New SMU lab tackles society’s wicked problems

Saint Mary’s University’s new Wicked Problems Lab is a teaching, learning, and research hub that brings big data, software, analytic techniques, and resources together to tackle wicked problems.

Wicked problems are complex and multifaceted issues that are difficult, if not impossible, to solve. Saint Mary's aims to take on these challenges, evaluating the problems from various perspectives and offering potential solutions to address the issue.

Made possible by gifts from The Windsor Foundation, the Hewitt Foundation and Dr. Daniel McCarthy BComm'76 DComm'11, this new lab’s mandate is to help students and researchers across the university tackle some of society’s most wicked problems.

"Our lab is working to build capacity in employing the large quantities of data currently available and advanced analytical tools to track, assess, and tackle wicked problems both locally and globally," says Dr. Mathew Novak, a Saint Mary's associate professor and director of the Wicked Problems Lab. "We invite students and faculty to bring us their wicked problems, and we will work them to find a solution.  We can help find data and use a host of analytical software that will help in understanding the complexity of the problem and contribute to our pursuit of new knowledge and solutions."

"The resources and expertise of the lab will help our researchers and our students in every discipline. Students writing a term paper may want to include data to support their arguments," says Dr. Novak. "We can help them with the skills, tools and support needed to wade through the mountains of publicly available data and demonstrate how to look at that data in new ways."

The lab follows three critical facets to its resourcing: teaching, learning, and research.

As a teaching resource, the lab offers problem-based learning activities for undergraduate and graduate-level courses. Each exercise has students engage with data and analytical tools to assess a problem while posing questions about challenges in tackling the issue.  These virtual classroom sessions are available for instructors in all disciplines and are timely demonstrations of how Saint Mary’s is innovating in its delivery of courses online.

As a learning resource, the lab will deliver individual and group training to any Saint Mary's community member that wants to enhance their knowledge and use of data analytics and specialized software tools and databases. Training sessions with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are already underway, demonstrating how the software may be employed in various disciplines across campus and offering participants hands on exercises in map making, data management, and spatial analysis. 

As a research resource, Saint Mary’s faculty and students can work with Dr. Khan Rahaman, the full-time research analyst, for free assistance in addressing their wicked problem.  Dr. Rahaman will work with the lab's clients and help them collect, manage, and analyze data for reports, theses, and other research outlets.

"We are very excited to be up, and we are embracing online learning and collaboration, offering our services remotely," says Dr. Novak. "We also look forward to when we can be back on campus, and our lab space will be available for in-person teaching and training as well as research assistance.”

“I also want to thank the people behind the gift that supports all of the work that we do,” adds Novak. “A special thanks to The Windsor Foundation, the Hewitt Foundation, and Saint Mary’s alumni Dr. Daniel McCarthy for making this possible.”

• For more information, visit the Wicked Problems Lab website.

Women in the finance industry making change focus of day-long Sobey School of Business event

Women working in business and finance came together to discuss change and the future of the financial services industry at a day-long event hosted by Saint Mary's University's Sobey School of Business.

Keynote speaker Catherine Philogène, CIM, RIPC, Vice President, Product Management, RBC Global Asset Management Inc.

"Canadian businesses know the benefit of diversity, achieving gender parity and the risk of not doing so," says Karn Nichols, the event organizer and manager of Career Services with the Sobey School of Business. "This event is about building a more equitable and inclusive field in financial services and helping to support all women by building community."

The event, Women in Financial Services: Making Change, reflects the history and the future of women in the financial services industry. The early history of the sector often limited women to teller windows, cashing cheques and literally making change. At the same time, their male colleagues leapfrogged to corner offices and roles in wealth management, capital markets and commercial lending. Today, the value of diversity is proven to add value for all stakeholders and add trillions to North America's gross domestic product (GDP). Banks and other financial services companies are actively recruiting women to help them make change, by taking on non-traditional roles, moving into C-suite leadership, offering their talent in developing and programming fintech, and building support for entrepreneurs and venture capital.

"The Sobey School of Business has always valued and supported initiatives that contribute to our understanding of important issues like increasing diversity and representation in business," says Dr. Harjeet Bhabra, dean of the Sobey School of Business. "I am very pleased that we are taking a leading role in this area and would like to thank everyone involved in organizing this event, for bringing our community together during challenging times to discuss the importance of diversity and representation."

At the event, participants heard from diverse voices and actively participated in workshopping solutions to boost and improve women's representation and increase diversity throughout financial services, including the C-suite and the board room. Participants also had the opportunity to connect with potential mentors or mentees. 

