Assistant Professor
Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering
Telephone: 514-848-2424 ext. 5663
E-mail: bouguila@ciise.concordia.ca
Dr. Nizar Bouguila, assistant professor with the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE), is working on the development of a computer vision system for security applications. The system could be integrated in airports, border crossings and the like, as an added security measure.
The system that Dr. Bouguila is developing, with his graduate students, relies on visual information (images, videos) captured by cameras. The main goal is to automatically process continuously recorded videos and to be able to detect and recognize objects, and decode human behaviour in abnormal situations. The visual content of these videos can be described by numerical values (called visual features). These values can be used to characterize specific objects (ex. gun, pen), actions (ex. fight, run, walk) and emotions (ex. nervous, happy) using complex mathematical and statistical models (this operation is called machine learning). Preliminary results are promising and the applications are numerous (security in airports, for instance).
Dr. Bouguila’s research work has been recognized and awarded several times. For instance, he received the prestigious 2007 "Prix d'excellence de l'association des doyens des études supérieures au Québec (Québec ADESAQ prix d'excellence)". This prize is awarded each year to the best Ph.D thesis in Engineering and Natural sciences in Quebec. He was also awarded Best IAPR student Paper award in the IEEE Fourth Canadian conference on Computer and Robot Vision, for a paper that he co-authored with Mohand Said Allili and Prof. Djemel Ziou of the University of Sherbrooke.
Source: Media Relations
Congratulations to mechanical and industrial engineering professor Javad Dargahi for his recent honourable mention at the 2009 Professional and Scholarly Excellence Awards (PROSE) awards. His book Artificial Tactile Sensing in Biomedical Engineering was the runner-up in the Engineering & Technology category.
The 2009 PROSE Awards received a record-breaking 441 entries from more than 60 professional and scholarly publishers across the U.S.
Congratulations to filmmaker Patricia Chica (BFA 96) for winning the best short drama award at the 13th annual Magnolia Film Festival for her film Day Before Yesterday.
Chica was among 64 other Concordians involved in 67 films shown at the Rendez-vous Film Festival, held Feb. 17 to 27. The festival has become one of the most important venues to promote contemporary filmmaking. See a full list of participating profs and grads.
The films Last Train Home and Antoine, executively produced by cinema professor Dan Cross, have both been nominated for the Jutra Award for feature documentary. Honouring the best in Quebec films, the awards will be handed out March 28. Last Train Home was also listed in the top five films of the Sundance Film Festival in January.
Until now, Last Train Home has only shown in Quebec, U.S. and Europe. In late February it opened in English Canada, showing at the Toronto Human Rights Watch film festival. The film will continue and be shown in Western Canada in following months.
Numerous members of the Stingers football were honoured at their awards banquet on Feb. 20 at the Molson brewery. Linebacker Cory Greenwood was honored as the outstanding player as well as the team’s MVP defence. In eight games, Greenwood collected 62 tackles and led the Quebec University Football League. Quarterback Rob Mackay was the Stingers’ MVP offence. The fourth-year senior completed 201 of 328 passes for 2 739 yards and 18 touchdowns, setting Quebec records for yards passing and touchdowns thrown in a single season. Running back Cedric Ferdinand was the inaugural winner of the Ricky Zieba Memorial Award, to be given out to an unsung hero on the team demonstrating dedication and a teamwork. Ferdinand and defensive back Mark Deslauriers were also honored for their careers. Both have completed five years with the program. Defensive tackle Alexandre Turp was named the outstanding lineman, and linebacker Alexandre Lemire was named top rookie. Linebacker Marc-André Lewis was recognized as the team’s top academic. (Currently, Economics and Business student Lewis maintains a GPA of 4.13.). Guards Kristian Matte and Joel Belerique were named top lineman and outstanding rookie, respectively. Tackle Anthony Barrette was named the most dedicated player.
Congratulations to BSc student in Specialization Actuarial Mathematics Ka Yan (Vivian) Lee and Co-op BSc student in Specialization Actuarial Mathematics and Finance Yadvinder Matharu for each winning a $1 000 actuarial mathematics scholarship from Towers Perrin (now Towers Watson). The Department of Mathematics and Statistics also wishes to thank Towers Perrin and extends congratulations on their recent merger with Watson Wyatt.
Source: Concordia Journal, March 4, 2010.
Congratulations to the members of the JMSB team who brought home first over all at the Financial Open at McGill, Feb. 5 to 7. The team scored two gold, one silver and two bronze finishes in individual case disciplines in bringing home their second consecutive Financial Open title, and third in four years.
JMSB students also brought home the title from the fifth annual Organizational Behavior Case Competition at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson, Jan. 29. It was the first time a school from outside Ontario has won the competition.
“Thanks to the teams for all their hard work and amazing sticktoitiveness,” says Mark Haber, JMSB Advisor to the undergraduate competition program.
English professor Jonathan Sachs will be participating in the Benjamin Meaker Visiting Professorship at the University of Bristol, U.K. between March 1 and 5. Sachs, who studies the place of antiquity in the development of literary and political discourse during the 18th century, will be giving a lecture on his current research as well as performing a seminar and two research workshops. Not restricted to any one discipline, the professorship was founded in 1976 from a bequest from the estate of the businessman Benjamin Meaker.
Upon his return, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture will host Sachs to present his book, Romantic Antiquity: Rome in the British Imagination 1789-1832. March 15 at 4:15 in LB-646.
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering professor George Vastistas and his team’s work on vortex patterns was recently featured in the book, Flow: Nature’s Patterns: A Tapestry in Three Parts (Oxford University Press). “It’s very satisfying to be mentioned along with the renowned Belgian scientist of the 18th century Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau,” said Vatistas.
The masters’ thesis of Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate Javad Lavaei has won the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools Master’s Thesis Award 2009-10 for the best thesis of the last three years. The competition includes the some of the best universities in the world, including MIT, Harvard, Yale and McGill. Lavaei was the winner of the Governor General’s Gold Medal in 2008 (see Journal, Nov. 20, 2008).
The Concordia delegation of 36 students brought back two trophies from the 20th Engineering Games, held in Quebec City Jan. 3 to 7. The debating team of Vijeta Patel and Sergio Lando brought back the first place trophy, while the consulting engineering team of Lando, Christine Kalil, Hao Yin, Francine Nguyen and Jonathan Yu brought home the third place award. Eleven teams from Quebec university engineering schools rallied around the theme of water to present environmentally friendly solutions to real-life industry-based problems.
Addendum to Accolades Jan. 28, 2010: The book, Plan of Chaos, co-edited by retired English professor David Ketterer, is published by Penguin.
Source: Concordia Journal, February 11, 2010.
Faculty of Fine Arts Advisory (FAA) member Maurice Forget has been named Arts-Business Personality of the Year by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and the Conseil des arts de Montréal. Cultural organizations in the Greater Montreal area nominate the companies and business people who have offered them invaluable support. The winners’ nomination may be earned by a loan of a collection, a fundraising campaign, or sitting on a board of directors.
Forget is among the volunteers who sit on the FAA to offer their expertise and knowledge to the Faculty. Composed entirely of volunteers, members meet several times per academic year to advise the Dean and act as ambassadors on behalf of the Faculty within the larger community.
