|
|
January 2009
ORION network usage soars again
Overall ORION has doubled its traffic levels from last year. Over 10 Gbps are now transmitted to connected institutions, an increase of almost 1600 times the December 2004 levels. ORION members' commercial Internet traffic, while growing as well, is down to 38% of total backbone transmitted traffic to members. Intra-ORION traffic - a good indicator of member collaboration - has doubled in the past few months and is now 21% of total traffic. Unscheduled network outages are flat at around 40 for the year, with only 14 of them causing service outages to one or more members.
Obama inauguration maxes out ORION peering pipe
ORION's peering links at the Toronto Internet Exchange (TORIX) reached maximum traffic levels of 2 Gbps on Tuesday, as thousands accessed live streams of the U.S. presidential inauguration. The traffic came from ORION-connected individuals and institutions accessing webcasts such as CBC's online stream. ORION's IP Network Engineer Saqib Chughtai reports that ORION was not alone in witnessing a massive spike in traffic, as ISPs around the world also reached record traffic levels. News reports confirm the unprecedented strain on bandwidth resources throughout North America. "The Obama inauguration may well represent a milestone of sorts," says ORION Director of Public Affairs, Andre Quenneville. "Network traffic monitors say the multi terabit per second flood represents one of the single largest one day spikes in Internet traffic ever recorded. This is a clear indication of a growing shift in how individuals access information about a global event," he said. "We will continue to witness phenomenal growth in IP traffic levels and demands on our network capacity." Meanwhile, U.S.-based national Research and Education network, Internet2 set up set up a special multicast for the advanced network community, anticipating that the inauguration would represent one of the most widely viewed events in history both on televised networks and on the Internet. As a result, institutions connected to ORION, including ORION staff, were able to access Northwestern University's live HD multicast of the inauguration over Internet2's global R&E links.
U of T student improves video-sharing websites
A U of T student has created a framework that can improve the efficiency of such websites as YouTube and cut down on copyright infringement. The Tiny Videos system, created by computer engineering graduate student Alex Karpenko, is a groundbreaking system that allows extremely large amounts of video data to be compressed and then searched based on content. Essentially, the system can recognize and find duplicate video segments and then properly label them. "This system is extremely beneficial for users because it can help them quickly and easily find the specific videos they're looking for," Karpenko said. "It's also useful for copyright holders because it can identify video clips that violate copyright laws." Read more at www.news.utoronto.ca.
York, Western and Queen's announce joint research initiative
A major neuroscience research initiative, the Canadian Action and Perception Network (CAPnet), has been established by York University, The University of Western Ontario, and Queen's University. CAPnet is a collaborative venture spearheaded by neuroscientists from three established research groups: the York Centre for Vision Research (CVR), the Western-based Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Group for Action and Perception (GAP), and the Queen's-based CIHR Group for Sensorimotor Integration. Individually, these three groups represent the top vision research centre, the top cognitive neuroscience group, and the top sensorimotor group in Canada. By combining resources, with a focus on perception and action, CAPnet aims to be the leading perception and action group in the world, and one of the world's top neuroscience groups. Read more at www.yorku.ca.
CANMET breaks ground at McMaster Innovation Park
McMaster's Innovation Park will begin construction on the federal CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory (CANMET-MTL), which is relocating to Hamilton from Ottawa. Renderings were unveiled for the LEED Platinum-designed research lab at the same time as the groundbreaking. The LEED designation refers to efficiencies in six categories: sustainable site; water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; indoor environment; and innovation and design. CANMET-MTL develops new materials and manufacturing processes for Canada's energy, transportation and metal-manufacturing sectors. The lab, the largest of its kind in Canada, also studies environmental processes, such as recycling and eco-materials. It will employ more than 100 scientists and technical staff. Learn more at www.mcmaster.ca.
Concordia creates outdoor wireless network for students
In a first of its kind project for a Canadian academic institute, students at Montreal's Concordia University will soon be able to connect to an outdoor wireless mesh network that combines phone and data storage. Introduced last September, use of the wireless mesh network is available at a minimal fee that includes access to a range of software applications, including Microsoft Office. Concordia is also the first Canadian university to install Cisco's 802.11n wireless network on campus. Through its new integrated Internet package, the university seeks to become an ISP, offering students low-cost Internet access, a necessary tool for academic success. The network currently extends along a one square kilometre radius around each campus and also includes clusters of connectivity in heavily-populated student neighbourhoods in downtown Montreal. A key goal of the network is to offer all 40,000 students at Concordia equal access to Internet technology and provide a low-cost and high-speed service.
MIRARCO launches open source visualization and data integration software
Sudbury's Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO) recently launched a new open source visualization and data integration software package called ParaViewGeo. It is a visualization platform for geological 3-D modelling and other complex datasets or programs. Andrew Dasys, MIRARCO's vice president and brainchild of the software product, sees it as a way to spur on creativity within the scientific community. As more people use the software and a community develops, new ideas are suggested, possibly improving and expanding upon the original software ideas. Available at no cost, ParaViewGeo can take data from existing commercial software such as mine infrastructure, drill holes, assays, lithologies, orebody block models, plan and cross-section diagrams, surface geology, faults, dykes, gravity and magnetic surveys, aerial photos, and seismic events, and integrate the different file formats into one visual presentation. Read more at www.mirarco.org.
