PM40063955
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
05·18·06
S E R V I N G O U R C O M M U N I T I E S
w w w . s f u . c a / m e d i a p r / s f u _ n e w s volume 36·number 2
June 3 open house
aimed at visitors
of all ages, interests
Preparations are under way for Simon Fraser University’s biggest public event
ever. The university’s 40th anniversary open house being held on June 3
from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. is billed as a community celebration for visitors of all
ages and interests. More than 10,000 visitors are expected to check out the
university and what it has to offer.
“The open house is unprecedented in its scope,” says K.C. Bell, who is
coordinating the event, working together with dozens of volunteers. “It will
be truly representative of the university’s broad range of activities and will
provide a unique opportunity to see just how much the university has to offer
and how it is evolving.”
The event will feature hundreds of exhibits, displays, demonstrations of
the university’s programs and services. It will begin at 9:30 a.m. with an
education fair in convocation mall for admitted students and will open to
the public at 11 a.m.
Throughout the day there will be music, entertainment and contests, as
visitors take in the displays and activities, explore labs and other facilities,
and venture around the campus. Visitors can learn about minute worms that
have visited space, hear a gamelan performance, see amazing feats of physics, express an opinion at a philosophers café, experience atmosphere in a
hyperbaric chamber, see robotic dogs play soccer, watch the re-enactment
OPEN HOUSE
continued on page 2
Nosil helps prove
Darwin’s theory
of evolution
BY S T UA RT CO LCL EU G H
It’s pretty heady stuff for a graduate student to be compared with Charles
Darwin, but Patrik Nosil may have to get used to it.
Nosil, in the final year of his biology doctoral studies at SFU, has
helped contribute something to Darwin’s theory of natural selection that
has been missing since the renowned scientist first espoused it in his
pivotal book, On the Origin of Species, almost 150 years ago: documented
confirmation.
Nosil and biologists William Etges at the University of Arkansas and
project leader Daniel Funk at Vanderbilt University have produced the first
authoritative evidence that adaptation to environmental changes can lead
to the evolution of new species across all species types and habitats.
“This idea has been generally accepted for about 100 years but without
much evidence,” says Nosil. “What our research does is provide fairly
strong evidence that it is actually correct. It’s been shown previously in a
few specific taxa, or pairs of species, like the Timema walking stick insects
I’ve been studying. But that’s just one species.
“No one had ever collated data from hundreds and hundreds of species
that represent major different groups of plants and animals and then tested
whether this association was always positive. And we found that it is.”
Led by Funk, who conceived and initiated the study, the trio spent
several years comparing the ecology and genetic diversity of 500 species
including plants, fish, frogs, birds and insects. They published their find-
inside
REPRODUCTIVE
continued on page 3
literary humour
English professor Paul Matthew St. Pierre
brings a light-hearted sense of humour
to recruiting contributors for his literary
anthologies including his latest book, a
Dictionary of Literary Biography.
CAROL THORBES
BY M A R I A N N E M E A DA H L
Jenna Watkins (right) and Samindi Fernando get a charge out of an experiment performed
by Jenna’s Dad, Simon Watkins, an award-winning physicist at SFU. Watkins is coordinating
the physics department’s open house on June 2 and his department’s section of the SFU open
house on June 3. Eleven-year-old Jenna and Samindi are Grade 6 students at Coquitlam’s
Hillcrest middle school.
SFU joins missing particle search
BY
J EN N I FER GA R DY
With the recent announcement of
$10.5 million in funding from the
Canada Foundation for Innovation,
SFU is poised to become an active
participant in one of the largest physics experiments ever performed.
The experiment could confirm
the existence of a mysterious subatomic particle, the Higgs boson,
and reveal dimensions beyond those
currently known.
The ATLAS project is one of five
experiments slated to begin in 2007
at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
Using the Large Hadron Collider
– the world’s largest particle accelerator – ATLAS will comb through the
sub-atomic debris of proton-proton
collisions, searching for evidence of
the Higgs boson. First predicted in
1963, the Higgs boson is the missing
link in the standard model of particle
physics – an as-yet unobserved particle that is necessary to explain how
subatomic particles acquire mass.
To find this final piece of the puzzle, physicists must store and analyze
massive amounts of data arising from
the proton-proton collisions.
In a given year, ATLAS is pro-
multiculture
conference
A multicultural conference
hopes to attract support
for making Canada’s
immigrant historical
records widely accessible.
jected to generate three petabytes of
data – so much information that if it
were to be stored on CD, the stack
of discs would reach higher than 10
of Toronto’s CN Towers.
“It would also be interesting to
see what happens if we actually
do find the true theory of
everything.”
– MICHEL VETTERLI
The project will require a tremendous amount of computing resources,
and that’s where SFU comes in.
In a project spearheaded by
physics professor Michel Vetterli,
coordinator of computing for the
ATLAS-Canada Consortium, SFU
and eight other Canadian universities have joined forces with Canada’s
National Laboratory for Particle and
Nuclear Physics (TRIUMF) to create the ATLAS Data Centre.
It is one of 10 sites worldwide
linked to form a supercomputer capable of storing and analyzing the
data arising from the project.
Housed at Vancouver’s TRIUMF
workplace diversity
Simon Fraser University is among five
Canadian employers recognized with an
award for its commitment to workplace
diversity by The Canadian Immigrant
magazine.
facility, the Canadian centre will eventually consist of almost 2500 CPUs
and 3,000 terabytes of storage.
“The ATLAS data centre will allow Canada to be a full participant
in the largest deployment of grid
computing worldwide. This relatively
new technology has the potential
to revolutionize the way large-scale
computing is done,” explains Vetterli.
The project also paves the way for local physicists to play a role in uncovering the mysteries of our universe.
“Having the centre nearby and
being intimately involved in setting
it up will give SFU physicists a leg up
on taking a leading role in the extraction of ground-breaking scientific
discoveries from the ATLAS data,”
says Vetterli. “The potential for
new physics discoveries at ATLAS is
extremely high. Futuristic concepts
like supersymmetry, or extra dimensions beyond the four space-time coordinates we know of, could become
proven theories.”
