Come out and meet Robert Hach茅,聽the new vice-president research & innovation,聽and learn more about research services at 91亚色.

Staff聽from聽the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, the Office of Research Services, the Office of Research Ethics, Research Accounting, Procurement Services, Innovation 91亚色聽and the Faculty of Graduate Studies will be at the open house to answer questions related to research services.

If you are interested in attending, organizers ask that you submit your 聽no later than Oct. 5.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The Research Open House will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011, 聽from 1 - 3 p.m., on the 5th Floor of the 91亚色 Research Tower.听聽 Remarks at 2:30 p.m.

Staff聽from聽the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, the Office of Research Services, the Office of Research Ethics, Research Accounting, Procurement Services, Innovation 91亚色聽and the Faculty of Graduate Studies will be on hand to answer questions related to research services.

Please RSVP by October 5th, 2011 at .

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Volunteers will be needed on Saturday, September 24, 2011, from 9:30 a.m. to聽2 p.m.听at the Markham Convergence Centre, 7271 Warden Ave., in Markham, ON.

For more information, please contact Angela Magro at 416-736-5780 or ange@yorku.ca

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The event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Markham Convergence Centre, 7271 Warden Ave., in Markham, ON.

Please see the for more information聽or .听

For more information or partnering opportunities, please contact Brigitte Sharpe, Communications & Events Programing Manager at ventureLAB: bsharpe@venturelab.ca or by phone: 905-248-2735.

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Physicians and clinicians from , and researchers from 91亚色, will speak at an open house Monday about how they are working together 鈥� in the hospital and in laboratories 鈥� to answer these types of questions.

The researchers, physicians and clinicians will be available to speak to reporters about their projects, which include:

• research with the chronic disease, emergency medicine and surgical departments at Southlake to understand how the brain controls complex movements, shedding light on topics ranging from dementia to concussion.
• improved surveillance of cardiovascular disease in 91亚色 Region through the use of geospatial analysis, which applies statistical analysis techniques to geographically-based data.
• investigation of the use of Blackberry smartphones and innovative software to help patients reduce health risks through exercise, diet and improve adherence to medication regimens.
• collaboration with cardiac care and oncology clinicians to develop a more personalized approach for targeting the drugs that are used by individuals with cancer and heart disease.

Four research scientists from 91亚色鈥檚 and have been designed to improve patient care and outcomes, and improve use of technology in the delivery of health care.

Southlake serves 1.5 million people through its regional programs and provides tertiary level care in many areas, offering almost unlimited opportunities for research collaboration between Southlake and 91亚色.

What:聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Southlake Regional Health Centre welcomes 91亚色 research scientists in a celebration event that will highlight the efforts of this partnership.
When:聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Monday, May 9, 2011, 5:30 鈥� 7:30
Where: 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Southlake Regional Health Centre, Auditorium, Level 1, East Building

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of Southlake Regional Health Centre's Corporate Communications department and Media Relations at 91亚色.

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, Ontario鈥檚 largest public science festival, returns to Markham Village next Saturday, with the goal of making science more accessible.

鈥淭his is bringing science to the community as opposed to having the community come to a hospital or university site,鈥� said Corinne Sperling, outreach manager for the Faculty of Science & Engineering at 91亚色.

The Markham Village BIA co-organizes the event and pays for the bulk of the cost, but the University and the Town of Markham鈥檚 economic development department contribute as well.

For some people, science is intimidating, Ms Sperling said. 鈥淲e want to be engaging, interactive." The event caters to all ages.

. . .

Science Rendezvous will share space with the official grand opening of Main Street Markham Farmers Market. You聽can聽do your Saturday local produce and prepared foods market shopping while enjoying the science entertainment. The opening begins at 11 a.m. The event will also feature live entertainment and a barbecue.

Science Rendezvous runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 132 Robinson St. at Main Street North, two lights north of Hwy. 7. The Photovore Maze Race is 1 to 3 p.m. at Markham Sylvan Learning Centre at 96 Main Street N. (Lower Level).

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The event will take place Jan. 13, from 2:30 to 5pm, on the聽5th Floor of the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)聽Building, Keele campus. In addition, there will be some short remarks at 3:30pm in 5084 TEL Building, at the south end of the hallway. Refreshments will be served.

