Healthy Matters
Tuesday, February 28th, 2017 from 9:00am to 4:00pm
Founders Assembly Hall, Founders College

RSVP: https://ore.research.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=126

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The symposium, Everything Under the Sun: 91亚色鈥檚 Engagement in Vital Environment and Climate Change Issues, will take place Thursday, Nov. 17, from 9:30 to 3pm, in the Founders Assembly Hall, 152 Founders College, Keele campus. It is sponsored by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. All are welcome, but organizers request that those interested in attending the symposium should submit their RSVP here:聽.

The first in a series of events bringing together 91亚色 researchers from diverse fields with common interests, the symposium proceedings may translate into larger research initiatives, both collaborative and individual.

Each speaker will give a 15-minute presentation that will be followed by a five-minute Q&A. The morning session will be chaired by Glendon Professor Christina Clark-Kazak聽and Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Carys Craig. The afternoon session will be chaired by Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) political science Professor Sandra Whitworth. Opening remarks will be delivered by Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) Dean No毛l Sturgeon.

William Colgan, professor in the Lassonde School of Engineering, will deliver the first presentation of the day. The impact of climate change on Earth鈥檚 cryosphere is striking and Colgan will speak about how the Greenland Ice Sheet is presently shedding ice at more than 8000 tonnes per second year-round. All around Greenland, glaciers are accelerating their iceberg discharge and meltwater runoff to the ocean is reaching further inland. He will also speak about long forgotten military bases, which were carved into the ice sheet during the Cold War, are now posed for exposure at the ice sheet surface and the disastrous effects on the world if this rate of melting continues to escalate.

Climate change and industrial disasters will be the focus of a presentation by Ali Asgary, professor in the School of Administrative Studies, LA&PS.聽While the links between the frequency and magnitude of climate-related natural disasters and the climate change have become clear and more evident in recent years, the links between the climate change and industrial accidents and disasters have not been studies and understood very well. Asgary's presentation will examine the future trends of industrial disasters that may be directly, through climate variables, or indirectly through other natural disasters linked to the climate change.

FES Professor Rod MacRae鈥檚 research focuses on creating a national food agriculture policy for Canada and the set of coherent and comprehensive programs required to support such a policy. MacRae will speak about the food system as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale, a reality poorly recognized by most decision makers. He will explore the untapped potential of the food system to contribute significantly to Greenhouse gas reductions聽and to build resilience in the face of climate threats.

Research based on laser remote sensing of atmospheres has been carried out at 91亚色 since 1968. The LIDAR (light detection and ranging) systems have been installed in laboratories, ground vehicles, aircraft, icebreaker ships, and spacecraft. Lassonde Professor James Whiteway will discuss field campaigns that have been carried out to study air quality and climate on Earth, and to discover the basic composition and processes in the atmosphere of Mars.

Sea ice in the Arctic is strongly shrinking. However, easy interpretation of the rapidity and causes of the changing conditions are complicated by the fact that the ice moves and deforms, affecting its thickness. However, ice thickness is difficult to observe. Lassonde researcher聽Alec Casey will discuss innovative, in-situ, airborne and satellite methods to observe sea ice thickness and show results from some key regions of the Arctic, and demonstrate the need for close collaboration between geophysicists, atmospheric scientists, engineers and biologists.

FES Professor Mark Winfield will examine the status of current federal and provincial policy commitments and strategies with respect to reductions in Greenhouse Gas emissions in Canada. The key opportunities and barriers to the development of a coherent national strategy will be identified and highlighted. Winfield's presentation will identify potential pathways forward for the federal government and leading provinces, and assess the prospects for success.

The energy sector contributes to more than 80 per cent of Canada鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change requires important changes in relationships between technology and communities. However, there is growing concern that lack of diversity in the workforce is a barrier to discourse and innovation of energy in communities. For example, where documented, women often make up less than 20 per cent of an energy sector workforce. FES Professor聽Christina Hoicka, the PowerStream Chair in Sustainable Energy Economics, will talk about how to go about finding emerging and established women scholars in energy research topics in order to develop a network for research collaboration.

