Saint Mary's team wins ‘Distinguished Delegation’ award for their work at Model United Nations

On March 29, the Saint Mary's delegation to the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in New York City, won a ‘Distinguished Delegation’ award for their work representing Bulgaria.

NMUN is the world’s largest Model UN, and can trace its founding back to the League of Nations. It is the only Model UN that takes place in the actual UN headquarters in New York, and sees 5,500 students from more than 130 UN member countries.

“It’s an extraordinary opportunity for students,” says Political Science chairperson Dr. Marc Doucet, “to get this kind of real-world experience, and interact with students from around the world.” Since Saint Mary’s first delegation in 2003, more than 200 students have attended, making the conference an opportunity to build international connections and gain a greater global perspective. This year was the most international Saint Mary’s delegation yet, with 21 students attending, from Canada, India, the Bahamas, Saint Kitts, Japan, and the UK attending. They represented fields of study including Political Science, International Development Studies, Economics, Sociology, and Business.

“It really strengthens our delegation because the UN is not solely political,” says Abby Dooks, a Political Science and International Development Studies student. “It deals with everything from education to human rights to business to economics, so you need that diverse expertise to understand the topics.”

This year, students visited the Bulgarian Permanent Mission to the UN, and met with diplomats at Bulgaria’s permanent mission to the UN, to discuss current global affairs and issues.

Dooks was attending this year for the second time. “The highlights were different from last year—this year it was really seeing other students achieve the same milestones I did last year, especially those were might have been nervous. One friend of mine was worried all year, concerned that she wasn’t going to be able to speak in front of the entire room, and so a highlight for me was when she did her speech and was just amazing. Those are the moments that make these experience so worthwhile.”

Three former athletes join the Saint Mary's Sport Hall of Fame

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Saint Mary’s celebrates new and existing Canada Research Chairs

Members of the Saint Mary’s University community formally welcomed the institution’s newest Canada Research Chairs (CRC), Drs. Ivana Damjanov and Mohammad Rahaman, and celebrated existing CRCs at a reception held today.

Created in 2000, the CRC Program invests $265 million per year across Canada to attract and retain the world’s best researchers in the fields of engineering, the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences.

“Whether investigating the consequences of low-wage practices on the worldwide economy or using the world’s most advanced telescopes to delve into details of galaxy formation and evolution, Saint Mary’s CRCs are making an impact on our world and on society’s foundational knowledge,” says Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice President of Academic and Research at Saint Mary’s University.

With the addition of Dr. Ivana Damjanov, CRC in Astronomy & Astrophysics, and Dr. Mohammad Rahaman, CRC in International Finance and Competitiveness, Saint Mary’s University is proud to host nine more Canada Research Chairs.

The following is a list of Saint Mary's University's Canada Research Chairs:
 

•    Dr. Todd Ventura, CRC in Petroleum Systems, Geochemistry, and Reservoir Characterization

•    Dr. Christa Brosseau, CRC in Sustainable Chemistry and Materials

•    Dr. Marcin Sawicki, CRC in Astronomy

•    Dr. Gavin Fridell, CRC in International Development Studies

•    Dr. Karly Kehoe, CRC in Atlantic Canada Communities

•    Dr. Kevin Kelloway, CRC in Occupational Health Psychology

•    Dr. Najah Attig, CRC in Finance

•    Dr. Ivana Damjanov, CRC in Astronomy & Astrophysics

•    Dr. Mohammad Rahaman, CRC in International Finance and Competitiveness

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Dr. Ivana Damjanov, Canada Research Chair in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Dr. Ivana Damjanov, Canada Research Chair in Astronomy & Astrophysics and Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice-President, Academic and Research

Dr. Damjanov’s research involves using images and spectroscopic signatures of massive galaxies to follow the evolution of their stellar and dark matter content over 7 billion years of cosmic time. As Canada Research Chair in Astronomy and Astrophysics, she seeks to expand the spectroscopic and imaging surveys of galaxies to cover large areas of the sky and provide the highest-quality data. By carefully analyzing these information-rich datasets Dr. Damjanov and her team hope to reveal how the biggest building blocks of the universe form and evolve.

Dr. Damjanov is a Professor in the Department of Astronomy & Physics.