The open house will showcase faculty- and student-led research projects, along with short presentations by researchers.

The LaMarsh Centre conducts interdisciplinary research in health, education, relationships and development of infants, children, adolescents, emerging adults and families. Its particular focus is on the health and well-being of Canada鈥檚 youth, preventing youth violence and promoting positive development. The aim is to foster a centre of learning, productivity and exchange for new and senior scholars and to create a critical mass of related research activity.

The YIHR takes a determinants approach to health research with sub-areas including diversity and health, health equity and social justice, health and the environment, health law and ethics, health care and health governance. YIHR draws together a range of social, biomedical, environmental and behavioural scientists, as well as researchers from business, law, education and the physical sciences, bridging the divide between the sciences and social sciences to deliver real-world solutions.

The houses the largest university-based survey centre in Canada, conducting major surveys on population health, education, gender, the environment and voting behaviour. It conducts more than 25 survey research projects annually, as well as a range of qualitative research, including focus group studies. ISR staff complete all stages of the survey research process from questionnaire design, sample selection and data collection to the preparation of machine-readable data files, statistical analysis and report writing.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The Keele campus building's transformation from a聽hockey rink into an innovative new health science research centre was made possible聽by a $5-million leadership gift from聽91亚色 Foundation board member Honey Sherman and her husband Dr. Barry Sherman, the chairman and CEO of Apotex Inc., the largest pharmaceutical company in Canada.

鈥淲e are extremely thankful to Honey and Barry Sherman for their generosity,鈥� said Mamdouh Shoukri, president聽& vice-chancellor of 91亚色. 鈥淭his unique new facility will strengthen our university鈥檚 research capacity, and enhance collaboration between researchers in the health, science and engineering fields.鈥�

Conceived as a hub of vision and neuroscience excellence, the new聽Sherman Health Science Research Centre, which officially opened last night, brings together researchers in 91亚色's top-ranked with those in kinesiology and psychology.

Above: The new Sherman Health Science Research Centre at 91亚色

"The Sherman family gift is strategically important. It provides state-of-the-art infrastructure to keep our vision science and health science researchers at the top of their game," says Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation (VPRI) at 91亚色. "We will break new ground at 91亚色 as we increase the intensity of research being carried out in the new facilities, recruit top faculty and graduate students, and undertake research that will lead to new discoveries that impact areas such as health diagnoses and treatments, and safety in space travel."

To change the hockey聽arena, which was built in 1968,聽into聽a highly sophisticated research centre, staff in 91亚色鈥檚 Campus Services & Business Operations聽incorporated green building design and construction elements and worked closely with researchers and professional staff in the Office of the VPRI, , , and the Toronto-based NXL Architects.

The building was gutted and the external shell retained. Salvaged materials from the internal demolition were reused throughout the structure to add design interest.

Right: The interior of the Sherman Health Science Research Centre

Anchoring the new facility is a functional magnetic resonance imager (fMRI), notes , director of CVR. "The new fMRI provides researchers with a critical infrastructure for neuroscience for neuroscience research. It provides the opportunity to see, in real time and in-depth, how the brain functions when undertaking various tasks in both normal and clinical recovery states. The addition of the new fMRI to the facility positions the University as a centre for health sciences as our research partners will also be able to access the facilities while collaborating with 91亚色 researchers."

Housed in the former arena's locker-rooms, the fMRI resides in a specially reconstructed and reinforced facility. The equipment's powerful magnet requires that the room be shielded to protect individuals with pacemakers and other sensitive electronic equipment. The floors in the fMRI room are reinforced with rebar and specialized construction techniques to ensure that vibration and noise are kept to a minimum. Change rooms were reconfigured to be fully wheelchair accessible.

The centre's first floor houses research rooms containing specialized laboratories and equipment used by CVR researchers. As well, researchers from the School of Kinesiology & Health Science can now work in expanded movement analysis laboratories that feature raised聽floors with moveable steel reinforced plates and rigging. Robotic cameras move around test subjects in the space allowing researchers to obtain an unprecedented view of how the body moves.

Green features and repurposed material

The聽concrete ice pad was removed, broken up and used around the perimeter of the building to create a man-made alvar to assist with drainage and storm water management, and to add landscape interest.听The alvar is used for testing robots designed in the on the first floor, and as聽part of the recreational patio.

