Lakehead University panel will discuss research that is outside of the box

February 28, 2020 – Thunder Bay, Ont.

Dr. Bart Gajderowicz is participating in a Research Outside the Box panel discussion on Monday, March 2 with other researchers who are defying disciplinary boundaries. 

Dr. Gajderowicz, a postdoctoral fellow in Lakehead’s DaTALab and a senior research scientist with Wondeur AI, will discuss his artificial intelligence research being funded by Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada, and Wondeur AI, which is researching dynamics of value creation and biases in the art market, for $210,000 over two years. This research will contribute to shedding light on the complex dynamics of recognition in the global art market.

Dr. Gajderowicz said this research aligns with his research interests.

“It’s a great fit for me,” he said. “I’ve always liked people watching. This type of research allows me to apply technology to understand how people behave in a complex environment. What I think is interesting right now is there’s a lot of momentum around artificial intelligence for social good.”

Dr. Gajderowicz is performing this research with Dr. Vijay Mago, an associate professor in Computer Science at Lakehead University. The pair met at the University of Calgary at a conference put on by the Calgary Homeless Foundation and School of Public Policy discussing homelessness and analytics. Since then, Dr. Gajderowicz came to work in Lakehead’s DaTALab, a Computer Science laboratory conducting research that they can apply to real-world social and economic problems.

“What we’re trying to do is understand the value of artwork and artists over a period of time,” Dr. Mago said.

“Basically there are some relatively unknown artists that are getting critical acclaim for their work. If we look at their trajectory in the art world, we can predict what their career could look like in the future.”

“We’re working on identifying bias,” Gajderowicz added. “If a museum wants to make an impact on the careers of female artists for example, they could use our system to discover overlooked artists that they think deserve more exposure.”

Gajderowicz is looking forward to participating in the panel discussion, held during Research and Innovation Week.

“I’m glad this panel is happening and I’m excited about the multidisciplinary makeup of the speakers,” he said. “It’s great that people are trying to answer similar questions from different disciplines.”

The panel will also include: Dr. Salimur Choudhury, assistant professor in Computer Science, who will discuss research using algorithms to help manage at-risk caribou populations; Dr. Martha Dowsley, associate professor in Anthropology, will discuss film-making and field projects in partnership with Lac Seul youth; Dr. Lindsay Galway, associate professor in Health Sciences, will describe Lake Superior Living Labs Network; Dr. Lana Ray, assistant professor in Indigenous Learning, will describe an Indigenous food sovereignty approach to health service policy and access, and to improved health wellbeing for Indigenous people; and Dr. Pauline Sameshima, Canada Research Chair in Arts Integrated Studies and Education professor, will discuss arts integrated interdisciplinary methodologies and poetic inquiry in education research.

Professor Tim Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta, will moderate the discussion, which will occur on Monday, March 2 from 2 to 4 pm in Lakehead’s Faculty Lounge. No registration is required. Visit lakeheadu.ca/ri for more information.

 

 

 

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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 is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. In 2019, Maclean’s 2020 University Rankings, once again, included Lakehead University among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities, while Research Infosource named Lakehead 'Research University of the Year' in its category for the fifth consecutive year. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from the best academic institutions at home and around the world. Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada as well as every province, post-secondary partners, and industry and not-for-profit partners. For information about Mitacs and its programs, see mitacs.ca/newsroom.