Bird flu. SARS. Mad cow disease. West Nile virus. Ebola. If these and other threats to public health have you feeling a bit like Chicken Little, try not to panic. That’s the main message of a new book by a University of Guelph professor.

In The Chickens Fight Back: Pandemic Panics and Deadly Diseases That Jump From Animals to Humans, David Waltner-Toews aims to disentangle myth from reality about zoonoses, diseases that people get from animals.

A professor in the Department of Population Medicine in Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College, Waltner-Toews is the president of Veterinarians Without Borders, Canada, and president of the Network for Ecosystem Sustainability and Health. He is also arts and culture editor for the journal EcoHealth and is a published novelist and poet.

The Chickens Fight Back, which was recently released by Greystone Books, covers the main zoonoses that have attracted recent headlines from SARS, HIV/AIDS and West Nile virus to avian influenza, encephalitis and BSE.

Waltner-Toews also looks at diseases that are less common in North America, including sleeping sickness, Lassa fever, brucellosis and cystic hydatid disease. The book is organized not by disease alone but also by the way diseases are transmitted.

For example, one section discusses things humans get from mammals and bugs, such as plague, Lyme disease and leptospirosis, the most common zoonotic disease in the world. Another section focuses on bird-borne diseases, including West Nile virus and avian flu. Bats, rats and other mammals take the stage with SARS, ebola, hantavirus and rabies.

Waltner-Toews also brings a personal touch to discussing his work around the world as a longtime veterinary epidemiologist. His experiences, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia, have shaped his main thesis: we need to look not at isolated diseases but at entire ecosystems where zoonoses cycle naturally among various hosts, including people.

“We keep saying the public should be better informed. Who’s helping the public to get engaged?,” he says. Waltner-Toews hopes the book will arm readers with information and questions about the health effects of everything from factory farming to filling in a wetland for a housing development.

This fall, Waltner-Toews will publish a second edition of Food, Sex and Salmonella: The Risks of Environmental Intimacy, about the ecological and social context of food-borne diseases, first published in 1992. Also appearing in June is Fear of Landing, a murder mystery based on the author’s experiences in Indonesia in the 1980s.

Prof. Jack Weiner of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics has received the 2007 Teaching Excellence Award from the Central Student Association (CSA).

The student-sponsored award is presented each year to a U of G instructor who demonstrates profound dedication to teaching and university education and has the ability to motivate and inspire students in and out of the classroom.

"This is wonderful and gratifying," said Weiner. "This award comes directly from students and that makes it truly special. Thanks to my students for nominating me and to the University of Guelph entrusting me as their teacher. Best job in the universe!"

Weiner was recognized for his innovative teaching practices that motivate students to learn.

Some of Weiner's unique teaching methods include developing software to help his students visualize mathematic problems and giving weekly presentations on applications and interpretations of mathematics in society.

“Prof. Jack Weiner is well-known for his genuine passion for teaching and his commitment to helping students succeed,” said Derek Pieper, academic commissioner of the CSA. “The number of students who supported his nomination for the Teaching Excellence Award by submitting comments and letters was overwhelming.”

The tendency of men and women with the same educational level to be married to one another has increased in both Canada and the United States over the last three decades, according to a new study based on census data.

In Canada, 54% of couples younger than 35 had the same level of education in 2001, up from 42% in 1971. In the United States, 55% of marriages among young adults consisted of couples with the same level of education in 2000, up from 49% in 1970.

Changes in the relative supply of more and less educated partners could potentially contribute to the rise in the level of educational homogamy (that is, the tendency of like to marry like). In both Canada and the United States, average educational attainment rose for both sexes over the three decades, but much more so for women than for men.

In 2001, 24% of wives and 19% of husbands finished university education in Canada, compared with 4% and 10% in 1971. Wives now have a higher average educational level than their husbands, while the opposite was true three decades ago. The United States also experienced a similar change.

However, this study found that these changes in the distribution of educational levels for both wives and husbands accounted for only a small portion of the increase in educational homogamy over the three decades in both countries.

Rather, the rise in the overall level of educational homogamy mainly reflects the fact that men and women are deliberately basing their choice for a mate more and more on level of education. In other words, there has been an increase in the level of educational homogamy over and above what would be expected from the narrowed gender gap in educational attainment.

The rise in educational homogamy, along with increased selection into marriage based on education, has been a potent force underlying rising inequality in earnings in both countries between families at the low end of the income scale and those at the high end.

Intermarriage rare across more than two educational levels

In both countries, intermarriage across education levels occurs primarily between education levels that are adjacent. Intermarriage across more than two educational levels is rare.

For instance, 54% of Canadian young couples had the same educational level in 2001. However, 33% of couples differed by one educational level, while only 12% of couples differed by two educational levels. Less than 2% of couples differed by more than two educational levels.

Educational homogamy has been rising mainly because intermarriage between adjacent education levels has been declining both at the top and bottom of the educational hierarchy.

Declining intermarriage between those with university degrees and those with less education was a major factor in both countries. In Canada, the rate of intermarriage between the university educated and those with only some post-secondary education fell by 38%; in the United States, the rate fell by 45%.

Similarly, the intermarriage rate between high school graduates and those who had completed less than high school fell by 30% in the United States and by 58% in Canada.

