If you鈥檙e working in 3D film or aerospace engineering, what impact do the latest developments in brain and vision research have on your industry鈥檚 practices? What if you鈥檙e 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亚色 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).

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The funding, provided through NSERC鈥檚 $29.6聽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鈥檚 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亚色, 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鈥檚 Department of Chemistry will lead the Training Program for Integrating Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics from Earth to Space (IACPES) program. Jointly based in 91亚色鈥檚 (CAC) and the Centre for Research in Earth & Space Science (CRESS), the program鈥檚 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鈥檚 changing atmosphere from space
• exploring and understanding other planets鈥� 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.聽The program will create 21 places for undergraduate students, master鈥檚 students, PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in its first year, with over 200 places created over the successive five years.

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鈥淏y securing two of only 18 projects awarded to universities across Canada, 91亚色 builds on its strong track record in leading large-scale, interdisciplinary collaborative research projects,鈥� said Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation. 鈥�The programs will provide our innovative research centres 鈥� CVR, CRESS and CAC聽鈥� 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鈥檚 CREATE program strengthens the role of universities in training the highly-qualified people needed in today鈥檚 scientific knowledge economy.鈥�

鈥淣SERC鈥檚 CREATE Program helps graduating students become highly sought-after professional researchers in the natural sciences and engineering, both in Canada and abroad,鈥� said Suzanne聽Fortier, president of NSERC. 鈥淭he program not only helps improve the skill set of Canada鈥檚 next-generation of research talent, but it also helps to support their retention in the workforce.鈥�

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

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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.聽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.聽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.聽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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