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Laurentian opens new occupational health and safety research lab

Laurentian opens new occupational health and safety research lab

Representatives of labour and industry joined researchers at Laurentian University for the official opening

APRIL 27, 2015 – Representatives of labour and industry joined researchers at Laurentian University today for the official opening of the new  laboratory and research facility at the University’s Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH). 

 

The laboratory will support numerous research projects led by the CROSH team, with the aim of reducing or eliminating occupational injury and illness in the workplace.  

 

“We are excited to be moving forward with studies and research projects that will have an impact on the lives of workers and working families in our communities.  The new research laboratory will be instrumental in carrying out this work,” said Dr. Tammy Eger, Research Chair in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and Associate Professor in Laurentian’s School of Human Kinetics.

 

Laurentian University has committed 1,695 sq. ft. of new laboratory space and 629 sq. ft. of office and meeting space to support the research work of CROSH and the research Chair in OHS.  To foster transformative and collaborative research, a dedicated lab for motion analysis, advanced biomechanics and ergonomics research has been relocated next to the CROSH laboratory.

 

CROSH was established in 2008 by Laurentian University to provide a formalized structure for industry, safe workplace associations, labour groups, government organizations and researchers to share workplace injury and disease problems and solutions.

 

“Researchers at Laurentian have been building on the expertise found in Sudbury for more than a decade now, and this is a significant step forward for CROSH,” said Laurentian University President and Vice-Chancellor Dominic Giroux. “We acknowledge the support of many partners who have helped to build a top-notch facility to house this important research.”

 

Funders and supporters of CROSH include the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation,

Vale, Teck, Domtar, United Steelworkers, Mine/Mill Local 598/Unifor, William Shaver, United Association Local 800, Homer Seguin (in memoriam), Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services, Association of Canadian Ergonomists Ontario Region, Provix, Workplace Safety North and Laurentian University. 

 

Renovations to the CROSH lab and furnishings totaled $130,000 and another $100,000 will be spent in the next year to support the purchase of new research infrastructure.

 

CROSH brings together researchers with expertise in ergonomics, human factors, occupational health, mental health and wellness, fatigue, occupational physiology, labour studies and epidemiology and occupational disease.  CROSH has mobilized 25 faculty researchers from Laurentian, encompassing five faculties (Science, Engineering and Architecture; Health; Arts; Education and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine).

 

The lab will also support undergraduate and graduate student research work.  There are currently over 15 graduate student members and 25 undergraduate student members of CROSH.

 

The establishment of the CROSH lab at Laurentian University will ensure the research team has the tools and infrastructure to solve the critical occupational health and safety problems facing northern Ontario industries so they can eliminate occupational injury and disease from their workplaces.

 

CROSH researchers are leading research to understand the link between mobile equipment design, accidents and operator injury.  Previous research has evaluated line-of-sight, vibration and working postures associated with operating mobile mining equipment. This research has led to improved design of an operating cab, and the installation of cameras to improve line-of-sight. More recently the team has also researched the link between poor sleep hygiene, fatigue and injury and accident risk in underground mining.  The CROSH lab will enable this team of researchers to continue this work with their partners and initiate new research to evaluate the impact of virtual reality and simulation training to enhance mobile equipment operator safety.

 

In 2013, the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) reported a total of 195,393 registered workplace injury or illness claims. There were 82 traumatic fatal injuries in Ontario. Of the non-fatal injuries, more than 40-thousand resulted in time lost from the workplace with sprains and strains accounting for 40% of all lost-time claims.

Celebration of the Arts

Celebration of the Arts

Our book display featured over 690 publications by Arts faculty members!

On April 23, 2015, we celebrated the newly-created Faculty of Arts with live performances, book displays, posters and short films produced by members of our Faculty. 

Click HERE to see pictures from the event. 

Chemistry Professor honoured for Teaching Excellence Award

Chemistry Professor honoured for Teaching Excellence Award

Dr. Francois Caron nominated by Laurentian students, alumni and colleagues

Dr. Francois Caron, Full Professor in the School of the Environment was honoured by Laurentian University with the 2014-2015 Teaching Excellence Award for full-time faculty members.

 

The annual award recognizes exceptional teaching performance and nominations must be supported by students, peers, alumni and other members of the university community.

