Cultural Day

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Greetings!

This is a special day where all the different communities of Thunder Bay come together to share a piece of their culture through food, music, dance, and traditional clothing. To participate, please fill out the form.

To participate, please fill out the form below no later than January 27, 2020.
*Please note the following:
1. This is not a catered event, if you are making food, please bring samples for about 100 people.
2. Each club/representative will be given a $200.00 budget for food and decorations, please keep all receipts related to the event.

We look forward to seeing you there!
For more information please contact mcc@lusu.ca

Follow this link to sign up for a table at the event.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nW2cuN3yfTZc8U0xs-LqC1r1UFdH3s56O2iO7NP73hY/edit

Lakehead University’s Report to the Community celebrates alumni, researchers

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From left, host Madison Sameshima interviews Dr. Kathryn Sinden, Regan Bolduc, and Sara Sayed.

November 27, 2019 – Thunder Bay, Ont.

Lakehead University’s Report to the Community luncheon, held on November 27 at the Valhalla Inn ballroom, introduced more than 300 guests to researchers and alumni who are doing exciting work that is making an impact within the university and beyond.

The first guest was Alex Bilyk, a PhD student who helped design the drone challenge in the Thunder Bay episode of The Amazing Race Canada that aired on CTV in August.

Bilyk described working with the crew from The Amazing Race Canada and the drone challenge that producers used on the Thunder Bay episode. He spent Mother’s Day weekend filming and kept it secret from his family and friends until the episode aired.

Next up was Dr. Kathryn Sinden, a Lakehead assistant professor of Kinesiology, firefighter Regan Bolduc, a Lakehead Honours Bachelor of Kinesiology graduate and co-chair of Thunder Bay Fire Rescue’s Critical Incident Response Team, and Sara Sayed, a Lakehead Master of Science graduate, who discussed their research into post-traumatic stress in Thunder Bay firefighters.

Using wearable technology, they demonstrated the insight that they can gain while firefighters do a lift using a manikin.

The final guest was Peter Cameron, an Education alumnus who is a Grade 5/6 teacher at St. Elizabeth’s School in Thunder Bay. Cameron co-founded Make a Difference – Professional Development, bringing together educators from around the world to share one idea that makes a difference in their classroom.

In 2019, he was chosen as a National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow – along with 44 other highly respected educators – in recognition of his commitment to geographic education.

When Cameron graduated from Lakehead’s Faculty of Education in 1994, he never dreamed he’d have the opportunity to travel aboard the National Geographic Quest ship in Alaska. During his talk, he also described how technology allowed him to connect with students in ways he never imagined.

Madison Sameshima, a student in Lakehead’s Master of Science in Management program, was the master of ceremonies for the annual luncheon.

Some milestones that were celebrated at the luncheon included being named ‘Research University of the Year’ in the undergraduate category for the fifth year in a row by Research Infosource and being included among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities by Maclean’s 2020 University Rankings.

“Today was an opportunity to meet some of the people who learn, teach, and advance research, scholarly and creative work at Lakehead—each empowering themselves and our learners to become the next generation of leaders,” said Dr. Moira McPherson, Lakehead’s President & Vice-Chancellor.

“This year’s Annual Report shows the exceptional impact our students, faculty, and alumni are having on the economy and society,” Dr. McPherson added.

Lakehead also celebrated the incredible financial impact it has on the province. Lakehead University adds approximately $1.4 billion per year to Ontario’s gross domestic product. The annual economic impact of Lakehead Thunder Bay on the province was $1.3 billion, while Lakehead Orillia contributed $122.7 million. Lakehead University is responsible for 6,277 full-time equivalent jobs.

“The Report to the Community is a chance to celebrate the year’s successes and connect with the communities within Northwestern Ontario and Simcoe County,” said Ross Murray, Q.C., Chair of Lakehead University’s Board of Governors.

Visit daredefydiscover.ca to view Lakehead University’s 2018-2019 Report to the Community.

 

 

 

 

 

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8177 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

 

Lakehead University has approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and 2,000 faculty and staff in 10 faculties at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead is a fully comprehensive university: home to Ontario’s newest Faculty of Law in 44 years, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and faculties of Engineering, Business Administration, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities, Science & Environmental Studies, Natural Resources Management, Education, and Graduate Studies. Maclean’s 2019 University Rankings place Lakehead University among Canada's Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities and in 2018 Research Infosource named Lakehead Research University of the Year in its category for the fourth consecutive year. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

 

Be an Orientation Leader!

Attention all students! Lakehead is looking for help with next year's New Student Orientation programming. Visit lakeheadu.ca/leadership to apply to be an Orientation Volunteer!