The tenth book from Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus Robert Tittler has been accepted by Oxford University Press. Portraits, Painters and Publics in Provincial England, 1540-1640 will appear in 2012. Also, a third edition of his book The Reign of Mary I has also been commissioned by publisher Pearson Longman, and will appear in 2012 as well.
Retired English professor and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool David Ketterer’s edition of John Wyndham’s Plan for Chaos was published on Jan. 7. Co-edited by Ketterer, the book, a prequel to Wyndam’s 1951 novel The Day of the Triffids, was released to coincide with the BBC1 and BBC HD showing of the new two-part television adaptation of Triffids.
He has also recently published two essays: “Julian the Apostate and ‘The Assignation’: ‘Thou Hast Conquered’” appeared in the 2009 book, Poe Writing/Writing Poe. The second, “Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and Poe’s Pym (and ‘Berenice’)” appeared in the 2009 journal Poe Studies: History, Theory, Interpretation. The latter essay, he presented via Skype at the international conference Genius and Psychosis in E. A. Poe: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives, last Dec. 2 to 4 at the University of Valencia, Spain.
JMSB teams placed well at the Inter-Collegiate Business Conference (ICBC) at Queen’s University, Jan. 7 to 9. The team of Rebecca Golt and Louis Martyres (with coaches Aaron Dresner and Matthew Fishman) placed second in Human Resources, and the team of Benoit Chevrier, Valerie Larochelle and Alexander Ryzhikov (with coach Jessica Andrews) won third place in Business Policy. The Management Information Systems team of Hadi Azar and Emil Vanjaka (with coaches Ian Selvarajah and Theodore Zambelismade) made it into the top six in their discipline.The JMSB delegation also brought home the Chairperson’s Award for school spirit.
Held Jan. 14 to 17, the 30th annual Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) Canada Student Conference in Windsor, Ont. was a successful one for the delegation of engineering students representing Concordia. Raissa El-Haddad placed third in the Technical Paper Competition, and Concordia’s executive team received the Robert F. Moore award for best-managed chapter. As well, the team proudly received the acclaimed Golden I Award for the second year in a row, given to the school with the most participation and school spirit.
Source: Concordia Journal, January 28, 2010.
Open media MFA graduates Aaron Pollard and Adad Hannah have been presented with the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton award by the Canada Council for the Arts. Worth $15 000 each, the awards recognize outstanding mid-career artists in the seven disciplines funded by the Canada Council: dance, integrated arts, media arts, music, theatre, visual arts and writing and publishing. The prizes were created using funds from a generous bequest made by the late Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton to the Canada Council.
The Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has awarded Concordia $108 052 for its research in the area of biometrics. The grant goes towards the advancement of the project Infrastructure for Advanced Non-Intrusive Time Resolved Investigation of Cardiovascular Flows, headed by mechanical and industrial engineering professor Lyes Kadem.
This investment is made under the CFI’s Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF), which this year granted $59 million in support for 262 projects in 40 Canadian research institutions, allowing talented researchers to conduct cutting-edge research in world-class facilities.
Film professor Daniel Cross has taken top honours at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam for his film, Last Train Home. The film took the prize for Best Feature-Length Documentary and will screen at the Sundance Film Festival later this month.
Set in China, Last Train Home is an observational documentary that charts the dramatic story of one family but represents the challenges facing a changing nation and a troubled world.
Author and former English professor Clark Blaise has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. Blaise, a graduate of Denison University (1961) and the University of Iowa (1964), moved to Montréal and acquired Canadian citizenship in 1966. He taught at Sir George Williams University where he helped establish the post-graduate creative writing program. Blaise is the author of nine story collections, three novels and three previous works of non-fiction.
On Dec. 30, Governor General Michaëlle Jean announced a total of 57 new appointments, including musicians Neil Young and Burton Cummings, former New Democratic Party leader Alexa McDonough, former Manitoba Premier Gary Filmon and former Nova Scotia Premier John F. Hamm.
In November, studio arts instructor Françoise Sullivan was given status as Officer within the Order of Canada. (See Journal, Nov. 26, 2009.)
Human systems intervention MA student Ronna Schwartz has received the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) director general’s award. Shwartz, who works as an outpatient physical therapist at the Allen Memorial wing of the Royal Victoria Hospital, received the honour for a program she initiated as part of her course AHSC 620, Individual Learning and Individual Change, to help integrate individuals suffering with mental illness back into the community.
Source: Concordia Journal, January 14, 2010.
Congratulations to distinguished CSBN professor emeritus Jane Stewart who will be receiving the 2009 John B. Stirling Montreal Medal from her alma mater, Queen’s University. The award is given each year to an individual to reward their meritorious contributions to the honour of the university.
Stewart received her BA in Psychology and Biology from Queen’s in 1956. She joined Concordia University (then SGWU) in 1963, served as chair of the Department of Psychology from 1969 to 74, and was the founder and director of the CSBN from 1990 to 1997. In 2007, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.
She will receive her medal from Queen’s University Principal and Vice-Chancellor Daniel Woolf Nov. 21 at the McCord Museum.
Adding to Concordia’s nominations for this fall’s literary awards, part-time English faculty Patrick McDonagh [PhD 98] and former student Yves Engler have been nominated for the Quebec Writers’ Federation Mavis Gallant Prize for non-fiction. McDonagh is picked for Idiocy: A Cultural History and Engler for The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy. Rounding out the nominees for the prize is Eric Siblin [MA Hist 87] for The Cello Suites.
The Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies’ The Will to Intervene report (see Journal Sept. 17, 2009) has been listed by the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University as an official resource for their Mass Atrocity Response Operations project.
Recent educational studies master’s graduate Michael Ernest Sweet has been conferred a 2009 Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence, considered one of Canada’s premier teaching awards.
Sweet, who teaches at Lester B. Pearson High School, founded Learning for a Cause Student Press in 2004 and has published four award-winning anthologies of student writing. He was named a Journal Great Grad in 2008.
Congratulations to ENCS PhD graduate Fitsum Tariku for receiving a 2009 Housing Studies Achievement Award from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for his research on the reduction of energy waste in buildings, pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. One of three winners, Tariku will receive a $10 000 prize as well as a merit certificate. Tariku is currently the director of building science at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Concordia’s emergency procedures video has been awarded the third place prize Public Awareness Award by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). The non-profit educational organization IAEM has 5 000+ members in 58 countries, and is dedicated to promoting the goals of saving lives and protecting property during emergencies and disasters.
The video was created to promote awareness of emergency procedures at Concordia, and is shown during new student and staff orientations, as well as safety seminars around campus. Watch it now.
Source: Concordia Journal, November 12, 2009.
The provincial government just announced longtime (now retired) Concordia photography teacher Gabor Szilasi has been named as the 2009 recipient of the prix Paul-Émile-Borduas. The prestigious distinction is awarded by the Quebec government recognizing lifelong achievement in visual arts, architecture and design. Szilasi will receive the award during an official ceremony at the National Assembly Nov. 3.
Over the last 50 years, Szilasi has created one of Canada’s most influential bodies of work through environmental, domestic and commercial and urban portraits of Quebec and Budapest. His work has been presented at more than 30 exhibitions, and is part of 13 distinguished collections (including the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the National Gallery of Canada). Szilasi taught at Concordia from 1979 to 95.
Once again this year, Concordia alumni and faculty are notably present on shortlists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Quebec Writers’ Federation Awards and the Writers Trust Awards.