Hardwood from the arena鈥檚 ceiling was refinished and used in the internal staircases leading from the first floor to a newly created second floor suite of offices and research laboratories.听The arena's dark, cavernous space聽was converted into a light and airy place for researchers through the addition of large windows and skylights.听The windows illuminate the building鈥檚 indoor street of offices and allow natural light to flood into the second floor. This in turn reduces the need for 24/7 artificial lighting and the sunlight helps heat the space during the winter months. Additional energy-efficient light fixtures were added to the area to light it for evening use.

Left: The spiral stairs lead to a catwalk to facilitate the movement of important research equipment

Radiant heating incorporated into the low maintenance, polished concrete flooring offers an energy-efficient way to maintain the building鈥檚 internal temperature in the winter and cools the space during the summer months.

Other sustainable features include the use of internal paints that are low in volatile organic compounds, which聽limits off-gassing of fumes and preserves the building鈥檚 internal air quality. Carpet tiles, manufactured using processes that require very little water, make use of recycled materials and,聽in the case of damage or spills, only the affected tiles are removed, which again preserves the internal air quality.

"The Sherman building is a great example of when vision and programming fuse to create a unique working environment," says Patrick Saavedra, manager of planning & architectural design. "In this case the adaptive reuse of the facility is an exemplary way to be sustainable by not constructing a new building while at the same time re-energizing and giving new life to an older building; not to mention our carbon foot print got smaller as a result".

A collaborative effort, the extraordinary design and function of the Sherman Health Science Research Centre is聽the result of extensive consultations with the scientists and researchers in vision research, kinesiology and psychology.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The Augmented Reality Lab in the Faculty of Fine Arts opens its doors to the 91亚色 community March 10 for interactive demonstrations of augmented reality (AR) and GPS locative media research projects in development. From 11am to 3pm, visitors will have the opportunity to experience projections on FogScreen, immersive virtual environments and other innovative applications for AR technology.

Directed by film Professor Caitlin Fisher, Canada Research Chair in Digital Culture, 91亚色's is at the forefront in working with both established and emerging technologies. As part of the , it is dedicated to producing innovative research methods, interfaces and content that challenge cinematic and literary conventions and aim to enhance how people interact with their physical environment and with each other.

Left: Caitlin Fisher

The lab offers artists and designers the opportunity to explore new screen technologies, approaches and techniques through production and theoretical study of this emerging medium. Lab participants work interactively and across disciplinary boundaries, particularly film and computer science.

A wide variety of projects will be on display at the open house.

Handheld City is an online streaming experience developed by the AR Lab for the city of Toronto鈥檚 virtual museum project, which launched March 6 (Toronto鈥檚 176th birthday). Using AR as a storytelling device, the researchers organized and animated the digital objects in the museum collection and created an interesting way to interact with the objects and access the accompanying text.

Right: Handheld City was developed for Toronto's virtual museum project

The Amazing Cinemagician is an interactive "rfid" (radio frequency identification聽鈥� like a barcode) video project for the FogScreen by Helen Papagiannis, a PhD student in communication & culture. Digitized film clips by cinematic special effects pioneer Georges M茅li猫s are tied to a series of rfid objects that the viewer can scan to access the video.

Papagiannis made major waves in AR circles last fall with her presentation at the International聽Symposium for Mixed and Augmented Reality聽in Florida. A leading AR news blog, , dubbed her 鈥渢he new ARtist in charge,鈥� awarded her its Most Beautiful Demo award and put her on its top聽10 list of forces currently shaping the industry.

CommCult master's student Justin Stephenson showcases a new "procedural animation" (a form of computer animation generated in real-time) using Quartz Composer.

Master of Fine Arts聽film student Simone Rapisarda presents the ladybike test project: the first film to come out of the lab using the Ladybug camera. This spherical digital video unit comprises multiple cameras and records more than 80 per cent聽of the full sphere. Rapisarda鈥檚 video, filmed with the camera set in a bicycle basket, shows the scenery approaching, speeding by and receding simultaneously.

Above: An image from Simone Rapisarda's ladybike test project

Also experimenting with the Ladybug camera is graduate film student Cameron聽Woykin, who has created a time-based video installation using footage of himself shot inside the lab. Edited into a spherical image, the video shows multiple views of the researcher as he moves around the space.

