In brief
JENELLE PETRINCHUK STAFF
Decade of research pays off: $250,000
A group of researchers based at the University of Manitoba have been awarded the third annual Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering. The award includes $250,000 for the group to use in future research projects.
The award comes through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), a federal agency that has invested over $6 million in university and industry projects over the last 10 years.
The team — one that includes various scholars from the U of M — has been working for more than a decade on refining proteomics techniques that can then be used to solve problems in the areas of medicine and biology, according to an NSERC press release.
In 2003, members of the team discovered the structure of the protein component of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) before any other researchers worldwide, a feat NSERC refers to as “one of their greatest successes.”
Collaborating with the team at the U of M is Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada, as well as MDS Sciex, a design and manufacturing company that specializes in mass spectrometers, a chemical-imaging technology that is an important addition to the team’s success.
Team members from the U of M include physics and astronomy professor emeritus Kenneth Standing, chemistry professors Harry Duckworth and Helene Perreault, physics and astronomy professor Werner Ens, physics and astronomy research associate Oleg Krokhin and internal medicine and immunology professor John Wilkins.
Steve Haber from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, along with Igor Chernushevich, Alexandre Loboda and Bruce Thomson from MDS Sciex were also included in the award.
Acknowledging everybody: LGBT Awareness Week
The Rainbow Pride Mosaic (RPM), an UMSU-run student service that provides an on-campus community for lesbian, gay, bisexual trans-gendered, two-spirited, and allied students, will be holding its third annual LGBT Awareness Week from Feb. 5 to 10.
RPM provides a safe place for minority groups to meet and connect on campus, while also trying to promote awareness and understanding among those who are not members.
“LGBT Awareness Week was created a couple years ago, just basically to bring more awareness on campus, mainly to non-queer identified students,” explained volunteer and member Jonny Sopotiuk.
The week includes a kickoff in the Fireplace Lounge with speeches by the UMSU executive and a performance by the Rainbow Harmony Project, workshops on hate crime, religion and gender conformities as well as information tables and a coffee house at Degrees diner. A drag show will also take place on Friday, Feb. 9 on the Campo Main Stage in University Centre.
Funding for the week will be covered by RPM’s budget along with sponsors that include UMSU and the Arts Student Body Council, according to Sopotiuk.
RPM also offers services such as peer counseling, AIDS and HIV awareness materials, and harm reduction counselling. The group is also involved with Winnipeg Lesbian and Gay Pride Inc. and the Rainbow Resource Centre.
Unitopia: Online social networking brings university students together
Social networking sites have become extremely popular in the last few years, and online communities for university students in particular have been no exception.
Unitopia is a student-created and student-run website launched nationally this month, that includes universities and colleges from all across Canada in either a countrywide section or within separate portals for each participating school.
Members must either be a current student at one of 70-plus universities included in the website, or an alumni that wishes to reconnect.
Creators of the website — Gary Pomerant, a computer science student at Trent University in Peterborough, Ont., and Nikola Oliver, a Trent alumnus — have high hopes for their brainchild.
“We ran a pilot of the site in the fall at Trent University, and would call it a success,” commented Pomerant. “We managed to get some sponsorship by giving away some pizza coupons and free groceries,” he explained, but that money goes towards prizes for the contests the site runs. Otherwise, Pomerant and Oliver fund the site themselves, making it free for any student that wishes to join.
Pomerant explained that WebCT isn’t always used by all professors and it was usually impossible to find anyone that was in one of your specific classes unless you were literally in the class, which posed a problem for missed classes and note-taking. Some of the portals include forums for every single class in the university calendar, and within the next few weeks, he hopes all of the included schools will have the same advantage.
The site includes radio feeds from various university radio stations, contests, calendars and, of course, a blog and forum section that covers everything from university life to student employment.
The recently launched Virtual Learning Commons, created by the U of M, is another example of an online website dedicated to developing a community for students and scholars that share the same interests.
Computerized MCAT launched: few glitches reported
COURTNEY MACQUARRIE
The standardized Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) has changed, and on Jan. 27 and 29 of this year, the first computer-based testing session was held. Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, a large test-preparation company, conducted a survey that showed positive reviews from participants despite the occasional technical fault.
Main points covered by the survey showed that computer practice is a critical preparation tool not only for test-takers but administrators as well, since additional survey results found that incorrect information coming from proctors was sporadically an issue.
Planning ahead and early registration were emphasized, since computer requirements have become an issue for testing sites — causing a change in the locations where the test is offered and consequently, the distances students must travel to take the test.
“While most of our students reported positive experiences during this first ever large scale administration of the computer-based MCAT, future test-takers should always be prepared for potential glitches,” commented Matt Fidler, MCAT program manger for Kaplan Test Prep, in a press release.
The next MCAT testing takes place in April. Kaplan is encouraging students to register early, to avoid missing out on preferred testing sites and dates now that there are of limited number of both, one of the downsides of the new computerized version of the text.
