December 17, 2021
Wishing you a safe and happy holiday! Please watch for the next issue of Inside Western on January 7, 2022.
(Image by Darryl Lahteenmaa, Western Communications)
The planned and unexpected transformations of campus culture; our hard-won victories on the field and in the laboratories; the bold steps taken to improve equity, the environment, the ecosystem of education itself. Western News looks back on the memorable themes that emerged in 2021.
(Photo composite designed by Rob Potter, Western Communications)
Nominated by faculty, staff, students and alumni, the 2021 Western Award of Excellence recipients were chosen for their exemplary service, creativity and innovation, the ability to share their knowledge and expertise, and their capacity to foster their values of integrity and respect across campus.
Aerial shot of IISD Experimental Lakes Area. (Photo by Paul Blanchfield)
An interdisciplinary research team, including biology professor Brian Branfireun, conducted a 15-year study that found reducing mercury pollution in lakes reduces the amount of mercury found in freshwater fish destined for consumers’ plates.
Nathalie Des Rosiers and Sonya Nigam. (Submitted photos)
Lawyer and academic Nathalie Des Rosiers and co-investigator Sonya Nigam, executive coordinator for the Canadian Association for the Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment in Higher Education, will lead an independent review of policies and procedures following allegations of sexual violence during the period of Sept. 10-11.
Left to right: Katie Big-Canoe, program coordinator, Indigenous Health Lab; James Voogt, chair, department of geography and environment; Chantelle Richmond, director, Indigenous Health Lab; and Desmond Moser, earth sciences professor. (Submitted photo)
Western News sat down with Chantelle Richmond, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health and Environment, to learn more about her work incorporating Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing into her teaching and her research.
(Photo by Western Athletics)
After a year away from competitive sport – when the pandemic forced the cancellation of intercollegiate athletics across the country – Western Mustangs student athletes, coaches and staff made up for a lost 2020 with a banner 2021.
Working at Western
Stationary engineer, Liam Hand is one of many Facilities Management employees scheduled or on-call over the holiday break. (Photo from Facilities Management Communications)
The team that keeps Western humming over the holidays
As most prepare for the holiday break, some Facilities Management staff including members of the power plant, environmental systems, landscape services, trades and caretaking teams, continue to work on campus to monitor, protect and care for the university.
There’s still time to support the United Way Elgin
Middlesex
As the winter term draws to an end, so does this year’s United Way campaign. It’s not too late to give to the programs that support our community in so many ways, including: food and drink, mental well-being and social connection, and safety at home. For those who have had a chance to support the campaign - thank you. Your support improves lives locally and helps build a community where everyone matters.
Photo of the Week
Members of the Western Mustangs men's hockey team with Summer Rawson, 13 and her cousin Isaac March. The team played driveway hockey and put up Christmas lights and decorations with the Ilderton, Ont. family, hit hard by the sudden death of Summer's father and her sister's recent cancer diagnosis. Team members (left to right) David Ovsjannikov, Jake Murray, Stephen Desrocher, Franco Sproviero, Dan Davies and Jack Tucker. (Submitted photo)
Coming Up
(Photo by CDC via Unsplash)
Tues, Jan. 11 (2 p.m.)
Synthetic biology as a technoscience
The Rotman Synthetic Biology Reading group is hosting a virtual meeting with Massimiliano Simons, postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University, for a discussion of his 2021 paper, “Synthetic biology as a technoscience: The case of minimal genomes and essential genes”. Please register in advance.
Friday, Jan. 14 (12:30 p.m.)
Lightbreak
The Don Wright Faculty of Music Fridays @ 12:30 concert series will feature LightBreak (Western faculty member Jana Starling, and Wesley Ferreira, clarinets), an electronic and multimedia clarinet duo that takes the intrepid path towards intensifying the human experience through the arts.
Friday, Jan. 14 (1:45 p.m.)
Talking Music: The recital stage as a means of intensifying the human experience
Following the Fridays @ 12:30 Concert Series, Faculty of Music professor and clarinetist Jana Starling and clarinetist Wesley Ferreira will discuss recital programming, an artist's purpose, and the increasing value of the expansion of the concert experience.
Western in the News
Aftermath of a tornado on the left; David Sills. (CTV News image)
CTV National
Kentucky tornado system was 'in a class of its own': expert
In light of last week's massive and late-season storms in Kentucky, David Sills explains how climate change influences conditions for tornadoes.
CBC Quirks and Quarks
NASA's $10 billion space telescope is finally going to launch — with CanCon
The James Webb Space Telescope is set to launch, and Western Space director Sarah Gallagher says it will give scientists an unprecedented view of the universe, and a window into galaxies around supermassive black holes.
The Toronto Star
Omicron is making the holidays complicated. 50 COVID experts weigh in with their advice
The Toronto Star asked COVID-19 experts, including Schulich Medicine & Dentistry assistant professor Dr. Nitin Mohan, how they are marking the 2021 holidays and their advice for celebrating safely.
CBC Radio Day 6
There's another conflict happening between Russia & Ukraine — an information war that's been waging for years
As worries over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine grow, media in both Russia and Ukraine have been spreading disinformation through traditional and social media. Political science professor Marta Dyczok says the creation of a public broadcaster is helping to provide more balanced, trusted journalism in Ukraine.
Commentary
(Photo by David Yu via Pixabay)
Researchers around the world are calling for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games based on China's lack of concern for human rights. The International Olympic Committee has long maintained that sport should be politically neutral but the researchers, including kinesiology professors Mac Ross, Laura Misener, P. David Howe and Michael Heine, believe life has worsened for minorities in China since the country hosted the 2008 Olympics and it is time to send a strong message. The commentary was published by the Journal of Emerging Sport Studies.