 

“I am very gratified by the accolades of the students, the alumni, peers and colleagues within the university, and delighted to accept the award,” said Dr. Caron.  “Teaching is a vocation that brings its own rewards.  This award means a lot; it is the culminating result of years of effort in delivering and developing courses, programs, safe laboratories, and I could not have done it alone.  A lot of us have worked together for the benefit of the students.”

 

A former research scientist with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Dr. Caron joined Laurentian University joined in 2000 in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department.  He joined the new School of the Environment in 2014 and remains cross-appointed with Chemistry and Biochemistry, where he continues his teaching and projects on multidisciplinary and environmental issues. He is cross-appointed with the Environmental Earth Science Program (now Environmental Science) and is also adjunct with the Department of Earth Sciences. He was the coordinator for Liberal Science from 2005 to 2011, and the Radiation Safety Officer from 2001 to 2011. He was Vice-Dean of Science and Engineering from 2009 to 2012 and during the last year, and the interim director of the School of Mines 2011-12. He has taught first year chemistry since 2002.

 

“It is a pleasure to present Dr. Caron with the Teaching Excellence Award,” said Denis Hurtubise, Associate Vice-President, Academic and Francophone Affairs. “Dr. Caron’s continuing passion for his research interests has made an indelible impression on his students over the years, and his leadership within our university community has been exceptional.”  

A Laurentian professor honoured

A Laurentian professor honoured

Author Thierry Dimanche receives the Prix Champlain 2015

April 9, 2015 – The Prix Champlain 2015 awards ceremony was held last night during the Salon international du livre de Québec. Thierry Bissonnette, professor in the Department of French Studies at Laurentian University, received the renowned award in the creative/fiction category under his pen name – Thierry Dimanche – for his book entitled Le milieu de partout, published by Prise de parole. Thierry Dimanche joins the ranks of Patrice Desbiens, Zachary Richard, Jean-Marc Dalpé and others who have received the Prix Champlain.

 

“While I’m particularly sympathetic toward Étienne Brûlé, our most memorable bad boy and controversial Franco-Ontarian prototype, I am very happy that Samuel de Champlain’s name is connected to this recognition, given that we’re celebrating this year the 400th anniversary of his presence in Huronia,” explained Thierry Dimanche. “The book represents for me a renewed fellowship with Sudbury and its surroundings, where the phenomenon of life just may have begun on our planet, and where I know, for certain, that my own life has been transformed many times over.”

 

The dean of the Faculty of Arts at Laurentian University, Elizabeth Dawes, added that: “Laurentian University once again sets itself apart thanks to our excellent faculty who reach far beyond the borders of our province or country. Year after year, our students benefit from the expertise and enviable reputation of experienced professors such as Thierry Bissonnette, who we applaud for receiving this prestigious award.”

 

About the Prix Champlain
Created in 1956 by the Conseil de la vie française en Amérique to encourage literary production among Francophones living outside of Quebec in North America, the Prix Champlain also aims to spark the interest of Québécois in other Francophones of America. The Prix Champlain is awarded each year to recognize the best works written in French in the two following categories: academic works considered “scholarly” (collection of papers, study or essay in the field of human sciences) and creative works (novel, fiction, collection of poems, short stories or plays, biography, children or youth literature).

Congratulations to Thierry Bissonnette, recipient of the Prix Champlain!

Congratulations to Thierry Bissonnette, recipient of the Prix Champlain!

His prize-winning book, Le milieu de partout, was published in 2014 by Éditions Prise de Parole.

Thierry Bissonnette is an associate professor in the Department of French Studies at Laurentian University. His book Le milieu de partout, published under his pen name Thierry Dimanche, is a collection of essays, poetic prose and poetry.

To learn more, click here: http://us9.campaign-archive1.com/?u=591278a2802643de1fc6510a3&id=fd28f67da5

Laurentian graduate wins “Canada’s New Noah” Scholarship

Laurentian graduate wins “Canada’s New Noah” Scholarship

Wildlife Preservation Canada award sends Biology grad student to Mauritius

Laurentian University MSc Biology graduate Patrick Moldowan has been selected from a field of scores of candidates for a prestigious scholarship that will send him to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean to work for the recovery of endangered species.

 

The “Canada’s New Noah” Scholarship is funded by Wildlife Preservation Canada.   It gives young Canadian biologists the opportunity to study, train, and conduct field research while providing several months of practical experience with teams working to save species in Mauritius and its offshore islands.  Each year, Wildlife Preservation Canada considers more than 100 applications for the coveted scholarship, from candidates who include undergraduates, master’s and PhD students, practicing wildlife biologists and veterinarians.

