Pearlman, currently first-vice-president of the RCI, is the director of 91亚色鈥檚 Core Molecular Biology/DNA Sequencing Facility and former dean and associate dean of 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Graduate Studies. He will be formally inducted at the institute鈥檚 Annual General Meeting on Thursday, May 10.

Ron Pearlman

The is the oldest scientific society in Canada, founded in Toronto in 1849 by a small group of civil engineers and surveyors led by Sir Sandford Fleming. Its mission is to enhance public awareness about science, and聽it is best known for its free public lecture series held on Sunday afternoons in the fall and winter on the University of Toronto campus, and similar free lectures on Thursdays at the Mississauga Public Library.

鈥淚鈥檓 grateful to have this opportunity to lead an organization with such an important mission,鈥� Pearlman says. 鈥淪cience impacts our lives on a daily basis, and in all areas. We need to have a science-literate population, and in a civil society we need a vibrant science culture.鈥�

As president, Pearlman will continue to build on public outreach initiatives, such as making public lectures available via webcasts produced by 91亚色. Recent lectures have included top scientists like the University of Toronto鈥檚 Shana O. Kelley discussing the latest nanotech tools for diagnosing disease, and 91亚色鈥檚 own Ellen Bialystok on reshaping the brain through bilingualism. For a full list of lectures available online, click here.

鈥淥n behalf of the 91亚色 research community, I would like to congratulate Dr. Ron Pearlman, University Professor Emeritus of 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science & Engineering, on his appointment as president of the Royal Canadian Institute for the Advancement of Science,鈥� says Robert Hach茅, 91亚色鈥檚 vice-president research & innovation. 鈥淎s a leading expert in the field of genomics, with a long-standing successful career, Ron has worked to advance scientific research on an international scale and has been a phenomenal ambassador for 91亚色 research. This prestigious appointment is well deserved.鈥�

Pearlman was recently recognized with a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his outstanding contributions to the RCI, and his support of science culture and literacy in Canada. In addition to his role at 91亚色, he is also associate scientific director of the Gairdner Foundation and co-ordinates its student outreach program. His research interests include molecular biology and biochemistry, cell biology and genetics utilizing the new genomic and proteomic technologies.

The RCI and 91亚色 are also among the sponsors of the upcoming , an annual cross-country event that brings science and technology face to face with the Canadian public in a non-intimidating, festival atmosphere at many academic institutions as well as in public spaces.

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

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The gala dinner will take place Thursday, April 26, from 6 to 9:30pm, at the MaRS Discovery District, 101 College Street, Toronto. Gala tickets cost $250.

Twenty-five scientists will host a table, including three from 91亚色. They are physics Professor Scott Menary, Professor Marshall McCall, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Professor Brenda Zimmerman, director of health industry management at the Schulich School of Business. In addition, 91亚色 honorary degree recipient Calvin Stiller will also host a table.

Guests have the opportunity to choose which table they wish to be seated at, as long as it鈥檚 not already sold out. Each scientist will provide a brief overview of their subject and/or current work and guests are then free to ask any questions or suggest topics they would like the host to discuss. Scientists are chosen from various disciplines from academic institutions and other sectors across southern Ontario.

Scott Menary

Menary鈥檚 present main research thrust is the ALPHA experiment at the antiproton decelerator at CERN, the European Centre for Particle Physics located in Geneva, Switzerland.聽ALPHA aims to produce, "trap", and spectrally analyze a sample of antihydrogen atoms. Comparison of the properties of antihydrogen to those of hydrogen, the most precisely understood system that exists, promises to be a stringent test of our present description of the interactions of the fundamental objects in our universe.

Before coming to 91亚色, Menary was a scientific associate of CERN, a research associate with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a staff scientist with the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) located near Chicago.聽He has performed research at CERN (specifically at LEP 鈥� the Large Electron Positron collider), Fermilab where he helped design a neutrino beam, as well as HERA, the large electron-proton collider at the DESY laboratory in Hamburg, and the CLEO experiment at the CESR electron-positron collider located on the Cornell University campus.