Overall trend reflected different patterns for men and women

While the average couple was more likely to be in an educationally homogamous marriage in 2001 than in 1971, the overall trend reflected very different patterns for men and women.

The rapid increase in educational attainment of women relative to men implies declining opportunities for women to marry better educated men. But it implies rising opportunities for men to marry more educated women.

There was a large decline in the share of homogamous marriages among university educated women. In the United States, the decline was 8 percentage points, and in Canada almost 17 percentage points.

By 2001, only 53% of young Canadian university-educated married women had partners with university degrees. In contrast, 68% of university educated men were married to university educated women in 2001, more than twice the proportion of 29% in 1971.

At the other end of the educational spectrum, the share of male high school graduates who married better educated women, for example, rose from 12% to 40% in the United States over the three decades. In Canada, it quadrupled from 13% to 56%.

Among female high school graduates, the percentage marrying up increased on a much smaller scale over the three decades from 27% to 29% in the United States, and from 30% to 41% in Canada.

Overall, rising education levels have improved the marriage market for men much more than for women.

Net of the changes in educational attainment of wives and husbands, there was a small increase in intermarriage in the 1990s between university graduates and those with some post-secondary education for both sexes in Canada, and between female university graduates and men with some post-secondary education in the United States.

This is the reverse of the trends in the 1970s and 1980s, suggesting that levels of educational homogamy among the better educated may be stabilizing.

The research paper "The changing role of education in the marriage market: Assortative marriage in Canada and the United States since the 1970s" is now available as part of the Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series (11F0019MIE2007299, free) from the Analytical Studies module of our website.

Note to readers

This study uses data from the 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 US census public use sample files, and the Canadian 1971 census one-third sample microdata file, and 20% sample microdata files for the census years from 1981 through 2001. It focuses on all unions among young adults under the age of 35.

The US census does not explicitly differentiate legal marriage from common-law unions. Beginning in 1980, couples who lived together but were not legally married were allowed to report the marital status they considered the most appropriate. Therefore, marriages from the US census include an increasing proportion of common-law unions starting from 1980. Beginning in 1981, legal marriages and common-law unions are distinguished in the Canadian census. In 2001, about 41% of all young couples are common-law unions, compared to 13% in 1981.

For the purpose of this analysis, education is grouped into five levels: elementary school or less, some high-school (9 to 11 years of schooling in the United States), high school graduation, some post-secondary (some college in the United States) education, and university (college in the United States) graduation.

WATERLOO — The Board of Governors of Wilfrid Laurier University has approved an operating budget for 2007-08 that funds growth, increases scholarships, adds staff and faculty, and increases services for students.

“The university has presented a balanced budget and continues to show improvement in its financial position in the context of its recent enrolment growth and higher inflationary pressures,” said Jim Butler, vice-president: finance and administration.

Revenues for the 2007-08 fiscal year are budgeted at $159.7 million, with $77.5 million coming from government grants (up seven percent), $76.6 million coming from fees (up five percent), and revenue from other sources up 10 percent to $5.6 million.

Academic salaries are budgeted at $66.5 million (up 11 percent) and administrative salaries are forecast to be $37.9 million (up eight percent). Benefits are budgeted at $17.3 million, an increase of seven percent.

Departmental expenses will increase by just two percent.

The budget assumes a first-year intake this fall of 3,275 students and a tuition increase that averages 4.4 percent. It also assumes that the province will fully fund all enrolment growth.

“Looking beyond 2007-08, the university may need to cut its expenditures if it is to maintain its balanced financial position,” Butler said. “This will depend on the level of government support in future.”

The incoming student body this fall will include 70 Faculty of Education students, 520 first-years for Brantford and 2,685 for the Waterloo campus. This should bring Laurier's total full-time undergraduate student body to 11,922.

Prof. Rich Moccia of the Department of Animal and Poultry Science has agreed to serve as interim associate vice-president (research) agri-food and partnerships for one year starting May 14.

He will be focusing on the development of a new partnership agreement between the University and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). The current agreement expires in April 2008, and discussions are under way with the ministry to develop a new agreement that will again build on research, education and laboratory services activities.

“Rich is committed to working with all faculty on the new agreement, ” said Alan Wildeman, vice-president (research). “We need to ensure that it captures the University’s capacity to shape and meet the partnership’s objectives and provides strong services that contribute to the health and well-being of Ontario.”

Moccia has 20 years of experience within the OMAFRA agreement. A researcher and extension specialist in the agri-food sector, he played a leading role in developing the Alma Aquaculture Research Station and has served as director of the animal research program.

In the coming months, Moccia will be engaging in dialogue with the campus community about how the desired outcomes of the agreement can best be met and how the programs can be managed most effectively.

"The OMAFRA agreement is a vital pillar within the University,” Moccia says. “We have an opportunity to set a course of action for the coming years that will show what Guelph really can do for agriculture, food and public health across rural and urban Ontario.”

The associate vice-president position became vacant when Rob McLaughlin agreed to take on a bigger role in enhancing the profile of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

What do you call a food scientist whose travels in search of bizarre eatables have seen him hunting down civet droppings in Ethiopia and collecting argan nuts excreted by goats in Morocco? Or exploring caves in Southeast Asia and getting a first-hand look at how smugglers transport high-priced nests for use in bird’s nest soup?