 

“We were impressed by Patrick’s great enthusiasm, his scholarship, and his broad range of research interests, and we are excited about the contributions he will make through the Canada’s New Noah program,” said Wildlife Preservation Canada’s Executive Director, Elaine Williams. 

 

Moldowan completed his MSc at Laurentian University in 2014 under the supervision of Dr. Jacqueline Litzgus, Professor, Department of Biology. His research interests are herpetology (reptile and amphibian biology), conservation biology, evolutionary ecology, and natural history.  

“It is an incredible honour to be named Canada’s New Noah,” said Moldowan.  “Working collaboratively with Wildlife Preservation Canada, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and Mauritius Wildlife Foundation will be an exceptional opportunity for training and field research in one of the world’s greatest biodiversity and conservation hotspots.”

The full New Noah scholarship includes travel, living and training expenses for six months to enable the New Noah to participate in the Durrell Post-Graduate Diploma in Endangered Species Recovery (offered through Kent University), designed to provide the student with the field experience and species and human resource management skills necessary to run wildlife conservation projects.

 

Previous recipients of the New Noah Scholarship have helped to save three species from almost certain extinction, according to Wildlife Preservation Canada.  They include the Mauritius kestrel, a tiny falcon that was once reduced to only four individuals in the wild, and is no longer classified as endangered.

 

Wildlife Preservation Canada was formed by the internationally-renowned conservationist and author Gerald Durrell in 1985.

Vale Living With Lakes Centre honoured with OAA awards

Vale Living With Lakes Centre honoured with OAA awards

Two prestigious design awards bestowed by Ontario Association of Architects

Laurentian University’s Vale Living With Lakes Centre (VLWLC) has been honoured with two prestigious awards from the Ontario Association of Architects.   The Centre is the winner of an OAA Design Excellence Award for 2015, as well as the OAA’s Sustainable Design Excellence Award for 2015.

 

The OAA’s Design Excellence Awards are based on considerations of creativity, context, sustainability and legacy, and were awarded this year to 10 buildings designed by Ontario architects.  The Sustainable Design Excellence Award is based on considerations of reduced dependence on fossil fuels, reduced use of virgin materials, reduced potable water usage, and high-quality interior environment, and was awarded solely to VLWLC. 

 

Ranked as one of Canada’s greenest buildings, the Vale Living With Lakes Centre was officially opened in 2011 on the southern shore of Ramsey Lake in Sudbury.  It was built to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum standards, and was designed by architects J.L. Richards and Associates Ltd, in association with Perkins + Will Architects. The building was conceived as a unique centre of excellence for the study of freshwater aquatic systems, their health and remediation.  It was designed for the climate of 2050 and is estimated to be 70 per cent more energy-efficient than conventional buildings, using natural light and shade, geo-thermal heating and grey-water recycling systems to reduce its footprint.

 

“Dr. John Gunn and the Core Review Team challenged us to design a ‘Lakes Centre’ that was worthy of the Ramsey Lake watershed, and of the work performed within the building,” said architect Jeffrey Laberge of J.L. Richards and Associates.  “We responded through form, materials, and systems that have no detrimental impact on the health and well-being of Ramsey Lake, yet have a positive cultural impact within the city. We are very happy to be recognized by the OAA for both Design Excellence and Sustainable Design Excellence,” he added. 

 

The Vale Living With Lakes Centre houses faculty, researchers and students working in some of Laurentian University’s Biology and Environment programs, and is shared by research staff from Laurentian’s partners in the Co-operative Freshwater Ecology Unit, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change  and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

 

"The building itself is an affirmation of the mandate of the Vale Living With Lakes Centre.  The building lines, regionally sourced materials and the views over Lake Ramsey make this one of the most beautiful structures in the area,” said Brad Parkes, Director of Facility Services at Laurentian University.  “The Centre is used for many public events and I think that both Laurentian and the Greater Sudbury community are very proud of this unique facility."  