Eric Siblin [MA Hist 87] is nominated four times for his book, The Cello Suites. His name appears on the nominees list for a GG in the non-fiction category, the QWF Mavis Gallant Prize for non-fiction, the QWF McAuslan First Book Prize, and a Writers’ Trust award non-fiction prize.
Carmine Starnino [BA 94, MA Eng 01] has been nominated twice: His book This Way Out is up for both a GG in the poetry category, as well as the QWF’s A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry.
Part-time Études françaises prof David Homel’s Wildlives (co-translated with Fred A. Reed) is up for a GG in the Fr-Engl translation category, as well as the QWF Translation prize. (Among his numerous awards, Homel won GGs in 01 and 95, and the QWF Hugh MacLennan Award for best Quebec fiction in 2003.)
English professor Sina Queyras’ Expressway has been nominated for the GG’s poetry award.
Howard Scott [BA Translation 79, MA Translation/Women’s Studies 84] is also nominated in the GG’s Fr-Eng translation category for A Slight Case of Fatigue.
Part-time English instructor Jon Paul Fiorentino’s [BA Eng 01, MA Creative Writing 03] Stripmalling (see Journal, April 23, 2009) is nominated for the QWF Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction.
Both the GGs and the QWF awards will be announced Nov. 17. The Writers Trust prizes will be awarded Nov. 24.
Congratulations to the JMSB’s MBA program for improving its rating among the top business schools in Canada and the world. On Oct. 21, the Washington, D.C.-based Aspen Institute – the international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue – rated the JMSB second in Quebec, third in Canada and 34th worldwide for its demonstration of significant leadership in integrating social, environmental and ethical issues into its curriculum. Last year, the JMSB rated the same provincially; eighth in Canada and 59th worldwide. This year, 149 business schools from 24 countries participated in the 18-month survey.
Further congrats to JMSB Dean Sanjay Sharma for being named to the India Abroad Power List 2009. At a ceremony held at the Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Queen’s Park office on Oct. 19, Sharma was honoured as one of 30 outstanding members of Canada’s Indian community based on his outstanding contributions to society.
Source: Concordia Journal, October 29, 2009.
Concordia University Libraries is proud to mark international Open Access Week (October 19 – 23) with the launch of Spectrum: Concordia University Research Repository.
Spectrum currently contains the full text of over 6000 theses and dissertations produced at the university from 1967 to 2003. It also offers Concordia faculty and researchers an additional venue for sharing their research using a simple process of self-submission.
There will be a Spectrum workshop on October 22 titled Increase the Visibility of your Research in the Webster Library, and on October 26 in the Vanier Library, which will review the submission process and the kinds of scholarly publications that can be added at this time to Spectrum.
The name Spectrum reflects the variety of original research and creative activity that characterizes the scholarly output of Concordia University. The database, in development since 2007, is an initiative of the Concordia University Libraries supported by the Office of the Vice-President, Research & Graduate Studies.
The new digital resource is in keeping with the university’s strategic plan to develop community engagement and social responsibility, making Concordia scholarship freely accessible to everyone via the internet.
“I am delighted to see the launch of this significant new resource,” said Louise Dandurand, Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies. “The creation of a Research Repository speaks to Concordia’s commitment to increase its contribution to world knowledge and promote public access to the results of publicly funded research.”
“Research deposited in Spectrum is highly visible, because the site will be searchable using popular search engines such as Google and Google Scholar,” added Jocelyn Godolphin, Associate University Librarian for Collection Services. “Concordia University now joins some 1200 other repositories round the world in providing a university-wide open access repository which will increase accessibility and preserve the scholarship produced by Concordia University researchers.”
Find out more about Spectrum, visit the website, or email Spectrum@alcor.concordia.ca.
Source: Concordia News, October 22, 2009.
Loyola graduate, former board member, university administrator and part-time professor in three Faculties, John Parisella has been named Quebec’s delegate-general to New York. A former chief of staff to Liberal premiers Robert Bourassa and Daniel Johnson and advisor to Premier Charest, Parisella is an expert on Canada-U.S. relations and has published widely on American politics. He is expected to take the position Nov. 16.
Congratulations to JMSB professor Suresh Goyal for his citation in a recent issue of International Journal of Production Economics as one of the top three most productive authors in the last five decades (1959-2008). Goyal is the second most productive researcher out of the three top from Canada and among the top 10 globally.
On Oct. 5 and 6, the 13th Annual Concordia Used Book Fair raised $10 368 for Multi-Faith Chaplaincy's Student Emergency Food Fund and Concordia scholarships. This marks the first time the effort surpassed the $10 000 mark. Organizers estimate over 5 000 books were sold during the two-day sale. Pictured at left: Volunteers Elaine Bruce (left) and Dawn Johnson ring up purchases.
Irvin Dudeck, Director of Budget Planning and Control, Financial Services, gave a well-received presentation addressing position budgeting at Concordia University at the Canadian Banner University Conference (CBUC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was assisted by Senior Analyst David Melo.
On Oct. 6, history professor Steven High was appointed to the Advisory Board of the National Task Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research. A Canada Research Chair in Public History and co-director of the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, High is the principal investigator in the five-year oral history project Life Stories Montreal, which works with Montrealers displaced by war, genocide and other human-rights violations. He was one of three Quebec researchers chosen for the position.
ENCS would like to thank Montreal company Vigilant Futures, who recently made a $20 000 donation to the Faculty. The donation will provide a graduate scholarship for international students in Computer Science of $1 000 each year.
Source: Concordia Journal, October 15, 2009.
Concordia University is pleased to announce the next edition of the President’s Conference Series titled “Every Breath You Take - Surveillance, Security & The End of Privacy”, on November 4, 2009. The three sessions will present exciting research by Concordia faculty on the complex social, political and technological relationship between individual privacy and public security (see poster for more details).
President’s Conference Series website
AA Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science capstone project has won the first place prize at this year’s national Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) TELUS Innovation Awards. The Multi-Touch Multi-User Interactive Surface Using Computer Vision, a project led by Professor Reza Soleymani, won $10 000 at the competition in Mississauga, Ont., in Sept. The project has received attention from TELUS for future funding and development.
On Sept. 23, the Honorable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced two Concordia University professors have received further Tier-2 funding of $100 000 annually over a five-year period from the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program. Psychology Professor Mark A. Ellenbogen is reconfirmed as the CRC in Developmental Psychopathology and CIISE Professor Yong Zeng is reconfirmed as the CRC in Design Science.
On Sept. 21, Professor in the Education Department Arpi Hamalian was honoured as one of 11 YWCA 2009 Women of Distinction, receiving the Education Award. During her 30+ years at Concordia, Hamalian has served as Chair of the Department of Education, Principal of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, President of the Concordia University Faculty Association (CUFA), and was the first female President of the Quebec Federation of University Professors (FQPPU).
Congratulations to Humanities PhD student Joanne Hui for the selection of her artwork, entitled The Potato Wars: Chinese-Canadian Resistance during the Exclusion Era, for inclusion in the exhibition DIASPORArt; Strategy and Seduction by Canadian Artists from Culturally Diverse Communities. The exhibition will be displayed in the Ambassadors Room in Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General Michaëlle Jean. The exhibition opened Sept. 21 and will remain on display for one year.