University of Guelph food scientist Massimo Marcone, the professor who made these journeys, has an idea: “I’m Mr. Magoo. I was out of my element. I’m a university researcher who all of a sudden finds himself in the middle of the jungle.”

Safely out of the jungle, Marcone has written about his travels and bizarre foods in a volume called In Bad Taste?: The Adventures and Science Behind Food Delicacies recently released by Key Porter Books. He will sign copies of his book at Chapters in the Stone Road Mall May 26 from 2 to 4 p.m.

Part travelogue and part science, the book details the author’s journeys to various countries in search of unusual foods. But don’t look here for sheep eyes or pig brains or other Fear Factor-style antics. What interests Marcone are not gross-out sophomoric pranks but common foods with an uncommon twist.

Plenty of people drink coffee, but few of would probably relish Kopi Luwak — and not just because it’s the most expensive beverage in the world. It’s made from beans extracted from the feces of civet cats living in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

And everyone has consumed salad oil, but not oil made from argan fruit excreted by goats and collected and processed by Berbers in Morocco.

Similarly, your everyday cheddar cheese is a world away from casu frazigu, a cheese made with maggots in Marcone’s ancestral homeland of Italy. And few of us would go to the lengths of morel lovers who partake in an annual contest to find wild mushrooms in a Michigan forest.

Why do people eat certain foods? What makes a food a delicacy? Is a delicacy really different from or better than its conventional cousins? These are some of the questions Marcone explores.

He returned from his travels armed with samples that he tested in his U of G lab. He found some surprises there, such as discovering fewer bacteria — and fewer kinds of microbes — in that Kopi Luwak coffee bean than in control samples.

He also found that a number of food delicacies are vulnerable to adulteration and product misrepresentation. And he has uncovered many violations of nutritional labelling standards, even after accounting for what he calls the outrageous leeway in food standards normally accorded to manufacturers.

Marcone wrote the book over the past two years, based partly on a diary and notes about his trips.

Dudley Herschbach, a Nobel laureate and Harvard University chemist, wrote a blurb for the book jacket. Both researchers belong to the editorial board of the Annals of Improbable Research. Herschbach calls the book "very striking and exciting. The exhilarating thing about science is that it opens our eyes to new possibilities in terms of making us aware of remarkable foods that people have evolved and the lengths that an enterprising guy like (Marcone) will go to find out all he can about that.”

WATERLOO — Laurier music Professor Paul Pulford is one of the recipients of a $175,000 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant.

The money is for a three-year project that will bring together six academics — including a medical ethicist and an interactive media specialist — and many students from Laurier, Concordia University and Memorial University to study Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Their research will form the basis of an instrumental theatre work titled, Frankenstein’s Ghosts, which will be staged in 2009 by Blue Rider Ensemble, of which Pulford is a founding member.

The grant proposal was formed last year when Paul Bendzsa, a professor at Memorial and clarinetist with Blue Rider, told others in the ensemble he had been reading Frankenstein and had been struck by its ideas.

“We realized that the book spoke to various contemporary issues, from genetic engineering to cloning to our society’s fear of aging,” Pulford says. “We were driven by a desire to create something socially relevant that would shed light on the political and social events of our day.”

Over the next three years, student teams and academics will write papers based on Shelley’s book that will be shared at workshops and conferences. Blue Rider Ensemble members will then use the material to build their response to the book.

“It is hoped that the academic researchers will be able to continue their inquiries with a deeper understanding and to produce more insightful work, and that the artists will have exceptional material for development,” Pulford wrote in the grant application to SSHRC.

Blue Rider Ensemble was formed in 1990 to re-examine the relationship between composer, performer and audience. By bringing artists from various disciplines together, the ensemble has created innovative instrumental theatre. Past projects include the world premiere of the opera Mounting Picasso by Laurier composition Professor Peter Hatch, and Blue Rider Marmalade, a sound and language project developed with Quebec playwright and poet Michel Garneau.

Given that the project is only just beginning, Pulford says that those in the ensemble don’t yet know how the material gathered in the next few years will fire their work.

“It may be tempting to go in a certain direction if someone suddenly has a particular idea that’s been prompted by an early discovery,” he says. “The key will be to stay neutral during the collection of research. The project requires us to be dispassionate as material is gathered and then to be seduced by the ideas that interest us.”

WATERLOO — Three journalists are among the six people who will receive honorary degrees at Laurier’s spring convocation ceremonies June 6-13.

This year’s convocation will involve the largest group of students ever to graduate from Laurier. About 40 percent more people than last year are receiving degrees as the first wave of the “double cohort” caused by the elimination of Grade 13 in Ontario passes through the undergraduate system. The additional numbers necessitated raising the number of convocation ceremonies to six this year from five last year.

The honorary degree recipients are:

Mike Duffy is Ottawa editor for CTV NewsNet and has been host of CTV’s Sunday Edition for 11 years. He has won an ACTRA (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) award for live television reporting, has twice been nominated for the “Best in the Business” award by the Washington Journalism Review and has been named to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Duffy will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree at the June 13 convocation at Laurier Brantford.