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Dr. Mohammad Rahaman, Canada Research Chair in International Finance and Competitiveness

Dr. Mohammad Rahaman, Canada Research Chair in International Finance and Competitiveness and Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice-President, Academic and Research

Dr. Rahaman’s research is in the area of international finance, international competitiveness, corporate finance, and cross-country financial development. As Canada Research Chair in International Finance and Competitiveness, Dr. Rahaman is investigating how manufacturing and job losses induced by competition from low-wage countries are influencing the way capital is accessed in high-wage countries. His work will contribute to our understanding of how small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada can overcome their financing constraints and contribute to employment growth in our increasingly globalized and competitive world economy.

Dr. Rahaman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Finance, Information Systems, and Management Science.

Saint Mary's MSc student wins People’s Choice Award at Regional 3MT

Congratulating the Three Minute (3MT) Thesis Canadian Eastern Regional Competition winners including MSc in Applied Science student Molly LeBlanc (third from the right). 

MSc in Applied Science student Molly LeBlanc won the People’s Choice Award and placed third at the recent Three Minute (3MT) Thesis Canadian Eastern Regional Competition. She has earned a spot at the national competition, which will be held virtually.

Canada’s 3MT competition challenges masters and doctoral students to effectively explain their research to an audience of non-scientists in three minutes. Over 40 graduate schools across the country host 3MT challenges, and the winning students compete at three regional levels (Western, Eastern, and Ontario) for a chance to represent their university at the national final.

MSc in Applied Science student Molly LeBlanc with her Three Minute (3MT) Thesis Canadian Eastern Regional Competition people’s choice award and third place certificate. 

“The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) is proud to host the 3MT competition annually,” says Dr. Diane Crocker, Associate Dean of FSGR. “It provides an excellent opportunity for students to practice how to break down complex ideas into simpler terms and expand the audience for their research.”

LeBlanc won the 3MT challenge at Saint Mary’s University; MSc in Applied Science student Garland Xie was runner-up.

LeBlanc’s 3MT, “Not All That Glitters: Assessing Environmental Effects of Abandoned Gold Mines,” explains her research evaluating the environmental effects of mercury-rich mining waste in Nova Scotia using wetland insects. Garland Xie’s 3MT explains how he is evaluating plant root strategies to help green roof designers choose the proper plants. 

"Being able to effectively communicate your research, especially to those outside your field, is such an important skill to develop,” says LeBlanc. “It is a challenge to be both accurate and engaging, especially with only 3 minutes, but that is what the competition teaches you to do. "

The National 3MT Competition is sponsored by the Canadian Association of Graduate Schools (CAGS) and will take place online. Videos of each competitor will be available for viewing on CAGS’ website on May 16. People’s Choice voting will be open for two weeks.

Saint Mary’s enhances entrepreneurship and innovation through new centre

• See gallery of high-res images

To celebrate more than 25 years of cultivating entrepreneurship at Saint Mary’s, the school is today introducing the Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre.

Meet the disruptive entrepreneurs from Saint Mary's

“Although Saint Mary’s has always aimed to instill an entrepreneurial mindset within our students across all academic disciplines, we’re now taking our focus on entrepreneurship to the next level,” says Saint Mary’s University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray.To launch the new entrepreneurship centre, more than 200 Saint Mary’s alumni, business partners, and government representatives are gathering tonight at a special venture showcase. In conjunction with the centre’s launch, the university is also kicking off a creative campaign celebrating graduates’ entrepreneurial successes.

“We created this campaign to highlight the immense number of inspiring stories that started in the hallways of Saint Mary’s University,” says Dr. Patricia Bradshaw, Dean of the Sobey School of Business. “Today, and over the coming months, we’re celebrating the success of our alumni by showcasing the great entrepreneurial careers launched by graduates in Arts, Business, and Science.”

The Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre, formerly known as the Sobey School Business Development Centre (BDC), has played a key role in building workforce skills, creating employment, supporting start-ups, and growing companies. It has also offered undergraduate and graduate students hands-on business research and consulting experience.

“Approaching the BDC’s 30-year mark, we’ve helped thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of graduates,” says Michael Sanderson, the Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneur Centre’s Acting Director. “As a bridge to the community, we’re pleased to see the repositioning of our role through the launch of the Saint Mary’s Entrepreneurship Centre; we’re ready for growth.”