Research at Vale Living With Lakes Centre Contributes to Global Database

Research at Vale Living With Lakes Centre Contributes to Global Database

SUDBURY, ON (MARCH 18, 2015) – Dr. John Bailey and Jocelyne Heneberry of the Co-operative Freshwater Ecology Unit (Co-op Unit) at Laurentian University’s Vale Living with Lakes Centre are co-authors of a recently published article summarizing a new lake temperature database in the journal Scientific Data, published by Nature.   Dr. Bailey, adjunct professor and research scientist with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, and Ms. Heneberry, Co-ordinator of Lakes Monitoring, are part of the Global Lake Temperature Collaboration (GLTC), an international group assembled to provide increased access to global lake temperature records.  

“The GLTC group recognized that a new global database of lake surface temperatures was needed with “on the ground” lake temperature measurements from programs like ours at the Co-op Unit adding to existing satellite data,” said Dr. Bailey. “This improves our ability, at a global scale, to identify and examine patterns of change in the temperatures of lakes over time due to climate or other factors.” 

Since its inception in 2010, the GLTC initiative has grown to a database of 291 lakes and reservoirs worldwide, providing summer-mean lake surface temperatures from 1985-2009, and roughly doubling the amount of data previously available from satellites alone. Seven Sudbury-area lakes monitored by Co-op Unit staff through a Vale/Sudbury Integrated Nickel/Ministry of Environment and Climate Change partnership are part of this database. This new dataset represents the first publicly available global compilation of in situ and satellite-based lake surface temperature data. The GLTC database also provides information on climatic drivers (air temperature, solar radiation, cloud cover), as well as geo-morphometric characteristics that may affect lake temperature (latitude, longitude, elevation, lake surface area, maximum depth, mean depth, volume). This unique, global dataset will offer an invaluable baseline perspective on lake thermal conditions for ongoing and future studies of environmental change.

 

World Theatre Day

World Theatre Day

Announcement of the events and a message from the Franco-Ontarian theatre.

Alain Doom is an actor, playwright and coordinator of the francophone Theatre program at Laurentian University. To learn more, and to read or listen to his message, click here: http://us3.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2595cd65b87f2fe132a4006f0&id=aa6ab84f52&e=42efdd2988

Laurentian Engineering students make history

Laurentian Engineering students make history

Both Bharti School’s Junior, Senior Design teams Win Canadian Engineering Competition

Laurentian University’s Bharti School of Engineering makes history as both Junior and Senior Design teams win the 2015 Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC) in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Results of the CEC were announced at an awards banquet at Memorial University on Saturday evening. 
 

After the Junior Design team won the Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC) last month and the Senior Design team came in second, both teams qualified to represent Ontario at the nationwide 2015 CEC. Laurentian’s Junior Design team members are: Aidan Simpson, Colin Roos, Matthew Bennison and Stephane Labine. Members of the Senior Design team are: Caitlin Roos, Jasmin Lemieux, Louis-Francis Tremblay and Philip O'Connor.  
 

“This is truly an exceptional moment for Laurentian University and for the Bharti School of Engineering,” said Dr. Ramesh Subramanian, Director, Bharti School of Engineering. “For the first time in our University’s history we had both Junior and Senior Design teams represent Ontario on a national stage in the same year and we are inspired by their performance,” he said. 
 

Teams competed in the following categories: Communications Engineering, Consulting Engineering, Innovative Design, Junior Design, Extemporaneous Debate, Re-Engineering, and Senior Design. 
 

“Engineering is a signature program at Laurentian and an area of significant growth in the past few years, now serving 700 students from the undergraduate to PhD levels,” said University President and Vice-Chancellor Dominic Giroux. “Our students and faculty have truly differentiated themselves and we are most proud of the esteem they continue to bring to our institution,” he added. 


Students from Laurentian’s Bharti School of Engineering have distinguished themselves in numerous provincial, national and international competitions. They have won the Canadian Mining Games more often than any other university in Canada. In 2011, Laurentian’s team won the NASA Lunabotics Mining competition with their design for a remote lunar-mining module. 
 

The Canadian Engineering Competition was hosted by Memorial University in St. John’s, March 5-8, 2015. The Canadian Engineering Competition is an annual competition involving more than 170 of the best and brightest engineering students from across Canada. The competition strives to expand and advance the education of our future engineers. Additionally, it is designed to test the competitors to become innovative and creative engineers that always consider environmental, social and economic impacts of their decisions. 
 

For more information about the Ontario Engineering Competition visit www.oec2015.ca and www.2015cec.ca to learn more about the 2015 Canadian Engineering Competition. 

Junior Design Team     Senior Design Team

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