Two Concordia researchers are involved in SPOT, a research project designed to reinforce HIV prevention among men who have sex with men. Both professor Gilbert Émond and part-time lecturer Thomas Haig are among the researchers on the project, headed by Mark A. Wainberg, former president of the International AIDS Society. The project was established over a year ago (see Journal, Jan. 17, 2008). The Sept. 16 opening of the rapid-testing, drop-in and support centre in the gay village sets the practical aspect of the research in motion. Organizers hope to deliver 4 000 tests, along with information and resources, between now and Dec. 2010.
Congrats to R4, whose work in developing Concordia’s rigorous environmental policy have helped the school win this year’s Prix québécois d’entreprise citoyenne in the category of environment, large institutions. The prize is awarded in recognition of actions taken by Quebec-based businesses to introduce and promote innovative practices in business ethics and sustainable development. Created under this policy, the large-scale composting program allowed Concordia to recycle 20 tons of waste material that would otherwise have gone to the dump – four times the amount normally recycled – in the 2008-09 academic year alone.
Last issue, the Journal overlooked the awarding to a Concordian of a second Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) award at their 70th convention in June. Psychology Professor Adam S. Radomsky was the recipient of the Distinguished Contributions to Public or Community Service award. Psychology Professor Andrew Ryder won the President’s New Researcher Award at the same event.
Source: Concordia Journal, October 1, 2009.
Associate Professor in the Institute for Information Systems Engineering Amin Hammad has been named the Fulbright Visiting Chair in Transborder Studies at Arizona State University. Hammad will be conducting research on the collaborative emergency management of international bridges between Canada and the U.S.
Through the examination of a wide range of subjects, the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program seeks to enhance mutual understanding between Canada and the U.S. through its bilateral academic exchanges for outstanding students, scholars and professionals. Operating in over 150 countries worldwide, the Fulbright program has long been regarded as the world’s premiere academic exchange.
Concordia also welcomes two American Fulbright students, Jennifer Montgomery and Thomas A. Nail, who will be studying here during the 2009-10 academic year.
Congratulations to Music Professor Christopher Jackson and History Professor Ronald Rudin for their recent election into the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) – the country's oldest and most prestigious scholarly society – for their career contributions to their respective fields.
Jackson, a former Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, is the co-founder and artistic director of the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (SMAM), an accomplished performer and renowned educator. He is currently leading the fundraising drive for the Grey Nuns project.
Rudin is one of the leading historians of French Canada and a pioneer of historical documentary filmmaking. He is the author of six major monographs and numerous scholarly articles and book chapters. As well, Rudin held a reading for his recently released book, Remembering and Forgetting in Acadie: A Historian's Journey through Public Memory on Sept. 14.
Election to RSC is the highest honour that can be attained by scholars, artists and scientists in Canada. The Society has 1 967 active Fellows; 12 of whom are from Concordia (complete list available at mediarelations.concordia.ca.)
In addition to his research and teaching, Rudin is also the Academic Convenor for the 2010 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, which will bring close to 9 000 academics to Concordia from May 28 until June 4.
Congratulations to Assistant Psychology Professor Andrew Ryder for his reception in June of the 2009 Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) President's New Researcher Award at the CPA's 70th convention. The award recognizes the exceptional quality of the contribution of new researchers to psychological knowledge in Canada.
Centre for Research in Human Development Professors Lisa Serbin and Diane Poulin-Dubois were also keynote speakers at the June event.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor M.N.S. Swamy (left) has recently been awarded the title Honorary Professor by the National Chiao Tung University (NCTU), Taiwan. The award was given at a special ceremony held at Hsinchu, Taiwan by President of the National Chiao Tung University Peter Wu (right). NCTU is one of the most highly-regarded institutions in Taiwan.
Source: Concordia Journal, September 17, 2009.
Mark your calendar!
October 7, 2009 from 10:00 – 14:00; EV Building, 1515 St. Catherine W., Room EV002.26
Are you conducting research related to community development or sustainability? Do you want to find out about such research?
We would like to hear from you at a special roundtable event on October 7th. The primary objective of this event is to learn about community-related research at Concordia – to explore research opportunities for students and faculty, collaboration possibilities, program options, and potential funding.
Our interest stems from the importance of community enhancement for research, action, or policy issues, but any community-related topics are welcome including: citizen engagement, governance, social support, social mobilization, financing, community collaboration, community economic development, community sustainability, community design and planning, community security, community action, and capacity-building. A wide variety of ‘communities’ will be included – from communities of place to those based on common interests or social characteristics.
The roundtable will be organized as a plenary session. Researchers will be asked for short, time-limited presentations (4 minutes each), posters, and/or flyers regarding their research activities and interests. Lunch will be served. If you would like to attend, present or display something, please contact Erle Lamothe at sustain@alcor.concordia.ca or ext. 5136 before September 30th to confirm your attendance.
This event is a continuation of the roundtable series begun in 2008 to explore research capacity at Concordia and enhance our work through collaboration. The first roundtable series was on Environmental Sustainability.
Details of these events, summaries of the presentations, and contact information can be found via http://alcor.concordia.ca/~reimer/crrg.
Hosted by:
The Concordia Rural Research Group
The Institute for Community Development, and
Sustainable Concordia
PhD Design Science student Wei Liu won the Best Paper Award at the 16th International Society for Productivity Enhancement (ISPE) International Conference on Concurrent Engineering. “Conceptual modeling of design chain management towards product lifecycle management” aims to develop a comprehensive model for the design chain management by applying the environment-based design theory. Wei Liu is a student of CIISE Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Design Science Yong Zeng.
Congratulations to current master’s student Drew Pinsonneault for receiving an honourable mention at the Rising Stars of Research National Undergraduate Science and Engineering Research Poster Competition in the Physical and Earth Sciences division for his undergrad research last year. The event was held Aug. 19 to 22 at the University of British Columbia. Pinsonneault is a student of Geography, Planning and Environment Assistant Professor Damon Matthews.
Congratulations to Psychology Professor Jim Pfaus (left) for recently receiving the Frank A. Beach Award in comparative psychology from Division 6 of the American Psychological Association. A collaborative paper with colleagues from three other universities, Pfaus’ analysis of ultrasonic vocalizations across play, mating and aggression was recognized as the year’s best paper published in the Journal of Comparative Psychology. This is Pfaus’ second award in Frank Beach’s name; he received his first in 1995 from the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.
In June, Electrical and Computer Engineering Associate Professor Walaa Hamouda and his former master’s student Hassan Abou Saleh won the Best Paper Award at the IEEE International Conference on Communications, this year held in Dresden, Germany. “Cross-Layer Design for MIMO Spatial Multiplexing in Correlated Ricean Fading” was chosen from 1 046 papers.
Source: Concordia Journal, September 3, 2009.
Viviane Namaste, Research Chair in HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health and associate professor at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, is the recipient of the 2009 Canadian Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. Namaste's research and activism address communities of people invisible in HIV/AIDS prevention and services, including bisexuals and transsexuals.
Source: News@Concordia, June 15, 2009.
The Faculty of Fine Arts is pleased to announce the appointment of jake moore as Director of the FOFA Gallery.
jake has been serving as Interim Director since former director Lynn Beavis left Concordia in March 2009 to accept the directorship of the Richmond Art Gallery in Richmond, B.C.
jake brings a broad history in research and creation to the position. She was formally trained in furniture design and construction before pursuing fine arts studies at Concordia (BFA in Sculpture, 93, and MFA in Fibres, 06).
