Saint Mary’s celebrates the accomplishments of outstanding alumni

Seven outstanding Saint Mary’s University alumni were honoured last night, Oct. 12, as part of the 2017 One World Alumni Awards Gala.

“Saint Mary’s alumni are leaders in our communities and the One World Gala is when we celebrate their accomplishments,” said Erin Sargeant Greenwood, vice-president of Advancement. “I want to congratulate all of our award winners this year, and thank them for their continued dedication to our university.”

The alumni gala is when the annual alumni awards are presented for: Alumni Volunteer of the Year, Young Alumnus of the Year, Associate Alumni of the Year, and Distinguished Community Service.

This year’s winners include:

• Dr. Michael Durland, BComm’87, DComm’10, and Catherine Durland, BComm’87, winners of the Distinguished Community Service Award;
• John Sime, BComm’08, winner of the Paul Lynch Volunteer of the Year Award;
• Harry Ezenibe, BA’14, winner of the Young Alumnus of the Year Award; and
• Dr. Pat Bradshaw, dean of the Sobey School of Business, Larry Freeman, Q.C., and Shirley Boudreau, winners of the Associate Alumni of the Year Award.

In addition to the individual awards are the One World Awards, given to an external charity and a Saint Mary’s student society that is working on a charitable project.

This year’s One World Award winners are: Ronald McDonald House Atlantic and Saint Mary’s Conflict Resolution Society. Both winners received a $7,500 prize.

The two runner-ups, Phoenix Youth and Saint Mary’s Model UN, received an unexpected but pleasant surprise. Their generous $1,000 prize sponsored by Manulife was matched by the Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association (SMUSA), ensuring both organizations went home with $2,000.

The One World Alumni Awards are presented by TD Insurance and Saint Mary’s University. The awards emphasize Saint Mary’s Santamarian values of student leadership, social responsibility, and cultural diversity.

More information about the One World Alumni Awards Gala.

Sobey School Business Development Centre offers coaching to help Atlantic companies grow and succeed

See the orginal story at http://www.smu.ca/academics/sobey/growth-coaching-program-announced.html

Saint Mary’s astronomer part of Canadian collaboration exploring how galaxies form and evolve

Canadian astronomers will soon build the Gemini InfraRed Multi-Object Spectrograph (GIRMOS), a sensitive infrared spectrograph capable of producing images of the sky in unprecedented detail, thanks to a $13 million Canada Foundation for Innovation grant announced today, Oct. 12.

GIRMOS will help shed light on how galaxies form and evolve over cosmic time and is designed for use on the 8-metre telescopes of the Gemini Observatory, which are among the largest telescopes currently in existence. With it, researchers will be able to study some of the faintest, oldest, and most distant objects in the universe; probe the formation of stellar and planetary systems; and investigate galaxies in the early universe.

Dr. Marcin Sawicki

Saint Mary’s University’s contribution to the GIRMOS project is to develop the data-processing pipeline and instrument simulator. The instrument simulator will allow astronomers to plan their observations, while the pipeline is essential for taking the raw observations from the instrument and turning them into data suitable for scientific analysis.

“Developing these elements of GIRMOS taps directly into the expertise in observational astronomy and computational astrophysics that are research strengths at Saint Mary’s,” said Dr. Marcin Sawicki, Canada Research Chair in Astronomy at Saint Mary’s. “Our researchers and students will get a chance to participate in the construction of GIRMOS and then use it to study distant galaxies.”

Dr. Sawicki and researchers from other Canadian institutions are developing the ground-breaking technology under the direction of project lead Dr. Suresh Sivanadam from the University of Toronto’s Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Physics. GIRMOS will also serve as a precursor to a spectrograph for the $1.5 billion Thirty Meter Telescope, which is now under construction in Hawaii.

Other GIRMOS partners include the National Research Council, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, Laval University, Dalhousie University, York University, and the University of Manitoba.

