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November / Decmber 2005
MaRS co-hosts 2006 Ontario R&E Summit
Mark your calendars. The third annual Ontario R&E Summit will be held on Monday and Tuesday, June 5 and 6, 2006, in the new state-of-the-art MaRS Discovery District Collaboration Centre in Toronto. The MaRS facilities are connecting to ORION, allowing the Summit to showcase live demonstrations of uses of the network and advanced technologies. The Summit brings together leaders and decision makers in science, research, advanced education and information technology from universities, colleges, research facilities, centres of excellence, teaching hospitals, and other leading organizations - including government and industry - from across Ontario and outside the province. Topics will include Ontario innovations in e-science, e-learning, high-performance computing, resource sharing, as well as new collaborative working applications and technologies. Details will be announced in January.
ORION - CA*net 4 Days in eastern Ontario
ORION and CANARIE joined forces to host ORION-CA*net 4 Days in eastern Ontario recently. The workshops focused on advanced networks as critical infrastructure for research and education. Hosted by the University of Ottawa Oct. 20 and Queen's University in Kingston Nov. 3, the sessions featured presentations from researchers and educators illustrating how they are incorporating next-generation collaboration tools and resources into their work and research. Topics ranged from data-mining, to User-Controlled Lightpaths, to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory project. For archived presentations and photo galleries, visit www.orion.on.ca/events/orioncanet4days.html.
New videoconference directory
ORION is developing an IP-based videoconference directory. The online resource will serve as a practical tool to better connect ORION users to each other and continue to foster a collaborative environment. The new directory will provide IP addresses, facility, technical and contact information of organizations connected to ORION. Those who wish to participate in the development of the resource or wish to contribute information may contact John Levay, who is coordinating the project on behalf of ORION. E-mail him at john.levay@orion.on.ca.
ORION signs on to ePresence
ORION has become the latest member of the ePresence Open Source Consortium. Developed as a research initiative within the University of Toronto's Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI), ePresence is an open source interactive media software that captures, archives and webcasts video and presentation media over the Internet. The consortium functions as an incubator for members, who each contribute in sustaining and continuing research and development of the ePresence system. Unlike video conferencing, webcasting is a scaleable realtime video communications technology. ORION expects to offer webinars and webcast workshops and events. Learn more at http://epresence.tv.
ORION Awards expanding
The ORION Award, first presented to Ontario's Internet pioneers in June 2005, is being expanded into a broader program. ORION is consulting with the R&E community on categories and criteria. The purpose is to recognize people and organizations who champion and drive the use of advanced networks and collaborative technologies in research, teaching and learning. Among the new categories will be awards for Leadership, Discovery and for Learning. The new ORION Spark competition will invite proposals for projects that can best leverage the capabilities of advanced networks and enabling technologies. A cash prize will be awarded as an incentive to help implement the proposal. Details and submission guidelines will be announced in the new year.
Briefings raise awareness
ORION is hosting a new series of briefings for key government departments and agencies. "The global research and education landscape is evolving very rapidly," says ORION President/CEO Phil Baker. "It's important that the people who develop policy and influence decisions be aware of how the research is being transformed," he said, notably by the impact of advanced networks, intelligent infrastructure and high-performance and distributed computing. ORION hosted the first briefing on Sept. 27. An expanded session on Dec. 6 was introduced by Dr. Tim McTiernan, Deputy Minister (Acting) of the new Ministry of Research and Innovation. It also featured Dr. Hugh Couchman, Scientific Director of the SHARCNET initiative. Participants included officials from such diverse portfolios as the Ministries of Research and Innovation, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Colleges and Universities, Economic Development and Trade, and the Ontario Centres of Excellence, among others.
Yukon joins R&E family
Yukon officially joined the family of Canadian research and education (R&E) networks last week, in a live ceremony marking the connection of Whitehorse to CA*net 4 and Canadian regional networks. The November 29 event, celebrated at the Yukon Arts Centre Gallery, included a live multi-media video-conference with participants from the 12 provinces and territories across Canada. ORION staff participated live from downtown Toronto. "This is a wonderful day for CANARIE and all our partners across Canada involved in building Canada's innovation capacity," said ORION President/CEO Phil Baker. "Extending Canada's national research and education backbone to colleagues in the north is a significant national commitment," he said, adding that ORION and institutions connected to the Ontario network look forward to working with new collaborators in Yukon. Learn more at www.canarie.ca.
ABEL assists with bullying prevention
York region students are making use of videconference technology to help combat bullying. York University Professor and Director of the LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution, Dr. Debra Pepler, recently visited Ursula Franklin Academy (UFA), Toronto, to present anti-bullying strategies and to lead students in a series of prevention exercises. Students from Runnymede Public School in Toronto and Northern Lights Public School in Aurora also participated via videoconference and collaborative technologies, provided by the Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning (ABEL) program. The two schools are participating in a mentorship program with the high school students of UFA. The 'virtual mentors' will continue to interact and guide the students from Runnymede and Northern Lights through videoconferencing and other collaborative technologies. Learn more at www.abelearn.ca.
What's your success story?
Researchers and educators throughout Ontario are identifying success stories enabled by ORION and the use of advanced networks and collaborative technologies. Stories range from new innovations in science, to introducing new ways to teaching music, to using remote instruments to help find cures for disease. Do you have an ORION success story to share? We want to know. Contact us at info@orion.on.ca.
People News
ORION President/CEO Phil Baker and RISQ President Michel Vanier were acclaimed for another term as Chair and Vice-Chair of the R&E Networks, Nov. 25. The organization represents the provincial regional advanced networks in all 10 provinces. The group advocates in support of R&E networking throughout Canada and shares information about best practices, common issues and concerns. Robert Eagle joins Sheridan College as Director of Research, responsible for all applied research initiatives. He comes to Sheridan from Dalhousie University where he served as Director of the Research Office, Sexton Campus. Lan Ngyuen has left her position as VP, Innovation and Information Technology at Centennial College, to start iCITE, her own consulting company with a number of associates, with a focus on international development in education and training. Bill St. Arnaud, CANARIE's Senior Director of Advanced Networks has been awarded the World Technology Network (WTN) Communications Technology Award and inducted as a Fellow of the organization. Bill won the top prize in a category that also featured Linus Torvalds, founder of Linux, as a finalist. Learn more at www.canarie.ca and www.wtn.net/
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