Lakes in permafrost landscapes are experiencing rapid changes in ecosystem structure and function in response to permafrost thaw. In order to understand the trajectories of ecosystem change driven by thawing permafrost, LA&Ps geography Professor Jennifer Korosi will discuss how a long-term perspective that spans decades to millennia is required to provide necessary context. She will explore how lake sediment cores can be effective for characterizing spatial variability in lake ecosystem change related to permafrost thaw in northern environments.

Librarian William Denten will explore Anthropocene librarianship and making art. Specifically, Denten will show how聽聽is a sonification of the most recent atmospheric CO鈧� reading at Mauna Loa in Hawaii at the observatory run by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GHG.EARTH is meant as background, ambient music, to be played at a low volume while one does other things. The next day the sound will be a little different. The day after that, a little different again.

There are many techniques to measure the emission of pollutants, aerosols and greenhouse gasses from various sources and each technique has strengths and weaknesses, often balancing cost against uncertainty. Lassonde Professor Mark Gordon will discuss various approaches with examples including deposition and emission of aerosols and volatile organic compounds to and from a forest; emission and mixing of aerosols and CO2 from vehicles on highways; and pollutants and greenhouse gasses emitted from oil sands production facilities.

Everything Under the Sun will conclude with a panel by 91亚色 Associate Vice-Presidents of Research Sushanta Mitra and Celia Haig-Brown. Panellists will be Lassonde Professor Sunil Bisnath, FES adjunct Professor聽Kaz Higuchi, 聽Lassonde Professor Usman Khan, Lassonde Professor Spiros Pagiatakis and Lassonde Professor Peter Taylor.

Credit: YFile

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Linking Arms Together, a public symposium, will take place June 28, from 9am to 5:30pm, in Osgoode Hall-Moot Court, Kaneff Building, Keele campus.

Speakers will bring ideas to bear on the process of reconciliation using the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The symposium will also provide opportunities to reach out to other communities, educate the public and also create networks of solidarity, says key organizer Professor Peter Dawson of the Department of Sociology in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. The symposium is also organized and sponsored by the Centre for Human Rights at 91亚色 and the聽 Department of Equity Studies.

The symposium, whose title recalls the Mohawk teaching based on the sacred wampum that emphasizes the importance of co-operation and solidarity among aboriginal communities, marks the 250th anniversary of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which continues to be of legal importance to First Nations in Canada.

Some of the speakers will include the following:

Professor Emeritus Marlene Brant Castellano of Trent University, a longstanding member of the Native Studies department and an Officer of the Order of Canada, served as chair of the department from 1989 until 1991, during which time she became co-director of Research for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. She is a member of the Mohawk Nation, Bay of Quinte Band, who has also pursued careers as a social worker in child and family services. She also serves on the Institute Advisory board of the CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health and the College of Reviewers for Canada Research Chairs.

Professor John Milloy of Trent University is one of the country鈥檚 leading experts on residential schools. He was appointed director of Research, Historical Records and Report Preparation with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. In 2008, Milloy received approval from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to carry out an extensive research project that aimed to reveal what actually happened to the children who did not survive Canada鈥檚 residential school system. Previously, he served an adviser to the working group of church, Aboriginal and federal government representatives that laid out for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission a plan for filling in gaps in information about how many children died, what they died of and where they are buried. He is author of the book, A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System, 1879 to 1986. In 2005, the Literary Review of Canada selected it as one of the 100 most important books in Canadian history.

A commissioner with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Marie Wilson has more than 30 years of professional experience as an award-winning journalist, trainer and senior executive manager. She has also been a university lecturer, a high school teacher in Africa, a senior executive manager in both federal and territorial crown corporations, and an independent contractor and consultant in journalism, program evaluation, and project management. She has lived, studied and worked in cross-cultural environments for almost 40 years, including Europe, Africa and various parts of Canada. As a journalist, she worked in print, radio and television as a regional and national reporter, and later as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's senior manager for northern Quebec and the three northern Territories. Wilson is the recipient of a CBC North Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Northerner of the Year Award.

Grand Chief Edward John, a Hereditary Chief of Tl'azt'en Nation on the banks of the Nak'al Bun (Stuart Lake) in Northern British Columbia, has dedicated his life to the pursuit of social and economic justice for Canada鈥檚 indigenous people. He has worked as a leader in Indigenous politics, business and community development and been a lawyer for over 30 years. He is currently serving his 10th consecutive term on the First Nations Summit Task Group and was recently reappointed for a second three-year term as a North American Representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (January 2014 to December 2016).