Laurentian's Living with Lakes Centre wins award
The design for the Vale Inco Living with Lakes Centre at Sudbury's Laurentian University was one of three Holcim Award winners in the 2008 North American competition. It was chosen from among 174 eco-friendly and sustainable entries from all over the continent. A cash prize of $25,000 was awarded to the Centre to be used for the construction of the facility. Located on the shores of Ramsey Lake across from the main campus entrance, the Centre will house the growing Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit, as well as state-of-the-art aquatic laboratories, research equipment and new teaching facilities. Significantly, it will also be the first "green" institutional building in Canada to achieve Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) status - the highest LEED certification attainable. The Centre aims to be a model of sustainability, attracting top researchers and scientists from around the world to conduct groundbreaking research in the Sudbury region. Learn more at www.laurentian.ca.
Waterloo manufacturing sector adopts Web 2.0 tools
The University of Waterloo, Conestoga College and industry leaders recently launched an online portal that aims to help manufacturing firms in the Waterloo region boost productivity and innovation through heightened collaboration and information sharing. The Manufacturing Innovation Network (MIN) will serve as an information exchange where companies can keep tabs on innovations and best practices, and quickly access expert advice. Manufacturers can join MIN free of charge and access a collection of social networking tools, blogs featuring special interest groups, experts in finance and marketing, a question submission area, newsfeeds related to the industry, and a job board with additional HR resources and articles. Learn more at www.waterloomin.com.
Free WiFi on UK school buses
Free WiFi is now available on 'green' school buses in Birmingham, UK. The school bus service called The Green Bus operates double-decker, low-carbon emissions buses that carry over 1,400 children to school every day (saving over 2000 car journeys). In addition to encouraging kids to play peer-to-peer games and catch up on homework while in transit, the access points allow the bus company to monitor where the buses are in the city in real time. Parents as well as staff can follow the progress of any bus via Google Maps. Learn more at www.thegreenbus.co.uk. A similar initiative in rural Arkansas run by the Aspirnaut Initiative sees rural students participating in distance learning during their 90-minute bus rides to school. The project provides laptops and learning resources to those students looking to participate. Read more at www.aspirnaut.org.
ICEL 2009 Call for Papers
The International Conference on E-Learning 2009, being held at the University of Toronto on July 16 and 17, has issued a Call for Papers. The conference committee welcomes both academic and practitioner papers on a wide range of topics and scholarly approaches, including theoretical and empirical papers employing qualitative, quantitative and critical methods. ICEL brings together academic research and practical applications of e-learning from all areas for the purpose of helping practitioners find ways to put research into practice. For more information, visit www.academic-conferences.org/icel.
Megaconference Jr. 2009
Taking place February 19, Megaconference Jr. is a project designed to give students in elementary and secondary schools around the world the opportunity to communicate, collaborate and contribute to each other's learning in real time, using advanced multi-point video conferencing technology. Presenters design and conduct videoconference-based presentations and activities focused on both academic and cultural issues. This year, special guest Danica McKellar, actress and author of Math Doesn't Suck and Kiss My Math (targeted to middle school girls), will be live in attendance for the event. Learn more at www.megaconferencejr.org.
KMDI lecture series on digital media research and innovation
The Knowledge Media Design Institute at the University of Toronto celebrates its 13th anniversary this year by hosting a series of lectures throughout 2009 on digital media research and innovation. The lectures, taking place on the U of T St. George campus, will also be webcast live and archived on the KMDI website. Beginning this month, topics include Levelling the Playing Field, Supporting Teaching and Learning, and Supporting Enhanced Cognition and Stemming Cognitive Decline. For more information, visit www.kmdi.utoronto.ca.
Interacting with Immersive Worlds 2009
Brock University hosts the second Interacting with Immersive Worlds conference on June 15 and 16 to explore the growing cultural importance of interactive media. The program streams are Challenges at the boundaries of immersive worlds, Critical approaches to immersion, Immersive worlds in education, and Immersive worlds in entertainment. Keynote speakers include Janet Murray from Georgia Institute of Technology and Espen Aarseth from IT University of Denmark. For more information, visit www.brocku.ca/iasc/immersiveworlds.
Digging into Data Challenge
A new international competition called the "Digging into Data Challenge" encourages humanities and social science research using large-scale data analysis, challenging scholars to develop international partnerships and explore vast digital resources, including electronic repositories of books, newspapers, and photographs to identify new opportunities for scholarship. The competition was announced recently by four leading research agencies, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). For more information, visit www.diggingintodata.org.
People News
The University of Western Ontario recently announced that Dr. Amit Chakma, former Provost and Vice-President at the University of Waterloo, will be appointed President, effective July 1. Trent University recently announced the appointment of Dr. Steven E. Franklin as President and Vice-Chancellor, effective July 1. Laurentian University recently appointed Dominic Giroux, former Assistant Deputy Minister of the Education and Training, Colleges and Universities, as its President. Kevin Hall, head of the Department of Civil Engineering at Queen's University, became the new Vice-President (Research) at the University of Guelph. Liette Vasseur, former Associate Vice-President of Research at Laurentian University, recently became Vice-President, Research at Brock University. Former Director of Research at Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, Robert Eagle moves to Brock University on Feb. 1 to become Director of Research Services. Former professor and Associate Director of the School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, Jay Black became Chief Information Officer this month at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. John Kearney, former Director of IT Services at Wilfrid Laurier University, has been appointed Chief Information Officer at McMaster University, effective Feb. 17. Tony Rockingham is the new Assistant Deputy Minister of Innovation and Commercialization at the Ministry of Research and Innovation.
Back to Headlines
|
| |
|