The event featured three streams of interactive workshops on women and diversity in financial services, women, fintech and venture capital financing, and corporate social responsibility in finance. The keynote speaker was Catherine Philogène, CIM, RIPC, Vice President, Product Management, RBC Global Asset Management Inc.

For more details on the event, the keynote speaker, panelists and more, visit https://smu.ca/sobeywib/ .

Retail excellence celebrated at the 4th annual National Retail Innovation Awards

Dr. David Sobey, CM, at the National Retail Innovation Awards in 2019

The excellence of three Canadian retailers was recognized at the 4th annual National Retail Innovation Awards, presented by the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services, located at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

"This is our 4th Annual National Retail Awards, and it is a great pleasure to recognize three outstanding, up-and-coming Canadian retailers for their innovation this year,” says Dr. Ramesh Venkat, director of the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services. “The big lessons for retailers from the past six months are the need for nimbleness, innovation customer focus, and social consciousness. Our award winners exemplify these virtues."

This year’s winners are:

• DUER, winner of the Retail Business Model Innovation Award

• Knix, winner of the Retail Technology Innovation Award

• Vessi Footwear, winner of the Community Service Innovation Award

Retail Business Model Innovation Award winner DUER was founded in 2013 and is based in Vancouver. They feature modern jeans and pants that meet the needs of the active with performance, comfort, and style. They create and market a prototype of a product: new washes, new colours, or a completely new style. Customers place orders, and then if enough of the design is purchased, DUER puts it into production and delivers the garment in four to six weeks. Their products are sold online and at three DUER store locations. 

Retail Technology Innovation Award winner Knix was founded in 2013 and is based in Toronto. Knix makes wireless bras, sports bras, period-proof underwear, loungewear and more. Their clothes are designed with comfort in mind. In response to the pandemic, Knix switched its annual warehouse sale to an online format. Sale volumes rose and turned a three-day event into an event that sold out in only four hours. They also launched a virtual fitting program that allows customers to do a video chat, during which a Knix consultant can help customers find products and assist them with determining the right size. 

Community Service Innovation Award winner Vessie Footwear is based in Vancouver and was founded in 2017. They sell the world's first 100 percent waterproof knit shoe. This online retailer has given away 2,000 free sneakers to health-care workers, launched a 'pay what you can' model to donate 400,000 face masks, and created a Community Fund Program to give away $100,000 for initiatives launched in the community. It also started Vessi TV, giving the community ways to stay healthy and cope with the coronavirus crisis. 

“As the largest private-sector employer in the country, retailers in Canada hold a critical role in our economy,” noted Diane J. Brisebois, President & CEO of Retail Council of Canada (RCC) and a member of the David Sobey Advisory Council. “This year has been particularly challenging for retailers. To succeed in the post-pandemic retail world, Canadian retailers must adjust to new realities and new patterns of consumer behaviour. To grow and prosper in this new environment, our retailers must continue to innovate in technology, customer experience, store design, supply chain, and much more. We applaud this year’s winners as they embody innovative thinking and customer care – Congratulations to Knix, DUER and Vessi Footwear."

The National Retail Innovation Awards celebrates Canadian retailers' achievements and retailers who have demonstrated innovation and excellence in the industry. The awards are hosted by the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services, part of Saint Mary's University's Sobey School of Business. The awards close a very successful Retail Month that featured panels and discussion on e-commerce and the future of retailing, women in retail, and sustainable retailing.   

Founded in 2014, the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services funds research projects relevant to the retail sector, sponsors retail innovation and student competitions, and offers executive education for the retail industry.

Recognizing research at Saint Mary’s

The Saint Mary’s community has many reasons to be proud. Over the last twelve months 95 researchers from across the faculties in Science, Arts and the Sobey School of Business have secured over $8 million dollars in external funding through Canada Research Chair positions, tri-council grants and research contracts.

The impressive diversity of research takes us from re-examining Roman Villas in Italy to implementing nature-based adaptation strategies along Nova Scotia’s coast. The research effects go beyond geographic boundaries to promoting gender equality and using storytelling as a key approach to climate communication.

While under a global pandemic, members of our research community have also pivoted their focus to the covid-19 virus. Researchers are aiming to understand how covid-19 is impacting immigrant populations, whether we can make medical grade pulp for N95 masks from trees in Nova Scotia, looking at environmental factors and how social mobility is transmitting the virus.

Our researchers at Saint Mary’s are exceptionally talented in their fields of work. We have so many reasons to be proud of the calibre of research happening here. Let’s see where the next twelve months take us.