Brenda Zimmerman

Zimmerman will discuss hospital-acquired infections, such as Clostridium difficile, which are typically antibiotic-resistant organisms and often nicknamed 鈥渟uperbugs鈥�, and whether or not a different approach can provide the solution.聽Patients and staff in hospitals are at risk of becoming infected and of infecting others.聽Positive deviance is a change-management approach that has been used in six Canadian hospitals to address this challenge.聽The hallmark of positive deviance is locally created and implemented solutions in contrast to dictated guidelines or rules.聽How can the lessons learned from these hospitals be used to broadly spread the ideas without destroying the very essence of the PD approach?

Zimmerman鈥榮 primary research applies complexity science to organizations, especially health-care organizations.聽 She was a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences chronic disease expert panel, is a member of the Health Foundation鈥檚 Improvement Science Network (UK), advises the Canadian Public Health Agency and is the chair of Patient Safety and Quality Committee for Mount Sinai Hospital.

Marshall McCall

"How We Got Here: The Milky Way and Beyond" is the title of McCall鈥檚 discussion. He鈥檒l talk about our understanding of the Milky Way and how our place within it is inextricably tied to thinking about galaxies.聽Our own bodies bear the imprint of galactic evolution.聽 How did we get here mentally?聽 How did we get here physically?聽 How special are we?

McCall is an astronomer who has spent most of his research life studying the structure, evolution and formation of galaxies and galaxy aggregates.聽He has spent two years observing southern skies at Mt. Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories in Australia.聽His primary research adversary is interstellar dust, and he has spent a good deal of time uncovering what lies behind it, including two hitherto unknown galaxies in the backyard of the Milky Way.

Stiller will talk about the translation of university discoveries to world markets. As the role of universities is the pursuit of truth, their societal responsibility is to translate those findings where possible into goods and services that serve the community.聽Canada has lagged behind in this translation of discoveries to the community and many programs are seeking ways to improve this performance.

Calvin Stiller

Stiller, who started his career in organ transplantation and immunology research, and leading the major transplant program in Canada, has been involved with promoting translation of research both locally and nationally. He was a co-founder of MaRS and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and led the formation of venture capital to fill the gap that exists in Canada in early translation.

Following the dinner, there will be a general question-and-answer period, at which time any of the participants are free to direct a question to any of the scientists present.

The RCI for the Advancement of Science is a not-for-profit organization founded in Toronto in 1849 by a small group of civil engineers, architects and surveyors, and聽led by Sir Sandford Fleming (1827-1915) who established the concept of time zones.

For more information, visit the 聽website or contact 91亚色 biology Professor Ron Pearlman, a member of the RCI council and the gala organizing committee,聽at ronp@yorku.ca.

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

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Have you ever wanted to have dinner with a scientist? Ask questions about Canada鈥檚 laser radar on NASA's 2007 Phoenix mission to Mars, the role of human genomes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, the consequences of dwindling fossil fuels or perhaps how biochemical pathways affect obesity?

The Royal Canadian Institute (RCI) for the Advancement of Science, Canada's oldest scientific society at 161 years,聽is hosting a gala dinner featuring 25 scientists, and guests get to choose which one they鈥檇 like to sit with.

Five of the scientists are from 91亚色, which is a sponsor of the dinner. They are physics Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell, humanities and science & technology聽studies Professor Bernard Lightman, Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Giuseppina D鈥橝gostino, anthropology and science & technology studies Professor Natasha Myers, and Canada Research Chair in Ecology聽& Conservation Biology, Professor Bridget Stutchbury. In addition, Mark Lievonen, president of Sanofi Pasteur Ltd., a 91亚色 alumnus and member of 91亚色's Board of Governors, will also host a table.

Right: Giuseppina D鈥橝gostino

Founder and director of Osgoode's Intellectual Property Law & Technology Program (IP Osgoode), D鈥橝gostino, a recent recipient of the Law Commission of Ontario鈥檚 Visiting Scholarship Program, will talk about "Challenges to the Commercialization of Intellectual Property". The commercialization of intellectual property is often said to be indispensable for fostering a vibrant, creative and innovative economy, but many challenges remain before an invention can be brought from the lab into the marketplace.聽D鈥橝gostino is currently investigating the intellectual property and privacy aspects of the electronic health record in Canada.