Romeo Saganash, NDP MP Abitibi 鈥� Baie-James 鈥� Nunavik 鈥� Eeyou, was raised in the small northern community of Waswanipi, Quebec, is a residential school survivor and a graduate of the University of Quebec at聽Montreal law school. He is fluent in Cree, both of Canada鈥檚 official languages. He was one of the negotiators of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. As Deputy Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Cree, he also participated in the negotiation of the Charlottetown Accord, and in 1985, founded the Cree Nation Youth Council.

Ellen Gabriel was chosen by the People of the Longhouse and her community of Kanien鈥檏eh谩:ka Nation to be their spokesperson during the 1990 Oka Crisis; to protect the Pines from the expansion of a nine-hole golf course in Oka. For the past 22 years she has been a human rights advocate for the collective and individual rights of Indigenous peoples and has worked diligently to sensitize the public, academics, policing authorities and politicians聽 on the history, culture and identity of Indigenous peoples. She has been active at the international level participating at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues, negotiations on the Nagoya Protocol of the Convention on Biodiversity and most recently, at the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Jennifer Preston is the program coordinator for Aboriginal Affairs for Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers). Her work in recent years has focused on Indigenous peoples' human rights at the international level, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She was actively involved in the intensive lobbying efforts to ensure the successful adoption of the Declaration at the United Nations in both Geneva and New 91亚色. She is a co-editor and contributor of Realizing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Triumph, Hope and Action (Purich Publishers, 2010).

Paul Joffe is a member of the Quebec and Ontario bars. He represents the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) and collaborates with numerous Indigenous and human rights organizations in different regions of the world. He specializes in human rights and other issues relating to Indigenous peoples at the international and domestic level. His active involvement in international standard-setting processes includes those relating to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; the draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the Organization of American States; and the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989. He is a co-editor and contributor of Realizing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Triumph, Hope and Action.

Craig Benjamin works for Amnesty International in Canada as staff campaigner for the human rights of Indigenous Peoples. Amnesty International鈥檚 work in Canada includes the Stolen Sisters campaign though which Amnesty has worked with Indigenous women鈥檚 organizations to focus attention on the high rates of violence faced by Indigenous women; campaigns for recognition and protection of Indigenous peoples鈥� rights to land and water; promoting equitable access to essential services such as safe drinking water and family services; and promotion of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Benjamin represented Amnesty International at the UN Working Group on the Declaration in the final years of its work.

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The conference will take place Oct. 18 to 20 at the Pantages Hotel, 200聽Victoria St.,聽Toronto, and will include an embedded conference on Mothering, Science & Technology. Rates for local attendees, including students have been drastically discounted, but spaces are limited so early.

There will also be a one-day symposium celebrating the life and work of poet, anti-war activist and radical feminist Adrienne Rich (1929-2012), author of Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Institution and Experience.

For those interested in presenting a paper, there are a few spots still left. Send abstract and bio immediately to 91亚色 women's studies聽Professor , founder and director of MIRCI,聽at aoreilly@yorku.ca.

For more information, conference schedule and lists of presenters, visit the website.

The research has been supported by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada.

For more University news, photos and videos, visit the homepage.

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

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The symposium will take place Saturday, July 14, from 9am to 4pm, at 519 91亚色 Research Tower, Keele campus.

EGCC brings together girls and young women with a network of researchers, public school professionals and youth-serving community organizations.

Nombuso Dlamini at last year's forum

The project, spearheaded by Nombuso Dlamini, a professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education and the inaugural Jean Augustine Chair in Education in the New Urban Environment, investigates how young women and girls engage in leadership and civic activities in new urban environments.

Over the past 12 months, the project hired and trained youth from around the GTA to interview young women and girls about their experiences of leadership and civic engagement. The event highlights the youth interviewer participation in the research process by providing a space where they can present their experiences and receive positive feedback. Initial findings from the interviews will also be presented.

