Archive: 2015

With the Nobel Prize ceremony just a week away, Queen’s University took time to honour Professor Emeritus Arthur McDonald (Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) on Thursday with a special send-off event.

Hundreds of well-wishers filled Grant Hall to mark Dr. McDonald being awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics, along with Takaaki Kajita of the University of Tokyo, “for their key contributions to the experiments which demonstrated that neutrinos change identities.” The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences made the announcement on Oct. 6.

Thanks to Alfred and Isabel Bader, Queen’s art centre has added another Rembrandt painting to its collection – this time a remarkable, late-career masterpiece that had been privately owned and unavailable to scholars for much of its existence.

Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo, signed and dated 1658, will become part of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre’s permanent collection. The painting is a significant example of a dated portrait by Rembrandt from the 1650s, and one of the last works from the artist’s late career to enter a public collection.

A new ranking of university programs by Maclean’s has Queen’s making the top 10 in all 10 categories.

Offered for the first time alongside the magazine’s annual university rankings, Maclean’s ranked universities in 10 different undergraduate programs – biology; business; computer science; education; engineering; environmental science; geology; mathematics; nursing and psychology.

The first recipients of the Dean’s Admission Scholarship for the Arts were celebrated recently at a special event hosted by the Faculty of Arts and Science.

Susan Mumm, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, speaks at the ceremony for the Dean’s Admission Scholarship for the Arts. 

A total of 188 students received the new scholarships for the 2015-16 academic year, which was open to all students in the Bachelor of Arts Honours Program with an average of 88.5-89.9 per cent.

At the September Faculty Board meeting, the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies asked the Dean of Arts and Science to consider the temporary suspension of admissions to the Physical Health and Education Program. Through the fall, the Dean has been reviewing the request and meeting with key stakeholders. She anticipates making her decision before 2016.

If you would like to provide feedback about the idea of a temporary suspension - please email the Dean directly at deanartsci@queensu.ca.

Queen's University professor emeritus Arthur McDonald is the co-winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in physics.

The announcement, made Tuesday morning by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, said Dr. McDonald won the award, along with Takaaki Kajita of the University of Tokyo, "for their key contributions to the experiments which demonstrated that neutrinos change identities."

Dr. McDonald received the call from the Nobel committee at 5 am adding that he immediately had a feeling of "tremendous accomplishment by our team."

The Queen's School of Computing has unveiled the 2015-2016 Queen's School of Computing Newsletter.

Previous year editions can be found here.

While they didn’t win the Microsoft Imagine Cup, Team Walkly is returning to Queen’s University having gained valuable experience that will help them reach the next level.

The Canadian representatives at the prestigious international event –  Riley Karson, (Cmp’17), Julie Lycklama (Cmp’17), Anastasiya Tarnouskaya (Cmp’17) and Christopher Thomas (Cmp’17) – created the Walkly app with the aim of providing a safer walking experience for everyone, anywhere, anytime by combining the power of social media and smartphone technology.

The Queen’s University Biological Station (QUBS) welcomed almost a dozen Chinese students to its grounds north of Kingston last week for the 10^th anniversary instalment of an innovative biology field course.

A Queen’s University researcher has received a top national award in the field of computer science.

Ahmed Hassan (Computing) recently received the Outstanding Young Computer Science Researcher Prize for 2014  from the Canadian Association of Computer Science. (University Communications)

Ahmed Hassan (Computing) is one of three recipients of the Outstanding Young Computer Science Researcher Prize for 2014 from the Canadian Association of Computer Science.

High up on the sixth floor of Botterell Hall, a glass flask is spinning in a bath of thick green liquid. Inside the flask is Professor Peter Davies’ (Biochemistry & Biology) attempt to solve one of nature’s riddles: how can plants, fish and insects live in sub-zero temperatures without freezing?

Peter Davies (left) is working with Craig Marshall from the University of Otago, New Zealand to improve the production of natural antifreeze proteins. 

Queen’s University graduates stack up favourably in the job market, according to surveys that track the employment outcomes of university graduates.

The 2013 Ontario University Graduate Survey (OUGS), conducted for Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, shows that 92 per cent of graduates from Queen’s undergraduate programs are employed six months after graduation. That number compares to an average of 87 per cent for Ontario’s universities.

Kingston high school students are visiting Queen’s to talk about cancer.

Together with the Queen’s Cancer Research Institute (QCRI), Let’s Talk Science, and the Kingston branch of the Canadian Cancer Society’s Research Information Outreach Team (RIOT), students will spend the day learning about cancer biology and research.

Organizer Mathieu Crupi hopes the Let’s Talk Cancer symposium will inspire students to take an interest in cancer research.