Fred Kuntz is editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star. His career includes five years as group publisher of Grand River Valley Newspapers, which includes The Record in Kitchener and the Guelph Mercury. He has served on the board of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, the Rotary Club of Kitchener, and the Salvation Army Community Advisory Board of Waterloo Region. He will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree at the June 7 convocation for the School of Business and Economics.

Geoffrey Stevens, whose career in journalism extends more than three decades, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree at the afternoon June 8 convocation for the Faculty of Arts. Stevens has been Ottawa correspondent for Time magazine, parliamentary correspondent, Queen’s Park bureau chief, Ottawa columnist and associate editor, national editor, sports editor and managing editor of The Globe and Mail, and political columnist for the Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun and Montreal Gazette. He is currently an adjunct professor of political science at Laurier.

Dr. Gordon Greene was dean of Laurier’s Faculty of Music from 1979 to 1989 and interim dean from 2005 to 2006. Over the course of his career, Greene received several Canada Council fellowships and seven research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to study French secular polyphonic music in European libraries. He has presented papers on medieval and renaissance topics in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Australia. He will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree at the June 7 convocation for the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Music.

The Hon. James K. Bartleman, a member of the Mnjikaning First Nation, is Ontario’s Lieutenant-Governor. He previously had a distinguished career of more than 35 years in Canada’s Foreign Service. Bartleman has worked tirelessly to encourage literacy among Aboriginal young people in the North, launching the Lieutenant-Governors Book Drive, literacy summer camps, and partnerships between Native and non-Native schools. He will be receiving an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the June 6 convocation for the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Susan Burke has been manager/curator of the historic Joseph Schneider Hause in Kitchener since 1981. Under her guidance, the museum is now an official National Historic Site and offers 16 education programs to children from Waterloo Region and beyond. She is co-editor of the book From Pennsylvania to Waterloo: Pennsylvania-German Folk Culture in Transition, and has been honoured with many awards. Burke will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree at the morning June 8 convocation for the Faculty of Arts.

Five members of the University of Guelph community and a former student have been named recipients of the 2007 Women of Distinction Awards by the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph.

Margaret Carter, president of Local 4120 of the United Steelworkers; Jennifer Maddock, leadership education and development adviser in Student Life; Prof. Brenda Coomber, Biomedical Sciences; Heidi Smith, manager of the nutrition program at the Health and Performance Centre; Constance Rooke, director of the master of fine arts program in creative writing; and Guelph graduate Cathy Bazinet were recognized for their outstanding contributions at Thursday night’s 12th annual awards presentation at the River Run Centre.

These six were among a total of 39 women who were nominated for their achievements in eight categories: arts and culture; business, labour, the professions and entrepreneurs; education and training; public service; science, technology and research; voluntary community service; wellness and health; and young woman of distinction. In addition, two women were nominated for lifetime achievement awards, including Rooke.

Rooke, U of G's former associate vice-president (academic) and a former chair of the English department, was honoured for her work in education and training. For decades she has influenced and encouraged women with her boundless energy, courage and compassion. She is an award-winning writer and teacher and has become a prominent figure in literary and academic communities. With a strong belief in equality and justice for women, she has contributed significantly to feminist literature in Canada and abroad.

“I can’t overstate my gratitude to the University of Guelph,” said Rooke during her speech. “It’s a university with a deep concern for individuals and community.”

As president of Local 4120, Carter was the recipient of the business, labour, the professions and entrepreneurs award in recognition of her efforts in empowering others. She has acted as an excellent role model to a bargaining unit made up mostly of women by showing them that their feelings were not to be invalidated in the workplace and that their voices should be heard.

Maddock was named the recipient of the education and training award for the tremendous impact she has had on students. In her role as leadership education and development adviser, she oversees more than 230 student peer helpers and serves as a resource to elected and appointed student representatives. Students don’t see Maddock as another staff person, but rather as a friend, mentor and role model.

“The one thing I try to highlight with students is to be open to receiving teaching moments both inside and outside the classroom,” she said.

The science, technology and research award went to Coomber for her role as a mentor for women in biomedical sciences. As a past member of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations' Status of Women Committee, she helped implement policy matters relating to concerns of female academic staff and also evaluated equity clauses in faculty collective agreements. As a scientist, she established a cancer research lab from practically nothing and built it into one of the larger laboratories in biomedical sciences.

“I think it’s important for people to know that there is more than one type of creativity and the best scientists are very creative,” she said. “My advice to women is to embrace your inner geek.”

Smith was named the recipient of the wellness and health award for touching thousands of people's lives with her message of healthy eating, wellness and care for the whole individual. With a primarily female client base, Smith gives advice, support and encouragement around weight management, clinical disorders, sports nutrition and general health. She is involved with the local Eating Disorders Coalition and the Community Heart Health Network and has also written a number of books, guides and papers on nutrition.

Bazinet, a 2005 BA graduate of Guelph, was named the young woman of distinction for her leadership. She created the only all-female basketball camp through Guelph Catholic Youth Organization. She is also a Big Sister and has volunteered in several classrooms, spending time with young female students with special needs and helping students struggling to read.