“Of course,” Vetterli adds, “it
would also be interesting to see what
happens if we actually do find the
true theory of everything.”•
See also page 2
mongolian
odyssey
Craig Janes is collecting
data for his research into
the impact of Mongolia’s
economic transition on
rural livelihoods and
health.
New York Times, May 7
When Mike Hart, a professor of biological sciences,
took a job at Simon Fraser University a couple of
years ago, his first priority was finding a place to live
within walking distance of the campus. So he bought
a two-bedroom, 850-square-foot condominium in
UniverCity, a new pedestrian-oriented community
springing up next to SFU that is a 10-minute walk from
his office. “The major advantage is not having to get
in the car every day,” Hart said. What distinguishes
UniverCity from other high-density developments in
the U.S. and Canada is its link with a major university
and a slate of policies not typically associated with a
suburban development. UniverCity prohibits national
and international chain stores in the town centre,
incorporates mechanisms to provide lower-cost
housing and provides a subsidized transit pass to
all residents. Last February, UniverCity won a 2005
Canadian Home Builders Association award for best
new planned community.
Global warming is killing the planet
Toronto Star, May 7
SFU resource and environmental management
professor Mark Jaccard’s recent book, Sustainable
Fossil Fuels: The Unusual Suspect in the Quest for Clean
and Enduring Energy stands to influence what kind of
car you drive and how you heat your home. Jaccard
won this year’s $35,000 Donner prize and prizewinning books tend to have far-reaching influence
on government and industry. “My book is all about
the details. I want to know what the possibilities
are, technologically, economically and politically,”
he says and “The evidence has slowly convinced me
that, with a serious commitment to clean energy
over the coming decades, we are likely to shift to
cleaner uses of fossil fuels rather than their forced
abandonment.”
The Big Mac theory
Vancouver Sun, May 6
Every year The Economist magazine surveys the price
of a Big Mac around the world to show whether
currencies are overvalued or undervalued. The theory
is that a McDonald’s Big Mac is the same in every
country where it is sold, and should cost the same
if exchange rates are properly aligned. There are
several theories to explain the time gap for exchange
rates and pricing, such as inertia. Another theory is
whether there is enough competition in the Canadian
marketplace for the retailer to lower prices and SFU
professor of marketing, Judy Zaichkowsky, is not so
sure. “People are much quicker to raise prices than
to lower them and, in many cases, they don’t want
to lower them at all.”
Tories get tough on offenders
Ottawa Citizen, May 5
The Conservatives’ plan to reform the use of
conditional sentences – legislation the government
says is aimed at ensuring serious offenders do serious
time – would also put those convicted of crimes
such as mail theft and bestiality behind bars. The
bill combined with legislation that would impose
mandatory minimum sentences of between three and
10 years for various gun-related crimes, represents
the first step in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s
plan to get tough on crime. Neil Boyd, SFU professor
of criminology, said judges often use conditional
sentences when the circumstances show the crime
was not as serious as the charge. Those sentences
may have been wrongly applied in some cases, he
said, but that doesn’t mean they should no longer
be available. “You don’t promise policy that covers
thousands on the basis of what are arguably a few
mistakes in the imposition of conditional sentences,”
he said.
2
Simon Fraser University News
may 18, 2006
Physics professor Michel
Vetterli has played a
key role in a number
of international physics
collaborations. He is
one of the co-principal
investigators at WestGrid
– a high-performance
grid computing network
used by researchers across
CAROL THORBES
A community comes to a university
MEDIA BYTES
A compendium of condensed articles that
appeared in the media during the last few
weeks quoting members of the SFU community.
Canada and in the UK,
France and Australia.
One more triumph for Vetterli
BY
J EN N I FER GA R DY
Leading the ATLAS Data Centre
– Canada’s most recent contribution
to the biggest physics experiment
ever – is just the latest in a series
of triumphs for SFU/TRIUMF researcher Michel Vetterli.
Since joining SFU 21 years ago,
Vetterli has played key roles in a
number of international physics collaborations, become an integral part
of the Canadian high-performance
computing community, and even
cycled hundreds of kilometres in
charity and community events.
Pretty big accomplishments for
someone who studies the smallest
particles in the universe.
Vetterli can trace his interest in
subatomic physics back to the simple
childhood desire to understand how
the world around him worked. “I’ve
always been fascinated with how
things work - breaking them down
to their bare essentials,” he explains.
“Searching for the fundamental
building blocks of matter and how
they interact is the ultimate example
of disassembling your father’s transistor radio to see how it works.”
After completing a PhD in nuclear physics at McMaster University,
Vetterli joined SFU in 1985, taking a
position at the TRIUMF laboratory.
Working first as a postdoctoral fellow
and then as a research scientist, Vetterli took part in several TRIUMF
experiments and then worked on
the HERMES project through the
1990s. HERMES is an international
collaborative experiment in which
researchers study the substructure of
the proton by observing high-energy
electron-proton/neutron collisions.
In 2001, Vetterli moved to the
Burnaby Mountain campus as a professor in the department of physics,
where he joined the ATLAS project as coordinator of computing for
Canada. “2001 was a real break,” he
says. “Being a full time research scientist tends to get a bit too focused
for my taste, but teaching and the
interaction with students rejuvenates
my enthusiasm for physics.”
Vetterli’s move to SFU was of benefit not only to the physics department, but also to universities around
the world. Vetterli is one of the coprincipal investigators at WestGrid –
a high-performance grid computing
network used by researchers across
Canada and even as far away as the
UK, France and Australia.
Portions of the system reside at
six locations across B.C. and Alberta, and are seamlessly linked to
allow users to carry out everything
from computationally intensive data
analysis to sophisticated videoconferencing.
Vetterli has been quick to take
advantage of the WestGrid conferencing capabilities. “My priority
outside of work is to spend time
with my family,” he explains. “When
the HERMES project started tak-
Open house parking is free
continued from page 1
of a murder trial in 5th century Athens, or check out B.C.’s new mobile
emergency communication vehicle.
Visitors can also take a historic
walking tour of SFU and picture
themselves as an SFU grad.
The day will wind down with a
performance by the band Wager,
featuring Warren Gill, SFU’s VPuniversity relations.
Parking for the day is free, but
transit will be available and extra
shuttle buses will run from the Production Way/University SkyTrain
station to the university.