Right: The Ladybug camera in action

Wormholes is another experiment in spherical storytelling, created by Fisher and Andrew Roth, the lab鈥檚 technology manager.听Using the lab鈥檚 Intersense IS900 Inertial/Sonic Tracking "virtual reality" grid, participants wearing a聽virtual reality headset can literally get inside and explore simultaneous realities through spherical video clips shot by Fisher and Roth on various locations on campus.

Several projects use SnapdragonAR software, an innovative "drag and drop" AR interface developed in the lab in collaboration with computer vision researchers Andrei Rotenstein and Mikhail Sizintsev,聽PhD candidates in computer science,聽and Dr. Mark Fiala.听Snapdragon allows people without computer programming skills to easily build AR experiences. This software is now available for sale through Future Stories, a spin-off company 91亚色鈥檚 AR Lab established to provide participants with the option of commercializing their lab developments.

The Snapdragon projects created in the lab by graduate students include Papagiannis' sound toy wonder turner; Boaz Berri鈥檚 Neighbours, which fills an image of an apartment complex with videos of life inside the building; Carter Bruce, Anne Koizumi and Claudia Sicondolfo鈥檚 The Underground Cave, which animates a model of an underground space; and a work-in-progress by Evelyn Tchakarov.听Fisher will also be showing an AR tabletop theatre piece called Circle which was presented for the first time last December as part of the Digital Arts聽& Culture conference at the .听Wallace Edwards, a Governor General's Literary Award-winning children鈥檚 book illustrator, will show some recent experiments with AR illustrations that come to life in your hands.

Above: A collection of images from the Snapdragon projects created in the lab by graduate students

Another computer program developed in-house is an iPhone GPS聽video-caching application created by Roth and Rotenstein. Akin to a technological Easter egg hunt, when the application is running, the iPhone will display a digital surprise 鈥� in this case a film clip聽鈥� when it is physically located at a predetermined GPS coordinate. CommCult聽master's student Magda Olszanowski's Suivez Moi was built using the GPS software. An outdoor demo of her project is available now by appointment (call 416-736-2100 ext. 21077), but the lab hopes these locative film experiences will be available for download through the Apple app store in the near future.

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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91亚色's Faculty of Education will host its annual research forum on technology in education today, from 2 to 4pm in 280N 91亚色 Lanes.

Professor Jennifer Jenson (right) will present "Baroque Baroque Revolution: High Culture Gets Game".听In聽today鈥檚 鈥渟uper-saturated, socially networked, Second Life, massively multiplayer, online, keyed-in, content generating, 2.0, 鈥榞local鈥欌�� culture, the world of Baroque music, to many people, not only feels like a relic from an inaccessible past, but it often looks that way as well. In this talk, Jenson will聽attempt to show how play, its practices, contexts and discourses are mobilized, and how some of this might be theorized and reapplied through a design-based research project that created a Baroque music game.

Professor Ron Owston (left) will look at computer game development as a literacy activity in his presentation. According to Owston, serious gaming has become a burgeoning research field over the last several years. Most research to date has looked at students as players of computer games. But what happens when students are given the opportunity to be developers of their own games? In聽his presentation, Owston will give an overview of a large multisite study he, together with faculty colleagues and graduate students, conducted that examined the impact on literacy skills of Grade 4 students who created their own computer games. He will then review the findings of two other pilot studies he led that grew out of this work, as well as talk briefly about a research tool he is developing for remotely recording users鈥� interactions with computer screens.

Professor Chlo毛 Brushwood Rose (right) will speak about community-based media pedagogy and production in a globalized world. She will outline the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded聽study she is undertaking with researchers from Montreal's McGill University and the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH, which aims to pay critical attention to the proliferation of community video production programs in urban centres across North America, their pedagogies, and the videos produced through them. The researchers are conducting a comparative study of three projects in New 91亚色 City, Toronto and Montreal that聽explore a number of聽central research themes relating to media pedagogies.

This event is free and open to the community. Following the presentations, there will be a wine and cheese reception. For more information, contact , communications coordinator, Office of the Dean, Faculty of Education, at ext. 58024.

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