Service learning moves online

In fall of 2020, 95 students are participating in the Service Learning program offered through our faculties in Career and Experiential Learning, a department within Student Affairs and Services. With 15 Community Partners offering virtual placements for students, students will apply what they learn in the classroom to support local organizations.

Virtual placements and projects this term included: 

• Mapping different species of eelgrass photographed throughout Nova Scotia.

• Collecting cherished watermark stories from Maritimers about their favourite waterfront memories.

• Helping a local organization to create new business plans and a rebrand strategy. 

• Creating an App to support clients at a local non-profit organization.

• Creating virtual events for long term care facilities, such as fundraising events, virtual trivia games and auctions.

• Mentoring and supporting young students at a virtual capacity through tutoring and reading support.

• Providing social media and website support to organizations.

Service learning planning is underway for winter 2021, and there is still time to incorporate service learning into your course. Whether a course is taught online, or using a blended model, service learning can help apply course content to community-based learning.

Faculty interested in learning more about service learning for winter 2021 can email service.learning@smu.ca to sign-up for access to a Service Learning Brightspace course. This resource covers everything from incorporating service-learning into your course to providing peer-reviewed research about service-learning. 

Homecoming 2020 talks available for viewing online

The SMU community – including alumni around the world – celebrated a virtual Homecoming 2020 last week, with a great lineup of thought-provoking panels and other events organized by the Alumni Office.

In case you missed them, recordings of these five Homecoming webinars are now available with closed captioning through the Saint Mary’s Alumni Facebook page:     

Back to the Classroom:

• #BLM and Steps to Being Anti-Racist, with Dr. Rachel Zellars;

• Who is Women & Gender Studies For?, with Dr. Michele Byers and Dr. Tatjana Takseva marking the 25-year history of the program at Saint Mary’s;

• Putting "Science" in Forensic Science, with Dr. Timothy Frasier, celebrating the 20th anniversary of SMU’s Forensic Science program;

• SMU After Hours: Accessibility & COVID-19, hosted by Dr. Lori Francis, Dean of Science, with Dr. Linda Campbell, Dr. Sailaja Krishnamurti, Jennifer Green and Baden Mercer; and

• SMU in Action: Black Lives Matter Nova Scotia, moderated by Dr. Zellars with African Nova Scotian community advocates Delvina Bernard (BComm'82, current PhD student in IDS), Andre Anderson (Economics major), and Trayvone Clayton (Criminology major).

In both of the Black Lives Matter events, Dr. Zellars provides historical context to the current times, plus practical takeaways to help people become better allies to the social justice movement.  

“We are in an absolutely unprecedented time,” she says in her Back to the Classroom seminar. She urges viewers to do their research to better understand why the world has exploded in global uprisings around the urgent issues of state violence and social justice.

“There are lots of questions about what we should be doing together. What does solidarity look like in this moment?” she asks. It goes far beyond simply sharing #BLM support on your social media channels or writing anti-racist solidarity statements for your organization, she says, adding “do not hashtag #BLM if you’re not doing the work.”

It’s also important to acknowledge your own implicit bias – everyone with a brain has bias, even if you don’t realize it, she says.  

“In this moment, allyship means taking a back seat, taking a moment of humility that may be unfamiliar to you. Those who are closest to the experience have the most to say. Really listen.”

Most importantly, “educate yourself,” she says, sharing some great places to start with the following list of book and podcast recommendations.

BOOKS:

• White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo (Beacon Press, 2018);

• Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World, 2015);

• Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present, Robyn Maynard (Fernwood Publishing, 2017);

• North to Bondage: Loyalist Slavery in the Maritimes, Harvey Amani Whitfield (UBC Press, 2016);

• Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Ejeris Dixon (AK Press, 2020); and

• Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, adrienne maree brown (AK Press, 2017).

PODCASTS:

• Democracy Now!;

• MEDIA INDIGENA, Interactive Indigenous Insight with Rick Harp;

• Fresh Air, specifically this episode on why police reform fails; 

• On Being with Krista Tippett; and

• How to Survive the End of the World, with the Brown Sisters.

Saint Mary's University climbs into top tier of Maclean’s rankings

Saint Mary's University now ranks fourth among undergraduate universities in Canada.

According to Maclean’s magazine, the university is ranked fourth among primarily undergraduate universities for 2021. Saint Mary’s has continued to climb in the rankings over the past decade.

