Mohamed Rezk, a candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences, will present his Master of Science thesis defence on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m. in WH 147.
His thesis is titled, “The effect of Resveratrol on the upregulation of Ngb.”
His examination committee members are Dr. Michael Bidochka, Chair; Dr. Sandra Peters, External Examiner, (Brock University); Dr. Jeffrey Stuart, Supervisor; Dr. Debbie Inglis and Dr. Aleksandar Necakov, Committee Members.
Undergraduate and graduate students demonstrated how Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software can be used to visualize and analyze geographic information in order to solve the real-world problems that are the focus of their research at the annual Esri Canada Scholarship Competition.
“The Esri Canada GIS Scholarship program aims to recognize excellence in research at institutions across Canada by supporting and encouraging students in their future work,” said Krista Amolins, Higher Education Developer and Analyst with Esri Canada, who visited Brock to hear the presentations.
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The competition was the highlight of Brock’s seventh annual GIS Day, hosted by Brock’s Map, Data & GIS Library and the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies. GIS Day falls during Geography Awareness Week.
Competitor Brian Giordano, a PhD candidate for the Centre for Biotechnology who studies the spread of West Nile virus, finds that GIS software helps him share his findings more widely.
“Trying to explain complex analyses to the general public can be difficult,” said Giordano. “Mapping software provides a simple yet elegant way to showcase the data in a way that the general public can relate to and easily understand.”
Brent Thorne, who is working on a master’s degree in the Department of Earth Science, believes that GIS can be applied to almost any project.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work on an accessibility web map application and remote sensing of Niagara region vineyards, and to conduct GIS analysis on Arctic vegetation,” said Thorne, who also completed a BSc in Physical Geography at Brock. He credits his GIS courses with opening his eyes to the possibilities of GIS software.
Thorne now shares his GIS knowledge and experience with others by posting tutorials on his YouTube channel.
With presentations complete, Assistant Professor Kevin Turner and instructor Brodie Hague, both of the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies, and Colleen Beard and Sharon Janzen, both of the Map, Data & GIS Library, will meet to deliberate and choose a winner, who will be announced in mid-January.
In addition to a cash award of $1,000, the winner will receive several of Esri’s ArcGIS products, including desktop software, an ArcGIS Developer subscription, publications, training, conference registration, and eligibility for future awards and opportunities — a value of more than $50,000. They will also be added to the gallery of recipients at scholars.esri.ca.
Students, staff, and faculty interested in obtaining ArcGIS software can learn more on the Map, Data and GIS Library web page.
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A team of Canadian scientists, headed up by Brock University Associate Professor of Physics Thad Harroun, is travelling to Sweden next week in hopes of striking up a partnership to access the European Spallation Source (ESS), a neutron beam source facility being built there.
The meetings are meant to prepare for next year’s closure of Canada’s National Research Universal nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ont.The 60-year-old reactor — the world’s oldest operating research reactor — is slated to shut down in March 2018, after which Canadian and other scientists will no longer be able to use the highly specialized equipment in their experiments.
“We understand the decision, but we’re a casualty of that decision,” says Harroun, who is President of the Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering and a working group leader within the Canadian Neutron Initiative (CNI).
Harroun says until another Canadian nuclear research facility is built, “We’d like to press the Canadian government to put in a stop-gap emergency measure so that we can continue our research elsewhere.” That could mean the government purchasing ‘beam time’ at a foreign facility, as well providing upgrades to the nuclear reactor at McMaster University, says Harroun.
The CNI has its eye on Sweden’s European Spallation Source, a highly sophisticated facility under construction in the southern Swedish city of Lund that is expected to “both greatly exceed and complement today’s leading neutron sources,” says the ESS website.
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Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Physics, Thad Harroun
Categories: News
Students in the fourth-year math course, Mathematics at the Junior/Intermediate/Senior Level, have been working to create kits to help make math more accessible to young learners. Coinciding with National STEM Day, the first of three presentations related to the kits took place Nov. 8 and offered faculty, students and Let’s Talk Science Outreach at Brock volunteers a sneak peek into the hands-on, interactive math-based activities.
The project, a new addition to the long-running Math 3P91 course, provides the class of future math educators an opportunity to apply the theoretical concepts they learn in class. The idea for this experiential component emerged last year when Dan Lonergan, Experiential Education Co-ordinator in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science, and Anna Hudlin, Let’s Talk Science Outreach at Brock Site Co-ordinator, discussed a potential partnership.
In 2016, Brock became a new site for Let’s Talk Science, a national organization that offers science education and programs for all ages from preschool to high school using ready-made science, technology, engineering and math-related kits. Recognizing the need for more math-based kits, Hudlin approached Lonergan about creating the experiential opportunity.
Following feedback and final tweaks, the students’ work may become part of available Let’s Talk Science kits used in classrooms by volunteers at Brock and beyond.
Department of Chemistry – Seminar Series
Rylan Lundgren
Department of Chemistry
University of Alberta
DATE: November 17
TIME: 12pm
LOCATION: H313
Chemistry, Seminar Series
Categories: Events
Join the Department of Earth Sciences on Friday, November 24 at 10am in Mackenzie Chown D308 for a presentation by Sean Mundreon, 2017 participant to the Student Industry Field Trip.
Earth Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science
Categories: Events
Samin Tajik, a candidate in the Department of Physics, will present her Master of Science thesis defence on Friday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. in Welch Hall 147.
Her thesis is titled Effect of Rattling Phonon on Superconductivity of KOs2O6.
Her examination committee members are Dr. Michael Bidochka, Chair; Dr. Frank Marsiglio, External Examiner (University of Alberta); Dr. Božidar Mitrovi?, Supervisor; Dr. Kirill Samokhin and Dr. Shayamal Bose, Committee Members.
Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Physics, Thesis defence
Categories: Events
Between 2003 and 2013, Brock University biology professor and bee expert, Miriam Richards and her research team collected and recorded the number of bees and number of species they got from traps at the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization site in St. Catharines and compared that to traps they set in three sites at Brock that had not been restored.
The team found that the numbers of individual bees and bee species in the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization site went up, at first.
“Our results suggest that ‘If you restore it, they will come’: restored foraging and nesting sites were re-occupied by bees as soon as they became available, then bee numbers continued to grow for three to four years,” says the study, “Rapid initial recovery and long-term persistence of a bee community in a former landfill” published recently in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity.
Richards’ study, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, puts the spotlight on a trend that has scientists and environmentalists worried: the worldwide drop in bee populations.
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Brock Bee Lab – headquarters of Richards’ research
The Canadian Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (CCUNESCO) has appointed Brock biologist Liette Vasseur to President of its Sectoral Commission on Natural, Social and Human Sciences, an 11-member group of Canadian scientists, academics and others providing knowledge and expertise on a range of issues.
These include social and environmental impacts of climate change; conservation of natural heritage and water resources; inclusion of newcomers and vulnerable groups; reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous people; youth engagement; and measures to fight discrimination, racism, violence, bullying and radicalization.
“We’re producing reflection papers on some of the topics we believe are important to come up with a long-range vision of how Canadians and the federal government can implement various actions related to sustainability,” explains Vasseur.
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Department of Chemistry – Seminar Series
Dr. Jianbo Gao
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Clemson University
DATE: Friday, November 24
TIME: 12pm
LOCATION: H313
Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Seminar Series
Categories: Events