“Saint Mary’s has been developing and mentoring entrepreneurs for decades,” says
Dr. Summerby-Murray. “We’re proud to play a key part in the ongoing growth of Atlantic Canada. And I hope that when our federal, provincial, and industry partners look to Saint Mary’s, they see eager learners and doers who spark innovation within our region, across Canada, and around the world.”

The Saint Mary's Entrepreneurship Centre

Saint Mary’s archaeological expedition to share the story of people enslaved at coffee plantation in Cuba

Students unearthing artificacts at the Angerona Plantation archaeology site. 

A group of Canadian university students are about to depart on an archeological expedition to Cuba, spearheaded by Saint Mary’s University. The students will be excavating historical artifacts and investigating the cemetery at Angerona, a Cuban national historic site and former slave plantation, 80 kilometres east of Havana.

Interested in applying to join the expedition or looking for more information?

Email Professor Taylor at c.aarontaylor@gmail.com. The fee to join the expedition is $1600 (this includes accommodations, meals and transportation within Cuba) plus airfare and tuition (2 credits). The deadline to apply is May 4th.

“This expedition offers an opportunity to work with our partners in Cuba to uncover more of the lost history of the Angerona Coffee Plantation,” said Aaron Taylor, a Professor of Archaeology at Saint Mary’s and the program’s instructor.  “This plantation has a big historical significance in Cuba, and we want to help tell the stories of the people who were enslaved there.”

During the 19th century, Angerona was one of the largest slave plantations in the Americas—yet little is known about the day-to-day lives of the people who lived there.

A collection of some of the artifacts found in the first year of the excavation.

From June 10 to July 1, students from Canada and Cuba will be working together on excavating, identifying and interpreting the artifacts they find.

In addition to continued exploration of the site’s barracks, this expedition will include an investigation of the plantation's cemetery and the recovery of skeletal remains. This will provide a clearer story of life on the plantation. The team will be able to learn more about the people on the plantation, such as their general health, diet, age of death, and burial customs. This will include further research into the possibility that Nova Scotia supplied large quantities of codfish to Cuba during the period of the plantation system.

This trip marks the second year of what will be at least a five-year partnership between Saint Mary’s University, Havana’s Cabinet of Archeology and the College of San Geronimo.

 For more information about the expedition and to apply to join the team, visit http://www.smu.ca/academics/departments/cuba-archaeology.

Saint Mary’s biologists receive federal funding for Fish Behaviour and Physiology (FiBP) Lab

Dr. Laura Weir and Dr. Anne Dalziel

Two Saint Mary’s biologists have received funding to investigate how environmental variation influences fish populations in Atlantic Canada, which should help predict how fish will fare with continued changes in climate. Drs. Laura Weir and Anne Dalziel will use their $200,000 John R. Evans Leaders Fund award from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to develop a Fish Behaviour and Physiology (FiBP) Lab at Saint Mary’s University.

 “Saint Mary’s is delighted that Drs. Weir and Dalziel have received a prestigious CFI research award,” says Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice-President Academic and Research. “This investment supports not only the world-class research taking place at Saint Mary’s, but also our students access to state-of-the-art infrastructure and technologies.”

Integrative studies that combine the genetic, biochemical, physiological, and behavioural mechanisms are needed to understand how fish populations adapt to environmental change. The FiBP Lab will investigate how these mechanisms contribute to differences in environmental tolerance, physiological performance, and reproductive behaviour among populations and species of fish common to Atlantic Canada, including salmon, trout, stickleback, killifish, alewife, and herring.

“Fish are a valuable natural resource,” says Dr. Laura Weir, assistant professor in the Department of Biology. “Our research will provide important baseline knowledge and inform policy and conservation efforts for our local fish populations.”

Research in the FiBP Lab will also help scientists and the public understand how biodiversity in aquatic environments is affected by coastal development.

“Canada has the longest coastline in the world, and understanding how changes to coastal waters will impact the animals living there is essential,” says Dr. Anne Dalziel, assistant professor in the Department of Biology.