Six other members of the U of G community were nominated for Women of Distinction Awards and recognized during Thursday's event. Profs. Kathleen Brophy and Susan Evers, Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, and Deborah Stacey, Computing and Information Science, were nominees in the science, technology and research category. Prof. Ann Wilson, English and Theatre Studies, was nominated in the voluntary community service category. Angela Orton, manger of intercollegiate programs in the Department of Athletics and head coach of the women’s basketball team, was nominated in the wellness and health category. U of G students Kira Kumagai, Brianne Dollery, Stacey Molengraaf and Stephanie Pellizzari were nominated in the young woman of distinction category.

The world’s first centre for high-volume DNA barcoding has officially opened on the University of Guelph campus. The Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO) will provide researchers with the equipment needed to discover, identify and catalogue species from around the world using barcode technology.

“Today we are celebrating the opening of a facility that has the potential to literally change the way the world looks at life on our planet,” said Alan Wildeman, vice-president (research). “There are no topics more fundamental to biology than the relationships of species to each other.”

Inside the $4.2 million-facility, researchers are working on creating a complete inventory of the world’s species using tissue samples. A short DNA sequence from a gene found in all multi-cellular organisms is analyzed and used to identify the species. DNA barcoding conducted at the centre has already led to the discovery of new species of birds, butterflies and fishes. The information is then entered into an online database of established DNA barcodes called the Barcode of Life Data System.

It’s anticipated the centre will enter about 500,000 barcode analyses per year once it is in full production.

“We are building a master key to life that will represent a major advance in accessibility to biological identifications,” said Paul Hebert, University of Guelph Canada research chair in molecular biodiversity and director of BIO. “What it effectively means is that researchers will find a barcode linked to just about anything they encountered anywhere on the planet.”

Hebert was the first scientist to propose this form of species identification. He called it “DNA barcoding” to reflect the fact that analysis focuses on a short, standard gene region. Just as retail barcodes allow for the quick identification of millions of items on store shelves, so too will DNA barcodes allow the rapid identification of species.

The centre’s technology can help reduce species identification time from days to a matter of minutes. Hebert estimates that in about 20 years, the technique could enable completion of a catalogue of the estimated 10 million species of animals on the planet, of which only 1.2 million have been formally identified over the past 250 years.

Hebert said the ultimate goal is to introduce barcoding technology to public use for applications, such as border control, pest management, food safety and environmental monitoring.

“The facility represents what the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is all about: providing the tools to institutions and researchers so that they can do the cutting-edge research that will have a profound impact in Canada and around the world,” said Eliot Phillipson, CFI president and chief executive officer. “This is a shining example of Canadian science leading the way.”

CFI is among a number of organizations that have funded the facility including Genome Canada, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canada Research Chair program and the Ontario government through Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT).

“The Biodiversity Institute of Ontario is a terrific example of what can be achieved through collaboration when scientists and researchers of new technologies come together with a common goal,” said Kenneth W. Knox, OIT president. “On behalf of the people of Ontario we congratulate University of Guelph and your research partners. The Trust is proud to be a player in providing world-class tools to these researchers so they can do the leading-edge barcode technology research that will benefit not just Ontarians, but the world.”

WATERLOO - A high-level delegation of health experts from China will participate next week in a University of Waterloo public forum on chronic diseases confronting the populous Asian country.

Geoffrey Fong, a UW psychology professor, will host a visit Wednesday (May 16) by prominent Chinese health officials involved in the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC project). They are working on a survey of 1,000 smokers and non-smokers in seven Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Yinchuan and Shenyang.

The Chinese experts will take part in the forum, entitled Meeting the Challenge of Chronic Diseases in China: Perspectives from Officials of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Clarica Auditorium in the Lyle Hallman Institute, Room 1621, on the UW campus.

Fong is the founder and chief principal investigator of the ITC Project, the first international cohort study of tobacco use. The collaboration now involves more than 60 researchers in 14 countries inhabited by over half of the world's smokers.

A leading world expert on the impact of tobacco control policies, Fong focuses on such areas as smoke-free laws, warning labels, advertising and promotion restrictions, and taxation. Last year, he received $3.9 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to further his efforts over the next five years.

"In the ITC China survey, we are evaluating tobacco control policies and working directly with the Chinese government to evaluate policies of the worldwide Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which China ratified two years ago," Fong says. "They have a lot of work to do as there are 350 million smokers in China and close to two-thirds of adult men in China smoke."

More generally, chronic diseases pose an enormous challenge to China's aspirations for economic development and well-being. A recent WHO report estimates that the loss of income to the Chinese economy owing to heart disease, stroke and diabetes will be $550 billion US over the next 10 years.

The ITC project team includes leading Chinese health officials on chronic disease prevention in the seven ITC-surveyed cities, which altogether, total a population of more than 68 million people.

Last January, Fong's Waterloo team travelled to Beijing to work with their Chinese colleagues on recently collected data. "And now, the China team is coming to Waterloo to continue to work with the baseline data and to plan our upcoming second survey wave," Fong says.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of premature death and disability throughout the world. "In the last century, 100 million people died of tobacco use and in this century, that number will grow to one billion people and 70 per cent of the deaths will occur in developing countries," Fong says.

WATERLOO — Two very talented Laurier graduates will be continuing their studies at England’s prestigious University of Oxford this fall.