Youth interviewers being trained聽last summer

The symposium will also mark the kick-off of what promises to be an exciting and engaging second phase of EGCC, during which girls will be given resources to design their own projects and activities to learn about and practice leadership and civic engagement.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a pressing need for more women in leadership roles, particularly in government and the civic arena,鈥� says Dlamini. 鈥淚f we are to achieve this, we need to start from the ground up, which means getting girls engaged in civics early on.鈥�

Youth interviewers from the GTA and the Windsor branch of the project will gather in Toronto on Friday to share a meal and visit a local attraction. On Saturday, project participants, researchers, community partners and a selection of youth from various community organizations will convene at 91亚色.

The day will begin with a short address from Dlamini and then launch into a panel showcasing youth engagement in different areas of Toronto. Youth interviewers will then present their experiences and findings with the audience. Finally, team building and brainstorming activities will take place to create and strengthen networks of collaboration, discuss next steps, as well as tap into the unique insight provided by youth from the communities for use in the construction of the summer initiative.

The project鈥檚 co-applicants, 91亚色 Professor Joy Mannette of the Faculty of Education and Yvette Daniel of the University of Windsor, will also be in attendance.

Anyone interested in attending must RSVP to leadershipbygirls@edu.yorku.ca, or e-mail for more information.

This research is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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Debra Pepler

Creating Healthy Relationships to Prevent Bullying: Get the Tools to Take Action will take place June 19 at the Chestnut Conference Centre, 89 Chestnut St. in Toronto.

Wendy Craig

PREVNet (Promoting Relationships Eliminating Violence), a national network of 60 Canadian researchers from 27 universities and 50 national child and youth serving organizations, is led by 91亚色 psychology Professor Debra Pepler and Queen鈥檚 University Professor Wendy Craig (MA 鈥�89, PhD 鈥�93), two of Canada鈥檚 experts in the field of bullying.

Coordinator of at the Toronto District School Board, Ken Jeffers, will deliver the keynote address, 鈥淪ex, Gender and Schools Oh My!鈥�. A series of workshops will follow, where researchers, counsellors, parents, volunteers, youth and anyone else interested in bullying prevention will learn about the latest knowledge and gain practical tips regarding bullying from researchers and national community organizations.

Ken Jeffers

In the first workshop, Pepler will talk about ways to build healthy relationships with children and youth in any setting. Research is beginning to show how absolutely essential healthy relationships are for healthy development, she says. From the study of genetics at a cellular level through to studies of societal factors, clear links are emerging between the quality of children鈥檚 relationship experiences and their healthy development.

Professor of the University of Illinois will look at bullying and sexual harassment prevention and intervention among middle and high school students. In this talk, research will be presented to illustrate the prevalence and relations among bullying, homophobic teasing and sexual harassment among early adolescents. Masculinity and restricted gender expression also appear to be important factors contributing to these phenomena among adolescents.

Dorothy Espelage

A growing body of recent research, however, has documented the importance of social and emotional learning as critical to the creation of safe and caring learning environments, and ultimately as a foundation for academic success. Professor of the University of British Columbia will look at the importance of fostering social and emotional learning in schools.

Shelley Hymel

Criminal justice Professor of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will discuss the challenges of cyberbullying, what parents and educators need to know about how youth use and misuse technology to harm their peers, and outline strategies for preventing and responding to cyberbullying.

Justin Patchin

Craig, along with Professor David Smith of the University of Ottawa, will talk about how organizations can choose a bully prevention program. Shelley Cardinal, aboriginal consultant and national manager of Walking the Prevention Circle at the Canadian Red Cross, and Claire Crooks, a psychologist at the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health鈥檚 Centre for Prevention Science, will look at engaging aboriginal communities and youth in violence prevention.

For more information, including a complete list of , visit the website.

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On Monday, June 11, from 2 to 3pm, 91亚色 Vice-President Academic Patrick Monahan and Lisa Philipps, associate vice-president research, are hosting an informative workshop that will cover how to prepare an effective nomination package. The session will take place in 626 91亚色 Research Tower.

Topics that will be covered include:

• Recognizing Success and Building Reputation Through Awards;
• Finding Awards, Identifying Candidates;
• Ingredients of Success: The Nomination Letter, the CV, Letters of Support; and
• Award Adjudication: The Inside Story.

The session is designed for staff work in faculty dean鈥檚 offices, department chairs, and directors of schools, associate deans of research, research officers and research directors. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Participants will have an opportunity to view precedent files to see what works and there will be a question-and-answer session following the presentation. While the focus is on research awards, the information presented will be relevant to teaching and other kinds of awards.