Introducing Lakehead’s new Fulbright Canada Research Chair

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Dr. Nancy Langston is Distinguished Professor of Environmental History at Michigan Technological University. She will serve as Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Sustainability Solutions at Lakehead University.

Her most recent book, Sustaining Lake Superior (Yale University Press, 2017), examines the environmental history of climate change, industrial development, and toxics in the Lake Superior basin. Since July 2013, Dr. Langston has been a professor at Michigan Technological University. During 2012-2013, she was the King Carl XVI Gustaf Professor of Environmental Science at Umeå University in Sweden. She served as professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 17 years.

She has written four books, 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, and popular journalism. Former President of the American Society for Environmental History, Dr. Langston has raised over $750,000 in competitive external funding, and she has won awards from the Marshall Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the American Society for Environmental History, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Council for Learned Societies.

Dr. Langston's research at Lakehead University will examine the restoration of woodland caribou and common loons in the north. Although both species have been the focus of conservation and restoration efforts for decades, they remain at risk in northern landscapes. What can we learn from past efforts at recovery, and what new strategies need to be adopted to sustain populations of migratory species in the Anthropocene? Sustainable management of migratory species requires integrative, multidisciplinary research that examines the history of policy and restoration efforts.

Dr. Langston’s first seminar, free and open to the public, will launch the Natural Resources Management seminar series, Monday, Jan. 27 in AT 5036 (Thunder Bay) and OA 2005 (Orillia), called Mongolia's reindeer herders: Conservation in a Changing Climate (see poster below). 

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Media Officer (Home Institution): Stefanie Sidortsova, Executive Director for Communications, Michigan Technological University, 906-487-1777, email: ssidorts@mtu.edu

Media Officer (Host Institution): Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, Lakehead University, 807-343-8177, email: bwalker3@lakeheadu.ca

Sports and recreation volunteers

Do you enjoy sports and recreation? Want to meet new students and get involved on campus? Lakehead University International is looking for a few volunteers to help host intramural sports nights. This is a great volunteer experience and perfect for building up your resume. If you are well versed in a sport, can show some sports skills and maybe referee a game or two we'd love to have you! If you have knowledge of basketball, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, and any other games, sports or events that you think would be fun please contact studentlife.intl@lakeheadu.ca. Looking forward to meeting you!

Faculty and Staff Mobility Opportunities - Turkey

Through its ERASMUS+ agreement with Ondokus Mayis University in Samsun, Turkey, Lakehead faculty and staff have the opportunity to undertake a teaching and/or training/professional development mobility experience. Up to five mobility opportunities are available to active full- and part-time Lakehead Faculty and Staff, to take place during spring/summer 2020 at OMÜ. Selected participants will receive a 1,500 Euro travel grant plus a 140 Euro per diem to cover the costs of the stay. Faculty and staff in the academic units of Biology and Education will have priority for three of the five spots, but applications for all fields offered at OMU will be accepted. The application deadline is February 7, 2020.

Teaching Mobility
This activity allows teaching staff to teach at OMÜ in any subject area/academic discipline offered at OMU.
• Teaching Period: from 2 days to 5 consecutive days (excluding travel time)
• Teaching hours: Minimum 8 hours teaching per week (or any shorter period of stay).

Training Mobility
This activity supports the professional development of teaching and non-teaching staff as well as the development of involved institutions.
• Training Period: from 2 days to 5 consecutive days (excluding travel time)
• Training hours: Minimum 4 hours per day

For more information about OMU, please visit their website, http://www.omu.edu.tr/en/our-university/about-us

For more details and an application form, please contact Jill Sherman at intl.research@lakeheadu.ca.

Up-and-coming Thunder Bay researcher earns Mitacs & NCR-IRAP Award for Outstanding Commercialization

Thunder Bay, Ontario — An up-and-coming researcher at Lakehead University has been recognized for his innovative work to develop a cutting-edge medical imaging technology that delivers high-resolution pictures at a much lower dose of radiation, providing a breast imaging alternative to mammography, positron emission tomography (PET) scan and other imaging devices.

The breakthrough work has earned Oleksandr Bubon the Mitacs & NCR-IRAP Award for Outstanding Commercialization, awarded by Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada for business and academia. The award will be presented at a ceremony in Ottawa on November 26.

Bubon — a postdoctoral fellow studying under Canada Research Chair, Professor Alla Reznik, at Lakehead University and Senior Scientist at Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute — is being recognized for developing a novel solid state imaging technology that exposes patients to 10 to 15 times less radiation than traditional PET scans. At the same time, the technology delivers highly sensitive, accurate images that can detect extremely small tumours in their earliest stages of cancer, particularly in women who have denser breast tissue than average.