As an artist she has exhibited nationally and, within artist-run culture, has worked in a range of positions from technical advisor to curator. She has published reviews and critical texts in diverse journals such as Canadian Art and the online feminist journal .dpi and most recently authored the catalogue essay for an exhibition of work by Valérie Blass at the Parisian Laundry. Currently, she is a part-time faculty member with Concordia’s Department of Design and Computation Arts.
She can be reached as follows: FOFA Gallery, EV 1-715, Tel: 514-848-2424 ext. 5467, jake.moore@concordia.ca (note: new email address).
Source: News@Concordia, June 15, 2009.
Damon Matthews, a professor in Concordia University’s Department of Geography, Planning and the Environment has found a direct relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming.
Matthews, together with colleagues from Victoria and the U.K., used a combination of global climate models and historical climate data to show that there is a simple linear relationship between total cumulative emissions and global temperature change.
These findings will be published in the next edition of Nature, to be released on June 11, 2009.
Until now, it has been difficult to estimate how much climate will warm in response to a given carbon dioxide emissions scenario because of the complex interactions between human emissions, carbon sinks, atmospheric concentrations and temperature change. Matthews and colleagues show that despite these uncertainties, each emission of carbon dioxide results in the same global temperature increase, regardless of when or over what period of time the emission occurs.
These findings mean that we can now say: if you emit that tonne of carbon dioxide, it will lead to 0.0000000000015 degrees of global temperature change.
If we want to restrict global warming to no more than 2 degrees, we must restrict total carbon emissions — from now until forever — to little more than half a trillion tonnes of carbon, or about as much again as we have emitted since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
“Most people understand that carbon dioxide emissions lead to global warming,” says Matthews, “but it is much harder to grasp the complexities of what goes on in between these two end points. Our findings allow people to make a robust estimate of their contribution to global warming based simply on total carbon dioxide emissions.”
In light of this study and other recent research, Matthews and a group of international climate scientists have written an open letter calling on participants of December’s Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change to acknowledge the need to limit cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide so as to avoid dangerous climate change.
For more information or to obtain a copy of the full article, contact Damon Matthews at 514-848-2424 ext. 2064 or email dmatthew@alcor.concordia.ca.
Matthews (read his profile) was one of Concordia’s 2009 University Research Award winners.
Source: News@Concordia, June 10, 2009.
May was a capital month for members of Concordia's Department of Education to be in Ottawa. On May 10, Professor Gary Boyd received the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE) Leadership award at the CNIE's annual conference. At the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) Conference (part of the 2009 Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities at Carleton University May 23 to 26), Distinguished Professor Emeritus Harold Entwistle was celebrated with a session honouring his longtime contributions to the discipline of education. Also at the CSSE conference, Professor David Waddington was the New Scholar Fellowship Awardee for 2008.
JMSB PhD student Diego Cueto is this year's winner of the Joe Kelly Graduate Award. His thesis “Corporate Governance and Ownership Structure in Emerging Markets: Evidence of Latin America” will be recognized for its quality and originality at convocation on June 8.
Source: Concordia Journal, June 4, 2009.
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Professor Javad Dargahi would like to share the success of his graduate students. Majid Nabavi has received the FQRNT post-doctoral award and was accepted into the esteemed Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich for a post-doctoral position. Saeed Sokhanvar has received the NSERC post-doctoral award. He is currently at MIT. Reza Ramezanfiard, MASc, has received a NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate scholarship of $35 000, as well as the Concordia Graduate Fellowship of $10 000. He is currently at Concordia. Mohammad Ameen Qasaimeh, MASc, has also received a NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate scholarship for the amount of $35 000, and has recently started his PhD at McGill. The students were co-supervised by Kamran Siddiqui, Muthukumaran Packirisamy, Wen Fang Xie and Mojtaba Kahrizi respectively.
Three professors and five students from Fine Arts were selected to participate in this year's open culture art festival Biennale de Montréal, held throughout May. Department of Studio Arts Assistant Professor Daniel Jolliffe presented his interactive installation One Free Minute/Une minute gratuite. Associate Professor Lynn Hughes (along with her colleague in the Faculty of Arts and Science Bart Simon) displayed Porous Lab, (see Journal April 2, 2009), their newly established lab exploring TAG (Technoculture, Art and Games). Department of Design and Computation Arts Assistant Professor Christopher Moore and undergraduate students Tania Alvarez, Emmy Huot, Denise Santillan and Mélodie Vachon Boucher participated in the Open Design project inspired by internationally renowned Austrian designer Stefan Sagmeister. Graduate student Alexandre Castonguay presented Read + Write, an interactive installation which invites audience to engrave texts, sounds and images upon a wall.
Source: Concordia Journal, May 21, 2009.
The Office of the Vice President, Research and Graduate Studies is pleased to invite you to a presentation on university-community knowledge mobilization and best practices by David Yetman, Memorial University. The presentation will take place on May 28th. It promises to be highly informative.
For more information about this presentation
2009 University Research Awards Winners
Dr. Louise Dandurand, Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, and Chair of the University Research Awards Adjudication Committee, is very pleased to announce the 2009 University Research Awards Recipients:
Dr. Peter Shizgal - Faculty of Arts and Science, Department of Psychology
Established Category Award
Dr. Jennifer McGrath - Faculty of Arts and Science, Department of Psychology
Emerging Category Award
Dr. George H. Vatistas - Faculty of Engineering & Computer Science, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Established Category Award
Dr. Damon Matthews - Faculty of Arts and Science, Department of Geography
Emerging Category Award
All four recipients have been acknowledged as exceptional researchers for their overall outstanding work in their distinct fields and within the Concordia community as a whole. Whether through substantial and sustained level of funding received, prizes awarded, impressive publication records, graduate student supervision, or other creative and pioneering research activities, these researchers have displayed leadership roles not only within their respective fields, but also as Concordia ambassadors.
The University Research Awards were first created in 1998, to recognize and promote excellence in research and creative activity at Concordia University. Each awardee will receive a $5,000 research grant and the privilege of holding the title of “Concordia University Research Fellow” for one year.
Congratulations to the 2009 Research Fellows!
Three recent MA English and/or Creative Writing graduates have been nominated for the League of Canadian Poets' Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, honouring the best first book of poetry published in the previous year. What if red ran out by Katia Grubisic, The Invisibility Exhibit by Sachiko Murakami and Late Night With Wild Cowboys by Johanna Skibsrud will be among the six nominees when the prize is awarded during the League's annual conference June 13 in Vancouver.
Biology student Sarah Benning received the Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation award at the Young Researchers' Conference organized by the Institute of Mental Health Research on April 3 in Ottawa. The research for her poster "SIN-1, a Nitric Oxide Donor, Blocks Stimulant-Induced Sensitization: Ramifications for Schizophrenia" was conducted for her independent research project Professor Andreas Arvanitogiannis’ lab at the Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology.
A team of graduate and post-grad students from the Computer Security Laboratory at CIISE was selected as a finalist for the OCTAS 2009 competition on April 8. Organized by the Fédération de l'Informatique du Québec (FIQ) since 1987, the annual OCTAS competition is a unique opportunity to recognize the achievement of excellence in Quebec's information technology industry. Each year, the FIQ rewards individuals, companies, universities or organizations for their creativity, vitality and exceptional contribution to the growth of the industry. The team was Marc-André Laverdière, Nadia Belblidia, Syrine Tlili, Dima Alhadidi, Aiman Hanna, Xiaochun Yang, Mourad Azzam, Zhenrong Yang, Amine Boukhetouta, Rachid Hadjidj, Hakim Idrissi Kaitouni and Hai Zhou Ling.