Saint Mary's team presents Hackathon concept to five Federal ministers in Ottawa

(L-R)Mandy Hoyt, Senior Policy Analyst with Data Strategies & Development at ESDC; Chelsea-Leigh Robinson-Sharman, Junior Policy Analyst with Strategic and Service Policy/Open Data & Open Government at ESDC; Sandy Kyriaki, Chief Data Officer for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC); Doug Woodworth, Senior Director of Data Strategies & Development at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC); Sunil Udhayakumar, CDA student; Keith Bain, Graduate Program Manager; Raj Sonani, CDA student; Matt Triff, CDA student; Patrick Charette, Manager of Strategic and Service Policy/Open Data & Open Government at ESDC

Saint Mary’s Master of Science in Computing and Data Analytics (CDA) students Matt Triff, Sunil Udhayakumar, and Raj Sonani, along with Graduate Program Manager Keith Bain, were invited by Employment and Social Development Canada to participate in a National Poverty Conference in Ottawa recently.

As guest speakers at the “Working Towards a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy” event, the CDA students shared their experiences developing, organizing, and participating in Hackathon events.

Using real-life examples, the team discussed how data from multiple sources could be used to find innovative solutions to social challenges we face in Canada, and shared their experiences in using advanced computing and data analytics techniques and tools to lead to creative solutions for the government and private sector.

Federal ministers attending the event included: 

• The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development;
• Louise Levonian, Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC);
• The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture;
• The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; and
• Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

“The longer-term goal is to organize a hackathon focused on poverty issues through the MSc CDA program, analysing huge data sets to generate new ideas and innovations that could potentially help improve service delivery in key areas,” said Mr. Bain.

“At Saint Mary’s we are always fostering a creative environment where our students can use Data science in every day to day situations to improve the way we live,” wrote the team after their presentation.

Retail innovation focus of new Saint Mary’s University partnership

Vince Kennedy and Ryan Jackson, co-founders of BluShll

Innovation and the future of the retail sector were the focus of an event at the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market. 

“Encouraging innovation is fundamental to the change our province needs,” said Labi Kousoulis, Minister of Labour and Advanced Education. “It is important for our entrepreneurs to have the supports in place to help take their ideas to the next level, and that we celebrate these successes.”

The event, held during National Retail Week, celebrates some of the early results of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Saint Mary’s University and the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market. The agreement established a retail space at the market called The Shelf, representing the first outpost of the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services’ Retail Imagination Lab.

“We established The Shelf to support our local producers and artisans,” said Julie Chaisson, executive director of the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market. “This partnership will allow us to extend our support into new areas of innovation and technology that may not otherwise have been possible.”

Retail innovations range widely, from data-informed store layouts to video shelf talkers and robot sales associates, to virtual reality online and interactive digital environments. The Shelf will provide a setting to carry out pilot projects in a controlled space, with researchers there to observe, record and analyze the results.

“Studying consumer behavior in a real retail setting is a daunting task, but our professors and students embrace this challenge,” said Saint Mary’s University president Robert Summerby-Murray. “Through our partnership with the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, we combine exceptional researchers with experts on local businesses in the retail sector to create an environment where innovation can take shape.”

BluShll, a student-led business from Saint Mary’s that helps shoppers quickly and easily learn more about the products they buy, recently tested their product at The Shelf.  BluShll helps to satisfy the desire of the socially-conscious consumer for more information about where products are sourced and to learn more about the company that sells them.

“The Shelf was an amazing venue for us to test our product and hear directly from consumers,” said Ryan Jackson, co-founder of BluShll. “We received some great feedback from people visiting the market that will be instrumental in taking our product to the next level as we prepare to develop it to enter the market.”

Saint Mary's flies the Mi'kmaq Grand Council Flag for the month of October

Saint Mary's is flying the Mi'kmaq Grand Council Flag on the flag pole outside of the McNally Building throughout October in recognition of Mi’kmaq History Month.

