Written by: 5th World Congress Blogger
6/19/2008 1:57 PM

The final day of the 5th Science Centre World Congress was one of true inspiration and innovation as Dr. Suzanne Fortier, President of NSERC, presented nine leading researchers and scientists doing cutting-edge research and development. Selected by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, each of the scientists delivered a captivating snapshot of their various projects. “Investing in people, discovery and innovation is what we’re all about”, said Dr. Fortier. Each of the following scientists energized, entertained and inspired the audience with their ideas, projects and passion. They would do the same for visitors at science centres.

Dr. Pascale Champagne, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Queen’s University, opened an rapid-fire overview of her work as a biomass conversion expert with a clip from the 80s movie “Back to the Future” in which a crazed inventor jams garbage into a time-travelling sports car, shouting “I need fuel!”. She then outlined research processes and potential that can take waste and turn it into products from carpet to plastics to fuel.
	Dr. Raymond Laflamme, a quantum physicist at the University of Waterloo and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, talked about his work in using quantum mechanics as a powerful tool for processing and storing enormous quantities of information, quoting physicist and writer Paul Davies: “I believe the 21st century will be the quantum age”.
Dr. Jaymie Mathews, Associate Physics and Astronomy Professor at the University of British Columbia and MOST Mission Scientist, elaborated entertainingly on his work with MOST http://www.astro.ubc.ca/MOST/, calling it Canada’s “Humble” Space Telescope. Using the telescope to study stars and locate planets outside our solar system, Dr. Mathews expressed his hope that he could one day say: “I see another Earth – and it is so beautiful.”
	Dr. John Parkinson, molecular scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children, talked about parasites as a global heath care burden, saying that malaria kills one million kids under five every year. He was working on identifying and disabling the critical genes responsible for enabling parasites thrive in their hosts.
Dr. Carolyn Ren, Assistant Professor in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at Waterloo University, described her work in developing “lab-on-a-chip” microlabs for analyzing materials on-site cheaply ($1.00!) and effectively. She also explained how microfluidic protein chips could be customized according to their use, such as analyzing bacteria in water.
	Dr. Nikolaus Troje, Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Psychology and School of Computing at Queen’s University, explained his work in perceptual phenomena such as biological motion. As a vision researcher, he gave a fascinating – and laughter-inducing – animated demonstration of how his biomechanical data graphs could be manipulated to show the various walking patterns of males and females – in particular, a “heavy, happy” female.
Dr. Warwick Vincent, an environmental microbiologist from the Department of Biology at Laval University, presented his work on climate change in northern aquatic ecosystems, showing how studying microbial systems in ice shelves and water and ice layers in lakes can provide insight into how fast our planet is changing.
	Dr. Mary Anne White, a University Research Professor in Chemistry from Dalhousie University, talked about her work in developing new materials to harness power from waste heat, saying the U.S. economy wastes 55 percent of the energy it consumes, according to a recent report in The Atlantic.
Dr. Paul Wilson, Canada Research Chair in DNA Profiling at Trent University, gave a fascinating description of his work in forensic conservation. By analyzing the scat of protected animals, he can track their breeding and migration habits. And by analyzing evidence from illegal hunting sites, he is able to bring poachers to justice by in a scientific and legal forum.

Trackback Print

Location: Blogs 5th Science Centre World Congress Blog

Your name:
Title:
Comment:
Security Code Enter the code shown above in the box below
Add Comment    Cancel