If you are interested in attending, to Lia Cavaliere or call 416-736-2100 ext. 33782.

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The聽roundtable provided a forum for participants to discuss technological advancements, research partnerships and community collaborations for the benefit of improving health care delivery for citizens.

From left, Altaf Stationwala, president聽& CEO of 91亚色 Central Hospital, Ken Ono, vice-president analytics of NexJ Systems Inc., Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, Harvey Skinner, dean, Faculty of Health, Robert Hach茅, vice-president research & innovation at 91亚色聽University

鈥淭he 91亚色 Leadership Roundtable provided an opportunity to facilitate and create mutually productive relationships with businesses, industry, social service organizations and the municipal and regional leadership of 91亚色 Region,鈥� said Robert Hach茅, 91亚色 vice-president research & innovation. 鈥淒uring the session, our keynote speakers provided a great snapshot of new innovations in the health services sector and the exciting opportunities to foster collaborative research partnerships for continued growth and development.鈥�

Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua welcomed all participants to the event and highlighted the importance of forming collaborative networks to improve health care delivery in the region.

鈥淭he 91亚色 Roundtable was a great initiative to better comprehend and seek solutions to the challenges we face in health care. The thoughtful analysis of the changing dynamics of our system provided much value added to the understanding of what is required to bring about much needed reform," said Bevilacqua.

"Through effective dialogue and collaboration we can find the path that will bring us closer to the answers needed to build an effective, efficient and caring user-friendly health care system. The discussion about the use of technology as an enabler for positive change was a reminder of the incredible opportunities we must seize to move forward and innovate towards the creation of a modern and avant-garde system,鈥� said Bevilacqua.

Speakers at the event included聽Harvey Skinner, dean of聽91亚色's Faculty of Health;聽Ken Ono, vice-president of NexJ Systems Inc.; and Altaf Stationwala, president聽& CEO of 91亚色 Central Hospital.

Skinner discussed how a new approach to the management of health care is setting the stage for industry partnerships, creating efficiencies within the delivery of health care and driving new models for teaching and educating the health care professionals of tomorrow.聽 He presented a new integrated eHealth solution and software development project aimed at enabling patients to monitor their health and wellness, diet and exercise program on a daily basis with the support of a health coach.

The program will help to promote a health active lifestyle, explained Skinner, and will聽enable health care providers and patients to work collaboratively to improve a patient鈥檚 health, minimize dependency on an already heavily-taxed health care system. He 聽and can lead to job creation for a new Health Coach profession 鈥� an individual who will monitor the health and wellness of patients and help them change behaviourthrough the technology.

Ono聽offered an industry perspective on innovating in the health care sector. He addressed聽some of the opportunities and surmountable challenges of working with universities to spearhead commercialization vehicles.

Sharing his experiences working collaboratively with 91亚色 researchers,聽聽Stationwala presented聽his perspective on the research agenda that will help to deliver a sustainable health system at 91亚色 Central Hospital and the Region of 91亚色.

During a lively question and answer period, the group of聽more than聽40 senior executives and community leaders discussed the continuing importance of investing in research and development,聽strategies for addressing the innovation needs of businesses and the health care sector, and the role of universities in fostering economic strength in their surrounding cities.

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, taking place at Brock University May 10 to 11, offers a forum for scholars, students, educators, historians and members of the public to explore the important role played by African Canadians the last war fought on Canadian soil. It will also showcase a new web-based project to help children 鈥渧irtually鈥� experience the history surrounding the Underground Railroad, the first phase of which will be unveiled by Jean Augustine, fairness commissioner for Ontario.

The conference鈥檚 opening reception on Thursday will feature James Bradley, Ontario environment minister; Brian McMullan, mayor of St. Catharines; Paul Dyster, mayor of Niagara Falls, New 91亚色; Brian Merrett, chief executive officer of the War of 1812 Legacy Council for Niagara; and Bonnie Rose, executive vice-president of Niagara University.

Guest speaker Gareth Newfield of the Canadian War Museum will present "Free Men of Colour: The Coloured Corps during the War of 1812鈥�, followed by a musical performance by Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whitely. The launch of Conestogo Bound: Black Pioneers of Wellington County, an original film by Queen's Bush pioneer descendant Diana Braithwaite, will conclude the evening.