Tom Brophy, Senior Director of Student Services; Raymond Sewell, Indigenous Student Advisor; Robert Summerby-Murray, President of Saint Mary's University; Dr. Donald Julien, Executive Director, The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq

Dr. Karly Kehoe named to Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists

Dr. Karly Kehoe

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) recently announced the incoming 70 members of The College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists for 2017, and among those honoured with admission to the cohort was Saint Mary’s Professor of History Dr. Karly Kehoe.

“I’m absolutely delighted with the news, and I look forward to working with colleagues to expand the College’s activities in Atlantic Canada,” says Dr. Kehoe.

Dr. Kehoe is the Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Communities, and her areas of expertise include migration, religion, and slavery in the British Atlantic world. She is also a member of both the Global Young Academy and the Young Academy of Scotland, and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

“An important research focus for me right now is an exploration of how community development in eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton was connected to plantation slavery in the Caribbean,” she says. “The work I’d done in Scotland before returning to Canada revealed that the Highlander Scots were hugely invested in slavery. Those who came to the Maritimes built equally strong links, but in different ways. Being named to the College will provide me with an important platform for sharing this important work and for exploring its interdisciplinarity.”

Those named to the College “represent the emerging generation of scholarly, scientific and artistic leadership in Canada,” according to the RSC, and this year’s cohort includes members from Canadian universities coast-to-coast, nominated by Canadian universities and the National Research Council.

“Dr. Kehoe is an innovative researcher with a deep commitment to community engagement,” says Saint Mary’s Dean of Arts Dr. Margaret MacDonald. “I am delighted that she has been named to the College and will be representing Saint Mary’s in this group of emerging scholarly leaders.”

The RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada was established in 1882 as the senior Canadian collegium of distinguished scholars, artists, and scientists. It is Canada’s National Academy. The primary objective of the Society is to promote learning and research in the arts, the humanities, and the natural and social sciences.

Saint Mary’s launches new Innovative, Creative and Entrepreneurial Mindsets Fund, calls for proposals

Saint Mary’s University invites faculty, students and staff to develop activities, events, research and teaching to enhance creative, innovative and entrepreneurial thinking.

Successful proposals will be supported through the new Innovative, Creative and Entrepreneurial Mindsets Fund.

The learning outcomes that we aspire to have all students graduate with and that this fund will help develop are:

1. Development of critical thinking skills and good judgement/discernment
2. Ability to identify problems and seek opportunities through discovery and design thinking
3. Capacity to cultivate new ideas and solve problems
4. Courage to take a risk and resilience to deal with failure
5. Aptitude to move to action and take advantage of opportunities/create social and economic value
6. Self-reflection and ability to learn from both mistakes and successes
7. Understanding of alternative ways of organizing (e.g. cooperatives, collectives, nonprofits, social enterprises, for-profits, start-ups)

Call for Proposals

Proposals are invited from individual Saint Mary's faculty, students and staff as well as from Departments, Programs, Societies and groups of individuals. The primary applicant must be a member of the Saint Mary’s University community. Applicants will provide a detailed plan including a budget (normally expected to be in the range of $1,000 to $5,000 to a maximum of $10,000/per application) with expected outcomes and agree to share what they learned in a seminar, published article and/or workshop. Applicants are encouraged to be creative in their approach and to wisely use the money they apply for. The budget is not to be used for course releases or for curriculum development activities that are a normal part of faculty teaching responsibilities.

Possible projects include everything from design thinking workshops for staff and students across the university to pitch competitions for IP that can be commercialized or a community of practice using critical thinking to address wicked problems. Note that this not funding for a start-up.

Submission of Applications for Funding and Deadline

Applications for funding are to be submitted electronically to donna.filek@smu.ca and must be received by 4 p.m. on October 31, 2017.

More information and application form (PDF)

Exceptional Canadians recognized with honorary degrees

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The accomplishments of two exceptional Canadians will be recognized at the end of September with honorary degrees at Saint Mary’s University’s fall 2017 convocation ceremony.
    