Among the highlights in this category, Saint Mary’s ranked:

• 1st in student awards (national awards won by students)

• 5th in medical/science grants for faculty

• 5th in student services (under student support)

• 5th in library acquisitions and expenditures

• 5th in the reputational survey

• 6th in faculty awards (national awards won by faculty members)

In addition to ranking fourth among undergraduate universities, both Saint Mary's and the Sobey School of Business's national prominence continue to rise. Saint Mary's is now ranked 33rd in the country when it comes to the national reputational ranking of all universities. This year, the Sobey School of Business ranks among Canada's top 15 business programs. The university's business program is tied for 14th in the country and has the highest reputation for business research in the Atlantic region.

Peace and the pandemic

Peaceful Schools at Currie Primary School, Belfast, Northern Ireland/ North of Ireland

Can there be peace in the midst of conflict? Can peace flourish during a pandemic? And do we have an ethical obligation to teach peace education? Those were some of the questions posed at this year’s annual United Nations International Day of Peace conference. Dozens of participants came together under the auspices of Peaceful Schools International, Saint Mary’s University and Yale University, along with students from public and private schools in Halifax, Northern Ireland / North of Ireland as well as the United States.

The Faculty of Education at Saint Mary’s University has been particularly engaged and supportive of a wide range of peace education initiatives, projects and the provision of relevant academic courses over the past 15 years, including this most recent virtual conference. Saint Mary’s University Professor and President of Peaceful Schools International, Bridget Brownlow, noted that the pandemic posed issues for the conference itself, “Like so many organizations, we were tested by not being able to meet in person this year.  However our students and the partner schools rose to the challenge using videos and online technology to connect in a virtual setting.”

Bryn de Chastelain, President of the Saint Mary’s University Students Association (SMUSA) said, “The pandemic gives us a common issue and demands that we work together to develop common solutions. The pandemic has exacerbated problems and inequalities in our local community and around the world. Never before have we been so interconnected. It’s crucial that we focus on how we can work together as we priorize ongoing education and reflection.”

Peaceful Schools International is a not-for-profit network of educators and students which is housed within Saint Mary’s University and has over 380 member schools worldwide. Among many other projects and initiatives, the organization also provides university students with conflict resolution skills and enables them to travel internationally to the North of Ireland / Northern Ireland to teach these valuable skills in peace education to younger students in elementary schools. “Conflict resolution requires daily practice. We start learning at a young age, said SMU student, Salman Sadib, an Accounting major who has travelled to Belfast, Northern Ireland and credits the program with changing his life. “We want the world to be a better place for everyone; we learn to negotiate with peace in every situation.”

Dr. Bonnie Weir, representing the Department of Political Science at Yale University, also participated in the virtual conference. In February, 2020, she had the privilege of observing students from Saint Mary’s University facilitating peace education workshops in primary classrooms in Belfast and learned firsthand that we all have an ethical obligation to teach peace education to both children and adults, including the ability to understand others, respect for difference and the value of uniqueness. Dr. Weir is also a member of the Board of Directors for Peaceful Schools International.

Crystal Witter, a SMU Psychology major, said peace education should be taught at all levels of university, and included in business strategies and programs. “I now see how diversity and inclusion is so important for peace and harmony.”

For more information on Peaceful Schools International and the virtual conference please visit the website: http://peacefulschoolsinternational.org/

Undergraduate Students Spend Summer Conducting Paid Scientific Research

This summer, another crop of Science undergraduate students had the opportunity to conduct research with their professors at Saint Mary’s – despite unusual circumstances created by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

These awards, sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), a Government of Canada agency, and the Dean of Science Office at Saint Mary’s University, are awarded to undergraduate students. They are intended to help students develop their potential for a research career in the natural sciences and engineering, and often lead to students pursuing graduate work in their chosen fields.

Across campus a total of 34 awards were granted from a pool of more than 200 applicants. These were 12 or 16-week terms, and each student was been approved by a supervising faculty member.

Applications for these awards are open to undergraduate students who have strong marks in their studies, and who have completed at least one year towards a bachelor’s degree. Students work for 16 weeks on a full-time basis. Click here for more details, a full list of this year’s award winners, and watch this space for opportunities to apply for next summer’s awards.

Congratulations to the award winners. Here is a selection of the projects our students worked on this summer:

Humaid Agowun, Mathematics/Computing Science (Supervisor: Dr. Hai Wang)

During my research my main task was to optimize a segmented linear regression algorithm. The algorithm is used for business intelligence research and helps find relationships between two variables. We used algorithm design principles to speed up the algorithm execution so that it could realistically be used on larger datasets.

Tanaka Akiyama, Engineering (Supervisor: Dr. Adel Merabet)

This summer I continued to work on a project for the Laboratory of Control Systems and Mechatronics from last summer. I helped program the vision system for an autonomous retail robot for inventory management. I specifically worked on counting the number of products on a shelf. 