Visitors who wish to stay on campus have several options. The Simon
Hotel has rooms with spectacular
views of the North Shore mountains
and surrounding city.
Families can reserve townhouse
quads that sleep four and are fully
furnished with daily housekeeping.
There are also private residence rooms that are single occupancy with shared washrooms.
Reservations can be arranged by
calling 604-291-4053 or email at
confacom@sfu.ca. Check www.
sfuaccommodations.ca/.
To check out details, or to sign
up as a faculty, staff or student
volunteer for the day, see www.sfu.
ca/openhouse/.•
ing data in 1995, I was in Hamburg
about 50 per cent of the time. I now
travel much less than before, but I
still have extensive interaction with
my colleagues at CERN and around
the world through the use of the
WestGrid facilities.”
The devoted family man is also an
avid sportsman, and the recent warm
weather means that he has swapped
his ski boots for his cycling shoes.
Vetterli is a member of Velo SFU,
a club formed in 2005 by a self-described bunch of “crazy, middle-aged
SFU faculty” in order to participate
in charity rides and raise SFU’s profile in the community.
Don’t look for this speeding particle physicist on the roads just yet,
however. “It’s been a very slow start
this year thanks to the ATLAS data
centre.”•
Simon Fraser University News is published every other
Thursday during the academic semester.
Simon Fraser University News is available at:
www.sfu.ca/mediapr/sfu–news/
Publication Mail Agreement No. 40063955
Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:
MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY,
8888 UNIVERSITY DRIVE
BURNABY, B.C. V5A 1S6.
director (acting) Susan Jamieson-McLarnon
phone (604) 291-3210
fax (604) 291-3039
Letters to the Editor, comment pieces and
other ideas are welcome.
email
sf-news-editor@sfu.ca
co-editors
Howard Fluxgold, Diane Luckow
contributors
Stuart Colcleugh,Terry Lavender,
Susan Jamieson-McLarnon, Marianne Meadahl,
Julie Ovenell-Carter, Carol Thorbes
dateline
Prepared by Fiona Burrows
distribution
June Venables
.
CLIPPINGS
New residences win design award
Students in SFU’s new residences are living in
award-winning digs. The residences and new dining
hall garnered the 2006 grand award in the inaugural
awards for excellence in concrete construction,
announced on April 28. The eight-storey buildings,
completed in the fall of 2004 and spring of 2005,
won for their overall excellence in architecture,
engineering, design and construction features and
for using concrete to its fullest potential. In particular,
the judges noted the project’s “ability to speak to its
surroundings.”
The awards are the industry’s highest recognition of
works that exemplify vision and innovation in the use
of ready-mixed concrete in a variety of applications
throughout B.C. “This is great news,” says Jan
Fialkowski, director of residences at SFU. “These are
attractive buildings, creatively designed both inside
and out. They are a wonderful addition to the campus
and to student life here at SFU.”
Investment seminar set for May 25
If you’re a faculty or staff member under 50 and you’d
like to learn more about investment strategies so
that you don’t end up dining on cat food by candle
light in your golden years, make a point of attending
a half-day financial planning seminar on May 25 at
8:30 a.m. at the SFU Burnaby campus. You’ll learn
about savings options, investment strategies, wills,
estates, committees and power of attorneys. To
attend, contact laurie_boyd@sfu.ca.
English professor Paul
Matthew St. Pierre recruits
Mentorship program seeks volunteers
writers with a sense of
humour for his literary
anthologies.
Sense of humour required
B Y A M A N Y A L - S AY Y E D
Writers wanted. Qualifications:
sense of humour.
English professor Paul Matthew
St. Pierre brings a light-hearted
sense of humour to recruiting contributors for his literary anthologies.
This includes his latest book,
a Dictionary of Literary Biography.
The book is devoted to British humorists who have written or performed in the 20th century, including journalists, essayists and fiction
and scenario writers.
As an active researcher in British
literary wit, St. Pierre defends liter-
ary humorists in the scholarly world
of literature. “Sometimes these people are seen as comic rather than
literary writers,” he says. “Yes, they
would write comic stories, but their
personae also comment on national
culture and the dynamic of humour
in their country.”
Drawing the dividing line between scholarly literature and comic
writing is difficult. St. Pierre says
that the famous Canadian writer
Stephen Leacock is recognized as
a literary humorist, yet he never
wrote a novel.
Other humorists have written
extensively but are regarded as light
comic writers. “Humorists are put
to that test of publication – did they
ever publish? If they were performers, did they publish their scripts?”
explains St. Pierre, who included
Spike Milligan from The Goon
Show, and Eric Idle from Monty
Python’s Flying Circus, in his book.
Both are associated with their studio performances rather than with
their writing.
St. Pierre is currently working on
a Canadian anthology of humorists
and is looking for contributors who
have a sense of humour.•
Reproductive isolation a key factor
continued from page 1
ings recently in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences.
Their research found that ecological divergence, the term for two populations of a single species adapting
to different environments, is directly
linked to reproductive isolation, the
extent to which they can still interbreed, which is a key factor in the
formation of two separate species.
Previous research established that
species formation results from reproductive isolation over time, says Nosil.
“The question we wanted to answer was, what else matters? Are
there factors that increase the rate
at which these reproductive barriers
evolve beyond the rate just based on
pure time?” For each species pair,
the researchers analyzed published
data on diet, habitat and size, using
a statistical technique to control for
time.
The idea was to determine whether the degree to which species pairs
differed from each other in these ecological variables was positively associated to the degree in which natural
selection had caused them to diverge
in their ability to interbreed.
They found that the association
was positive with a remarkable level of
confidence, with a one-in-250 possibility that their findings were a matter
of chance, compared to the one-in-20
odds that scientists typically require
to confirm such a relationship.
“The bottom line,” says Nosil, “is
that in almost all cases when ecological differences increase, the amount
of reproductive isolation increases.”
In the future, Nosil hopes to use
the same database he and his colleagues have compiled to determine
whether, for example, the same species eating on different trees in the
same area could evolve into different
species.