Friday, workshop topics include the "coloured corps" stationed at Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake; the wartime experience of black women and children; African Canadian service in the battle for the Great Lakes and on the high seas; and the post-war migration to Canada Maritimes of the so-called "black refugees鈥�, some 2,000 African Americans who fought on the British side in the War of 1812.

An important component of the workshop will be outlining directions for future research and providing suggestions for the development of educational materials for the new project of the Harriet Tubman Institute and Department of Fine Arts, 91亚色: We Stand On Guard for Thee: Teaching and Learning the African Canadian Experience in the War of 1812.

Also on Friday, Augustine will launch . The web-based project includes 24 original biographies of people who came to Canada in search of freedom before the American Civil War. Narratives, detailed essays, primary documents and historic images support a series of original lesson plans designed for Grades 3-12, enhanced by augmented reality segments created by聽91亚色 film Professor Caitlin Fisher, Canadian Research Chair in Digital Culture at 91亚色, and her team in the Faculty of Fine Arts .

Augmented reality allows students and teachers to engage with personal stories and photos of refugees from American slavery and free African American immigrants before the Civil War. Some of the materials were contributed by descendants of those profiled and have never before been shown in public. The segment is set in motion when an image card is held in view of a webcam; the program conjures three-dimensional digital images, video and audio in a number of vignettes. The person holding the card up to the webcam becomes part of the picture and thus part of the action.

Breaking the Chains was created by 91亚色's and the Augmented Reality Lab in the Faculty of Fine Arts at 91亚色 with community partners from across Ontario. The聽project, carried out under the supervision of Karolyn Smardz Frost,聽senior research fellow at the Tubman Institute,was tested in a number of Ontario schools over the past few months. It聽will be聽rolled out after its May 11 launch and offered free online through the Tubman Institute website as a resource for teachers to encourage students to interact with Canadian history.

Several 91亚色 scholars will be involved in the We Stand on Guard for Thee workshop. History Professor Michele Johnson is conference chair. She is also moderator of the panel, Teaching and Learning the African Canadian Experience in the War of 1812, on which historian Hilary Dawson and education director Natasha Henry, both of the聽Tubman Institute, will speak. Welcoming workshop participants will be Paul Lovejoy, Tubman Institute director and Canadian Research Chair in African Diaspora History, and workshop organizer Smardz Frost,聽author of聽聽,聽winner of the 2007 Governor General's Award for non-fiction. Smardz Frost聽will also discuss the connection between the War of 1812 and the Underground Railroad.

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That was the consensus of leading thinkers,聽academics, engineers and students聽who gathered at 91亚色's Keele campus on April 21 for "Envisioning the Renaissance Engineer", a day-long workshop to outline the academic promise聽for the University's聽expanded聽School of Engineering.

鈥淭his shall be a school of unique and new design,鈥� said Janusz Kozinski, dean of 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science & Engineering and host of the workshop. "Once completed," he said, "the聽School of Engineering will have an enormous impact on the field of engineering in Canada and beyond.

Janusz Kozinski

鈥淗ow do we see engineering in the future?鈥� said 91亚色鈥檚 President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri, in his welcoming remarks. 鈥淥ur vision is the creation of problem solvers who are broadly educated and socially responsible. We want to build a faculty that is inclusive in every respect.鈥�

Underpinning this vision for the聽School of Engineering will be academic partnerships with Osgoode Hall Law School and the Schulich School of Business and 91亚色's other faculties.

For philanthropist Pierre Lassonde, chair of the Franco Nevada Corporation,聽whose generous donation of聽$25 million to 91亚色 has made聽possible the expansion of the聽engineering school,聽attending the聽event one day after celebrating his birthday, along with the anticipated聽discussion of the聽concept of the renaissance engineer,聽were gifts聽worthy of 65 candles.

In his welcome to the workshop participants,聽Lassonde described his vision聽for the engineer of the future. The renaissance engineer, he said,聽must聽be like Michelangelo, the Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, poet and engineer. Renaissance engineers would be聽able to create their own masterpieces, dream and design innovative technical solutions to problems, be entrepreneurial in business and understand the romance of lifelong learning.