Abigail Battson, Astrophysics (Supervisor: Dr. Vincent Hénault-Brunet)

I worked on a problem involving the models of globular clusters, which are massive, dense, spherical balls of stars which orbit galaxies like the Milky Way. The current predictions overestimate the clusters’ ratio of mass-to-light produced, compared to the mass-to-light ratio from the observations of stars. This overestimation is significant, and is for the clusters containing the largest amounts of elements heavier than helium. Globular clusters lose mass over time, which is incorporated into the models, however the models may not accurately match which stars are primarily being lost, which are the lowest mass stars. 

My work involved figuring out if properly accounting for the loss of these low-mass stars from the clusters could decrease the prediction vs. observational discrepancy, as the loss would decrease the mass-to-light ratio of the clusters. Accounting for this loss of low-mass stars did improve the discrepancy, however there are still other factors which can be updated or incorporated to improve residual discrepancies.

Samantha Bennett, Environmental Science (Supervisor: Dr. Erin Cameron)

This summer, I worked with Dr. Erin Cameron on the study of earthworm distribution and invasion potential. The purpose of this research is to see how human activity above soil level will impact the distribution of earthworm species around the globe and how it will impact the distribution of invasive earthworm species around the globe. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the project was limited to literary review, during which I read various papers and worked on a database system that lists the earthworm species present in every individual country.

Adina Gherman, Psychology (Supervisor: Dr. Veronica Stinson)

This summer I had the amazing opportunity of working as a Research Assistant for the Victim Research Lab of the Psychology Department. I have read and coded from scratch about 190 sentencing rulings in English and French and filled the dataset for missing variables for over 500 rulings. I have also conducted research as a group and presented the results at the first Canadian Forensic Psychology Virtual Conference, at Saint Mary's. Our research focused on the relationship between victim impact statements and offenders' expression of remorse and apology. My work for the Psychology Department is ongoing; I am participating in weekly meetings to plan the next steps for various research projects and I am volunteering as a research assistant.

Sahana Kanabar, Environmental Science (Supervisor: Dr. Erin Cameron)

For the first part of the summer I collaborated on a global meta-analysis examining the effect of drivers (such as climate change, nutrient enrichment, etc.) on soil invertebrate biodiversity. The latter part of the summer was dedicated to planning my Honour projects, which is examining the impact of road salt on local lakes and the surrounding soil.  

Lindsay MacDonald, Biology (Supervisor: Dr. Anne Dalziel)

This summer Lindsay conducted research for her honours thesis topic on the mechanisms that lead to different breeding colouration in stickleback—small fish living across the northern hemisphere. In particular, we have a species that is only found here in Nova Scotia that becomes bright white when breeding, while closely related populations of fish become a blue/green/brown. Lindsay studied the pigment cells in the fish skin to determine what leads to these differences in breeding colouration.

Lindsay also played varsity soccer for four years while completing a very time-intensive degree.

Seamus MacInnes, Computing Science (Supervisor: Dr. Jiju Poovvancheri)

I received an NSERC USRA to continue research into different methods of modelling and tracking human movements with 3D cameras. The key aspect of the research was that the user would not be wearing any sensors or reflectors. Most of my time was spent developing the code that would model, render and mimic the position of the user.  

Jen McArthur, Psychology (Supervisor: Dr. Meg Ternes)

Worked on a variety of interesting projects with Dr. Ternes:

• Deceptive motivations – how personality variables relate to the reasons people lie. Jen analyzed data for this project and took the lead on writing a manuscript for submission to a journal

• Juror Instructions regarding the credibility of jailhouse informants – developed and collected data for this project, with plans to complete data analysis and writing this project even after the work term is over

• Deception behind a mask – how the deceiver/truth-teller wearing a mask affects our ability to detect deception – helped to develop this project, data collection will begin in September

• Alibi believability – how the strength of the alibi and the race and SES of the suspect affect the believability of an alibi –developed this research idea and project – we have recently gotten ethics clearance and plan to collect data in September.

Maiti McGrath, Astrophysics (Supervisor: Dr. Luigi Gallo)

My research this summer was a precursor to my honours thesis. I developed a few analysis techniques to be performed on a sample of radio loud black holes. With these analysis techniques and samples, we hope to see patterns in radio and x-ray emission that could potentially give us some insight into what processes could be the same across these similar sources.

Kaleigh McLeod, Chemistry (Supervisor: Dr. Christa Brosseau)

Kaleigh researched how to make an all wood-pulp N95 respirator as part of our COVID-19 project with Port Hawkesbury Paper. She is continuing the project on for the rest of this academic year as her honours project in Chemistry.