Jon Krohn, who has just completed his studies in honours psychology and biology, will be enrolling in Oxford’s four-year neuroscience MSc and DPhil (the Oxford equivalent of a PhD) program.

Erika Nitsch, who is graduating with a degree in honours archaeology, will be pursuing an MSc in archaeological science at Oxford.

Oxford, founded in the 12th century, is considered one of the world’s finest universities. It has about 24,000 students, one third of them graduate students.

Krohn, who has lived in Waterloo since he was 11, says he is “broadly interested in how the mind arises from the biology of the brain. More specifically, I enjoy researching how information from multiple sensory systems — vision, hearing, touch — are integrated coherently and then represented as a singular conscious experience.”

His four-year Oxford program (which takes in only five students each year) consists of one year of an MSc in neuroscience, followed by a three-year DPhil under a research supervisor.

Krohn is currently planning on a career as a professor of cognitive neuroscience, although he has not ruled out medical school for neurology or psychiatry.

Nitsch, also a Waterloo native (her father, Dr. Detlev Nitsch, is a professor in the School of Business and Economics), says she came to study classical archaeology at Laurier because “I was always interested in science and art and math and history.”

She says she focused on archaeology rather than classics because she is very interested in the scientific perspective. Her experience here included seven weeks at the archaeological field school in Jordan run by Dr. Michèle Daviau.

“I’d like to look at ancient diets as revealed by skeletal remains,” she says. “Bone chemistry can tell you something about a person’s diet.” Plants, for example, do photosynthesis in different ways, which will change the ratio of Carbon 14 to Carbon 13 in a skeleton.

“Millet has a different carbon ration than another grain,” she says. One recent study revealed that Roman gladiators in what is now Turkey ate plants and fats rather than meat.

Oxford’s 12-month program in archaeological science is designed to lead to studies at the doctoral level. “I’d like to get a PhD and so research and teach,” Nitsch says.

Both Krohn and Nitsch turned down scholarships from Canadian sources to attend Oxford, but have other scholarships in hand. Nitsch is receiving a Commonwealth Scholarship, which covers her tuition and gives her a living allowance.

Krohn, who came very close to winning a Rhodes Scholarship last year, will receive four years of full funding from the Wellcome Trust, which offers funding for more years of study than the more well-known Rhodes.

• Lt.-Col. Simon Hetherington, former commanding officer of the Canadian Forces PRT in Kandahar;

• Dr. William Maley, author of Rescuing Afghanistan and director of the Asia-Pacific School of Diplomacy at the Australian National University;

• Prof. Ramesh Thakur, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, professor at the University of Waterloo;

• Mr. Diego Ruiz Palmer, Head, Planning Section, Operations Division, International Staff, NATO Headquarters;

• Mr. Daoud Yaqub, Research Scholar at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University and former member of Afghanistan’s National Security Council;

• Mr. Tom Gregg, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan;

• Prof. Terry Copp, director of the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies.

The two-day conference is the fourth in a series of workshops on Afghanistan organized by the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS), the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), and the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS).

Individual reports have been published after each workshop. Select papers from the last workshop will appear in a book to be published later this year by Wilfrid Laurier University Press. The book, Afghanistan: Transition Under Threat, will be edited by Prof. Geoffrey Hayes, a Laurier graduate and professor of history at the University of Waterloo, and Mark Sedra of the Centre for International Governance Innovation and the University of Waterloo.

The University of Guelph will host the first Scientific Symposium of the Canadian Barcode of Life Network May 10 and 11.

The event will be held in Rozanski Hall, with additional workshops offered at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO), the world’s first centre for high-volume DNA barcoding. The centre is located on the U of G campus and will officially open May 9.

“Since the introduction of DNA barcoding four years ago, scientists from around the globe have been capturing the excitement of rediscovering the natural world using this technique,” said Paul Hebert, a Guelph integrative biology professor and director of the BIO.

“This symposium will bring all of these scientists together for the first time in Canada to talk about their findings and advances and the potential for future discoveries.”

Hebert was the first scientist to propose that a short DNA sequence from a standard gene region found in all animals can be used to identify species. He called the system “DNA barcoding,” analogous to how retail products are tagged in supermarkets to allow quick identification of millions of items.

The technology can reduce species identification time from days to a matter of hours, with anticipated technological development further reducing the time to minutes. So far, it has led to the discovery of new and overlooked species of birds, bats, butterflies, fishes and protists, including marine algae.

“Our job is to reveal how many species there are on the planet and provide really simple tools to tell one species from another,” Hebert said.

The open symposium will include talks, workshops, presentations and poster displays on research related to barcoding. There will also be updates on advances in DNA and database technology and a tour of the BIO.

In addition, Charles Godfray, holder of the Hope Chair of Zoology (Entomology) at the University of Oxford will give a plenary lecture on “Taxonomy and the Web.” He will discuss how taxonomic science is being revolutionized by molecular techniques and by new means of organizing and disseminating information.

More information about the conference is available online. The symposium is open to all interested in registering. Media are invited to attend all sessions.

WATERLOO -- An international team of space scientists, including several Canadian astronomers, has discovered molecular oxygen in interstellar space. Oxygen is one of the main constituents of the Earth's atmosphere and was expected to be common in space too, but surprisingly this molecule appears to be quite rare in most of the universe.