Meanwhile the young biologist
has a doctorate to finish. Helping to
confirm one of the most influential
theories in the history of science
“was a lot of work,” he sighs. “But it
was worth it in the end.”•
Students interested in gaining intercultural experience
should consider volunteering for SFU’s international
mentorship program. SFU international is looking
for 40 student volunteers and eight group leaders
to support and befriend international students
through the fall and spring semesters. “Returning SFU
students will develop leadership skills, gain cultural
understanding and have a lot of fun,” says program
coordinator Lana Bezglasna. Both mentors and
international students participate in organized social,
academic, recreational and community outreach
events throughout the two semesters.
“These student volunteers are the backbone of the
academic success, social and emotional well-being of
our international students,” notes Bezglasna. “We’re
very proud of them and grateful for their services.
Deadline for applications is June 15 at 4:30 p.m. in the
SFU international office. Training occurs throughout
the summer.
New Italian program created
Simon Fraser University is expanding its offering of
Italian courses through the French department to
create a certificate program in Italian studies, thanks
to a major donation. The Cassamarca Foundation,
which promotes and supports cultural activities in
Italy and abroad, is matching $500,000 from SFU
to create the program. The combined $1 million
donation has enabled the French department to
establish the Dino De Poli lectureship in Italian
studies and appoint Chohre Rassekh as lecturer in
the new certificate program.
De Poli is the current president of the Cassamarca
Foundation. Rassekh is an SFU sessional instructor,
teaching Italian courses for the past 13 years. Phyllis
Wrenn, chair of the French department, says Rassekh’s
appointment “now makes it possible for us to expand
our course offerings and better meet the demand for
language instruction and thereby build the necessary
critical mass for the eventual expansion of program
initiatives in Italian.”
Simon Fraser University News
may 18, 2006
3
Website design crucial
in drawing audience
to movie theatres
BY D I A N E LU CKOW
Ian Song, the digital
initiatives coordinator
in the systems division
at the W.A.C. Bennett
library, has helped
digitize 20,000
pages of the Chinese
A mannequin named Kelly was one of the feature attractions
at this year’s North American Occupational Safety and Health
Fair at SFU Burnaby. Kelly was garbed in gear to protect her
from asbestos, a hazardous material once used for insulation.
Job-related mishaps killed 188 people in B.C. last year. The fair
attracted about 450 visitors at SFU’s three campuses. Those
who visited a number of exhibits intended to educate them
about health and safety issues on the job were encouraged to
get a passport stamped to make them eligible for prizes. SFU
bookstore manager Mikhail Dzuba won one of the top prizes,
a laser printer. Earl Christensen in library receiving won the
other, a night at SFU’s Simon hotel.
4
Simon Fraser University News
may 18, 2006
Times, a thriving
CAROL THORBES
as comparing them with the model.
The results?
People want entertainment from
a preview and information from a
website, says Mitchell. “They want
it to stimulate their need for knowledge.”
Most movie websites, he says, try
to entertain consumers with games
and tidbits.
Instead, he says, “They should
be developing story-related content.
People want knowledge about the
topic of the movie – and most movies have an ability to educate people,
even if they’re fiction.”
Mitchell’s thesis research also
reveals that movie-goers want highspeed simplistic websites. In fact,
entertainment value rated well below
website speed in his survey.
A good movie website, he says,
lets consumers manipulate the movie experience.
“Radio, TV and previews all mirror a film’s experience,” he points
out, while “websites stimulate the
need for knowledge and conversation. They can enhance the movie
experience and go way beyond it.”•
immigrant newspaper
from 1915 to 1992.
Conference focuses on diverse heritage
BY C A RO L T H O R B ES
CAROL THORBES
Movie websites can be a powerful
marketing tool if they’re designed
correctly, says SFU MBA candidate
Clayton Mitchell.
His 150-page MBA thesis identifies how to create a positive website
experience for potential movie viewers.
The thesis demonstrates how a
website can affect consumers’ attitudes toward the movie as well as the
likelihood they will see it, talk about
it and encourage others to view it.
For his research, Mitchell first
created a model based on existing
literature on the topic.
He then designed a consumer
questionnaire based on the website for the Amityville Horror movie
remake, which featured a section
called truth that included interviews
with a psychic who had visited the
haunted house, as well as information about the real murders that took
place there.
He next recruited groups of people, showing some just the movie
preview and others just the website.
Finally, he compared the groups’
comments on the questionnaire as well
Lynn Copeland hopes that a conference hosted by Simon
Fraser University will increase public support for making Canada’s immigrant historical records accessible to
anyone near a computer. Like a locked jewel box full of
heirlooms, these records often languish on microfilm and
other media in the obscurity of museums, libraries and
archives, inaccessible to people who live far away.
Copeland, SFU’s dean of library services, is the instigator of the Multicultural Canada Digitization Project
and the Multicultural Canada Conference: Our Diverse
Heritage. The free, public conference from May 31June 2, is designed to promote the project and develop
fundraising strategies for the digitization of hundreds of
thousands of immigrant historical records across Canada.
The material includes immigrant historical newspapers,
such as the Chinese Times, oral histories, photographs,
letters and legal documents.
The digitization project is making this material accessible on-line in its original language, using vernacular, English and French search engines. The digitized
material is linkable to related websites and interactive,
educational tools through the portal, www.multiculturalcanada.ca/. Ultimately, the portal will allow researchers,
students and the descendents of immigrants to easily
explore immigrant migration, ancestry and cross-cultural
information online.
With state-of-the-art digitization equipment at the
Burnaby campus, SFU is leading the massive national
initiative. The universities of Victoria, Calgary, and
Toronto, the Multicultural History Society of Ontario
(MHSO) and Vancouver Public Library are key collaborators. Copeland is seeking more.
The Sien Lok Society in Calgary, an association that
promotes Chinese heritage, has put up $46,000 of the
$100,000 raised so far to mount the digitization project.
Collaborators and donors to date hope the upcoming
conference at SFU’s Morris J. Wosk centre for dialogue
will attract more funding. Individual projects cost from
$5,000 to $50,000.
Under the guidance of Ian Song, the MHSO Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples is the first completed project and
is now searchable online. Song, the digital initiatives coordinator at SfU’s library, is digitizing the Chinese Times, an
early immigrant newspaper in Vancouver and Alberta.
