It means a very large ecosytem, and the boreal biome comprises about 60 per cent of Canada‘s land area. It includes more than two million lakes and accounts for about 85 per cent of Canada's freshwater and some 25 per cent of global wetlands. Despite the magnitude of this resource, an increasing number of environmental stressors – not least chemicals – have put it at risk.

The southern part of the biome, including both fresh waters and terrestrial ecosystems, has been affected by acid deposition for at least a half century. Contamination by mercury is widespread, and elevated levels of trace organic contaminants of many types are now measurable over much of the area.

For the 2011 Morris Katz Lecture, Trent University Professor Peter Dillon (left) will discuss biogeochemistry and how the movement of chemicals through the boreal environment can be used to assess the effects of these chemical stressors. Dillon will speak on Wednesday, June 29, at 2:30pm, in the Senate Chamber, N940 Ross Building. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Dillon specializes in the biogeochemistry of lakes and their catchments. He was the scientific leader of environmental research and long-term investigations carried out at the Dorset Research Centre in central Ontario for the past 25 years and still maintains a close association with the centre. 

He is currently the director of Trent University's Water Quality Centre. A member of the Royal Society, he recently won the Miroslaw Romanowski Medal for environmental science.

Much of his current research focuses on the cycling of elements, including sulphur, carbon, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus, in catchments and in lakes, on the processes that control their fluxes and on the transformations of chemical species that occur during the movement of these elements through ecosystems.

In his lecture on Wednesday, Dillon will look at how contamination by other metals, once isolated to regions near mining and smelting activities, is more widespread. In the past few decades, climate change has come to the forefront, and it is clear that the boreal will be one of the more heavily affected parts of Canada. 

"Although climate change can directly effect the biological communities of the boreal, most effects will be mediated through alterations in environmental chemistry," says Dillon in his lecture abstract. "In addition, climate change can and is altering the response of lakes and their catchments to other stressors, for example, is reducing the rate of recovery of ecosystems from declining acid deposition rates.

"For an quantitative understanding of how the boreal biome responds to changes in the magnitude of stressors, it is critical to have measurements that go beyond simple description of ecosystem properties such as concentrations of various chemicals in different compartments." 

For more information on the Morris Katz Lectureship, contact Carol Weldon, Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry administration assistant, at ext. 55410, by fax at 416-736-5411 or by e-mail to cac@yorku.ca, or visit the ���ɱ�������ٱ�.

Major contributions in support of this year’s lecture have been made by 91��ɫ's Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry and Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment.

About Morris Katz

Morris Katz, 1901-1987, was an outstanding scientist. He spent 35 years in public service, where he pioneered air pollutant sampling and measurement methodology and was among the first to demonstrate the presence of ozone damage to vegetation in Ontario. He taught chemistry at 91��ɫ until his death. He authored or co-authored more than 150 books and articles and was the recipient of numerous awards for his work.

The Morris Katz Lectureship was made possible by the establishment of an endowment fund created through contributions from his family, friends and colleagues, private companies, universities and government. Major contributions in support of this year's lecture have been made by 91��ɫ's Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

About 91��ɫ's Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry

The Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry was established in 1985 in response to a growing public concern about the atmospheric environment. It offers programs that provide students with the necessary theoretical background and practical laboratory experience to enable them to make meaningful contributions to important environmental concerns upon their graduation. 91��ɫ also offers MSc and PhD degrees in atmospheric chemistry.  

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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If you’re working in 3D film or aerospace engineering, what impact do the latest developments in brain and vision research have on your industry’s practices? What if you’re drafting government policy on air quality control and need expertise in how the latest atmospheric chemistry and physics findings translate into plans and policy?

Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows at 91��ɫ have new options to pursue the research and applied dimensions of these and other questions, thanks to $3.3 million in funding from the (NSERC).

httpv://youtu.be/OtRWua59EPU

The funding, provided through NSERC’s $29.6 million investment over six years in the Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Grants program, will support two new training programs in the Faculty of Science & Engineering, each valued at $1.65 million over the period.