Source: Concordia Journal, April 23, 2009.
Dr. Louise Dandurand, Vice-President Research & Graduate Studies is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2008/2009 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award:
Each of the awardees will receive a $10,000 reward grant.
The Petro-Canada Young Innovator Awards Program (PCYIAP) was developed to recognize, promote and support outstanding emerging faculty researchers whose academic work is particularly innovative, impacts positively on the learning environment of their department, and has the potential to be of significance to society at large.
Sima Aprahamian (Sociology and Anthropology) was honoured at International Women’s Day celebrations organized by the Montreal and Laval chapters of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS-HOM). Aprahamian was recognized for her academic achievements, including over 20 years of teaching and service at Concordia University, gender related and innovative research approaches and publications, as well as her tireless endeavours in the Armenian community of Montreal, in particular within the literary and cultural circles. Christine St-Pierre, Quebec’s Minister of Culture, Communications and Status of Women, addressed over three hundred guests present at the celebrations.
Source: Concordia Journal, April 2, 2009.
For those of you lucky enough to be at Concordia in May 2010, you will live
an academic experience unlike any other in your university career. From May
28 to June 4, thousands of delegates from dozens of learned societies will
be coming to Concordia from across the country as part of the 2010 Congress
of the Humanities and Social Sciences (CFHSS). This is the first time
Concordia has been chosen to host this extremely prestigious event.
Watch the video of
Ronald Rudin, Academic Convenor for Congress 2010, as he walks us through the Congress, what it means for Concordia, and why it's an opportunity to
immerse yourself into a world of ideas you've only ever dreamed of. Find out
more.
Concordia professor Sherry Simon is among the nine recipients of this year’s Killam Research Fellowships.
A professor in Concordia’s département d’Études françaises, Simon will receive $140,000 over two years for her study, Cities in Translation: Calcutta, Trieste, Barcelona 1850-2000.
Killam Research Fellowships are administered by the Canada Council for the Arts with the aim of enabling Canada’s best scientists and scholars to devote two years to full-time research. This is the 42nd year in the annual competition for Killam Research Fellowships.
For more about the Killam Research Fellowships winners, visit the Canada Council for the Arts website.
Source: News@Concordia, March 12, 2009.
Amie Wright (BA 08) just found out that an article drawn from her honours thesis, supervised by Nora Jaffary, won a prize as best graduate student essay at the Canadian Journal of History. Her essay, “‘La Bebida Nacional’: Pulque and Mexicanidad, 1920-46” will appear in the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of the publication.
David G. Mumby (Centre for Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology) was awarded “Top Reviewer 2007” by the Elsevier journal Behavioural Processes.
Source: Concordia Journal, March 5, 2009.
Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Louise Dandurand is pleased to announce the appointment of 11 new Concordia University Research Chairs.
“The appointment of a Research Chair is a prerogative of the University in order to advance its strategic plan and to reinforce research/creative endeavours and training in a given academic area”, says Dandurand. “With a limited envelop and an impressive number of quality applicants, the task of selecting was even more challenging,” she adds.
Faced with the many quality LOI applications, the University Research Committee members were guided by the following considerations when making their strategic choices: the ratio of Tier 1 and Tier 2 chairs, the Faculty distribution, as well as gender balance.
“We are pleased to introduce to you the 11 new Chair holders who illustrate the richness, quality and breadth of research and creative activities being undertaken at Concordia.”
Congratulations new Concordia University Research Chairs!
Dr. John Capobianco
Concordia University Research Chair in Nanoscience (Tier 1)
Dr. Nina Howe
Concordia University Research Chair in Early Childhood Development and Education (Tier 1)
Dr. Viviane Namaste
Concordia University Research Chair in HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health (Tier 2)
Dr. Vladimir Titorenko
Concordia University Research Chair in Genomics, Cell Biology and Aging (Tier 2)
Dr. Barbara Woodside
Concordia University Research Chair in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (Tier 1)
Dr. Martha Langford
Concordia University Research Chair in Art History (Tier 2)
Dr. Erin Manning
Concordia University Research Chair in Relational Art and Philosophy (Tier 2)
Dr. Thomas Waugh
Concordia University Research Chair in Documentary Film and in Sexual Representation (Tier 1)
Dr. Michael Carney
Concordia University Research Chair in Strategy and Entrepreneurship (Tier 1)
Dr. Bianca Grohmann
Concordia University Research Chair in Consumer Research (Tier 2)
Dr. Gad Saad
Concordia University Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption (Tier 2)
David Waddington (Educational Studies Program) was named recipient of the New Scholar fellowship by the Canadian Society for the Study of Education. He will be honoured at the CSSE AGM.
Adam Radomsky (Psychology) has been awarded for Distinguished Contributions to the Public or Community by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA). The honour was conferred by the association’s board and will be presented at the welcome ceremony for the CPA’s annual conference in June of this year.
Source: Concordia Journal, January 29, 2009.
Muthukumaran Packirisamy of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering was awarded a $40 000 grant from the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations. This network brings together the talents of Canadian researchers from the public and private sectors to strengthen Canada's position at the forefront of photonics research and innovation. The funds were awarded through the institute’s Technology Exploitation and Networking Program. Packirisamy will work with researchers from Valeo and the Alberta-based SciMed Technologies Inc. This is the first collaboration between Packirisamy and SciMed Technologies.
Michel Magnan co-wrote "The Valuation of Canadian Income Trusts: Do Investors See Through Distributable Cash Management?": one of the papers sharing the top research paper prize awarded by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators. The award was given at a reception on Sept. 3 at the Quebec Hilton. The paper was co-written by Denis Cormier of UQAM and Pascale Lapointe-Antunes of Brock University.
Source: Concordia Journal, September 25, 2008.
Dr. Suong Van Hoa
MONTREAL/April 22, 2008
Concordia University is pleased to announce that Dr. Suong Van Hoa has been awarded the inaugural Nano-Academia Award by NanoQuebec. The award ceremony was held last night at the Palais des Congrès during the NanoQuebec-Nano 2008 summit, which is taking place as part of the INNO.08 conference. This prize recognizes a Quebec academic who has been directly involved in a nanotechnological development as a direct result of his research.
“Dr. Hoa is one of the most recognized names in composites and materials research in Canada, and is well-known internationally in his field. His abilities as a world class researcher are matched by his enthusiasm, imagination and entrepreneurship” said the university’s Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Louise Dandurand. “We’re very proud that he is the first person to be awarded this prize,”
The highly specialized work done by Dr. Hoa over the past 29 years has important real-world applications that go far beyond the laboratory. As director of the Concordia Centre for Composites (CONCOM), Dr. Hoa and his team have long worked with companies such as Bell Helicopter Textron, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Bombardier in the Montreal area, and collaborated with Japanese, French, Italian and American groups. His work with Bell Helicopter resulted in a prestigious NSERC Synergy Award in October 2006.