Mayara Mejri, Biology (Supervisor: Dr. David Chiasson)

After spending the first month reading scientific papers and reviews about the legume-rhizobia symbiosis, I spent the rest of my summer in the lab, applying the concepts that I learned, which was both exciting and overwhelming. I had the chance to work with DNA and plasmids, and I learned a lot of things related to genetics and microbiology. My experience was extraordinary;  I learned that the research community is so diverse yet united, as labs all over the world are working together to produce a “result,” for example, to sequence or synthesize a gene. I also felt that the research community is very welcoming. 

Terrell Roulston, Biology (Supervisor: Dr. Jeremy Lundholm)

This summer I helped complete a survey of insect pollinator (bees, wasps, hoverflies, etc.) populations on tidal saltmarsh and dykes in the Bay of Fundy dykelands. Surveying included laying pan traps to collect specimens to be identified in the lab; I also recorded other surrounding biotic and abiotic factors on each study sites. The objective was to compare the abundance and diversity of insect pollinators between these landscapes to better understand how each contributes to pollination services of adjacent agricultural land.

This project is part of a number of joint projects run by TransCoastal Adaptations; a collaboration of Saint Mary’s and other universities working to build a comprehensive list of ecosystem services (ES) that these dykelands provide.

These ES have implications for government and private stakeholders to make informed adaptation decision when facing potential dyke re-alignment and/or dyke breach as well as saltmarsh restoration as we continue to face rising sea levels. These ES surveys are also a part of a larger national strategic network (NSERC ResNet) across Canada. This is my third year being awarded the NSERC URSA and without these awards I would not have been able to have this amazing research experience.

Jacqueline Shaw, Psychology (Supervisor: Dr. Kevin Kelloway)

Over the summer, I worked with Dr. Kelloway and his research group to study organizational response to the Covid-19 outbreak. As part of the multi-study project, I helped gather, recode, and theme data, read papers for literature reviews, and interviewed participants. Additionally, with help from my supervisors I developed an experimental study to explore the effect of psychopathy on responses to workplace incivility (and is awaiting ethics approval).

Sophia Waddell, Astrophysics (Supervisor: Dr. Luigi Gallo)

This was my fourth summer working with Dr. Luigi Gallo, studying some of the most extreme, energetic, and massive objects in the known Universe supermassive black holes. In particular, we used the Japanese Suzaku satellite to look at X-rays, which come from the innermost regions of accreting supermassive black holes, known as active galactic nuclei (AGN). By studying the X-ray light, we can understand the geometry, composition and structure of the material closest to the black hole. We studied two different classes of AGN to search for similarities and differences in the X-ray light they emit. We found several differences, including some new and unexpected ones, which strongly suggest that the geometry and structure of the inner region is significantly different between the two classes. Our scientific article about this result was recently accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Main Journal. 

Sophia is now a PhD student at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. 

Conor Waterfield, Subatomic Physics (Supervisor: Dr. Rituparna Kanungo)

This summer I worked on a project that is searching to find or rule out the existence of a tetraneutron state. My work was developing a computer simulation of the experiment using the Monte Carlo method. The result of my simulation will be compared to the real experimental data to determine if a resonant tetraneutron state is observed in the data or not. This work will be part of my honors thesis which I will complete this year.

Mac Zinck, Biology & Psychology (Supervisor: Laura Weir)

For my research on “Mate Value on Dating Profiles,” I examined how individuals displayed their mate values on dating profiles according to identified gender and the type of arrangement they were seeking (a relationship vs. no commitment). Specifically, I looked at how subjects displayed dependency, meaning whether they showed that they had a dependent (like a pet or child) as a potential advertisement of their quality as a long-term mate.  

Such traits are attractive in a mate as they are expected to increase the likelihood of survival and later reproductive success of their offspring.  We found that males and females seeking relationships displayed their dependents with similar frequency, and more than members of the same sex seeking no commitment.  

I would like to do more of this work as it ties into parental investment theory which is the basis of my thesis for this fall.

Celebrating the inaugural Sobey National Innovators and Sobey MBA Scholars

Top row (left to right): Ethan Stafford, Paige Bigelow, Max Legere, Susan MacInnis, Jonah Crowther, Bailey Hanna Sutherland, Brandon Legacy

Bottom row (left to right): Marley Raycroft, Connor Haines, Hannah Birru, Hallie Wedge, Aaron Currie, Alexander Bourque, Nicolas James Graham

Saint Mary’s University and the Sobey School of Business are proud to announce the first recipients of the new Sobey National Innovator and Sobey MBA Scholarships.

