nurturing scholarships

international success for lakehead research team

lakehead 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 brooke marion (left) and kayla snyder spent the summer working with lakehead’s dr. chris murray on a research project to develop a new environmentally friendly permeable pavement. the 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 ’ work was recently accepted for publication in an international scientific journal.

august 14, 2014 – orillia, on

typical undergraduate 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 can only dream about getting one-on-one experience with a research expert in their field. for two 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 , this dream became a reality – as they not only got to work with an expert – but became published experts themselves.

through the summer research program offered at lakehead orillia, current 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 kayla snyder (msc) (hbasc/bed ’13) of everett, and brooke marion (hbasc/bed) of north bay, were given the chance to work with dr. chris murray, assistant professor of sustainability sciences, on one of his ideas that was 15 years in the making. the recent collaboration with the two lakehead 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 would end in the trio being chosen to have their research findings published in an upcoming issue of construction and building materials. the international journal is dedicated to the investigation and innovative use of materials in construction and repair.

“both kayla and brooke have worked with me as research assistants for several years. they’ve spent more time in the lab than even the average graduate student. this type of undergraduate experience is a pretty rare opportunity we are able to provide at lakehead orillia,” said dr. murray.

their research project involves the use of crumb rubber and chitosan, or in layman’s terms, crushed-up used tires and crab and shrimp shells. these two materials are combined to develop permeable pavement, which acts as a water filtration device, relieving strain on stormwater systems and preventing erosion and pollution. the project is about combating pollution in two ways: reusing old tires that cannot be recycled and filtering increasingly polluted runoff before it enters our water system.

it took over a year for snyder and marion to perform all the necessary experiments. once the work was finished, the two 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 , alongside dr. murray, presented their findings to the canadian association of physicists last year. at the same time they submitted their research to the journal and received a positive response very quickly.

though the research is still only preliminary, it has the potential to benefit not only simcoe county, but all of canada and beyond. more importantly, it is capable of providing solutions to real problems, like the long-term sustainability of our clean water supply.

“water may seem as though it is an infinite resource, but assuming this is one of the biggest mistakes people can make,” warned marion.

having the chance to participate in the summer research program has benefited snyder and marion immensely.

“the summer research projects are great for allowing you to develop skills that you might not get in the classroom. it is a lot more challenging, but also more rewarding,” said snyder of her opportunity.

an important part of doing summer research is having a great mentor and they found that in dr. murray. both say that his passion and encouragement have been substantial in their development as researchers. dr. murray has even higher praise for his two research partners.

“i’ve been really lucky to find 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 like kayla and brooke. i like to think that i have helped them along the way, but the success of this project was more due to their enthusiasm, attention to detail, and work ethic, rather than the ideas i started with.”

so what’s next for these two young innovators? snyder will continue a master of science in chemistry degree at lakehead in the fall as she works at completing her thesis. marion will also be continuing at lakehead in september, entering her professional year in the bachelor of education program. she hopes to teach elementary school 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 just how much fun science can be.

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student project connects historical research to real-life experience

march 3, 2014 – orillia, on

holly wiggins’ great-grandfather, a butcher from a small town in england, joined the armed forces during the second world war, leaving behind his young wife and two children under the age of five. his family would not hear from him again, until he was on a ship sailing back to liverpool following his liberation from a japanese prisoner of war camp.

wiggins’ great-grandfather was held as a prisoner of war by the japanese in the pacific theatre from 1942 to 1945. he is now the focus of a research project wiggins is completing as part of the requirements for her fourth-year “inquiry” course at lakehead.

wiggins, of orillia, who is enrolled in the honours bachelor of arts & science/bachelor of education program, said she was worried about going into the fourth-year course. “i would hear older 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 talking about their major projects for inquiry and how much work it was. but what i was fearing at the beginning of the year has turned out to be an amazing experience.”

the inquiry course is the cornerstone of the inquiry-based, multidisciplinary learning approach of the arts & science program at lakehead’s orillia campus. the fourth-year course requires the completion of a major research project on a topic chosen by the student.

“it’s really a bit overwhelming – to be told you can propose any topic you wish,” said wiggins. “once i realized that this could be an opportunity to combine my interest in history with my curiosity about my great grandfather’s experience in the war, i was encouraged and my research has turned out to be fascinating.”

after an introduction into ethics, research methods, and presentations, wiggins’ first research task was to find out what her grandmother, who was just an infant when her father went off to war in 1941, knew about her great-grandfather’s experience. she discovered that her grandmother did not know of many details, herself, however both her grandparents shared her curiosity and helped her pull together what turned out to be crucial pieces to the puzzle.

luckily, wiggins’ grandmother had some important documents – such as her father’s attestation papers, official notification that he had gone missing, the one letter that he was eventually able to send home, along with a few photographs, including a picture of his two children that he kept with him for the duration of his imprisonment.

“the letter home was especially insightful because it touched on quite a few points that tied into the secondary scholarly research that i did,” said wiggins. “in the letter, my great-grandfather talked about how ‘things haven’t been too good out here,’ that he ‘nearly gave up [when he] was very bad with malaria,’ and that he never wanted to do any cooking again – ‘i am fed up after three and a half years of playing with rice and trying to make pastry out of it…,’ as well as references to missing home.”

wiggins discovered many references to documents and facts that are reflected in her great-grandfather’s experience during the extensive scholarly research she conducted for her project.

“when you read historical articles, you are somewhat detached, but when i realized that i actually had some of the documents being described right in front of me – that is exciting,” wiggins said. “the connection between what i’ve been reading and a real life experience is fascinating! i’m also excited to be able to pass on a more detailed story about what happened to my great-grandfather, or what possibly happened.”

wiggins will be sharing her research at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 ’s upcoming undergraduate research day on march 5, as part of the annual research & innovation week activities.

“our entire class will be presenting research posters and we will also be there to discuss our projects,” explained wiggins. the projects range from other history topics, such as hitler propaganda and genocide through photographs, to social media and city planning, and even some with a local focus. one student will be presenting a project on the history of the champlain monument.

research & innovation week activities at the orillia campus take place from march 3 to 7 and are all open to the public and free of charge. for a detailed list of events, visit lakeheadu.ca.

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holly wiggins, a fourth-year student at lakehead orillia will present her research project on her great-grandfather’s world war ii experience during the university’s research & innovation week, march 3 – 7.

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