“It is an honour to receive this award and have my research recognized in this way,” said Bubon, who serves as Medical Chief Technology Officer of Radialis Medical, a joint venture of Lakehead University and Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute co-founded by Bubon and Reznik in February 2016. “There is a huge need for this lower-dose, high-resolution imaging device and we’re only just beginning to see the incredible potential this technology has.”

The technology is currently being developed and tested by Radialis Medical. The latest prototype — a fully enclosed system on wheels — is in clinical trials at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto with validation results expected to be available before the end of the year. The company is now working to scale its manufacturing and quality control efforts, and expects to be firmly established as a medical device manufacturer ready to seek FDA and Health Canada approval by mid-2020, Bubon said.

The Mitacs & NCR-IRAP Award for Commercialization is presented to a Mitacs intern for an idea brought from research that is either on the market or soon to be commercialized. Bubon is one of eight Mitacs award winners nationally, chosen from thousands of researchers who take part in Mitacs programs each year. The remaining seven recipients were recognized for outstanding innovation or exceptional leadership in other areas of research.

“Innovation in Canada continues to be inspired by the groundbreaking work of up-and-coming researchers that touch all industry sectors and help to fuel the economy,” said Jennifer Wilkie, Mitacs interim CEO. “Their achievements are truly remarkable and Mitacs is honoured to support them, and broker important connections between industry, post-secondary institutions and government that make their leading-edge work possible.”      

“We know that employers are looking for students and graduates with real-world experience so they can make an immediate impact in the workforce,” said Ross Romano, Minister of Colleges and Universities. “By working with Mitacs to support experiential learning and the innovative work of researchers like Oleksandr Bubon, we can help more people get the meaningful, hands-on learning opportunities they need to secure good jobs and support Ontario’s growing economy.”

For more information about the Mitacs awards and a full list of winners, visit www.mitacs.ca.

(Pictured) Iain Stewart, President of National Research Council Canada, presents the Mitacs NRC  IRAP Award for Commercialization to Oleksandr Bubon of Lakehead University. Oleksandr is recognized for his work developing an innovative breast imaging alternative to mammography, pet scan, and other imaging devices. His invention delivers high-resolution pictures at a much lower dose of radiation than existing alternatives. His project was in collaboration with Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute and Radialis Medical with the support of the Government of Ontario.

Oleksandr Bubon of Lakehead University is presented with the Mitacs NRC IRAP Award for Commercialization

The Office of Aboriginal Initiatives and the Aboriginal Mentorship Program are looking for Volunteers and Tutors

 If interested in volunteering your time to mentor or tutor, please contact Outreach Coordinator Chelsey Commisso at outreach.amp@lakeheadu.ca

Study Abroad in Scandinavia!

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Lakehead University is a long-time member of the UArctic North2North mobility program. The North2North mobility program offers the opportunity for Lakehead University students, primarily at the undergraduate level, to participate in a student exchange experience at a partner university in another Nordic nation. You can read more about the north2north program and participating institutions through the following link:
https://education.uarctic.org/mobility/

If you are planning to apply to the North2North program, please submit your application to Lakehead University International as soon as possible as the deadline is quickly approaching on February 15, 2020.

If you are interested in finding out more about the North2North program, including how to apply, please contact an International Student Advisor at studyabroad@lakeheadu.ca.

Dr. Sonja Grover publishes new book Peremptory International Legal Norms and the Democratic Rule of Law

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A new book edited by Dr. Sonja Grover, Peremptory International Legal Norms and the Democratic Rule of Law, explores the risks to the democratic State inherent in the attempt to divorce the notion of democratic rule of law from respect for and adherence to peremptory international legal norms which allow for no derogation therefrom, such as the prohibition against torture and against inhumane treatment or punishment by the State.

The chapters address, with specific current case examples, in what ways the democratic rule of law within certain democratic States risks being undermined through those States acquiescing to the erosion of peremptory international law norms in the domestic and international context. The book therefore explores the question of in what ways such democratic State acquiescence in effect may ultimately disrupt the investment within the State in the shared culture of core human rights values that underlies democratic rule of law itself and highlights the fragility of that shared culture.

The contributors argue for a renewed commitment in principle and practice to the democratic rule of law and to its human rights international normative underpinnings.

Peremptory International Legal Norms and the Democratic Rule of Law will be of great interest to scholars of international law, human rights and democracy.

For more information about the book, please contact Dr. Grover at sonja.grover@lakeheadu.ca.

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