A team of Canadian, Swedish, French and Finnish researchers has been seeking the elusive oxygen molecule with the Odin space observatory. The team has spent countless hours in observation and data evaluation in search of molecular oxygen. The search, a principal goal of Odin, is important to understanding the chemistry in large interstellar clouds, the birthplaces of planets and stars.

"Earlier attempts to find the elusive oxygen molecule frustrated observatories on the ground and in space until space researchers realized something crucial," said Michel Fich, UW professor of physics and astronomy. "The abundance of oxygen was much lower than assumed before the search started. The Odin measurements have now told us just how low."

The team's findings are reported in the current issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics. The Canadian members of this Odin team include Fich, Sun Kwok and Rene Plume of the University of Calgary, Christine Wilson of McMaster University, and George Mitchell of Saint Mary's University.

Astrochemists have long argued that the basic molecules of life, water (H2O) and oxygen (O2), are highly abundant in the denser regions of the interstellar medium. One of the primary goals of the Odin astronomy mission was to use spectral line data from molecular oxygen and water to study processes of star formation.

Models at the time predicted that these molecules would be abundant enough to assist the formation of stars by radiating away excess energy produced when clouds collapse to form new stars. The collapse results in compression of the gas, which is therefore heated. Unless this excess heat can be radiated away stars will not be able to form.

Many attempts have been made from the ground, balloons and space to detect oxygen, but have, until now, all failed.

The molecule was found in a dense (astronomically speaking) gas cloud (called rho Oph A) in the constellation of Ophiuchus at a distance of about 500 light years. The oxygen abundance is a thousand times lower than can be explained by today's chemical models.

Odin is a space-based radio observatory for studying both celestial objects and Earth's atmosphere. The spacecraft is equipped with a 1.1-metre diameter radio telescope operating in the millimetre and submillimetre wavelength ranges. Odin was launched into a 600-km altitude orbit on Feb. 20, 2001.

The importance of molecular oxygen led to the inclusion in the Odin five-channel microwave radiometer of a dedicated radio receiver tuned to the ground state transition of oxygen at 118.75 GHz. This frequency is about a factor 1,000 higher than the typical FM radio band.

The actual observations were made during 33 days over a period from August 2002 to February 2006. After careful processing and detailed analysis of more than 300,000 spectra, the oxygen line is convincingly visible, at a level of five times above the noise.

The characteristics of the observed oxygen profile are precisely as expected, based on the profiles of the spectral lines from other species, such as atomic carbon, carbon monoxide and water vapour, observed from the same cloud with ground-based telescopes and with Odin.

Odin was developed by the Swedish Space Corporation, which is also responsible for the operations, on behalf of the Swedish National Space Board, the Canadian Space Agency and the space agencies of Finland and France. It serves astronomers and aeronomers (who study the Earth's atmosphere) of all four partner countries.

WATERLOO - Malcolm Gladwell, a visionary and influential author, and Jim Balsillie, a high-tech executive and philanthropist, are among those receiving honorary degrees during the University of Waterloo's convocation to be held June 13-16 in UW's 50th anniversary year.

Gladwell and Balsillie will receive their honorary doctorates at separate spring convocation ceremonies to be held over four days in the physical activities complex on the UW campus.

Leading off convocation on Wednesday, June 13, kinesiology pioneer Norman Ashton will be awarded a doctor of science degree at the ceremony for graduates in the faculties of applied health sciences and environmental studies. Ashton, a retired UW professor, developed and formed the university's first kinesiology program, which explores the science of human movement. Other universities in Canada have since emulated the program, which combines several disciplines.

At the same event, which begins at 10 a.m., Terry Prowse, an internationally known physical geographer, will receive a doctor of environmental studies degree and address convocation. A professor at the University of Victoria, Prowse is a leading expert on the impact of climate variability and change on hydrology, water resources and freshwater ecosystems in northern environments. He heads the Water Climate Impacts Research Centre, jointly sponsored by UVic and Environment Canada.

Honorary degrees will be given at the following convocation ceremonies:

* Science, Wednesday, June 13 at 2 p.m.

Rudolf Thauer will receive a doctor of science. A nominee for the Nobel Prize, Thauer is widely respected for an outstanding teaching and research career in the field of microbiology. A specialist in the biochemistry of anaerobic bacteria and archaea (microorganisms), he founded the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Germany.

Richard Peltier will receive a doctor of science. Regarded as the world's top geoscientist for his scientific achievements, Peltier holds the title of university professor in the physics department at the University of Toronto. He has made landmark research contributions to earth geophysics as well as to the area of global ice ages, including human-induced changes to climate variability.

* Arts (first ceremony), Thursday, June 14 at 10 a.m.

Jim Balsillie will receive a doctor of laws and address convocation. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Jim Balsillie is co-CEO of Research In Motion (RIM), developer of the BlackBerry. In 2002, Balsillie provided core financing for the creation of the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Canadian think-tank dedicated to researching issues of global importance.

Carl Dare will receive a Doctor of Laws. Now in his nineties, Dare is the only living member of the original board of governors of the University of Waterloo. Besides being one of the founders of UW, he headed Dare Foods Ltd., one of Waterloo Region's most successful businesses.

