"Focus on Five" archive

 March 2013

Joyce Mgombelo [1], mathematics educator, Department of Teacher Education

For mathematics educator Joyce Mgombelo, being a researcher on a Canada-wide team to enhance mathematics education in rural Tanzania runs deep and personal. Read more [2].

Martin Tammemagi [3], epidemiologist, Department of Community Health Sciences

Fresh on the heels of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in February, epidemiologist Martin Tammemagi is keen to implement his new calculator that predicts the likelihood of someone developing lung cancer within the next six years, enabling those who use it to seek medical care early. Read More. [4]

Bareket Falk [5], exercise physiologist, Department of Kinesiology

March is a busy month for exercise physiologist Bareket Falk. She and her team have recruited close to 50 research subjects, with room for about a dozen more volunteers: women who had suffered from scoliosis – a lateral curvature of the spine – in their teen years. Read more. [6]

M [7]ariek Schmidt [7], volcanologist and igneous petrologist, Department of Earth Sciences

For a few months last summer, volcanologist and igneous petrologist Mariek Schmidt was on a different time zone: Mars time. One day on Mars – called a “sol” – consists of approximately 24.5 earth hours. Read more. [8]

David Fancy [9], scholar-artist, Department of Dramatic Arts

Artists’ muses come in many shapes and forms. For David Fancy, Saddam Hussein’s “favourite actor” – Addil Hussain, who was also one of Hussein’s bodyguards – was the inspiration behind Fancy’s recently performed play Khalida. Read more. [10]

February 2013

Kevin Kee [11], Canada Research Chair in Digital Humanities, digital historian, Centre for Digital Humanities: Read more [12].

Janet Conway [13], Canada Research Chair in Social Justice, political scientist, Department of Sociology: Read more [14].

Paul Zelisko [15], organic chemist, Department of Chemistry: Read more [16].

Stephen Cheung [17], Canada Research Chair in Environmental Ergonomics, ergonomist, Department of Kinesiology: Read more [18].

Joe Norris [19], education dramatist, Department of Dramatic Arts: Read more [20].

JANUARY 2013

Diane Dupont [21], environmental economist, Department of Economics: Read more [22].

Lisa Barrow [23], business consultant, Goodman School of Business: Read more [24].

Ana Sanchez [25], medical microbiologist, Department of Community Health Sciences: Read more [26].

Thomas Farrell [27], linguist and chair, Department of Applied Linguistics: Read more [28].

Jim Willwerth [29], staff viticulturist, Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute: Read more [30].

Mathematics educator Joyce Mgombelo spent a few weeks in Tanzania in March meeting with educators and government officials. She and colleagues from the University of Alberta are working on a CIDA-funded project to enhance mathematics teaching capacity in Tanzania, primarily in rural and remote locations. [31]