Left: Bernard Lightman

Lightman, editor of the history of science journal Isis, will discuss "Who, Exactly, Was Charles Darwin?聽The Making of a Cultural Icon".聽Lightman's early work, summed up in his聽, centred on the birth of a new form of unbelief in the wake of the debates over evolutionary theory. More recently,聽he has tackled the issue of how science was popularized in the second half of the 19th century in Britain. His current project is a biography of the eminent Victorian physicist John Tyndall.

Right: Allan Carswell

Former president of the Canadian Association of Physicists and vice-president of the Canadian Academy of Science, Carswell founded Optech Inc.聽in 1974 to develop commercial lidars (laser radar). He and a Canadian team provided a lidar on NASA's 2007 Phoenix mission to Mars as part of a meteorological station, MET, for studies of the Martian atmosphere. After the landing in May 2008,聽MET provided measurements of outstanding value, including the discovery of snowfall on Mars. An internationally recognized leader in the lidar field, Carswell will present "Canada Goes to Mars".

Left: Bridget Stutchbury

Stutchbury, Canada Research Chair in Ecology and Conservation Biology and a field biologist who has studied bird behaviour and conservation for 25 years, has followed Canadian migratory songbirds to their wintering grounds in Latin America to understand the threats they face far away. She is author of , a Governor General鈥檚 Literary Award non-fiction finalist, and the forthcoming T. She will discuss "Conservation Biology Studied Through Birds".

Right: Natasha Myers

Myers' research examines the lively visual cultures that thrive in contemporary life science laboratories and classrooms, with an interest in the artistry, craft and creativity of scientific work.聽She will discuss "Art Meets Science".聽Myers has been engaged in art-science collaborations for over a decade.聽Her most recent project was the 2009 Art Meets Science Series at 91亚色, a year-long series of events designed to foster a culture of collaboration among 91亚色鈥檚 artists and scientists.

Left: Mark Lievonen

Lievonen (BBA Spec. Hons. 鈥�79, MBA 鈥�87), a member of the Board of Directors of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, will talk about the Canadian Vaccine Capability: Collaborating for Continued Success.

In addition, ex-91亚色ie Brock Fenton,聽a biology professor at the University of Western Ontario and former chair of 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Biology as well as former associate vice-president research, will聽ask "How do Universities Interact With Society?" He has written several books about bats intended for a general audience, including Just Bats (University of Toronto Press, 1983) and The Bat: Wings in the Night Sky ( Key Porter Press, 1998)).

Right: Brock Fenton

Scientists are chosen from various disciplines and many southern Ontario academic institutions. Each scientist hosts a table of eight.聽The gala partners are awarded several places, and their guests, as well as individual ticket purchasers, can choose the table of greatest interest to them.聽After a reception of an hour or so, dinner will start. Each scientist will provide a brief overview of their subject and/or current work and guests are then free to ask any questions or suggest topics they would like the host to discuss. For tables and topics, click here. Following the dinner, the president of the RCI will open a general question-and-answer period at which time any of the participants are free to direct a question to any of the scientists present.

The RCI for the Advancement of Science is a not-for-profit organization founded in Toronto in 1849 by a small group of civil engineers, architects and surveyors and聽led by Sir Sandford Fleming (1827-1915) who established the concept of time zones.

The gala will take place Thursday, April 22, from 6 to 9:30pm, in the MaRS Collaboration Centre, 101 College St., Toronto. Tickets are $250. The dinner will help to raise awareness and funds for the RCI's outreach activities, in particular聽the聽free public lectures it presents every year in Toronto and Mississauga on a diverse range of topics. The fundraising also goes toward providing scholarships for deserving high school students to attend university.

91亚色 provides the Webcasting and archiving for all the lectures through the support of University Information Technology and the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. Click to view archived Webcasts of previous lectures. 91亚色 also supplies many of the speakers.聽This winter two of the six Toronto were from 91亚色.

For more information, visit the Web site or contact 91亚色 biology Professor Ron Pearlman, a member of the RCI council and the gala organizing committee,聽at ronp@yorku.ca.

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

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