* Arts (second ceremony), Thursday, June 14 at 2 p.m.

Malcolm Gladwell will receive a doctor of letters and address convocation. A world-renowned author and essayist, Gladwell has been a staff writer with The New Yorker magazine since 1996. He has written two bestselling books, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference, and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, which demonstrate how to translate knowledge from the social sciences to the general public.

Denise Donlon will receive a doctor of laws. Music company executive as well as former television producer, host and program director, Donlon began her music career in the early 1980s when she worked for UW's federation of students. Considered the "most influential female music executive on the continent," Donlon is a former president of Sony Music Canada and former vice-president and general manager of MuchMusic and MuchMore Music. She has also been a leader in advocating for change in music, such as getting rid of violence and sexism, as well as promoting literacy among the young.

Reg Haney will receive a doctor of laws. Haney is senior partner of the law firm Haney, Haney & Kendall in Waterloo. UW has drawn on Haney's services as university solicitor for the last several decades, especially his expertise in administrative law and education law.

* Mathematics (first ceremony), Friday, June 15 at 10 a.m.

Paul Embrechts will receive a doctor of mathematics and address convocation. One of the most prominent researchers in actuarial mathematics and finance in the world, Embrechts holds the prestigious chair in insurance mathematics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. He is an expert on extreme risks, particularly the problem of insuring against earthquakes and hurricanes.

Richard Stanley will receive a doctor of mathematics. The world's leader in algebraic and enumerative combinatorics, Stanley is the Norman Levinson Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is an accomplished mathematician, known for his superb ability to create new topics for study in their own right and his insights have led to deep conjectures on these topics.

* Mathematics (second ceremony), Friday, June 15 at 2 p.m.

Andries van Dam will receive a doctor of mathematics and address convocation. A prolific researcher, educator and administrator, van Dam is a pioneer in hypertext editing and presentation systems on the Internet. He has played key administrative roles at Brown University, where he is one of the founders of the university's computer science department.

Duncan Luce will receive a doctor of mathematics. Widely considered a pioneer in mathematical behavioural sciences, Luce has pursued a scientific understanding of human behaviour for more than 50 years. His work blends mathematical theory and experiments, designed to provide insights on individual behaviour and orientation to the world.

* Engineering (first ceremony), Saturday, June 16 at 10 a.m.

Mona Zaghloul will receive a doctor of engineering and address convocation. Founder of the Institute of MEMS and VLSI Technologies at George Washington University, Zaghloul is the first woman PhD graduate from UW's faculty of engineering, receiving a doctorate in electrical engineering in 1975. She has worked extensively in the areas of sensors and their circuits, interfaces and microelectronic systems.

George Raithby will receive a doctor of engineering. In building the technology of computational fluid dynamics, Raithby has contributed to the education of generations of mechanical engineers and to the international engineering community. A UW distinguished professor emeritus, he is a highly cited researcher for his work on the design and development of efficient energy systems.

* Engineering (second ceremony), Saturday, June 16 at 2 p.m.

Rod Coutts will receive a doctor of engineering and address convocation. After graduating from UW in 1964 with a bachelor of applied science degree in electronics engineering, Coutts worked for a computer peripheral equipment manufacturer. In 1967, he co-founded Teklogix, a global provider of real-time data collection and communications systems for industrial users.

Savvas Chamberlain will receive a doctor of engineering and will also address convocation. Chamberlain is a UW distinguished professor emeritus and founder of DALSA Corp., a successful semiconductor and electronics UW spin-off company. In 2004, he received the life achievement award from the Automated Imaging Association for his world leadership and contributions to the imaging field.

Also at convocation, distinguished professor emeritus titles will be presented to nine retired UW professors: Jennifer Ashworth, of philosophy; Darrol Bryant, of religious studies (Renison College); John Cherry, of earth sciences; Sydney Davison, of applied mathematics; Dragomir Djokovic, of pure mathematics; Rolf George, of philosophy; Art Green, of fine arts; Fred McCourt, of chemistry; and Jan Narveson, of philosophy.

Three retired staff members will receive the honorary title, member of the university: Angelo Graham, a leader in the safety office; Bruce Lumsden, a director of Co-operative Education and Career Services; and Shirley Thomson, a key figure in the faculty of mathematics.

Two out of five graduates from the class of 2000 who had left school owing money to government student loans had completely repaid their debt five years after graduation.

Of all graduates from a Canadian college or university in 2000, 56% had no debt from government student loan programs while 44% owed money to such programs. It is among this latter group that two out of five graduates had completely paid off their debt in 2005.

The proportion of graduates who have paid off their student loans varies according to the level of study. Graduates from master's and doctoral programs were most likely to have repaid their loans, with 46% having done so, compared to 42% for those from bachelor programs and 36% from college programs.

The average debt remaining in 2005 amounted to $8,900 for college graduates, and was practically the same for graduates with bachelor degrees ($14,400) and master's or doctoral degrees ($14,300).

Debt load, income and having a debt from a non-government source were some of the factors that could affect a graduate's ability to repay a student loan.

Graduates who still owed in 2005 were twice as likely to have an outstanding debt from non-government sou