Saint Mary’s is pleased to recognize the extraordinary achievements of:

• Commander (Retired) Heather J. Armstrong, BComm’83, a Canadian Armed Forces veteran and Saint Mary’s alumna who has dedicated her life to serving Canadians; and
• Dr. Ian McKay, a well-known historian, researcher, professor and author who has helped shape the public’s understanding of Canadian history. 

“These degrees represent the highest honour that we can bestow,” said Saint Mary’s University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. “Both Commander Armstrong and Dr. McKay are commendable leaders. Their accomplishments exemplify what it means to be engaged global citizens, and are deserving of recognition and acclaim.” 

Commander (Retired) Heather J. Armstrong

A Saint Mary’s alumna, Commander Armstrong began her career in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1978, serving in both the regular and reserve components of the Personnel Administration and Logistics branches.  Commander Armstrong followed those years of military service in Halifax, Shearwater, Cold Lake and Ottawa, with another 10 years in senior civilian leadership positions with the Department of National Defence in Ottawa. Commander Armstrong graduated from Saint Mary’s with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1983.

Dr. Ian McKay

Dr. McKay began his career as a historian after completing his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in 1975. His time spent in Halifax inspired him to base his honours essay on the area, entitled The Working Class of Metropolitan Halifax, 1850-1889. He would later return to Halifax to complete his PhD, Work and Community in the Cumberland Coalfields, 1848-1927.  As an author, Dr. McKay has won numerous awards for his works, including the Sir John A. Macdonald Prize, the pre-eminent prize awarded by the Canadian Historical Association for best book each year in Canadian history.

Enactus Saint Mary’s expand Square Roots Token Program before departure to Enactus World Cup

(Left to Right) King of Donair co-owner Nicholas Nahas; Basha Lebanese co-owner Chico Rashaydeh and his father, Khalas Rashaydeh; the Honourable Lena Metlege Diab; Saint Mary's University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray; Ray's Lebanese Cuisine owner Hady Bahliss; and Enactus Saint Mary's co-presidents Meredith Drost and Valerie Caswell. 

Enactus Saint Mary’s students are proving that business and social good can be one in the same. Enactus Saint Mary’s students created the Square Roots Token Program, which aims to help address food insecurity and reduce food waste in the province.

On Tuesday, September 19th, the newest restaurant to take part in their Square Roots Token Program was announced. King of Donair’s four locations on Quinpool Road, Lacewood Drive, Windmill Road and Sackville Drive, join pioneer restaurants Basha Lebanese on Inglis Street, Rys Mediterranean on Spring Garden Road, and Ray’s Lebanese Cuisine in Bayer’s Lake.

“I hate waste, especially when it comes to food which is why I was more than excited to join the Square Roots Token Program,” says Nicholas Nahas, co-owner of King of Donair. “I would love to see greater accessibility for the tokens and more businesses join so that food waste is not even a concern in the city. I believe in this the program and hope it succeeds not only as a business owner but as a graduate of Saint Mary's University.”

Two students holding the Square Roots tokens.

The program works by offering tokens for $5 which can be purchased and given to someone who is known or seen to be in need. The tokens are then redeemable by the recipient for a meal made from surplus food ingredients from partnering restaurants.

The announcement comes just ahead of the team’s departure for London, England, where they will pitch the Square Roots Token Program at the Enactus World Cup. The Enactus World Cup takes place from September 26-28, and will mark Enactus Saint Mary’s first time on the international stage.

“This is what we mean when we say Saint Mary’s students are citizens of the world,” says Saint Mary’s University President, Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. “It’s thinking how your day-to-day work and activities, even while you’re a student, can have a beneficial impact on others outside the university, community and indeed around the world.”