Pierre Lassonde

鈥淚t聽is聽a momentous time. I find myself looking forward and backward,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur engineers, our graduates must be fully equipped, fully ready for any situation they encounter. Builders, creative people, developers of solutions 鈥� they must not be harnessed by the stiffness of earlier generations. In the future, new approaches, new fixes, flexible men and women are what will be required.鈥�

The workshop began聽with a keynote address by Diane Freeman, an engineering consultant, Waterloo city councillor and the past president of the Professional Engineers of Ontario. The day continued with morning and afternoon聽discussions.聽Technical presentations on entrepreneurship and project-based learning聽rounded out the day.

Diane Freeman

鈥淭he word 鈥榬enaissance鈥� speaks of revival and of rebirth,鈥澛燜reeman said. 鈥淎ptly, it refers to seasons of transition and to change makers. This is what engineers are, not just automobile designers.鈥�

She spoke about the need for creative solutions聽by engineers to solve deeply rooted problems.聽Freeman called for engineers to become involved in public policy and stressed the need for collaboration between engineers, citizens and public policy makers.

Highlights of the day's panel discussions

The Future Engineers聽Session that followed featured Marisa Sterling of the Professional Engineers of Ontario; Tom Lee, chief education officer, Quanser Inc.; and Sal Alajeck, global engineering team lead, Engineers Without Borders.

Sterling said three characteristics should be encouraged in the engineers of the future聽鈥� flexibility, strategic thinking and entrepreneurial spirit. 鈥淓ngineers would need to continually evolve, adopt a strategic mindset and look for future gaps, opportunities and cycles.鈥�

In addition to current trends in engineering, Freeman highlighted that聽there would be a need for new kinds of engineers in areas such as seismic engineering and entrepreneurial engineering.

Lee said that future engineers should be equipped to handle global challenges and聽issues such as climate change and renewable energy.聽He noted聽that elementary students are making robots and engineering fundamentals are now being taught in聽some聽Ontario high schools,聽something he said was聽not being recognized by universities.

Alajeck suggested engineering programs consider the big picture, including聽teaching engineers to be better communicators聽and聽offering interdisciplinary studies聽in creative problem solving and聽system thinking. "Can they be a loving engineer with the ability to transcend relationships and build communities? Can they change the givens? Would the approach to the renaissance engineer be additive or holistic?"聽asked Alajeck. "Can 91亚色's School of Engineering challenge the existing framework of engineering education or go against the will of industry?"

From left, Sal Alajeck, Tom Lee and Marisa Sterling

The聽afternoon Renaissance Engineer聽Session featured聽91亚色 natural science Professors Richard Jarrell and Edward Jones-Imhotep speaking about trends聽that they think聽would affect the renaissance engineer.聽

Jarrell said he was worried about the text聽and e-mail聽heavy world聽of non-present communications, which聽he called socially bleak.

"We need to be citizens first. Citizens have adaptability and are present in the world. They are taught to move about and seek a broader education," he said."Flexibility, adaptability and聽broad-based education are important. There is a need to be nimble聽and move into a variety of careers because the broader the education, the more useful the engineer, and the聽better the citizen, the better the communicator and the more visionary the human being."

"Renaissance has an element of rebirth, but also of聽recovering what has been lost," said Jones-Imhotep. He cited聽Galileo Galilei聽and other renaissance scientists of the 1600s. Many,聽he noted,聽were in essence聽"renaissance engineers". They were also musicians and they聽actively explored聽and embraced other domains, including聽art,聽music and languages.

Following the discussion, engineering Professor John Orr of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Worcester, Mass., explored project-based learning.

Orr's presentation was聽followed by a panel discussion featuring聽Troy d'Ambrosio, director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Center at the University of Utah, and Gabriel Chan of the peer-to-peer learning platform NoteWagon.

Troy d'Ambrosio

They discussed how entrepreneurial engineers聽develop聽solutions to everyday problems. Both d'Ambrosio and Chan highlighted the聽importance of universities in聽encouraging and incubating business and engineering start ups. They highlighted that聽business planning is a fundamental and integral skill for renaissance engineers. d'Ambrosio described the聽experience of the University of Utah and its engineering school's effort to marry business with engineering, which resulted in creation of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Center at the University of Utah.

The day ended with a thoughtful聽observation聽from Lassonde. "Aspire to inspire, before you expire."

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

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