Students and fellows enrolled in each program will gain experience in basic and applied research, along with the practical and professional skills needed to successfully transition to research careers in the academic, industry or government sectors.

Professor Hugh Wilson in the Faculty of Science & Engineering’s Department of Biology will lead the Vision Science and Applications program. Based in the internationally-recognized (CVR), the program focuses on vision-based information technologies that require optimal information displays to ensure accurate human interpretation of data are playing an increasingly important role in many economic sectors.

Key applications include:

• 3D digital media (e.g., 3D film, geographical databases, autocad systems)
• Aerospace (e.g., cockpit technologies, search-and-rescue)
• Face and scene analysis technologies (e.g., facial biometrics)
• Visual health and assessment technologies (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), perimetry)

The Vision Science and Applications team includes 25 researchers at seven international universities and 10 partner organizations, including , the and . At 91��ɫ, a total of 10 professors affiliated with CVR will lend their expertise to the project. The program will enrol four students in its first year and 16 students in each successive year.

Professors and in the Faculty of Science & Engineering’s Department of Chemistry will lead the Training Program for Integrating Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics from Earth to Space (IACPES) program. Jointly based in 91��ɫ’s (CAC) and the Centre for Research in Earth & Space Science (CRESS), the program’s interdisciplinary focus will give students an integrated understanding of atmospheric chemistry and physics from earth into space.

Key applications include:

• measuring and modelling atmospheric change
• examining air quality and health issues
• monitoring changes in the arctic atmosphere
• detecting sources of greenhouse gases
• measuring Earth’s changing atmosphere from space
• exploring and understanding other planets’ atmospheres
• developing the policy implications of atmospheric science

The IACPES team includes 11 applicants at six universities and 23 collaborators at 10 partner organizations, including , the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the (NOAA) in Boulder, Colo., several industries and two premier research institutes in Germany. The program will create 21 places for undergraduate students, master’s students, PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in its first year, with over 200 places created over the successive five years.

httpv://youtu.be/6YlFv0Xd9no

“By securing two of only 18 projects awarded to universities across Canada, 91��ɫ builds on its strong track record in leading large-scale, interdisciplinary collaborative research projects,” said Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation. “The programs will provide our innovative research centres – CVR, CRESS and CAC – with a competitive advantage in attracting excellent graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who wish to pursue careers in the applications of vision science or atmospheric chemistry and physics. NSERC’s CREATE program strengthens the role of universities in training the highly-qualified people needed in today’s scientific knowledge economy.”

“NSERC’s CREATE Program helps graduating students become highly sought-after professional researchers in the natural sciences and engineering, both in Canada and abroad,” said Suzanne Fortier, president of NSERC. “The program not only helps improve the skill set of Canada’s next-generation of research talent, but it also helps to support their retention in the workforce.”

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

The post NSERC awards 91��ɫ research centres $3.3 million appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Organized by the 91��ɫ and the , Finlayson-Pitts’ talk, “Reactions at Interfaces in the Atmosphere:  Challenges and Opportunities”, starts at 2:30pm in the Senate Chamber, N940 Ross Building on 91��ɫ’s Keele campus.

Right: Finlayson-Pitts

Multiphase chemistry in the atmosphere has traditionally been viewed as reactions in the gas phase and the condensed phase, with mass transfer between the two. In this case, kinetics and mechanisms determined in laboratory studies of bulk liquid or gas phase systems can be used reliably in atmospheric models. However, there is increasing evidence that some reactions occur at interfaces between air and condensed phases, in the form of airborne particles and surfaces in the boundary layer such as buildings, vegetation, etc. Such interface reactions often have unique kinetics and mechanisms that are not well represented by bulk phase chemistry. Furthermore, photochemistry at surfaces may be quite different than that in bulk phases. Some examples of unique interface chemistry and photochemistry relevant to atmospheric processes and their potential implications for understanding the chemistry of the lower atmosphere will be discussed.

