Students from 91亚色鈥檚 entertained the group of more than two dozen聽children and 200 adults, giving them a chance to learn more about space robotics and exploration, along with science and engineering programs at 91亚色.

91亚色 Rover Team representatives with their Mars Rover

Curiosity touched down on the Red Planet at 1:32am EST on Monday, Aug. 6. The Toronto event, held at the Hotel Ocho, was one of many worldwide, featuring a live feed of NASA鈥檚 control room, and a virtual visit from Bill Nye the Science Guy, along with 1500 attendees of PlanetFest 2012 in Pasadena, California.

鈥淚t was amazing to see all the kids and see how interested they are in science. We told them that everything you do at 91亚色 can lead you somewhere 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 matter which field you鈥檙e in, you can develop your skills and learn more,鈥� said Carla Mejia, one of the YURT team members.

Event coordinator Jonathan Moneta credited 91亚色鈥檚 rover team for making the events unfolding on Mars relatable to attendees 鈥� especially kids.

鈥淚t was really good to have an actual rover that kids could play with 鈥� it helped them broaden their understanding a bit,鈥� Moneta said.

Several media outlets were on-site at the event. Rover team members were interviewed live on CP24 and also received mentions on CTV Toronto and in the .

A future 91亚色 student (and space scientist) tries out the rover

The members of YURT who attended were: Carla Mejia, fourth-year biomedical science; Carina Hoang, second-year聽master of science in聽biology; Manjeet Kaur, fourth-year computer engineering; Oyinda Daramola, third-year computer engineering; Pablo Saldarriaga, fourth-year computer science; and Vaibhav Kapoor, fourth-year computer engineering.

Earlier this year, 91亚色鈥檚 rover team took first place in the 2012 University Rover Challenge at the Mars Desert Research Station, outperforming major American universities, including Brigham Young University in Utah, which placed second, and Cornell University in New 91亚色, which took third. The team also placed first at the university level of the Canadian Innovation Nation (CSii) Robotics Competition in Muskoka, Ontario.

For more photos of YURT in action at Mars Party TO, .

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The Toronto CFA Society has chosen four聽group finalists, including a聽team of Schulich School of Business students, in the annual CFA Institute Research Challenge, an equity research competition for student teams from the world鈥檚 top university business and finance programs.

鈥淭he CFA Institute Research Challenge is a unique, global competition and the Schulich team dedicated a lot of hours and a lot of hard work to make it into the local final,鈥� said Pauline Shum, director of the Master of Finance program at Schulich.

鈥淭he CFA Institute Research Challenge asks student teams to work with a CFA [chartered financial analyst] mentor to research, analyze and present a detailed equity research report on a subject company. The Schulich team worked with CFA Dale Powell from Morningstar Canada to research Onex Corporation, a Canadian private equity company.鈥�

Above: From left, Rebecca Schoenhardt, Zac Wang, Shane Dixon, Malcolm MacQuarrie and Sean Moore

In the report, the Schulich team had to analyze every aspect of the company to come up with a 12-month valuation target. 鈥淚t was quite the challenge because Onex is a very complex company, but the team demonstrated solid, thorough research and valuation skills, used strong technical writing, presented their data and analysis in a creative fashion and managed team dynamics effectively,鈥� said Shum

On March 1, Schulich students Shane Dixon (MF 鈥�12), Sean Moore (MF 鈥�12), Malcolm MacQuarrie (MF 鈥�12), Rebecca Schoenhardt (MBA 鈥�12) and Zac Wang (MF 鈥�12) will present their research to a panel of judges at the BMO Customer Care Centre in Toronto. They will compete against teams from University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Toronto, Scarborough.

The winning team will be determined based on the quality of its written analysis and presentation, and will qualify for the regional North American competition in New 91亚色 City on April 10. The regional winner will advance to the global final in New 91亚色 City on April 11.

鈥淏eing selected to represent Schulich in the regional finals of the CFA Institute Challenge is both an honour and a pleasant confirmation of all the hard work our team committed to,鈥� said Schulich team leader Dixon. 鈥淧articipating in the challenge has been a great learning experience. Not only have we developed a greater understanding of the mechanics of a formal research report, general investment research and valuation techniques, but also an appreciation for the virtues of teamwork.鈥�

Everyone on the team came to the table with a different background. 鈥淭his gave us a wide range of skills and perspectives to tap into to build the report, encouraging us to think outside the box and it聽ultimately concluded in a more well-rounded report. In fact, I鈥檇 say some of the strongest areas of our report resulted from our team brainstorming sessions,鈥� said Dixon.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual educational initiative designed to promote best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills.

Local CFA societies, including the Toronto CFA Society, together with the CFA Institute, hold local competitions involving teams of three to five business and finance students from participating universities who work directly with a local company and a mentor.

More than 2,500 students from 546 universities around the world participated in the 2010-2011 competition, according to CFA Institute.

For more information on the challenge, visit the website.

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The award is, in part, based on the researcher鈥檚 record of early career achievement. For Weiss, that encompasses the research on developmental disabilities that he鈥檚 conducted over the last three or more聽years. He is one of two recipients of the award this year, handed out by the CPA.

Right: Jonathan Weiss

鈥淭he award is really recognition for the type of research I鈥檝e been able to do prior to and since beginning at 91亚色,鈥� says Weiss, a clinical psychologist in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been great to be recognized by psychologists, not just in the field of聽developmental disabilities, but by colleagues from other fields.鈥�

He is co-investigator for three Canadian Institutes of Health Research-funded projects, two of which look at children with developmental disabilities and the third at understanding pathways to emergency health care for adolescents and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Weiss also received a three-year New Investigator Fellowship from the Ontario Mental Health Foundation in 2010 to study people with developmental disabilities, who make up between one and聽three per cent of the Canadian population. At least one in three people with developmental disabilities will have mental health problems or serious challenging behaviours as an adolescent or young adult, says Weiss.

His goal for this project is to learn what leads a young person with developmental disability to have mental health problems, and how it is related to their service use, their skills, academic success and family functioning.

For more information about the President鈥檚 New Researcher Award, visit the website.

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