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2007 ORION Award Winners

The 2007 Awards were presented to outstanding projects and initiatives in research and education at a cerermony held at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, June 4, 2007. Read all about the initiatives and outstanding individuals recognized this year ... from advanced visualization tools to startling computer simulations unraveling the mysteries of the universe ...

Our 2007 Winners!

Eucalyptus
Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology
Dr. Nicolas D. Georganas

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From left, George Ross, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Operating Officer, Ministry of Research and Innovation; Michael Jemtrud, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Director, Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS), Carleton University; and Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO.

Winner of the 2007 ORION Discovery Award

The Eucalyptus Project

The EUCALYPTUS Project, at the Carleton University Immersive Media Studio (CIMS), is taking the design and collaborative technology world by storm, with startling innovations in high-definition visualizations that are expected to lead to new applications ranging from architectural design and gaming to emergency response and the performance arts. Using advanced networks like ORION and state-of-the-art User-Controlled Lightpath (UCLP) technology developed by CANARIE, the project allows dispersed teams at multiple locations to collaborate and visualize in real-time by sharing computational resources, geometry datasets, and multimedia content. It is an Ontario technology success story being showcased in the international research and education community that has introduced meaningful innovations to the worlds of design, business and entertainment.

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From left, Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO; Marlene Scardamalia, Director and Founder, IKIT; Carl Bereiter, Founder, IKIT; and George Ross, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Operating Officer, Ministry of Research and Innovation.

Winner of the 2007 ORION Learning Award

The Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology

The Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology (IKIT), based at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT), is having a growing impact on the world of education. IKIT has been a global leader in research-based innovations in theory, pedagogy, and technology, all aimed at making citizens part of a 21st-century knowledge-creating culture. It has brought awards and innovations to Ontario, including the first collaborative networked learning environment. IKIT hosts the Knowledge Society Network, uniting innovators worldwide who are using IKIT’s ground-breaking Knowledge Forum software and producing striking advances across sectors and at all levels from pre-kindergarten to professional continuing education.

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From left, George Ross, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Operating Officer, Ministry of Research and Innovation; Robert Crawhall, President and CEO, National Capital Institute of Telecommunications (NCIT), accepting on behalf of Dr. Georganas; and Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO.

Winner of the 2007 ORION Leadership Award

Dr. Nicolas D. Georganas

Dr. Nicolas Georganas is one of Canada’s most accomplished information technology and networking research pioneers. The Associate Vice-President of Research (External) at the University of Ottawa, he has made substantial and enduring technical contributions in computer, cellular and multimedia networking and helped train and mentor the community researchers that have made Ontario a global leader in information technology. Recently invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada, Dr. Georganas is widely regarded as one of the “fathers” of high technology in Canada. He has made important contributions from the underlying mechanisms of the Internet to some of the most advanced broadband applications including immersive, haptically-enabled distributed virtual environments.

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Award of Merit Recipients

From left, George Ross, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Operating Officer, Ministry of Research and Innovation; Dr. Robert Thacker, Assistant Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Physics, Queen's University; and Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO.

Winner of the 2007 ORION Discovery Award of Merit

Black Holes and Cosmic Evolution

The Black Holes and Cosmic Evolution Project, led by a team of Ontario and US researchers using some of Canada’s top supercomputers, successfully addressed one of the world’s computational Grand Challenges, and effectively confirmed that black holes have played a role in the evolution of galaxies. The research, generating a computer simulation of six billion years of cosmic history, was one of the world’s largest computer-based simulations of its kind. It involved high performance computing facilities at SHARCNET and HPCVL in Ontario and WestGrid in Alberta, interconnected over Canada’s advanced, ultra-high speed Canadian research networks, including ORION, Netera, BCnet and CANARIE.

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From left, Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO; Rudy Candela, Teacher at Winston Churchill Public School, Limestone District School Board; and George Ross, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Operating Officer, Ministry of Research and Innovation.

Winner of the 2007 ORION Learning Award of Merit

Learning Connections

The Learning Connections Project brings together a dedicated group of partners and champion teachers who are learning how to make full use of the Knowledge Age's endless resources and new, interactive technologies to raise the literacy and numeracy levels for Ontario students. The project, which reaches out to nine school districts throughout Ontario, has helped transform teacher practice with the goal of raising student achievement in literacy and numeracy by using videoconferencing, web streaming, and other collaborative technologies and interactive resources. It points to powerful results in supporting curriculum and professional learning that engages teachers and students, and helps Ontario keep at the leading edge of education, teaching and learning leadership and innovation.

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From left, George Ross, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Operating Officer, Ministry of Research and Innovation; Dr. Ronald M. Baecker, Professor of Computer Science, University of Toronto and Founder, Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI); and Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO

Winner of the 2007 ORION Leadership Award of Merit

Dr. Ronald M. Baecker

Dr. Ronald M. Baecker, University of Toronto Professor of Computer Science, is widely recognized as one of the world's pioneers of computer animation and leading authority in the field of human-computer interaction. From his early research at MIT, where he pioneered the use of computers to enable artists to interactively create animated films, Dr. Baecker's 40-year research career spans applications to education, medicine, and design. Founder of the world-renowned Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI), Dr. Baecker has accumulated a long list of international awards and citations, making him one of Ontario's most accomplished and celebrated innovators.

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