Presentation by:  Dr. David Gammon (Deputy Dean, Faculty of Sciences at the University of Cape Town)

When: Thursday, May 28, 10:30-12 Noon.

Where: Richardson Hall Room 340

Title: Forging an Extended Degree Programme in the Sciences at the University of Cape Town: Staff and Students in the Crucible

RSVP : Email  f2deans@queensu.ca  or call Caroline Teske  613-533-6000 x49584

The culmination of four years of study, creativity and hard work is on display this week as the graduating class from the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program hosts their annual year-end exhibition.

Begin Anywhere has transformed Ontario Hall into an art gallery featuring the work of 20 fourth-year students. There is an impressive range and depth to the artworks, from delicate fabrics and multi-layered print to paintings that take up an entire wall and a massive male form created out of layer upon layer of wood.

Students in Steven Maynard’s “History of Sexuality in Canada” (HIST 210) class are taking an in-depth look at Queen’s history of tackling sexual violence on campus.

At Queen’s, principals, deans, rectors, faculty, staff and students have all grappled with the topic of sexual assault for close to four decades and, in many cases, implemented preventative measures and responsive initiatives, which are highlighted in a display in the foyer of Kathleen Ryan Hall.

Queen’s students – in particular, English as a second language (ESL) and international students – now have access to expanded services as they work to develop their language and academic skills.

The Queen’s Learning Commons (QLC) Academic Skills Lab in Stauffer Library is a welcoming and flexible space that can accommodate small group discussions and one-on-one meetings with professional staff and trained peer assistants.

Read Story

It came as a surprise to renovators when, on a wintry day in Kingston, they uncovered a Mediterranean port hidden behind a false wall.

The Mediterranean port makes up the scene on a long-forgotten, 3.4 by 1.8 metre oil on canvas mural that had hung hidden behind the wall at 16 Bath Rd. for approximately 40 years. Queen’s students will have the opportunity to give the painting a new lease on life by the Springer Group of Companies, the property owner which has donated the mural to the Master of Art Conservation Program.

The April 2015 exam schedule - dates and times- are posted.

Where do I find the schedule?

• On your SOLUS main page, under the ‘Academics’ section, click on the ‘other academic…’ dropdown menu;
• Click on the ‘Exam Schedule’ , then click on the ‘Go’ icon;
• From this screen, you will be able to view your Exam Timetable listing any centrally scheduled exam sittings.

Before you write…

“That’s really neat” was a common refrain overheard in the Biosciences Complex on April 1 as undergraduate and graduate students showcased their work at the annual Creative Computing: Art, Games, Research event hosted by Queen’s School of Computing.

The hands-on demonstrations, presentations and posters spanned a variety of topics including game design and technology, computing and the creative arts, human-computer interaction, and more.

Do tests only measure learning, or can they also promote learning? Should students review/practice the material they are trying to learn soon after they encounter the material or should they wait a while? During practice, should items of the same type/topic be grouped together or should they be interspersed among items of other types/topics? How we learn best may not correspond to how we think we learn best.

In collaboration with Residence Life, Student Academic Success Services (SASS) will be running Get It Done: The Long Day Against Procrastination, a day-long writing event for first-year students designed to help them combat procrastination around writing their final assignments.  The intention is for students to work on their writing projects in an informal, supportive environment facilitated by professionals and peers from the Writing Centre and Learning Strategies units.

Professor James Miller will hold an information session for the program on Wednesday, February 11 from 5:30-6:30pm in Kingston Hall 200. The program allows you to spend your fall term in Shanghai, taking courses in English that count towards a wide range of Queen's plans in the humanities and social sciences.

During the information session you will learn:

how the program will put you ahead of the curve;
how the custom features of this program make it different from other study abroad opportunities;

Queen’s University surveillance expert David Lyon will speak following the Kingston premiere of Citizenfour, a critically acclaimed documentary about Edward Snowden.

David Lyon is leading a discussion at The Screening Room Monday night following the screening of Citizenfour.

With graduate school on the horizon, Emily Gong (Artsci’15) credits her participation in the Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowship (USSRF) program for expanding her options.

“Through the research fellowship, I became much more interested in exploring China’s ethnic diversity, a different area of study compared to what I had been doing during my previous three years of undergrad,” says Ms. Gong, a fine arts major. “The experience last summer gave me the resources and confidence to apply for master’s programs in Chinese studies.”

The Department of French Studies is excited to announce the establishment of the Queen’s French Camp this summer on campus! Campers aged 5-9 will be attending the camp in July and August to participate in an array of French language and cultural activities.

We are looking for 4 counsellors for the months of July & August, an assistant camp director and a director who will be in Kingston for May to August. The contracts for the counsellors will be 9 weeks in July-August and the 2 others 16 weeks. Please specify your availability in your cover letter.