“Until now libraries and museums have only had
electronically searchable indexes of newspapers whose
original language is English or French,” notes Copeland.
“Without specific dates, names and events, community
members, students and researchers of newspapers in
other languages have had to spend countless hours
combing microfilms.” She says the digitization project
will make it easier for the descendents of immigrants
who don’t speak their original language to research their
ancestry in original language newspapers.
Henry Yu, a speaker at the Multicultural Canada
Conference, is using digitized material to mine Canada’s
Chinese head tax registry for a book about the globalization of Chinese migration. Until now the registry has only
been accessible on microfilm. Digitization is enabling Yu
and University of British Columbia deputy librarian Peter
Ward to piece together a portrait of the 80,000 Chinese
immigrants who paid a head tax to enter Canada between
1885 and 1923. They are studying the origin, health and
physical attributes of the immigrants.
“The digitization project will make it easier for the descendents of Chinese immigrants to research and prove
their eligibility for compensation under an anticipated
federal head tax redress program,” says Yu.
An associate professor of history at the UBC, Yu
is one of about 30 well-known historians, writers and
archivists presenting their work and discussing how
digitization will advance it at the conference. For more
information and to register, see: http://ocs.sfu.ca/multiculturalcanada2006/.•
Immigrant Chinese paper goes online
BY C A RO L T H O R B ES
Twenty thousand pages of a newspaper that was once
the only information source for Chinese immigrants in
Canada about their homeland in their original language
will make their online debut at SFU’s Multicultural
Canada Conference.
Until recently, the Chinese Times was only publicly accessible by perusing fragile hard copies and safeguarded
microfilms.
The digitization of the Chinese Times is one of the
largest of five major projects connected to the Multicultural Canada Digitization Project at the SFU W.A.C.
Bennett library. Published by the Chinese Freemasons
Society of Canada between 1915 and 1992, the Chinese
Times printed 280,000 pages in Vancouver and Alberta
before its presses stopped. “The Freemasons Society published a 12-page daily issue Monday to Saturday. One of
its goals was to help the Chinese revolutionary, Dr. Sun
Yat-Sen, overthrow China’s Qing Dynasty. Today, the
paper provides a fascinating record of early immigrant
life in Western Canada,” says Ian Yiliang Song.
The digital initiatives coordinator in the W.A.C. Bennett library’s systems division, Song is overseeing the
digitization of the paper. Full-text Chinese content of
the paper and its English summary will be fully searchable on line.
Song and Mark Jordan, head of library systems at the
library, will unveil their work thus far – the digitization of
the Chinese Times up until 1924 – at the conference.•
Shell wins science writing award
Faculty of applied sciences research communications
manager Barry Shell has won the Canadian Science
Writers Association Science in Society book award.
Shell won in the 2005 youth book category with
Sensational Scientists, published by Raincoast Books
of Vancouver. The prize, worth $1,000, will be
presented in St. John’s Newfoundland on June 24.
The book is based on Shell’s hobby project www.
science.ca, a website dedicated to profiling Canada’s
greatest scientists. The project was inspired by former
SFU engineering science professor Jamal Deen now
at McMaster University. It is supported by an NSERC
PromoScience grant. Shell began working at SFU
in 1987 shortly after writing his first book, Running
Hypercard with Hyptertalk, published by MIS Press
of Portland, Oregon.
Outstanding grads wanted
Know of an SFU graduate who has made an outstanding
contribution in areas of academic achievement, arts
and culture, athletics, professional achievement,
public service or service to the community, or
university? Nominate them for an SFU Alumni
Association outstanding alumni award. Deadline for
nominations is June 30 and nomination packages
are available at www.sfu.ca/alumni/our_alumni/
outstanding/.
Library association honours Wosk
The British Columbia Librar y Association
(BCLA) recently awarded Yosef Wosk, director of
interdisciplinary programs in SFU continuing studies,
its Keith Sacré library champion award. It recognizes
Wosk’s long record of support for libraries and
literacy, including a $25,000 donation enabling
BCLA’s Libraries Across Borders interest group to
fund projects in Honduras, Ghana and Guatemala.
Upon accepting his award, Wosk presented the group
with a further $15,000 to continue its projects this
year.
SFU takes award for alumni event
SFU’s alumni 40th anniversary celebration attracted
3,000 attendees on Oct. 1, 2005. The eclectic and
entertaining day was not only a hit with alumni, it
recently won a gold prix d’excellence for best alumni
event from the Canadian Council for the Advancement
of Education. “It was a team effort in the truest sense
of the word and the award belongs to us all,” says
organizer Janis Horne, director of alumni relations.
Planing for the event began in 2001 with a vision for
renovating the former Diamond University Club into
the new Diamond Alumni Centre, and then ramped up
in early 2005 as alumni relations staff began meeting
weekly. On the day of the event, 40 on-site student
and alumni volunteers greeted, checked-in and toured
visitors around the campus.
New York photos at gallery
Vintage 1940s photographs from New York City’s
most famous photojournalist, Arthur Fellig, known
as Weegee, are on exhibit in the SFU gallery at the
Burnaby campus until June 17. Weegee is credited with
many breakthroughs in the history of photography, all
of which are evident in the work on display. For more
information visit www.sfu.ca/gallery/.
MARIANNE MEADAHL
Microscopic pockets of pollen and pigs in a blanket
may not make great viewing for the faint of heart.
But SFU biologist Rolf Mathewes’ analysis of pollen
droppings in solving crimes and associate criminology
professor Gail Anderson’s crime-solving research
using pigs in a blanket made prime time on the
U.S. PBS program Nature on May 7. Nature’s hourlong episode called Crime Scene Creatures featured
interviews with both researchers and images of their
work. The show examined how maggots, buzzards,
flies, rats, dogs and other life forms help solve crimes
and provide evidence based on time lines.
CLIPPINGS
Mathewes, Anderson on PBS special
WORMS IN SPACE
Tiny, space-travelling nematodes are only one millimetre long, but SFU PhD candidate Martin
Jones uses an enlarged photo to explain DNA research that will help scientists learn more
about the effects of radiation in space. Jones will talk about worms in space at SFU’s open
house on June 3.
Grant aimed at childhood discrimination
BY CH R I S T I N E H E A R N
When children face discrimination,
the response of their parents is critical.