Enactus is the largest student leadership organization in the world, striving to solve environmental, social and economic issues through entrepreneurial action. With over 150 students involved on campus, Enactus Saint Mary’s is one of the chapters leading the charge on the national, and soon to be, international scale.

“Our Square Roots Token Program began in April 2017 and we are so excited about the amazing response and support that we have received from our partnering restaurants in Nova Scotia,” says Meredith Drost, Co-President of Enactus. “It is truly inspiring to see the passion to reduce food waste in our own community from our customers and partners. Our team is also thrilled to have the opportunity share our program with the world when we travel to the Enactus World Exposition next week in London, England. We would not be here today without the amazing support of Saint Mary's University, the Sobey School of Business and the Business Development Centre.”

The Honourable Lena Metlege Diab attended the event today on behalf of Labour and Advanced Education Minister Labi Kousoulis to celebrate the program’s latest achievements.

"We all know that government alone does not have all the answers to the challenges we face. We have to look to the community and the private sector to find solutions. When this happens, we witness a powerful force for change,” says Ms. Metlege Diab.  "This new formula for success combines business acumen with social consciousness. It teaches us how human capital can be directed and best used. This will benefit our economy as a whole - and help us build a stronger Nova Scotia.”

As a show of support for the program, President Summerby-Murray said the University purchased 100 tokens to be delivered by the students to those in need. 

Saint Mary's Astrophysics student publishes star-gazing book for kids

John Read, a Saint Mary's Astrophysics student and author. 

John Read, a full-time Astrophysics student at Saint Mary’s, knows how to manage his time wisely. This summer he has published three (yes three) new books and republished another book. Along with his second novel (Callisto Deception) and 50 Targets for the Mid-Sized Telescope, he has written a children’s book: 50 Things to See with a Telescope – Kids.

Read, a self-described nerd, has long been interested in astronomy. He loved reading astronomy articles in National Geographic magazines as a child but it wasn’t until he got his first $14 telescope at Walgreens drugstore in his early 20s that it became a passion. He started photographing the sky, buying increasingly better sky-gazing equipment. He also joined a local astronomy club in California, and was awarded the Joe Disch award for volunteering at almost 50 star parties in a single year. 

He wrote his first book, 50 Things to See with a Small Telescope, upon discovering that many students who owned telescopes didn’t know how to use them. Self-published in 2013, it quickly became successful, often leading Amazon’s stargazing and astronomy best-seller lists. It has been translated into 10 languages.

“For me, it’s not enough to see the wonders of the universe with my own eyes: I have this unquenchable desire to share my experience with the world,” he wrote in a piece published this year in Popular Astronomy. 

About the book

Read says that his book was created in response to other astronomy books that either have too much detail for beginners, or too few pictures.

In 50 Things to See with a Telescope – Kids, each colourful page contains a telescope view feature, showing young stargazers how to view galaxies, nebulae and star clusters with a small telescope or binoculars.

Read says it would be appropriate for ages eight and up, and is a great way for kids and parents to understand the night sky and foster a love of astronomy.

 Quitting Your Day Job

Now in the second year of his BSc in Astrophysics at Saint Mary’s, Read, 34, has more life experience than most of his fellow students. He first graduated from Saint Mary’s in 2005 with a Bachelor of Commerce and started climbing the corporate ladder, taking on roles with increasing responsibility at a Fortune 500 company in California before retiring to pursue his passion.

He returned home to Nova Scotia with his wife and two toddlers, and he has some big post-graduation plans. He can envision working in academia, as well as working on large scale projects as a research scientist.

Saint Mary’s is home to one of the world’s few Twitter-controlled observatories, the Burke-Gaffney Observatory. Read envisions that similar technology could someday be leveraged, so that he can study from Halifax using shared equipment in the U.S. and around the world.

Hobbyists

For anyone interested in astronomy, Read recommends joining the Halifax chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. The group of over 200 amateur and professional astronomers hosts events such as Keji Dark Sky Weekends and the Nova East Star Party.