The Sobey National Innovator and Sobey MBA Scholarships are presented to exceptional students from across Canada in recognition of their accomplishments, and as encouragement and support for their success at Saint Mary’s Sobey School of Business. This scholarship program will support 150 students over the next ten years with the goal of supporting the best and brightest graduate and undergraduate business students in the country to come to Saint Mary’s University and the Sobey School of Business.

The following is a list of the inaugural Sobey National Innovators:

• Paige Bigelow, Northeast Kings Education Centre, NS

• Hannah Birru, Halifax West High School, NS

• Jonah Crowther, Halifax Grammar School, NS

• Aaron Currie, Charlottetown Rural HS, PE

• Connor Haines, Parkview Education Centre, NS

• Max Legere, Saint John High School, NB

• Susan MacInnis, Prince Andrew High School, NS

• Marley Raycroft, Lockview HS, NS

• Ethan Stafford, Kennebecasis Valley High School, NB

• Hallie Wedge, Notre Dame Catholic Sec School, ON
  

“I was very excited to learn that I have been selected as one of the winners of the scholarship. When I received the call, it brought tears of joy, not only to me but my family as well,” says Sobey National Innovators scholarship recipient Hannah Birru. “Thank you again for your investment in students like myself and our education. By awarding me the Sobey National Innovator scholarship, you are allowing me to focus on the most important aspect of school, learning.”

The following is a list of the inaugural Sobey MBA Scholars:

• Alexander Bourque, NS

• Nicolas James Graham, NS

• Brandon Legacy, NB

• Bailey Hanna Sutherland, NS
  

“I was overjoyed when I found out I had been selected for this prestigious award and feel truly honoured to be a member of this special group of Sobey scholarship recipients,” says Sobey MBA Scholar Alexander N. Bourque, BSc, MSc, PhD.

In 2019, Saint Mary’s University announced a historic gift of $18 million from the Sobey Family, Sobey Foundation and Sobeys Inc., which established this transformative scholarship program as well as investments in entrepreneurship, faculty support, research and new space for the Sobey School of Business.

Ten undergraduate entrance awards valued at $50,000 over four years are awarded annually to exceptional Canadian students entering the Sobey School of Business. Five entrance awards valued at $30,000 each are awarded annually to full-time students entering the MBA program in the Sobey School of Business.

“The support of the Sobey Family and Sobeys Inc. is enhancing the educational experience for every student in the School and further builds on our strength in preparing business students for leadership, social responsibility, entrepreneurship and innovation,” says the Sobey School of Business Dean, Dr. Harjeet Bhabra. “We could not be prouder of this first cohort of Sobey National Innovators and Sobey MBA Scholars and welcome them to the Sobey School of Business and Saint Mary’s University.”

Saint Mary’s University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray added, “The Sobey family, Sobeys Inc., and Saint Mary’s share a vision. A vision that focuses on people, impact, and purpose. Thank you to the Sobey family and Sobeys Inc. for their extraordinary philanthropic leadership, which is truly game-changing for Saint Mary’s University.”

“Congratulations to the new Sobey National Innovators and the Sobey MBA Scholarship recipients,” adds President Summerby-Murray. “Your selection as recipients of these awards recognizes your hard work, talent and leadership potential, and we are looking forward to supporting you for continued success and distinction at Saint Mary’s and beyond.”

To learn more about these scholarships, visit
https://www.smu.ca/academics/sobey/sobey-innovator-scholarships.html 

David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services celebrates Retail Month

Dr. David Sobey, CM at the National Retail Innovation Awards.

The David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services at Saint Mary's University is hosting a series of online events and discussions on the retail industry this October as part of Retail Month.

Retail Month, hosted by the David Sobey Centre, celebrates the retail industry and leads discussions to uncover the latest trends, practices and future predictions in retail.

"We have hosted several well-received Retail Weeks over the past several years, and one of the main comments we kept receiving was why only a week," says Dr. Ramesh Venkat, the director of the David Sobey Centre. "Retail Month offers industry leaders, and members of the retail sector increased opportunities to discuss trends and innovations they see in the sector. The pandemic has created unusual challenges and opportunities for the retail sector, making this year's Retail Month even more valuable."

Retail Month reach extends beyond the business community to students. There are many opportunities for university students and graduates in the retail sector.  With many companies promoting employees from within, recent graduates have extensive growth opportunities when joining the industry.