How do the parents use their caregiving private time with the children
to reinforce the strengths of their
own ethno-cultural community and
give them a cultural identity that will
help them in the public sphere?
Now, a $700,000 federal government social development partnership
program grant will finance a study of
the issue. SFU and UBC, in partnership with HIPPY Canada, will use
the money to see what happens in
homes to prepare children to survive
and thrive in the outside world.
The study will take place at
three HIPPY sites – Britannia
community centre; the aboriginal
consortium that includes the Mus-
queam, Sechelt, and Katzie bands;
and Toronto. HIPPY home visitors
who already have the trust of the
parents will do interviews.
SFU continuing studies program
director Debbie Bell is project manager and co-investigator. Lucy LeMare from SFU’s faculty of education is also a co-investigator and the
principal investigator is Paul Kershaw from the human early learning
partnership (HELP) in the faculty
of graduate studies at UBC. “HIPPY
recognizes private time as important
and we need to study what happens
in that private time to give children
a sense of cultural identity,” Bell explains. “We need to ask the caregiver
parents if they feel a sense of inclusion or exclusion and what does that
mean to them?”
“We will get an interesting window into care giving through this
study, We will learn something that
helps us all by asking visible minorities what they do to raise proud
children,” says Kershaw, who points
out that many minority children lack
role models who are valued by the
broader public and depend on private reinforcement for their sense
of identity.
A unique feature of the grant is
that half the money goes back to the
three HIPPY sites so they are fully
participating parties. The money will
be used to pay for training of the
HIPPY home visitors and for their
time spent collecting data and analyzing it to find out how the parents
are responding to the racial issues
their children face.•
SFU recognized for workplace diversity
BY M A R I A N N E M E A DA H L
Simon Fraser University is among five
Canadian employers being recognized with an award for its commitment to workplace diversity.
The Canadian Immigrant magazine’s top employers for workplace
diversity awards, given for the first
time this year, acknowledge organizations that support diversity through
new opportunities, creativity and innovation in the workplace.
SFU is being recognized in the
education category. Other recipients include RBC Financial Group,
Safeway, Channel M Television and
the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The magazine cites SFU for making diversity a cornerstone of its statement on values and commitments,
and for its efforts to recruit students
and researchers who have direct experience in diverse communities, as
well as its hiring practices guided by
principles of employment equity.
Award recipients were selected
by an independent panel of judges
involved in the business and human
resources sectors.
“These organizations have made a
significant contribution to workplace
diversity by reaching out to newcomers and giving them opportunities
to establish Canadian credentials,”
says Nick Noorani, magazine pub-
lisher. “Our goal is to acknowledge
organizations that are making a difference by striving to make their
work environments more open and
diverse. There is a lot we can learn
from forward-thinking organizations
like these.”
For the magazine’s story on recipients check www.thecanadianimmigrant.com/.•
New play opens in June
A new theatre production featuring
a number of SFU faculty and alumni
opens June 11-18 at the Roundhouse
community centre in Vancouver.
A Soldier’s Tale, co-produced by
SFU’s school for the contemporary
arts and the Turning Point Ensemble
and directed by SFU professor Penelope Stella, is a stark morality
tale written against the backdrop of
war and revolution after First World
Simon Fraser University News
War. Owen Underhill, a professor in
the school, is music director while
senior lecturers Gary Harris and
Barry Hagland are the set and lighting designers. Three SFU grads take
on acting roles: Patti Allan, Carey-Jo
Hoffman and Victor Ustare.
An open rehearsal will take place
on June 3 from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. at
the SFU theatre during SFU’s open
house.•
may 18, 2006
5
Dateline
May 22 – June 2
MONDAY, 22
Victoria Day. All classes cancelled. Offices
closed.
TUESDAY, 23
Read all about it
Bruce Shepherd (right),
2:30 p.m./SSB 7172
PhD THESIS DEFENCE. V. Shahrezaei,
physics: Role of Active Zone Geometry in
Neurotransmitter Release: A Monte Carlo
study on presynaptic calcium diffusion and
calcium sensor interactions.
WEDNESDAY, 24
9:30 a.m./SFU Surrey, Central City Tower
14-400
PhD THESIS DEFENCE. A. Dulic,
interactive arts and technology: Fields of
Interaction: From shadow play theatre to
media performance.
10 a.m./AQ 5067
MA THESIS DEFENCE. V. Rodriguez,
Latin American studies: Awaking to the
Dream: Education, leadership, and politicalcultural formation in four neo-zapatista
communities of Chiapas.
7:30 p.m./Vancouver Public Library, 350
W. Georgia St., Alice Mackay room
national advertising
sales manager of Pacific
Newspaper Group, gives
Ernie Love, dean of
the faculty of business
administration, a special
newspaper produced for
the Segal graduate school
of business’ grand opening
on May 5. Love and
Shepherd are standing
BOOK LAUNCH. Daniel Wood, SFU writing
and publishing program instructor will
be joined by several other local writers to
launch the new book, Way Out There.
at the door of the former
FRIDAY, 26
school’s new home. It is a
2:30 p.m./TASC 9204
MSc THESIS DEFENCE. V. Jain,
computing science: Robust Correspondence
and Retrieval of Articulated Shapes.
WEDNESDAY, 31
10 a.m./TASC 9204
MSc THESIS DEFENCE. A. Clements,
computing science: Minimum Ratio
Contours for Neshes.
Bank of Montreal, the
heritage building that has
undergone a $20 million
renovation. The building
was acquired with the
help of SFU chancellor
emeritus Joseph Segal,
THURSDAY, 1
1 p.m./B 9242
MSc THESIS DEFENCE. M. McCoy,
biological sciences: High Resolution Fire and
Vegetation History of Garry Oak Ecosystems
in British Columbia.
7 p.m./SFU Vancouver
whose $7.5 million gift
was matched by the
B.C. government. An
City programlecture. Karen Alschuler on:
The Planning Game: Engaging communities
in urban design.
additional $11 million was
FRIDAY, 2
community and friends of
MSc THESIS DEFENCE. C. Albert,
biological sciences: Uptake, Elimination and
Toxicity of an Arsenic-based Pesticide in an
Avian System.
the university for research
10 a.m./B9242
raised from the business
and student support.
