total investment of $1 million.

Some students used to spend hours using 91��ɫ’s older telescope searching the night’s sky for distant galaxies – almost as difficult as finding a needle in the haystack. The new telescope is a huge upgrade for the students because it means less time searching the night sky and more time analyzing the data thanks to the telescope’s pointing accuracy from the high-resolution absolute encoders on each axis.

As a physics professor at 91��ɫ, Allan Carswell worked out of the Petrie Science and Engineering Building next to the Observatory that now bears his name.

“Everyone is awestruck by the night sky,” said Carswell. “It stimulates a sense of our place in an unimaginably vast universe. Teaching astronomy to our youth is an ideal introduction to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers.”

The media event will happen one day before it opens to the public on Wednesday, October 2 (public viewing is 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.). Members of the public should note that the Observatory has a new registration process that requires guests to reserve their free tickets online due to the limited capacity in the Observatory’s dome. While the public viewings on October 2 and October 9 are already at capacity, members of the public are encouraged to for future public viewing dates.

Watch a video with student Sunna Withers explaining why galaxies are important:

See a video with Professor Paul Delaney talking about how the new telescope benefits students:

Download two images of NGC 7331, a spiral galaxy about 40 million light-years away, captured on the new and on the older .

WHAT: Unveiling of 91��ɫ’s new, one-metre telescope

WHEN: Tuesday, October 1 at 11:30 a.m.

WHO:

• Allan Carswell, 91��ɫ Professor Emeritus, Carswell Family Foundation
• Paul Delaney, Professor, Faculty of Science
• Sunna Withers, Student, Faculty of Science

��WHERE: Allan I. Carswell Observatory, 91��ɫ, located on the third floor and north-west corner of the Petrie Science and Engineering Building, 4700 Keele Street (see #17 on this ). Paid visitor parking is available at the Arboretum Lane Parking Garage or the Thompson Road Lot (see #80 or #79 on this ).

RSVP: Please RSVP to the media contact below as space is limited.

91��ɫ champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91��ɫ students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91��ɫ U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91��ɫ is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni.

91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 647-654-9452,��vthomps@yorku.ca

The post Students set to do “galaxy hunting” on largest telescope at a Canadian university appeared first on News@91��ɫ.

TORONTO, Tuesday, September 12, 2017 – Build it and they will come. Expected to be the largest telescope situated on any Canadian university campus, once in place, it will open the night skies for students, faculty and the wider community.

Media are invited to learn more about the future new telescope, the generous gift that made it possible, and take a tour the 91��ɫ U Observatory with its existing telescopes.

The observatory on 91��ɫ's Keele campus

WHAT: 91��ɫ Observatory funding announcement

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 14 at noon to 1pm, followed by tours of the observatory

WHO:

• Rhonda Lenton, President & Vice-Chancellor
• Ray Jayawardhana, Dean, Faculty of Science
• Allan Carswell, Carswell Family Foundation
• Jeff O’Hagan, VP Advancement
• Paul Delaney, University Professor, Faculty of Science

WHERE: Lobby of Life Science Building, Keele campus, 91��ɫ, (number 90 on the .)

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91��ɫ is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91��ɫ students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91��ɫ U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91��ɫ is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. 91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contacts:

Sandra McLean, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca

The post Media Advisory: Gift to reveal night skies to students, community appeared first on News@91��ɫ.

��TORONTO, November 17, 2016��– 91��ɫ and the will establish a new research chair in music education, and develop a new partnership through a $2 million gift from the Carswell Family Foundation (CFF). 91��ɫ professor emeritus Allan Carswell announced the donation at an event held at 91��ɫ on November 16. In addition to the new research chair, the funding will support the RPSM’s collaboration with the Jane-Finch community, benefiting more than 1,300 children.

“It is an honour to thank the Carswell Family Foundation for this incredible gift, which will strengthen evidence-based research in music education and music programming, and transform the lives of children for years to come,” said Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor, 91��ɫ.

The celebration included a number of performances including the 91��ɫ Gospel and Regent Park choirs and featured Grammy and two time Juno Award winning singer, Liberty Silver.

Professor emeritus Allan Carswell announced a $2M donation to music education at an event at 91��ɫ, November 16. Part of the funding will support the Regent Park School of Music collaboration with the Jane-Finch community, benefiting more than 1,300 children.

The $2 million CFF gift will fund the Helen Carswell Chair in Community Engaged Research in the Arts, a permanent endowed chair position within the 91��ɫ. The Chair will facilitate and direct interdisciplinary projects and enhance community music and art programs. The gift will also fund an important new partnership between 91��ɫ and the RPSM to strengthen community music programming and research, increase reach and impact on students; and enhance community music education initiatives in Toronto.

“This remarkable gift from the Carswell Family Foundation will be a game-changer for Regent Park School of Music and the 1,300-plus kids we are currently reaching in Jane-Finch and across the city,” said Richard Marsella, executive director of the Regent Park School of Music. “The partnership with 91��ɫ will give us access to academic researchers, who will inform, improve and refine what we do to help kids succeed through music.��We are delighted to be part of this truly unique community and academic initiative.”

Dr. Allan Carswell and the CFF focus on community philanthropy that has direct impact. The Foundation has previously, generously supported 91��ɫ with funding for new scientific research labs, awards, and scholarships. Earlier this year, the Foundation gifted $1 million to fund graduate scholarships in the University’s Faculty of Science and Lassonde School of Engineering.

“The Helen Carswell Chair will amplify the scope and impact of the research being done by artists and scholars at 91��ɫ��in collaboration with community partners, and the outstanding work being done by the Regent Park School of Music,” said AMPD Dean Shawn Brixey. “It establishes a crucible in which scholarly research, creative practice and community art-making come together to generate even more powerful, more influential and more lasting outcomes to benefit our local community and society at large.”

For 30 years, Dr. Allan Carswell served as a full-time professor of physics at 91��ɫ, where he developed a new remote sensing laser technology that is now used worldwide. At 91��ɫ, he also founded his company, Optech Incorporated, which commercialized the technology.

91��ɫ recently launched “Impact: The Campaign for 91��ɫ”, a $500-million fundraising and alumni engagement initiative. The campaign aims to build stronger communities on campus and throughout the University’s local and global networks to enrich learning and research. The creation of the Helen Carswell Chair in Community Engaged Research in the Arts directly supports that priority.

��is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91��ɫ students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91��ɫ U is an internationally recognized research university—our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200-plus leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91��ɫ is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. 91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

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Media contact:
Gloria Suhasini, Media Relations, 91��ɫ, 416 736 2100 ext. 22094,��suhasini@yorku.ca

The post 91��ɫ announces “game-changing” $2M gift for music education partnership appeared first on News@91��ɫ.