Articles tagged with: Faculty of Mathematics and Science

  • December 12: Master of Science thesis defence

    Friday, December 08, 2017 | By

    Walid Abomirga, a candidate in the Department of Earth Sciences, will present his Master of Science thesis defence by video conference on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 9 a.m. in WH 147.

    His thesis is titled “Central North Atlantic (IODP Site U1313) paleoceanography based on a high-resolution dinoflagellate cyst record across the Early–Middle Pleistocene boundary (Marine Isotope Stages 20–18, ~773 ka).”

    His examination committee members are Dr. Michael Bidochka, Chair; Dr. Elisabeth Levac, External Examiner, (Bishop’s University); Dr. Martin Head, Supervisor; and Dr. Francine McCarthy and Dr. Uwe Brand, Committee Members.

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  • Brock integrating computer programming into mathematics education

    Friday, December 08, 2017 | By

    As Chantal Buteau, Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics notes, “Few post-secondary mathematics programs address the 21st century need by adapting the curricula to combine mathematics and computer programming.”

    Brock is the exception.

    Educators at Brock University are working outside the traditional ‘paper and pencil’ box and teaching their students how to tap into the power of computers to model, simulate, visualize and choose the best alternatives in calculations.

    “It’s using computer programming as an instrument to engage in mathematics investigations,” says Buteau. “It’s taking a scientific, experimental approach to mathematics: asking questions, conjecturing, testing math problems or applications with programming and seeing the outcomes through computer simulations, then further tweaking the problem or model to continue the math work.”

    Buteau teaches in the sequence of Brock’s Mathematics Integrated with Computers and Applications (MICA) undergraduate courses. Created in 2000 under the leadership of fellow mathematician, Bill Ralph, this sequence of MICA courses is the only one of its kind in Canada.

    “It’s really outstanding that Bill Ralph and the Department of Mathematics had that vision ahead of their time,” she says, adding it’s only recently that integration of coding in school curricula around the world has started to increase.

    Buteau is heading a research team, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), to study how MICA students learn to use computer coding for their mathematical investigations.

    The issue is not just academic. She notes that a number of mathematicians are already taking this approach and that “it seems natural to expose our students with this cutting-edge way of doing mathematics.”

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  • CCOVI research aims to make better red wine through improved harvesting methods

    Friday, December 08, 2017 | By

    With winter weather arriving later each year, wineries in the region are benefitting from giving late-maturing grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon increased ripening time on the vine. The challenge, however, is that hanging grapes later into the growing season can often bring them toe-to-toe with frost.

    Although the grapes themselves can survive a light frost, researchers at Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) have discovered that frozen leaves and petioles, often referred to as MOG (materials other than grapes), can impact the final wine quality.

    “As more wineries in the region opt to hang their late-maturing varieties into the late fall, you then contend with the addition of those frozen leaves and petioles in with the fruit,” CCOVI’s Andrew Reynolds explained. “When mixed with the fruit, the MOG increases the concentrations of compounds most likely responsible for an unfavourable floral or green aroma, decreased colour intensity and a bitter taste in Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.”

    Reynolds and his team began studying the impact of frozen MOG after local winemakers asked them to investigate the origin of undesirable floral characteristics appearing in red wines they’d harvested after a frost in 2015. Emily Aubie (OEVC ’13), a winemaker with a PhD in chemistry, was invited back to Brock as a post-doctoral fellow to help tackle the problem.

    After preliminary research, they discovered that wines containing the highest concentration of frozen leaves and petioles (the stem that joins the leaf to the cane) also had the highest concentration of a variety of odor-active terpene compounds.

    Armed with these findings, the team is now expanding its research to strengthen the results and examine different methods for combating the problem, both in the vineyard and the winery.

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  • John Menzies’ book about glacial past sheds light on the planet’s future

    Thursday, December 07, 2017 | By

    Past glacial environments and the critical insight they provide into the planet’s future are at the centre of John Menzies’ latest book.

    The professor of Earth Sciences and Geography has completely revamped Past Glacial Environments, a book he initially released in 1996. While it shares the same name as the original edition, the latest publication has undergone a complete rewrite and has been updated to include a large collection of colourful photographs, diagrams and tables.

    Among its 858 pages are chapters on dating methods, paleosols, ice models, GIS imagery, stratigraphy, marine sediments and more. It includes contributions from geological experts from around the world, including Canada, the Netherlands, Iceland, France, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the U.K, the U.S., Germany and Norway.

    The book aims to “to cover the most relevant glacial sedimentary environments and techniques to provide the current generation of geoscience, sedimentology, environmental science, glaciology and ice modelling students with an up-to-date overview and prepare them in the best possible way for the study of past glacial environments.”