Barbara J. Finlayson-Pitts

completed her BSc. (Hons.) at Trent University in Peterborough in 1970 and her MS (1971) and PhD (1973) in chemistry at the University of California, Riverside, where she also did post-doctoral work for one year. She was on the faculty in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at California State University, Fullerton, from 1974 to 1994. Finlayson-Pitts joined the faculty in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine, in 1994 where she is currently a UCI distinguished professor, professor of chemistry and director of , a multidisciplinary research unit.

Finlayson-Pitts’ research interests include the photochemistry, kinetics and mechanisms of atmospheric reactions, especially heterogeneous reactions. Current studies include the chemistry of sea salt particles, organics and oxides of nitrogen, and the photochemistry of species at interfaces. Finlayson-Pitts is author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, as well as two books, and , which she co-authored with James N. Pitts Jr.

Her teaching has included physical chemistry, instrumental analysis, freshman chemistry, chemistry for non-science majors and graduate seminars, and courses in atmospheric chemistry. She developed a number of new undergraduate experiments centred on the theme of the analysis of complex environmental mixtures; these are described in a number of papers published in the Journal of Chemical Education.

After a career in which she has received many awards and distinctions, Finlayson-Pitts was elected to both the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006.  In 2008, she was awarded the Richard C. Tolman Medal of the Southern California Section of the American Chemical Society, and in 2009 the Coalition for Clean Air Carl Moyer Award for Scientific Leadership and Technical Excellence.

Finlayson-Pitts has served on a number of editorial boards, including the board of reviewing editors of Science as well as the The Journal of Physical Chemistry, Atmospheric Environment, Analytical Chemistry, Research on Chemical Intermediates and International Reviews in Physical Chemistry.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin

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Throughout November, the Vari Hall Rotunda will play host to displays and demonstrations featuring our faculty and graduate researchers. Drop by between 10 am and 2 pm each Wednesday to learn what 91��ɫ's researchers are doing.

The Research Month index on 91��ɫ's Research website contains complete information about the researchers, research centres and research support groups participating in the event.

Social sciences and humanities research – Nov. 3

Confirmed participants include:

• Institute for Science & Technology Studies
• 91��ɫ Centre for Education & Community

Science and engineering research – Nov. 10

Confirmed participants include:

Health research – Nov.17

Confirmed participants include:

• Professor Joseph DeSouza, Faculty of Health, Department of Psychology
• Professor , Faculty of Health, School of Nursing
• Professor Jennifer Kuk, Faculty of Health, School of Kinesiology & Health Science
• Professor Gail Mitchell, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing
• Professor Jennine Rawana, Faculty of Health, Department of Psychology
• Professor Rose Steele, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing
• LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence & Conflict Resolution
• 91��ɫ Institute for Health Research

Fine and performing arts research — Nov. 24

Confirmed participants include:

Want to participate?

Do you have completed works, prototypes, technology, or works in progress that you could demonstrate? Do you have graduate/undergraduate students working with you who could assist and help talk about the work? If you have other ideas, we would love to hear about them.

Interested faculty members or research centres should contact Elizabeth Monier-Williams in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation at ext. 21069 or eamw@yorku.ca. Please note that space is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Other research-related events

These research-related events will also be running in November:

• Nov. 6 – , featuring Professor Poonam Puri from Osgoode Hall Law School and Professor Steven Gaetz from the Faculty of Education among other speakers.
• Nov. 10 – Toward a Behavioral Neuroscience of Parenting, sponsored by the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health.
• Nov. 24 & 25 – at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (by invitation only).
• Nov. 26 – Campus visit from Suzanne Fortier, president of the .
• Nov. 30 – Campus visit from David Malone, president of .

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

The post November is Research Month: 91��ɫ celebrates with a series of events appeared first on Research & Innovation.