10 a.m./SSB7172
PhD THESIS DEFENCE. M. Paduraru,
chemistry: Studies Toward the Total Synthesis
of Artocarpol A, D, E and Structurally Related
Analogues.
Arts & Theatre
TECK GALLERY, SFU VANCOUVER
(515 W. Hastings):
Louie Palu - Cage Call: Life & Death in the
Hard Rock Mining Belt, runs to
May 30. Images of mines and mining
towns by Globe and Mail photographer.
COPY
DEADLINES
Simon Fraser News will be online during
the summer semester at www.sfu.ca/mediapr/. The June 6 convocation edition
will be printed. Publication dates and copy
deadlines for Dateline and Notebook in the
summer 2006 semester are:
ISSUE
DEADLINE
June 6
May 24
June 15
June 7
June 29
June 15
July 13
July 5
GREG EHLERS
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY GALLERY,
AQ 3004.
Weegee’s New York - 17 vintage
photographs by Arthur Fellig. Runs to June
17.
SFU Gallery hours: Tues.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 5
p.m.; Sat. noon to 5 p.m.
Info: www.sfu.ca/gallery or 604-291-4266.
Notebook
ACADEMIC ADVISING
Academic resources, MBC 3000, assists
with course selection and program
planning as well as helping students in
academic difficulty or those wishing to
withdraw. Information: 604-291-4356.
Hours: Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.,
Friday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
ATHLETICS
For detailed listings of upcoming sports
events please see www.sfu.ca/athletics/
CENTRE FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
The CSD provides a large selection of
services and equipment to students with a
variety of disabilities. Information: 604-2913112/5381. Web site: www.sfu.ca/ccs/csd or
drop in to the MBC 1250.
CHILDCARE CENTRE
High-quality, licensed care, ECE-trained
caregivers. Care available for children
three-months to 12-years-old. World class
facilities. Information: 604-291-5725.
To submit items to Dateline go to:
www.sfu.ca/mediapr/events.html
For more information, call 291-3210.
6
Simon Fraser University News
may 18, 2006
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ADVISING
MBC 3200, provides information on
student loans, grants, scholarships,
bursaries and work-study; advice on
reassessments and appeals; and assistance
with individual budgeting and planning.
Information: 604-291-4356. Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Friday
9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
FIRST NATIONS STUDENT CENTRE
Supporting the vision of First Nations,
Métis and Inuit students at SFU. Student
support programs, cultural events,
information and services. Aboriginal
students can connect with on and off
campus community. Visit the First Nations
Student Centre at MBC1500 or call
604-291-5663 or 604-268-6929 for more
information. Web site: www.reg.sfu.ca/fnsc
HEALTH, COUNSELLING AND
CAREER CENTRE
Find health care, personal counselling,
career services, learning skills, peer advice,
volunteer opportunities and much more.
For more information and the walk ‘n talk
workshop schedule see www.sfu.ca/hccc or
drop in to MBC 0300.
CHILDREN’S INFORMATION
Questions or concerns about your children?
Call the parent help-line 604-291-3548.
A qualified professional who is also a
parent will help you. Pamphlets and other
information available. Web site: www.sfu.
ca/infochild; email: infochld@sfu.ca; office:
EAA 2019
INTERFAITH/CHAPLAINCY CENTRE
Students and faculty of the Lutheran,
Anglican, and United churches gather every
Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m. in MBC
1470.
INTERNATIONAL BUDDY PROGRAM
The SFU international buddy program is a
volunteer program promoting intercultural
communication, understanding and
friendship between students. To find out
how you can get involved and apply online,
see http://buddy.sfu.ca.
INTERNATIONAL MENTORSHIP
PROGRAM
The international mentorship program
is a student volunteer program
promoting intercultural communication,
understanding and friendship between
students. To find out how to be involved
and apply online see: www.sfumentorship.
ca/
LEARN TO USE THE LIBRARY
See www.lib.sfu.ca/researchhelp/tutorials/
libskills.htm for a full schedule of upcoming
tutorials.
LET’S TALK SCIENCE
The program is looking for graduate
students to become science outreach
volunteers. Information: 604-291-4869,
lts@sfu.ca or www.sfu.ca.
THE OMBUDS OFFICE
Informal assistance in resolving problems,
conflicts and disputes. Information: 604291-4563 or e-mail: ombudsoffice@sfu.
ca. Hours: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-3 p.m.,
Monday to Thursday.
BURNABY PARKING SERVICES
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday
to Friday. Extended hours are posted
at the beginning of each semester
to accommodate volume. E-mail:
parking@sfu.ca.
PHILOSOPHERS’ CAFE
For the schedule see www.sfu.ca/
philosopherscafe/. Information: 604-2915100.
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
05·18·06
S E R V I N G
O U R
C O M M U N I T I E S
w w w . s f u . c a / m e d i a p r / s f u_news
Formula measures
pollutant build up
in various animals
Craig Janes, a professor
in the faculty of health
sciences, on a trip to
Mongolia with former
BY S T UA RT CO LCL EU G H
student Casey Hilliard
It seemed obvious to Adrian deBruyn. The same biological processes that
cause toxic chemicals to accumulate in fish must work virtually the same
way with all animal species.
The problem was, no one had come up with a mathematical model to
clarify the relationship. So deBruyn, an ecologist and toxicologist with
SFU’s school of resource and environmental management (REM), decided
to tackle the task.
The result, which he co-developed with REM chemist and toxicologist
Frank Gobas, is an elegantly simple formula that promises to dramatically
improve our understanding of how persistent organic pollutants (POPs) build
up in different animal species.
Gobas developed one of the most widely used mathematical models of
how persistent organochlorines such as dioxins and PCBs accumulate in
fish. Others subsequently adapted the model for different animal species.
But deBruyn sought a universal model that could be extrapolated throughout
the animal kingdom to account for variations between species.
“These pollutants are absorbed in animals’ diets, but they are often poorly
eliminated. So they build up through a process called biomagnification as
they are passed up food chains, increasing in concentration with each step,”
deBruyn explains.