One of his most recent creations is a helicopter landing gear cross-piece he is developing at Concordia — a world first in load-bearing composites. Once in production, it will improve performance and lower long-term costs for manufacturer and users. His collaboration with SMEs such as TANKCON FRP, MPB Communications Technologies, Epoxy Tech and Delastek has helped them move up the value chain and become major suppliers of sophisticated elements in the aerospace and transport industries.
- 30 -
Source:
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
Phone: (514) 848-2424, ext. 2518
Cell: (514) 518-3336
Fax: (514) 848-3383
Email: Tanya.Churchmuch@concordia.ca
Dr. Louise Dandurand, Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, and Chair of the University Research Awards Adjudication Committee, is very pleased to announce the 2008 University Research Awards Recipients:
Prof. Raymonde April (Department of Studio Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts)
Established Award - Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Science Category
Dr. Ann English (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Arts and Science)
Established Award - Science and Engineering Category
Dr. Erin Manning (Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Faculty of Fine Arts)
Emerging Award – Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Science Category
Dr. Simon Bacon (Department of Exercise Science, Faculty of Arts and Science)
Emerging Award – Science and Engineering Category
All four recipients have been acknowledged as exceptional researchers by the committee, for their overall outstanding work in their distinct fields and within the Concordia community as a whole. Whether through substantial and sustained level of funding received, prizes awarded, impressive publication records, graduate student supervision, or other creative and pioneering research activities, these researchers have displayed leadership roles not only within their respective fields, but also as Concordia ambassadors.
The University Research Awards were first created in 1998, to recognize and promote excellence in research and creative activity at Concordia University. Each awardee will receive a $5,000 research grant and the privilege of holding the title of "Concordia University Research Fellow" for one year.
Congratulations to the 2008 Research Fellows!
Kudos to Erin Jessee, an Interdisciplinary Humanities doctoral candidate supervised by Frank Chalk, who won a fellowship from the Canadian Consortium on Human Security for her dissertation, “Inscribed Intent: A Cultural History of the Rwandan and Bosnian Genocides.” Her work presents a new possibility for demonstrating genocidal intent by investigating the interface between oral history, anthropology, international law, and forensic archaeology. She is using the funds, and those recently awarded to her by CIDA, to continue fieldwork in Rwanda and plan for her next phase of research in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Source: Concordia Journal, January 31, 2008.
MONTREAL/January 29, 2008
The Quebec-India Visiting Scholar Awards Program is pleased to announce its first two awards. This initiative, jointly funded by the Quebec Ministry of International Relations and the participating Quebec universities, is coordinated by Concordia University. It aims to help build a community of researchers from across the province with an interest in India, and to offer an opportunity to deepen their connections with colleagues in India.
Dr. R. Raj Rao, from the University of Pune, was invited by Dr. Thomas Waugh of Concordia University. Dr. Rao combines an active creative writing career as a poet and novelist with highly respected scholarship in the field of Post-independence Indian literature and Queer Studies. He and Dr. Waugh will extend their previous work in India to establish a similar network of scholars, artists, writers, and filmmakers in Quebec to more effectively establish concrete frameworks for future collaboration.
Dr. Abdul Nafey, from Jawaharlal Nehru University, was invited by Dr. Marie McAndrew at the Canada Research Chair on Education and Ethnic Relations at Université de Montréal. Dr. Nafey is a specialist in International Studies, with a special focus on Canadian Studies and has conducted extensive research on minorities in India. He will participate in Dr. McAndrew’s colloquium Islam and Education in Pluralistic Societies: Transformations and Integration, and meet with Quebec researchers concerned with ethno-cultural diversity and education.
The Program encourages collaboration among scholars from many disciplines on topics of mutual interest. Grants are offered to Indian professors to spend one to four months in Quebec conducting research, networking, offering guest lectures and public events. A second round of funding has been opened.
For more information, contact Liselyn Adams, Associate Vice President, International, at (514) 848-2424 ext. 4820, or Liselyn.Adams@concordia.ca.
- 30 -
Source:
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
Phone: (514) 848-2424, ext. 2518
Cell: (514) 518-3336
Fax: (514) 848-3383
Email: Tanya.Churchmuch@concordia.ca
Research Chair in Communication Studies Charles Acland and Director of the Humanities Doctoral Program Catherine Russell are to become the new editors of the Canadian Journal of Film Studies, which will now be housed at Concordia.
The Canadian Journal of Film Studies is the leading national peer-reviewed publication in moving image studies.
It has been running continuously since 1991, and has been housed most recently at McGill University where it is run by editor William Wees. His desire to step down from this position in 2008 led to a national call for proposals for new editors and a new institutional affiliation.
Acland and Russell put forth the winning bid, which was announced by the Chair of the Editorial Board, Blaine Allen (Queen’s University), on December 5, 2007.
For more information, contact Charles Acland (craclan@alcor.concordia.ca) or Catherine Russell (crus@alcor.concordia.ca), or visit the Canadian Journal of Film Studies website.
Source: News@Concordia.
Assistant professor Damon Matthews, who joined the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment in January 2007, is a contributing author for the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
In October 2007, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, in two equal parts, to the IPCC and Al Gore for their efforts “to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man‐made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.”
This decision emphasizes the paramount relevance of environmental issues related to climate change for political decision making and for the future changes in distribution of humans across the globe.
Matthews is conducting research in the areas of global climate modeling, human land‐use, the role of the global carbon cycle in future climate change, and the development of sound national and international climate policy.
For more information, contact Lynn Roy at (514) 848-2424 ext. 5002, or visit the Department of Geography, Planning & Environment website.
Source: News@Concordia.
ADRIQ, the Association de la Recherche Industrielle du Québec, handed out its annual honours at a banquet on Nov. 22. Adjunct Professor Hany Moustapha received a Prix Carrière industrielle for his contributions to industrial innovation. Moustapha is a senior executive at Pratt & Whitney Canada, and was the founder of CIADI, a key Concordia program that gives engineering students hands-on experience in aerospace jobs. Also at the ADRIQ gala, Concordia University sponsored the Prix Innovation/produit. This year it was awarded by the ADRIQ jury to Wavesat.
Source: Concordia Journal, December 6, 2007.
Erica Lehrer
MONTREAL/December 3, 2007
Concordia University has been awarded a new Tier-2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in the History of Genocide, for Dr. Erica Lehrer, in the department of History in the Faculty of Arts and Science. In addition, the Tier-2 Research Chair in Number Theory awarded in 2003 to Dr. Adrian Iovita, a professor in the department of Mathematics, has been renewed. Tier-2 chairs are for exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead their field. For each Tier 2 chair, the university receives $100,000 annually for five years.
“As demonstrated in Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage, the Government of Canada is committed to improving Canada’s international reputation for research excellence,” said the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry and minister responsible for the Canada Research Chairs Program. “By investing in the Canada Research Chairs Program, we are helping universities recruit and retain the most brilliant and promising researchers, and contributing to enable these institutions to become leaders in the fields of advanced science and technology.”
Erica Lehrer’s research addresses the far-flung social consequences of mass violence, using new empirical, culturally-attentive and comparative methodologies. Lehrer focuses on the meaning of past suffering to its victims, perpetrators, and bystanders; how such meaning is attached to material things and landscapes; the work it does to define and foster group boundaries, identification and affiliation; and how it influences future relations and actions.
Michael Di Grappa, Acting President of Concordia University, expressed his pleasure at the announcement saying, “Concordia is known for its strengths in this field of research and is home to the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS). This new Chair is another confirmation of the university’s role and commitment to shedding light on the human tragedy of genocide.”
