Fall 08 Tor

The Fall 2008 Lectures - Toronto

Sunday, October 19

Deep Ocean Discoveries: Fire, Ice and Life on the Seafloor

Verena Tunnicliffe, Ph.D., Department of Biology and Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria; Canada Research Chair and Director of the VENUS Project

Deep ocean animals thrive in its extreme conditions - hot water, liquid carbon dioxide, low oxygen and erupting volcanoes. A recent technological advance, VENUS, an underwater cabled laboratory, allows an array of instruments to run on the seafloor near Victoria and Vancouver. VENUS has helped us to push exploration deeper and begin to understand animal adaptations to the challenges of the physical, chemical and geologic world.

Sunday, October 26

Losing the Buzz: The Disappearance of Bees and Why It Matters

Laurence Packer, Ph.D., Department of Biology, York University

Bees are the most important pollinators on the planet. There are 20,000 species - 800 of which are found in Canada. Not only are they responsible for 30% of the food we eat, they are excellent indicators of the quality of terrestrial environments. Everything from the tomatoes in your urban garden to trees in the forest need bees. As bee populations decline, impacts will be felt throughout the food chain and in numerous ecosystems.

Sunday, November 2

Using Big Magnets to Understand Environmental Contamination

Myrna Simpson, Ph.D., and André Simpson, Ph.D., Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, U of T at Scarborough

Canadians have ben left with a legacy of contaminated land. Continued use of various chemicals in daily life has resulted in soil contamination in Canada and around the world. The development of nuclear magnetic resonance approaches has helped us to understand how chemicals bind to soil. We developed novel, cutting-edge studies to determine the nature of soil organic matter and how it interacts with problematic environmental chemicals. Understanding how chemicals bind will help us to improve cleanup methods for contaminated soils.

Sunday, November 9

*Coping With Impossible Problems

Margaret Wright, Ph.D., Department of Computer Science, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University

Impossible problems come up all the time. Unfortunately, they need to be solved - often quickly! What’s a mathematician to do?

*This lecture is cosponsored by the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences.

Sunday, November 16

How Semiconductor Grass Will Solve the Energy Crisis

Ray Lapierre, Ph.D., Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University

Solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity are still too expensive and inefficient to compete with fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Now, however, nanotechnology is being used to produce low cost and highly efficient solar cells. Solar cells are being fabricated using tiny “artificial grass” thousands of times smaller than a human hair. Conventional solar cells and their limitations, and international efforts to improve solar cells with nanotechnology, will be discussed.

Sunday, November 23

Managing Without Growth: Slower by Design, not Disaster

Peter Victor, Ph.D., Department of Environmental Studies, York University; Past President, RCI

Economic growth is the over-arching policy objective of governments worldwide. Yet its long-term viability is increasingly questioned because of environmental impacts and impending and actual shortages of energy and material resources. Furthermore, rising incomes in rich countries bear little relation to gains in happiness and well-being. Growth has not eliminated poverty, brought full employment or protected the environment. Using a simulation model of the Canadian economy, we will consider whether full employment, an end to poverty, dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining fiscal balance is possible without economic growth.

Sunday, November 30 - Note Time: 2:30 pm

Fun with Science - especially for kids 6 - 12

Russell Zeid, RCI Council member, educator

A lively hour that puts the “fizz” back in physics! Why do things do what they do? Discover facts, history and fiction around the physical sciences. Fun-filled hour for kids aged 6 to 12. Doors open at 2:00 p.m. A free event followed by complimentary refreshments for those in attendance. No reserved seats.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

THE STOICHEFF LECTURE

Optical Communications: Innovations (and their needs) abound

Alan Willner, Ph.D., Ming Hseh Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California