“That’s why pollutants can hammer predator species at the top of a food
chain like eagles and wolves, even though they may live thousands of kilometres from any pollution source. Gobas developed a model for fish and others
adapted it for groups such as marine mammals and humans. But each model
was tailored to a particular species or group of species and the results were
very difficult to generalize.”
So deBruyn looked for connections to another universal process, known as
bioenergetics, through which organisms manage their energy resources. “All
animals essentially do the same stuff. We just do it to different degrees. Some
things are more important than others, depending on whether you breathe
water or air. Different animals eat different things and live in different ways.
But it ended up all coming down to the way animals budget their energy.”
deBruyn and Gobas adapted the equations used in bioenergetics research
to model biomagnification in a broad range of animals, from caterpillars to
carnivores. Then deBruyn looked for independent studies that had measured
bioenergetic parameters for these animals, such as how efficiently they digested their food, how much energy they spent on activity and keeping warm
and how efficiently they grew.
“There was a set of about 35 species that fell out for which I could find
both sets of data with a reasonable amount of quality,” says deBruyn. “So
we used the bioenergetic data to run the model for those species and we
compared that to what the real-world biomagnification data showed. And it
was spectacular, it was beautiful.”
The model – dubbed BMFmax – matched documented contamination
levels to an extraordinary degree for most species. And of equal importance,
it revealed that the pollutant absorption rate from an animal’s stomach and
its growth rate were the two most important biological processes affecting
biomagnification. Animals with low absorption rates and high growth rates,
such as caterpillars, had much lower contaminant levels than animals with
high absorption rates and low growth rates, such as polar bears.
“The model can also accurately predict which organisms are most likely
to suffer from the effects of specific chemicals, whether they be foxes, or
spiders, or fish or worms,” says Gobas.•
(centre), now at McGill
University, and Khulan
Janchiv (right), a
Mongolian physician
who now works in
Denver, Colorado.
A MONGOLIAN ODYSSEY
BY D I A N E LU CKOW
Craig Janes will be eating a lot of
freshly butchered and boiled sheep
parts this summer as he spends 10
weeks travelling and tenting on an
8,000-kilometre journey through central and western Mongolia.
A professor in SFU’s new faculty
of health sciences, Janes is embarking on a second round of data collection for his research into the impact
of Mongolia’s economic transition on
rural livelihoods and health.
“Research there is very compelling,” says Janes, who joined SFU in
2005 from the University of Colorado, where he spent the last 10
years doing research and working
on academic exchange projects in
Mongolia. “Mongolia was a Soviet
satellite until 1990 and has been
transitioning to a market economy
over the last decade and a half. It’s
a perfect laboratory to examine how
economic change affects the lives
of people.”
His previous project conducted
in 2002 revealed that despite a free,
public health system, the very poor
did not have good access to health
services because the system wasn’t
sufficiently supplied with drugs, di-
BY D I A N E LU CKOW
Mongolia, Mexico, Canada. Internships in SFU’s new master of science
in population and public health
program can take some students far
afield, while others remain closer
to home.
Students Natasha Van Borek and
Alex Price are in Mexico this summer to research antibiotic usage patterns and women’s ability to reduce
the risks of sexually transmitted
disease while Lesley Johnston will
travel to Mongolia to assist a faculty
member with research into rural
livelihoods and health.
Other students will take on public health practice experiences that
include working with professors in
the faculty of education on a health
literacy project in Vancouver schools
and working with the Centres for
Disease Control and Prevention.
The public health practicum is a
key component in this new graduate degree program that seeks to
integrate social and natural science
research with population outcomes,
societal impacts and policy.
The fulltime program is attracting
a lot of interest, with 85 applications
for 31 positions in the fall 2006
semester. The program began last
September with 18 students who
will complete the program in January 2007.
“It’s primarily designed to prepare
established professionals and recent
graduates for positions of leadership
in population and public health and
it’s the only program of its kind in
Simon Fraser University News
PM40063955
gram. The research trip will serve
as her required internship for the
program. She’ll be interviewing and
doing clinical exams, such as testing
for anemia. She’ll also be conducting
her own research into whether the
herders’ nomadic lifestyle has an
impact on household well-being.
Over the summer, the research
duo will be hugely reliant on their
vehicle’s cigarette lighter, which will
supply battery power to laptop computers and medical diagnostic instruments. With no internet service,
they’ll also be more isolated than
usual. Still, says Janes, “Mongolia
is a wonderful place to work. It’s
a sparsely settled country and any
visitors are prized.”
Janes is hopeful that his ongoing
research will make a difference in the
lives of Mongolians. “We’re trying to
move from research to the implementation of programs that improve public
health or rural livelihood. I’m working
with Mongolian graduate students
and some folks in Canada to look at
ways of enhancing the communications infrastructure in the countryside
to facilitate health response, especially for maternity cases.”•
New health program becoming popular
STUART COLCLEUGH
Frank Gobas (left) and Adrian deBruyn.
agnostic equipment or other resources. He subsequently worked with
colleagues at the school of public
health in the Health Sciences University of Mongolia, the ministry of
health and the World Health Organization to introduce policy changes
enabling primary care doctors to
share diagnostic labs and resources
and to improve their access to drug
supplies.
Janes’ current project will look
at the economic transition’s impact
on herders, who sell their animal
products to earn a living.
“Things have changed considerably in the past 15 years, especially
the exposure of herders to economic
and environmental risk,” observes
Janes. “I’m interested to see how
that’s affecting the well-being of the
household – things like children’s
nutrition, reproductive health, selfreported health status, blood pressure, and symptoms of cardiovascular disease.”
To carry out his research, Janes
will be accompanied by graduate
student Lesley Johnston, one of 16
students in SFU’s new master’s in
population and public health pro-
B.C.,” says Marina Morrow, an assistant professor in the faculty of health
sciences who teaches in the program.
She says it attracts mature students
who have worked for health authorities or non-governmental organizations related to health, international
students who have trained as doctors
or dentists in their home country
and some who have just completed
undergraduate degrees.
“A unique feature of the program
is that it’s interdisciplinary,” notes
Morrow. “Students get exposure to
biostatistics and epidemiology, along
with qualitative health research
methods and a better understanding
of the determinants of health. They
also get an opportunity to understand health in a policy context.”•
may 18, 2006
7