Celebrating Indigenous Voices at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale
Dr. David Fortin, director of the McEwen School of Architecture (MSA), was a co-curator of Canada’s first ever Indigenous-led entry at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.
The exhibit, called Unceded: Voices of the Land, showcased Indigenous architecture by 18 Indigenous architects from Turtle Island (Canada and the USA).
The project, which was led by renowned architect Douglas Cardinal and co-curated by Gerald McMaster from OCAD University, was chosen to represent Canada by the Canada Council for
the Arts following a nationwide, juried competition.
The people and communities served by the participating architects were the subject matter and backdrop of UNCEDED: Voices of the Land, which told a story through four thematic metaphors
– indigeneity, resilience, sovereignty, and colonization.
Two MSA students, Krystel Clark and Bohdana Chiupka-Innes, also participated in the exhibit as cultural hosts, and Eladia Smoke (master lecturer), Jake Chakasim (sessional), and Patrick Stewart (associate professor) were also featured in the exhibit.
SSHRC VP Visit and Researcher Showcase
Between November 16th and 19th, Dr. Dominique Bérubé, Vice-President Research Program at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), visited Laurentian for a series of meetings and events with the Maamwizing Indigenous Research Institute, the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) funded Metal Earth and SNOLAB teams, Science North, our research centres and SSHRC-funded researchers.
With a background in engineering and environmental science, she expressed a great affinity with the dynamic and interdisciplinary research environment at Laurentian.
Over the course of her three days at Laurentian, Dr. Bérubé provided researchers with valuable strategic insights regarding Tri-Agency programs and policies related to research-creation, Indigenous research, and major research infrastructure projects, and briefed the research community about upcoming funding opportunities.
One of the major highlights of her visit was the SSHRC Showcase. This event featured
5-minute presentations by several researchers during which they described the outcomes and impacts of their SSHRC-funded research projects.
Currently, Laurentian has over 20 active SSHRC-funded research projects in disciplines such as architecture, education, social work, history, English archaeology, Indigenous studies, French studies, philosophy, economics, sports psychology, ethics and sociology.
This terrific visit was made possible by a myriad of researchers and staff, all of whom were excited and proud to share their research achievements.
First Issued Patent in Chile – Superbolt
A patent application for a new rock bolt (Superbolt), designed by a professor in the Bharti School of Engineering and four students, has been issued in Chile.
This marks an exciting milestone for Laurentian University as it is the University’s first patent in Chile and, most importantly, the first issued patent which names four students as co-inventors.
The Superbolt was designed in 2012 by Dr. Ming Cai, Geomechanics Research Chair, and Alexander Watt, Ukelabuchi Tabele, Ian Van Eyk and Kevin Pan, four fourth-year undergraduate students participating in a Mining Engineering Design Project supervised by Dr. Cai.
In the time since the invention was disclosed to Laurentian, the students have graduated and are currently employed in the mining industry, while Dr. Cai has continued to work on the development of the rock bolt with the support of Mansour Mining Technologies Inc (MMTI).
The company has partnered with Dr. Cai on a research and development grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and has supported patenting activities since the initial provisional application. Dr. Cai continues to work with MMTI in advancing the commercialization activities, and a license agreement which will allow the company to sell the Superbolt worldwide will be negotiated with the university in the near future.
Nancy Young receives Health System Research Fund grant
Dr. Nancy Young, University Research Chair in Rural and Northern Children’s Health, received a $2 million Health System Research Fund grant from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in support of the project Evaluation to Action: Integrating the Voices of Aboriginal Children (ETA), which is co-led with Mrs. Mary Jo Wabano, Health Services Director for Wiikwemkong Unceded Territory.
Together, they are leading a team of child health researchers and Aboriginal health leaders in profiling the health of children in the eight communities and learning how this information affects decision-making.
Using the Aboriginal Children’s Health and Well-being Measure assessment tool, developed in a previous stage of their research, the ETA team is examining how tailored child health report cards and program evaluations can identify what steps need to be taken to improve future health outcomes for children at a local level.
The effectiveness of the model is being evaluated in partnership with several Indigenous communities from 2018 through 2020. If effective, the ETA model will later be rolled out for use across the province.
Inaugural Summer School of Ontario’s Indigenous Mentorship Network
In June 2018, Laurentian University had the honour of hosting the inaugural summer school of Ontario’s Indigenous Mentorship Network (IMN), Ontario’s first Indigenous-led health research training network.
Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, it provides high-quality mentorship, training, and opportunities to Indigenous scholars and trainees who work in the field of Indigenous health research.
Over 20 graduate students from as far away as Labrador attended the week-long program, with emphasis placed on students studying, or planning to work, in Northern contexts.
The students were joined by practitioners, Indigenous knowledge holders and researchers to strengthen the skills, capabilities, and knowledges needed to do meaningful and respectful research with Indigenous communities.
The IMN-ON is an interdisciplinary group of research Institutions led by Dr. Chantelle Richmond at Western University. The group includes several Laurentian researchers as members, including Drs. Jennifer Walker, Taima Moeke-Pickering, Sheila Cote-Meek, Joey-Lynn Wabie, and Celeste Pedri-Spade.
New Era of Physics Publications
The SNO+ Collaboration has just published its first physics results using the SNO+ detector.
This marks the start of a new era of physics publications as the SNO+ detector comes into operation. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), used for the Nobel Prize-winning measurements made on solar neutrinos, has been substantially modified over the past decade in order to attack new astroparticle physics challenges as SNO+.
The first two papers contain results from the “water-fill” phase of commissioning the new detector. The Collaboration is now displacing the ultra-pure water in the 12 m diameter acrylic vessel with 780 tonnes of linear alkyl benzene, a liquid scintillator that will boost the detector’s sensitivity and enable a full program of new measurements over the coming years.
The newly published results report on a solar neutrino measurement and a nucleon decay search. The solar neutrino measurement complements the SNO measurements extending it to lower neutrino energies with very low backgrounds.
It contributes to constraining neutrino properties and demonstrates SNO+’s ability to produce highquality measurements after the long transition period. Nucleon decay refers to the decay of a neutron or proton. Free neutrons do decay to protons, electrons and neutrinos but proton decay has never been observed, and searches with several large detectors have set stringent lower limits on the lifetime of the proton.
The SNO+ search is for the particular hypothetical decay mode of nucleons with the oxygen nuclei in the ultra-pure water. The sensitivity of SNO+ to these particular decay modes is superior to other larger detectors, and by not observing any decay candidates, SNO+ has increased the lifetime limits associated with those modes. The observation of nucleon decay would have huge consequences for particle physics.
Among the many researchers taking part in this experiment are Laurentian researchers Dr. Christine Kraus, Canada Research Chair in Particle Astrophysics, and Drs. Clarence Virtue and Doug Hallman, full professor and professor emeritus, respectively, in the Department of Physics.
Maamwizing Conference: Pursuing Indigenous Research
Following the success of the inaugural Maamwizing Indigenous Conference in 2016, a second conference, Maamwizing: Pursuing Indigenous Research “In a Good Way,” was held at Laurentian University on November 16-18, 2018.
The conference focused on the nature and role of Indigenous research and was organized by the Maamwizing Indigenous Research Institute.
Over 200 people from across Canada and overseas attended a busy weekend conference that featured lectures, workshops, discussions, creative sessions, and paper and poster exhibits. Presenters came from multidisciplinary backgrounds in engineering, social sciences, education, Indigenous studies, art, and anthropology/archeology, among others.
The program topics ranged from the methodology, ethics and protocols, and current projects in Indigenous research.
Lastly, a banquet, which included performances by musicians, comedians and storytellers, was held at the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Community Centre and an Indigenous Art Market took place in the Atrium at Laurentian University.
Dr. Robert Ohle Receives Northern Ontario Academic Medicine Association Grant
Dr. Robert Ohle, Clinical Investigator at the Laurentian-affiliated Health Sciences North (HSN) Research Institute, Emergency Physician with HSN and Director of Research for the HSN Emergency Department, received a Northern Ontario Academic Medicine Association grant to adapt and improve current guidelines for Acute Aortic Syndrome (AAS), a rare life-threatening and oft-misdiagnosed condition that results from a tear in the inner wall of the aorta.
As there are currently no Canadian guidelines to aid in diagnosis, the goal was to adapt the American Heart Association and European Society of Cardiology diagnostic algorithms for AAS.
A National Advisory Committee was created, consisting of 21 members including academic, community and remote/rural emergency medical practitioners and patient representatives. Using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach to assess evidence and make recommendations, the Advisory Committee created the first Canadian best practice diagnostic algorithm for AAS that will standardize and improve diagnosis of AAS in all emergency departments across Canada.
These articles are republished from Laurentian University’s Research Magazine The Key 2019.