The FiBP Lab formalizes an existing research collaboration between Dr. Anne Dalziel, an expert in fish physiology and evolutionary biology, and Dr. Laura Weir, whose expertise lies in behavioural and evolutionary ecology. Currently, the pair are working together to discover the physiological and behavioural mechanisms that lead to the unique breeding coloration of the white stickleback, an endemic Nova Scotian fish.

About the John R. Evans Leaders Fund

The John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) supports Canadian researchers by providing them with the research tools and infrastructure required to become leaders in their field. It also helps Canadian institutions attract and retain world-class researchers by remaining internationally competitive in areas of research and technology development aligned with their strategic priorities.

Research journal honours Saint Mary's University geologist

Dr. Jaroslav (Jarda) Dostal, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geology

A special issue of the International Journal of Earth Sciences is dedicated to Dr. Jaroslav (Jarda) Dostal, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geology. Dr. Dostal is internationally recognized as a scientific leader and a pioneer in lithogeochemistry, the study of the chemical composition of rocks and minerals from the Earth, and its application to ancient tectonic processes, which control the structure and properties of the Earth’s crust and its evolution through time.

The issue is comprised of papers submitted by Dr. Dostal’s colleagues in celebration of his remarkable contribution to the fields of geochemistry and tectonics. It developed from the Montreal 2015 joint assembly of the American Geophysical Union, Canadian Geophysical Union, Geological Association of Canada, and Mineralogical Association of Canada, which included a special session held in Dr. Dostal’s honour.  

“I am deeply grateful for this honour. I have been so fortunate over the course of my career to have such an esteemed group of researchers from around the world with whom to collaborate on my research, “says Dr. Dostal. “I am also appreciative of Saint Mary’s University and their continued support over the course of my career that enabled me to pursue the areas of research reflected in this publication.”

A Long and Distinguished Research Career

Dr. Dostal joined the Faculty of Science at Saint Mary’s University in 1975, after completing his undergraduate degree at Charles University in Prague and his Ph.D. at McMaster University. He became Professor Emeritus in 2006.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Dostal contributed to a number of landmark studies that deepened scientists’ understanding of tectonic environments. Early in his career, he was internationally recognized as an expert in both igneous and metamorphic rocks, including the wide variety of petrological processes associated with their creation. Igneous rocks form through the cooling and solidification of hot, molten materials; metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock types, either through heat or pressure.

“Over the past fifty years, Dr. Dostal has made a remarkable contribution to the field of geochemistry and to Saint Mary’s University,” says Dr. Adam Sarty, Associate Vice-President, Research, and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. “The depth and breadth of his scholarship is outstanding.”

As Professor Emeritus, Dr. Dostal maintains an active research practice. His current work is focused on Precambrian complexes in Mexico, granites of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in Mongolia, and the formation of a rare metal deposit at the Bokan Mountain Complex in Alaska.

A Legacy of Excellence at Saint Mary’s and Beyond

 Over the course of his tenure at Saint Mary’s University, Dr. Dostal has made significant contributions to the Department of Geology and the university as a whole. In addition to supervising dozens of undergraduate and graduate research students, he served as Chair of the Department of Geology for twelve years and as a member of the university’s Academic Senate and the Board of Governors. Dr. Dostal was also instrumental in establishing the Regional Analytical Facility (previously known as the Regional Geochemical Centre).

“Dr. Dostal has spent his career addressing fundamental “big picture” questions, and his research has had a far-reaching impact within the global geoscience community,” says Jacob Hanley, Chair of the Department of Geology at Saint Mary’s University.  “A widely-recognized authority in his field, Dr. Dostal is also a remarkable mentor to students and a selfless colleague, creating and facilitating research collaborations at SMU and around the world.”

From the classroom to the community, Service Learning approach takes hold at Saint Mary’s

An exciting pilot project this winter semester has turned a third-year management course in the Sobey School of Business into an experiential opportunity for students who are applying their learning out of the classroom and in the community.

The first meeting of the Community of Practice for Service Learning will take place on Thursday, April 19 from 12-1 pm in Atrium 216. Lunch will be provided.

RSVP to service.learning@smu.ca

Ninety students in Dr. Xiaoyu Liu’s course “Ethical Responsibilities of Organizations” have been partnered with one of ten community organizations—including Adsum for Women & Children, the Parker Street Food Bank, Fairview’s Mobile Food Market, the SMU Community Food Room and the Saint Mary’s Spark Zone, which ran a “food hack” during the semester—in a pilot project to expand community-based service learning.