Speakers for Retail Month events include senior executives from national retail companies such as Sobeys Inc., Hudson's Bay Company, Staples, IKEA, and Dillard's. Representatives from these companies, and more, will be sharing their experience in various panel discussions. The topics are e-commerce and the future of retailing, women in retail, and sustainable retailing.

As part of Retail Month, the 4th annual National Retail Innovation Awards will occur on Thursday, Oct. 29. The National Retail Innovation Awards celebrates Canadian retailers' achievements and retailers who have demonstrated innovation and excellence in the industry. This year the award categories are retail business model innovation, retail technology innovation, and community service innovation. The award categories reflect the areas where retailers had to successfully adapt their business practices during the global pandemic.

The Sustainability Case Competition is also taking place during Retail Month. Students will participate in a case competition to support a local, sustainable retailer. This competition is in partnership with the 2nd Annual Sobey School of Business Responsibility Conference hosted by the Sobey School of Business.

For more information on Retail Month and the speaker series, visit: https://www.bigmarker.com/series/retail-month-20201/series_summit.

Saint Mary’s joins universities nationwide to take action on anti-Black racism

Saint Mary’s University is joining universities and colleges across Canada to take action on anti-Black racism in the post-secondary sector. Saint Mary’s will join the University of Toronto and numerous others in a national dialogue taking place on October 1st and 2nd. This dialogue will be the first of a series of sessions called National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities. 

“This conversation is an important early step to a broader national discussion about the impacts of racism, and the actions we can take to address anti-Black racism,” says Deborah Brothers-Scott, Chair of Saint Mary’s University President’s Standing Committee on the Prevention of Racism. “I am confident that this series of dialogues will serve as a strong foundation for self-reflection as a sector and inform the systemic changes needed on the path towards equity.”

The sessions will discuss various topics and make recommendations on subjects such as access to post-secondary and ensuring success, supporting faculty and staff, inclusive learning, representation, and the best practices around race-based data.

A national coordinating committee will carefully review the conversations and recommendations and provide a charter of principles and actions for participating institutions. Saint Mary’s President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray is a member of this committee and is actively supporting this work.

“Since I first came to Saint Mary’s University, I have embraced the diversity of our community as our strength,” says President Summerby-Murray. “This comes with the responsibility to do everything within my power to ensure we are supporting equitable opportunities and treatment for everyone in our community.”

“We are not without challenges in this regard, but these are challenges that we must work to address and overcome,” adds President Summerby-Murray. “This is why I have dedicated myself to this national initiative, in addition to my involvement with the education committee for BlackNorth, and our university’s standing committee on the prevention of racism.”

While Saint Mary’s has often engaged in discussions and dialogues on racism and discrimination against First Nations and persons of African descent, these efforts have been placed into sharp relief by the events of recent months, notably Black Lives Matter and the Anti-Black Racism movement. Saint Mary’s is fortunate to have significant faculty research expertise and community engagement, including through the Department of Social Justice and Community Studies. With support from their colleagues across the university and now recognized across the country, faculty members are leading meaningful and frank discussions of the challenges facing Canada, Nova Scotia, Halifax, and Saint Mary’s when it comes to racism, discrimination, and equity and the actions needed to address it. A prime example of this work is the rising prominence of these discussions at university events such as Homecoming and the event Back to the Classroom: Anti-Racism led by Dr. Rachel Zellars.

While faculty members are working to create change, the university also recognizes the importance of anti-racism action. Earlier this year, the university convened the President’s Standing Committee on the Prevention of Racism, a key recommendation of an earlier 2019 ad hoc committee. Among other recommendations from the ad hoc committee, the current committee has a key mandate to raise awareness and oversee the implementation of other recommendations, including:

• the recent successful hiring of a full-time African Nova Scotian/Black Student & Community Liaison staff position, a role that will help better support Black students on campus;

• education and training to ensure we can identify, report, investigate and respond to incidents of racialized discrimination on campus;

• holding more workshops to help educate and combat racism;

• a revision of the SMU Code of Conduct to ensure it clearly addresses issues of racism;

• developing a retention strategy focused on Indigenous and racialized students; and

• recruiting more racialized faculty and staff members.

Efforts have already begun with a series of listening sessions that have taken place and will continue through the Fall term to give the committee insight into the first-hand experiences of members of the SMU community. Similar to the national dialogues, these sessions form an essential part of the process to inform change.

Listening is only the first step; the university knows more action is needed.

To learn more about the upcoming sessions or share your feedback, comments, or questions, email The President’s Standing Committee on the Prevention of Racism at anti-racism@smu.ca. All emails are treated with the utmost confidentiality.