    Menzies hopes the book “highlights the fundamental issue pertaining to glacial environments and how they reflect climate change and global warming.”

    “One of the first indicators of global warming is sea level rise and glacier and ice sheet melting,” he says. “A huge symptom of climate change is fluctuating glacial conditions, as evidenced by Antarctic ice shelves breaking up and valley glaciers in the Rockies retreating. What happens underneath the ice is very relevant to these events — more so than many people understand.”

    Past Glacial Environments — published by Elsevier, one of the world’s major providers of scientific technical and medical information — was released Dec. 5 and is available on Amazon.

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  • University research saving Ontario vineyards one grape bud at a time

    Wednesday, November 29, 2017 | By

    With erratic temperatures and extreme weather events on the rise, researchers at Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) are working to make vineyards across the region more resilient to climate change.

    After experiencing an unusually mild October, southern Ontario was blasted with a mass of frigid air that caused a record-breaking cold snap in early November — putting grapevines at risk for early frost injury.

    When the mercury plummeted, CCOVI researchers were already out in the vineyards collecting bud hardiness data for the VineAlert program. By also collecting data on grape bud survival rates after cold weather events, the Institute is able to give growers direction on how to manage any damage vines may have sustained.

    “Thankfully, we had some data available and it didn’t get cold enough to damage the vines based on our preliminary bud survival data,” said Jim Willwerth, CCOVI’s senior viticulturist, “but the extreme variances in temperature are especially problematic when the grapevines are early in their cold acclimation process.”

    Now in its ninth year, the VineAlert program tracks a grape bud’s ability to survive cold temperatures over the dormant season, from October to April, across Ontario’s key grape producing regions.

     

     

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  • Students honoured as Math and Science’s best, brightest

    Wednesday, November 29, 2017 | By

    Just a few days shy of his 19th birthday, Matthan Condez was given several more reasons to celebrate. The second-year Biochemistry Co-op student was honoured with five awards at the Nov. 25 Faculty of Mathematics and Science Celebration of Student Excellence.

    Condez said he was “extremely humbled” by the recognition. He was named to the Dean’s Honour List, and received the Ontario Paper Thorold Foundation Scholarship in Science, Brock University Science Mentorship Award, the Brock University Science Fair Scholarship and a Brock University Entrance Bursary.

    “There is so much that goes on behind-the-scenes to maintain a good GPA: a good social life, good personal health, all while striking a balance,” he said. “I’m grateful to my colleagues and the people who have helped get me to this point.”

    The Niagara Falls native was among 150 students, family members, faculty and staff who filled the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre for the 10th annual awards celebration. Held every November, the event celebrates the academic excellence of mathematics and science students. This year’s celebration recognized undergraduate students named to the Dean’s Honour List, and saw more than 50 donor-funded scholarships and awards presented.

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  • Biomedical Sciences student receives Daughters for Life scholarship

    Tuesday, November 28, 2017 | By

    Brock will provide additional opportunities for women in the Middle East to seek higher education through an expanded partnership with the Daughters for Life (DFL) Foundation.

    Daughters for Life is led by Nobel Prize nominee Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian physician and renowned peace activist who created the organization after three of his daughters were killed by tank shells in Gaza in 2009. Abuelaish was given an honorary doctorate from Brock in 2016.

    Brock will grow its connection with DFL by funding scholarships for one master’s and one PhD student starting in 2018. This will provide women who face socio-economic hardship in challenging regions in the Middle East with an opportunity for higher education.

    Yousra Benradi, of Morocco, was selected for the opportunity. She is now in her level four of ESL, pursuing an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences.

    “Brock University has not just given me an education, it has given me a beautiful life and a hope and vision for the future,” Benradi said in front of the gala’s sold-out crowd.

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  • Karl Kaiser left indelible mark on Brock University

    Friday, November 24, 2017 | By

    The Brock University community is mourning the death of a national figure and longtime associate who helped forge Brock’s leading role in grape and wine research, while also turning Niagara into a world-renowned wine region.

    Inniskillin Winery co-founder Karl J. Kaiser, an industry pioneer and a key figure behind Brock’s oenology and viticulture programs, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 22. He was 76 years old.

    Kaiser’s impact on the Niagara and Canadian wine industry is unmatched, and it was through his guidance and drive that Brock created the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) and the Oenology and Viticulture (OEVI) undergraduate program in the 1990s, said CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis.

    “Karl truly believed that a successful wine region needed a research institute to support it,” said Inglis. “And he was passionate about passing his knowledge on to the next generation.”

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  • November 21: Master of Science thesis defence

    Monday, November 20, 2017 | By

    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.

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  • Brock celebrates the ‘science of where’ on GIS Day

    Thursday, November 16, 2017 | By

    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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