So, what is service learning?

“It’s intended to take students out of their comfort zones and get them to put theory to practice,” says Sarah Bray, the university's newly hired service learning coordinator. “Aligning course concepts and academic knowledge with real-world experience. In this case, working in teams of five, each student group was paired with an organization and completed 15 hours of service over the course of the semester.”

Service learning students at the Saint Mary’s Spark Zone Food Hack: (l–r) Ryan Carmichael, Diyaa Al Hamad, Rohan Avirah Paul, Ryan MacDonald, Carmen D'Intino, Garry Russell Jr.

Unlike volunteerism, or work-experience placements, service learning involves an explicit connection between the service performed and the course’s academic content, and the work performed by students is related to needs identified by the community partners. The focus is usually on non-profit organizations, publically funded institutions, and social enterprises.

The theme of food security connected closely to Dr. Liu’s course—all of the community partners were connected to the larger theme of food security, which is one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, aimed in part at the business community.

Daniel Keays, a 23-year-old honours students in Economics, was part of a team that worked with The Spark Zone on Food Hack Nova Scotia. The Spark Zone is a partnership between Saint Mary’s and other local post-secondary institutions, creating a space for collaboration and creative thinking across institutions. The Food Hack is an attempt to address problems in food safety, sustainability, and security.

“With Nova Scotia having a relatively high degree of food insecurity, the connection back to business ethics was pretty clear to us.”

— Daniel Keays

“Our idea was to take lobster waste out of landfill and out of the ocean—which is a financial burden for companies and an environmental issue—and instead collect that shell waste, process it, and turn it into fertilizer.” Over two days, Keays’ team competed to eventually take home the top prize. They’re now looking at local seafood companies they can reach out to with the idea.

“With Nova Scotia having a relatively high degree of food insecurity, the connection back to business ethics was pretty clear to us,” says Keays. “Any food business operating in Nova Scotia ought to consider that a part of their corporate social responsibility efforts.”

Another partner was Adsum for Women & Children, where a team of five cooked meals at Adsum House, a temporary shelter for women and children. Kathy McNab, Fund Development Officer, says that the experience made the reality of food insecurity in the community very real for students, and introduced some to ethical issues they may not have previously encountered or considered: “Some of the male students, especially, had to stay a bit more contained in the kitchen, as many of our residents have recent trauma related to domestic abuse. So they had to negotiate ethical territory in this workspace they may never have had to before.”

Service learning students working with the Square Roots Bundle Program: (l-r) Joseph Henry, Hongwoo Kim, Stephanie Ibrahim, Gavin Grant

Nearly half the service-learning students worked on campus with the Saint Mary’s Food Room. Nishka Rajesh is a fourth-year Psychology major, and President of the Saint Mary’s University Community Food Room society. She oversaw the teams that worked with the Food Room.

“We had a group working on social media strategy, one did a mobile food room, four did food drives and fundraising—one in each faculty and off campus—and another did scheduling. So it was really a coordinated, business-like effort, and we’ve really seen a great result. Before this semester we could only be open two hours a day, and now we’re open 10 am to 5 pm every weekday, except for deliveries on Monday morning.”

Rajesh says more people are using the room, and awareness has increased. “It’s made a big difference to us, and I think demonstrated to students the community need.”

Service Learning at Saint Mary’s is not a brand-new concept. Among other examples, since September 2014, Criminology professor Dr. Stephen Schneider has spearheaded a remarkable partnership with Corrections Nova Scotia, in which Saint Mary’s student mentor and otherwise work with young offenders in a local youth detention facility.

But today, with Bray on board, service learning is moving into a more central role in the university, with greater administrative and logistical support to faculty members. Bray will also help to prepare students for their experiences, and develop new opportunities with community partners.

“With support from the Studio for Teaching and Learning,” she says, “we’re also going to be starting a Community of Practice for Service Learning on campus, where faculty members who have been engaged in service learning for years can connect and share with others who are interested in learning more.”

The first meeting of that group will take place on Thursday, April 19th from 12-1 p.m. in Atrium 216. Lunch will be provided. RSVP to service.learning@smu.ca