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2006 ORION Award Winners

The 2006 Awards were presented to outstanding projects and initiatives in research and education at a cerermony held at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto June 5, 2006. Read all about the initiatives and outstanding individuals recognized this year ...from a mine shaft two kilometres underground unleashing the secrets of our universe, to a virtual classroom connecting students from across Canada and beyond, to one of this country's most powerful supercomputing resources ...

Our 2006 Winners!

Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning (ABEL) Program

SHARCNET

From left, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Research and Innovation Tony Wong, Dr. Clarence Virture of Laurentian University, SNO Director Dr. Art McDonald, and Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO.

Winner of the 2006 ORION Discovery Award

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory - SNO

Called “Canada’s Eye on the universe”, the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory is a $100 million international particle astrophysics project located two kilometres underground in INCO’s Creighton Mine, near Sudbury. Through ORION advanced networking links, 130 international scientists are able to measure flux, energy and direction of electron-neutrinos produced in the sun, to receive data directly from the experiment to their desktops, to monitor equipment remotely and to perform complex calculations using high-performance computing resources. The SNO Team, led by Prof. Art McDonald, Queen’s University Research Chair and SNO Director, has been recognized world-wide for its discoveries. This global-scale collaboration involves several Ontario partners, including Queen’s, Carleton, Laurentian and Guelph Universities, as well as the involvement of other colleagues in Canada, the US and the UK. With new facilities to open in 2008, SNOLAB will provide Canada with a permanent, world-class facility for underground scientific research and expand Canada’s capacity in the search for dark matter and greater understanding of the universe. Also accepting the award was Prof. Clarence Virtue, SNO Networking and Computing Group Leader, affiliated with Sudbury’s Laurentian University where a strong support and commitment to advanced networking has helped SNO and all its partners to achieve global scientific success.

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From left, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Research and Innovation Tony Wong, ABEL Program Manager Janet Murphy; Bill Hogarth, Director of the York Region District School Board; and Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO.

Winner of the 2006 ORION Learning Award

Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning

ABEL is an innovative Ontario-based program that makes use of next-generation interactive content and videoconference technologies through ORION and other advanced networks to bring high-impact, real-world learning experiences to students. The ABEL model eliminates distance as a barrier to teaching and learning and showcases the powerful potential of using network-based technologies and advanced computer software to transform the way that teachers teach and the way that students learn, connecting students to the world outside the classroom and raising student achievement. ABEL engages students in authentic learning activities that bring learning experiences and expertise from distant locations directly to the classroom, in real time, including virtual tours, live interactions with experts and connecting with teachers and students in other regions of the province and country. ABLE is helping to shape twenty-first century leaders for twenty-first century learners, placing Ontario at the forefront of innovation in teaching and learning technologies and expertise.

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From left, Ontario College of Art and Design President Sara Diamond, SHARCNET Director of Finance and Administration Cindy Munro, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Research and Innovation Tony Wong; Dr. Art Szabo, Dean, Faculty of Science,Wilfrid Laurier University; SHARCNET Scientific Director Dr. Hugh Couchman; SHARCNET Technical Manager John Morton; and Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO.

Winner of the 2006 ORION Leadership Award

SHARCNET

SHARCNET --- the Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network --- is a consortium of academic and research organizations in Ontario whose vision is to provide high performance computational power to researchers across much of Ontario. Led by Scientific Director Dr. Hugh Couchman at McMaster and Principal Investigator Dr. Mike Bauer at Western, and it’s high-powered and engaged Board, SHARCNET is putting in place state-of-the-art computational, data storage and visualization resources connected over ORION to support research in multiple fields. Its reach now spans 12 universities and two colleges and is broadening out to include Toronto’s Ontario College of Art and Design and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo. SHARCNET contributes to advancing work in many disciplines, from modeling the movement of pollution, to creating more efficient electronics, to achieving greater understanding of the outbreak of diseases like SARS.

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Award of Merit Recipients

From left, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Research and Innovation Tony Wong; Prof. Pierre Savard of the University of Toronto (accepting the Award on behalf of Prof. Robert S. Orr and the ATLAS Canada Group); and Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO.

Winner of the 2006 ORION Discovery Award of Merit

Professor Robert S. Orr and the ATLAS Canada Group

As part of an international project to search for the origin of mass in the universe, a group at the University of Toronto, led by physicist Prof. Robert S. Orr, the NSERC Principal Investigator for ATLAS Canada, is making use of interconnected high-performance computers and high-speed networking to collaborate with researchers across Canada as part of the world’s largest scientific experiment --- the Large Hadron Collider facilities at CERN in Switzerland. The project involves global-scale research collaborations among researchers in the ATLAS Canada Group, linking computing facilities at several Canadian universities to a large system at TRIUMF, Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics in Vancouver. High-speed networking enabled by ORION and CANARIE, Canada’s national R&E network provider, plays a crucial role by linking the Toronto site to the rest of Canada and to international collaborators throughout the world. The project represents a critical contribution from Ontario and Canada to this historic international scientific research collaboration, involving 1,800 scientists, engineers and technicians in several countries.

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From left, Dr. Denise Stockley of Queen's University; Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Research and Innovation Tony Wong; CLOE Director Kevin Harrigan; Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO; and Mike Lawrence of Brock University.

Winner of the 2006 ORION Learning Award of Merit

The Co-operative Learning Object Exchange (CLOE)

The Co-operative Learning Object Exchange (CLOE) is an internationally-recognized collaboration between Ontario universities and colleges and other partners. CLOE is a dynamic community of highly dedicated, extremely motivated teaching and learning professionals, involving universities and colleges within Ontario, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Thailand. It makes use of new technologies to develop and share multimedia-rich learning resources across institutions. Learning objects are defined as “any entity, digital or non-digital, that may be used for learning, education or training”. CLOE is having a significant impact on the development of high-quality learning resources to enrich the educational experience of thousands of Ontario students. From its inception, CLOE has championed and been an effective advocate for the use of advanced networks and collaborative technologies in teaching, learning and research.

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From left, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Research and Innovation Tony Wong and Dr.Stan Shapson, VP Research and Innovation, York University and Chair of ORANO presented the Award of Merit to the ABEL Learning Lead Team, including (not in order) ABEL Program Manager Janet Murphy; ABEL Technical Innovations Manager Obadiah George; York University Social Studies Course Director and Instructor, Faculty of Education and Learning Lead Dr. Wayne Sproule; Dr. Denison Secondary School Teacher and Learning Lead Steve Smallwood; Ursula Franklin Academy Principal and Learning Lead Anne Kerr; Peel District School Board Curriculum Consultant and Learning Lead Gail Shotlander; and York University Computer Network Services and Faculty Support Robert Finlayson and Susan Spence.

Winner of the 2006 ORION Leadership Award of Merit

ABEL Program Office and Learning Leads Team

The power behind the Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning (ABEL) Program is a dynamic team of leaders, inspired by a vision and commitment to establishing Ontario at the leading-edge of education and learning technologies. Under the guidance of its indefatigable Project Manager, Janet Murphy, a core team of Learning Leads from York University, the York Region District School Board, the Toronto District School Board and Peel District School Board, has successfully implemented a nationally- and internationally-recognized collaborative learning model that engages our youth with new and innovative communities with powerful results. ABEL’s dynamic and engaged team of champions has been instrumental in raising and establishing new standards for best practice in using innovative network-based enabling technologies for teaching, learning and professional development in schools.

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