As an innovative mathematical researcher, Dr. Iovita has already gained international recognition for his groundbreaking work in algebraic number theory and its application to geometry and arithmetic. He continually focuses on tackling complex problems that are at the leading edge of current mathematical thinking. Dr. Iovita's most recent work has been concentrated on one of the most dynamical theories to emerge in recent years, a theory known as p-adic cohomology.
The Canada Research Chairs program was launched in 2000 and helps universities attract and retain the best researchers and achieve excellence in the natural sciences and engineering, health services, social sciences and the humanities.
- 30 -
Source:
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
Phone: (514) 848-2424, ext. 2518
Cell: (514) 518-3336
Fax: (514) 848-3383
Email: Tanya.Churchmuch@concordia.ca
Dr. Miljana Horvat receives Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Award for her PhD thesis
Dr. Miljana Horvatreceived a certificate and a $10,000 award for her PhD thesis which she completed in 2005 under the supervision of Dr. Paul Fazio in the Centre for Building Studies, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. The CMHC award was presented to Dr. Horvat on November 6, 2007 at a banquet in Ottawa by Honorable Royal Galipeau, M.P.
Dr. Horvat is currently Assistant Professor at Ryerson University. Congratulations Dr. Horvat!
Left to right: Dr. Christopher Wilds, Dr. Valter Zazubovits, Dr. Eliot A. Phillipson (President and CEO, CFI), Dr. Louis Cuccia, Dr. Amin Hammad, Dr. Laszlo Kalman, Ms. Manon Harvey (VP, Finance and Corporate Services, CFI), Dr. Khaled Galal, Dr. Louise Dandurand, Dr. Wayne Brake, Dr. Claude Lajeunesse, Dr. Paula Wood-Adams, Dr. Michael Sacher, Dr. Truong Vo-Van, Dr. Mamoun Medraj, Dr. Ali Dolatabadi.
On October 29, Concordia University was proud to welcome Dr. Eliot Phillipson, President and CEO, and Ms. Manon Harvey, Vice-President of Finance and Corporate Services, of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to celebrate ten years of CFI funding. President Claude Lajeuenesse and Vice-President Louise Dandurand also welcomed representatives from the City of Montreal, the Government of Quebec, Quebec funding agencies, and industry to join in on the celebration and to see some of the most cutting-edge research facilities in all of Canada.
The day kicked off with a one-hour tour of the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science’s supercomputing facilities, the Advanced Multimedia and Virtual Environments Research Laboratory, and the Concordia Automated Manufacturing of Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory - where visitors were treated to a presentation by representatives from Hewlett Packard. The second segment of the day’s celebration took place in the Villa Longa theatre where the diversity of Concordia’s research and research infrastructure was underscored in a video presentation of three other CFI-funded research areas: the Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics, the Digital Oral History Research Laboratory, and Hexagram. This was followed by a speech given by M. Pierre Arcand, Adjoint parlementaire au ministre du Développement économique, de l'Innovation et de l'Exportation (MDEIE) who spoke of Quebec’s role in supporting universities like Concordia as important links in the chain of innovation in Quebec. Recent Concordia award recipients of the CFI Leaders Opportunity Fund were honoured as part of an awards ceremony. The event finished off on a high note at a reception on the eleventh floor of the EV building where Vice-President Dandurand reiterated appreciation for the CFI’s support for Concordia’s research enterprise.
With approximately 800 faculty members involved in research across its four faculties, Concordia is an important and innovative contributor to new knowledge. Throughout the more than thirty research units – be they centres, networks or institutes – housed at Concordia, investigations are underway in areas as diverse as environmental and business sustainability, social behaviour, cultural and industrial technology, the arts, and corporate and public affairs. Much of this work has been supported by grants from CFI. Between 1998 and 2007, CFI awarded over $24 million to Concordia to fund fifty-five infrastructure projects.to Study Montrealers Displaced by War, Genocide and Other Human Rights Violations
Steven High
MONTREAL/October 25, 2007
Concordia is proud to announce that the Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) program of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council has awarded the university $1 million for an oral history study of displaced persons. The five-year project, led by Dr. Steven High and called the Life Stories of Montrealers Displaced by War, Genocide and Other Human Rights Violations, will be housed at Concordia’s Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling.
Over the next five years, six hundred displaced persons living in Montreal will be interviewed and video recorded several times. Through this individual witness and community testimony, the project will address three distinct questions: How is large scale violence experienced and remembered by its victims and perpetrators? How do displaced persons (re)compose and narrate their stories in Montreal, Quebec and Canada? How can their stories of violence and displacement most effectively be represented and communicated to a wider public?
The project team is composed of 22 university-based researchers as well as 18 community partner organizations including Page-Rwanda, the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre, the Cambodian Genocide Group, the Canadian Council for Refugees and several others. Members of this project will officially launch the Life Stories of Montrealers Displaced by War, Genocide and Other Human Rights Violations on Sunday, October 28, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. at the Centre des loisirs de Ville-Saint-Laurent (1375 Grenet St, Saint-Laurent). For more information on that event, please call (514)855-6110. For more information on the project, please contact (514)848-2424 ext. 2413 or shigh@alcor.concordia.ca
Source:
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
Phone: (514) 848-2424, ext. 2518
Cell: (514) 518-3336
Fax: (514) 848-3383
Email: Tanya.Churchmuch@concordia.ca
The above banner appeared in Le Devoir
Dr. Francois-Marc Gagnon was recently honoured at the ACFAS Gala.
The association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS) recognizes exceptional contributions made to research.
Dr. Francois-Marc Gagnon, Director and Chair of the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art and faculty member in the Faculty of Fine Arts, received the 2007 Prix André-Laurendeau, Science humaines.
For more information about the award and the prizewinners, visit the ACFAS website.
See also the article about Dr. Gagnon published in Le Devoir entitled, Prix André-Laurendeau - La mise en mots du mouvement automatiste.
Source: News@Concordia.
The Office of the Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, is pleased to announce the following 2007/2008 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award winners:
Each of the awardees will receive a $10,000 reward grant.
The Petro-Canada Young Innovator Awards Program (PCYIAP) was developed to recognize, promote and support outstanding young faculty researchers whose academic work is particularly innovative, impacts positively on the learning environment of their department, and has the potential to be of significance to society at large.
The theme for this year’s competition was Sustainable Development as it Pertains to the Environment and/or Society.
For more information on the Award winners, visit the Office of Research website.
Source: News@Concordia.
Dr. Louise Dandurand, Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, has been appointed Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic Affairs while the search process for a new Provost proceeds.
For more information, visit the Office of the Provost website: http://provost.concordia.ca/
Concordian Wins NanoQuebec’s First Nano-Academia Award - April 22, 2008
Concordia University Awarded Canada Research Chair in History of Genocide - December 3, 2007
Dr. Miljana Horvat receives Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation award for her PhD thesis - November 15, 2007
Concordia Celebrates 10 Years of CFI Funding - October 29, 2007
Concordia Receives $1 million Grant - October 25, 2007
Concordian honoured at ACFAS Gala - October 13, 2007
Page Title: News & Events - Concordia University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Page URL:http://vprgs.concordia.ca/newsandevents/index.php ...index.php
Date Printed: Sat March 20, 2010
