As Tier 1 CRCs, Haas and Fogel will each receive $1.4 million over seven years. The CRC is part of a package of CRC appointments announced Oct. 12, by Gary Goodyear, 聽minister of state (Science and Technology).

鈥淥ur government鈥檚 top priority is creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity,鈥� said Goodyear. 鈥淏y investing in talented people through programs such as the Canada Research Chairs, our government is supporting cutting-edge research in Canadian post-secondary institutions. This fosters innovation by helping researchers bring their ideas to the marketplace, where they can touch the lives of Canadians.鈥�

In all, the government announced an investment of $121.6 聽million to fund the appointment of 155 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at 42 Canadian degree-granting post-secondary institutions.

鈥淭he appointment of Professor Christian Haas as Canada Research Chair in Arctic Sea Ice Geophysics and the renewal of Professor Joshua Fogel as Canada Research Chair in the History of Modern China recognizes the excellence of their research and provides them with opportunities to further develop their exceptional research programs,鈥� said Robert Hach茅, vice-president research & innovation at 91亚色. 鈥淭hrough the CRC program, 91亚色 continues to build on its research strengths and enhance opportunities for graduate training.鈥�

Christian Haas

Haas, a professor of geophysics, in the Department of Earth & Space Science and Engineering in the Faculty of Science & Engineering, is examining the underlying reasons for the recent, rapid retreat of Arctic sea ice and the consequences for the Arctic climate system and ecosystem, for Northerners, and for better access to Arctic resources and shipping routes.聽 His research also addresses the role of changes in winds and ice drift as well as of variations in atmospheric radiation and temperature and ocean salinity and temperature on ice thickness and areal coverage.

A thorough understanding of the reasons for the recent Arctic sea ice decline will help fuel predictions of future scenarios and identify links to possible human-induced causes for climate change.

Ice information obtained by Haas鈥� research utilizing airborne and ground-based field campaigns in the Arctic and Antarctic, satellite remote sensing and numerical modeling provides important information for safe and environmentally responsible resource exploration and extraction, as well as shipping and over-ice travel.聽 His research contributes unique information on ice thickness, one of the most important sea ice properties for the design and regulation of offshore structures and ships, safe ice utilization and assessment of oil spill development.

Fogel, a professor in the Department of History in the聽Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and member of 91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Asian Research has been examining the dynamic cultural and political relations between China and Japan over the past two centuries.

Joshua Fogel

The history of modern China cannot be fully or properly understood, Fogel maintains, without examining the dynamic cultural, political, and economic interactions between China and Japan over the last two centuries. Fogel鈥檚 research focuses on this interaction and the importance of Japan in China鈥檚 modern development.

He is presently writing a comprehensive history of Chinese-Japanese relations from antiquity through the present as well as a more focused monograph on the history of the Japanese expatriate community in Shanghai (1862 to 1945). His work is premised on the fruitful assumption that the modern history of China is incomprehensible without a full consideration of modern Japanese history.

For more information, visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin to research stories on the research website.

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Interest in China is strong, and scholars and students alike continue to be intrigued by the country, whether viewing it through the lens of the past two or 2,000 years. That intrigue proved evident on Thursday, Jan. 28, when a record 110聽people crowded into a room in 91亚色 Lanes for the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) monthly Research Matters event.

The focus of聽the event was on China, and attendees were anxious to get insight from researchers on the country's history, culture and rising international prominence. To watch the presentations online or click through an edited version of the speakers' onscreen presentations, visit the聽Research Matters Web site.

Martin Singer (right), dean of LA&PS and a historian of China, opened the session and聽recalled how his own fascination with China began when he was an undergraduate student. Despite some skepticism from family and friends about the career prospects of specializing in such an area, Singer went on to pursue graduate studies in Chinese history at the University of Michigan. Before Singer became a professor at Montreal's Sir George Williams University in 1972, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau surprised Canadians with his journey to China and the relations he established. The PM's visit was quickly followed by a visit by聽US President Richard Nixon.聽These high-level delegations clearly indicated that China's importance was rapidly increasing on a global scale.

Though China and Canada were just beginning to develop a mutual understanding of one another in the 1970s, Singer noted, "91亚色 was a powerhouse of China-related activity at the time." He welcomed the continued commitment to sinology today, pointing to the tremendous wealth of expertise on China in LA&PS and across the University.

Joshua Fogel (right), Canada Research Chair in the History of Modern China聽in the Department of History, reached deep into the past to illuminate the historiography of a 2,000-year-old golden seal, originally given by Emperor Guangwu to an emissary from Japan in 57 CE聽鈥� the first known material object exchanged between China and Japan. It was unearthed in 1784 in a Japanese farmer's field and, since then, there has been much debate about its true nature and the implications of the characters inscribed on it.

Some scholars believe that the seal is authentic and holds great significance, while others claim that it is an outright forgery. Fogel is writing a book on the debate, which he hopes will shed some light on the true meaning of the seal and its implications.

Professor Lee Li of the School of Administrative Studies discussed why Chinese companies seem to enjoy a competitive advantage in world markets. His research looks beyond the commonly held belief and superficial claim that China's economic dominance originates simply in its low-cost labour. If low-cost labour was the key to such success, Li argued, then why aren't other developing economies experiencing the same advantage?

Li聽asserted that the advantage Chinese companies enjoy results from a number of interconnected factors, including cost-leadership; a diverse bundle of valuable resources; efficient production methods; a robust, domestic market demand; strong cultural and related industries; and a focus on developing partnerships with Western companies that enable them to learn and adopt various manufacturing, management and research-and-development innovations.

Right: Professor Lee Li discusses his research into China's competitive edge on the global stage

The two speakers following Li talked about their research on China in a much more experiential way. Both professors have deep ties and have developed long-term relationships with the country and its people.

David Lumsden, chair and undergraduate program director in the Department of Anthropology, spoke about the contingent nature of the research enterprise, the serendipitous opportunities that have led to his projects and how he came to be a China scholar. Lumsden was the master of Bethune College from 1983 to 1989 and credits his initial interest in the country to fellow scholar Rod Stewart and visiting international students. In 2006, he embarked upon a two-year sabbatical at Southwest University in Chongqing, China, where he taught graduate students and conducted research on the impact of Chinese reforms on peasants and migrant workers flooding into cities. Lumsden received the Great Wall Friendship Award, China's highest award for foreigners, in 2008.

Left: Professor David Lumsden

The final speaker was Professor Bernie Frolic of the Department of Political Science, director of the Asian Business & Management Program in the 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research and聽the Schulich School of Business. He also worked as first secretary, cultural, at the Canadian Embassy in China in the mid-1970s. Frolic discussed the subject of the book for which he is currently doing research: contemporary Canada-China relations. He detailed his difficulties in accessing information from government files and the restrictions placed on his ability to record what he had access to.

Left: Professor Bernie Frolic

Frolic noted the essentially consistent nature of Canada-China relations, regardless of political leadership in Ottawa, from the 1970s until 2005. Engagement between the two all but ended at this time and only recently have relations improved. One of the greatest challenges, he lamented, has been accessing information about the current government's relations with China. As a result, the best he could do with all of his research was to deliver an approximate depiction of relations. He noted, "I settled for an impressionistic painting rather than a photograph."

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