SCIENCE VOLUME 18, No 2, FALL 2007 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ALUMNI MAGAZINE contourswww.ualberta.ca/science UNIVERSITY Reading CREATES our body’s SPACE chemicals for INSTITUTE better diagnosis Honouring Mama ALUMNUS TURNS Lu’s spirit of GRIEF INTO HOPE giving Fine arts ARCTIC PONDS students liven DRYING UP up lab space through games SCIENCEcontours Science Contours is published twice MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN a year by the faculty of Science to provide current information on its many activities. The magazine is distributed to alumni and friends of the Faculty of An Intersection Between Arts and Science Science. Phase 1 of our new Dean of Science Centennial Centre for Gregory Taylor Interdisciplinary Sci- ence (CCIS) was near- Assistant Dean, External Relations Claudia Wood ing completion when I happened upon a stu- External Relations Team dent art competition on Katherine Captain, Emily Lennstrom, campus. It occurred to Michel Proulx, Traci Toshack, me then that it would be Kevin Websdale wonderful to have stu- Fine arts students Editor dents help us put some Wendy Lung and Ansun Michel Proulx finishing touches on our Yan enjoy their work new space. Graphic Design After a few conversations, two different classes - one in Inte- Studio X Design grative/Exhibit Design and the other in Printmaking - were tasked with coming up with ideas. The results are astounding. Contributing writers To begin with, the students had to wrap their heads around the Bev Betkowski, Kris Connor, Michel purpose and uniqueness of the building. CCIS is one of the few Proulx, Isabela Varela facilities in the world to house interdisciplinary teams under one roof and Phase 1 is no different. Composed of two floors located Cover photography Richard Siemens, Creative Services, underground between the Biological Sciences Building and the University of Alberta old Physics Building, it houses labs for physics, nanotechnology, surface engineering and ecology. An eclectic collection of labs, to be sure. Students from both classes presented their concepts to a panel of scientists representing the different disciplines occupying space Send your comments to: in Phase 1 of the new building. Four concepts for murals from the The Editor, Science Contours Integrative/Exhibit Design class were retained and the students CW 223 Biological Sciences Building University of Alberta were asked to pursue the project to production. These murals Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2E9 now adorn walls in Phase 1. Students from the Printmaking class Tel: 780.492.4073 produced seven prints representing the connection between Fax: 780.492.4827 poetry, art and science. When we saw these prints, the conclusion Toll-free: 800.358.8314 was obvious. We had to hang them all on our walls. They are in E-mail: [email protected] production now. Website: www.science.ualberta.ca It was a great thrill to see the energy and creativity these students brought to the project. It is reflected in the quality of their Publications Mail Agreement No: work. The next time you’re on campus, visit Phase 1 of the CCIS 40063605 building. It’ll be well worth your time. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Gregory Taylor CW 223 Biological Sciences Building Dean of Science University of Alberta Edmonton AB T6G 2E9 SCIENCE 2 contours SCIENCE contoursFACULTY OF SCIENCE ALUMNI MAGAZINE science bases 4 Ponds reveal the Arctic is changing faster than expected; Fish CSI; the next generation of videoconferencing; elite student-athlete changes sport; maintaining range of personalities in the red squirrel population; rocking the geological world. 7 A great faculty has, among other things, great researchers, recognized by their peers. We present a list 4 6 of recent award winners. features 8 Charting Human Chemicals Through a set of remarkable coincidences, scientist David Wishart was able to connect dots where others hadn’t. The result is leading to much quicker and better diagnoses of complex diseases. 10 Dawn of a New Industry? The U of A’s new Institute for Space Science Exploration and Technology will bring together researchers of diverse expertise. So what’s the big deal? It could lead to a brand new, exciting industry in our province. 10 12 Finding Purpose How a U of A grad who lost his family in the Air India Bombing in 1985 was able to overcome his terrible grief and bring hope to thousands of people in his homeland. 14 The Art of Giving Donors, whether they’re individuals, associations or companies, have many different reasons for giving to the Faculty of Science. All make a difference for the students 12 14 and the programs they support. cover story 16 How two games are advancing artificial intelligence Not only did Jonathan Schaeffer oversee the biggest problem ever solved by computers to date this past summer, he was also part of a team that took on two of the world’s best poker players in a classic man-versus-machine showdown. The big winner? Artificial intelligence. SCIENCE contours 3 science bases Arctic Ponds Drying Up Faster Than Expected cientists have uncovered the longest record of systematic limno- study ponds dried up completely and alarming evidence that high logical (the science of the properties of water levels in others fell dramatically. Arctic ponds, many of which fresh water) monitoring from the high “Some of the ponds were 6,000 years have been permanent bodies Arctic. old. They’ve been in existence for mil- of water for lennia,” said Douglas. “It was thousands of years, are Marianne Douglas and her colleague quite shocking to see some of S drill a hole in an Arctic pond to completely drying out our largest study ponds dry up measure its depth. during the polar summer. by early summer.” The shallow ponds, The ecological ramifications which dot the Arctic land- of these changes are likely se- scape, are important indi- vere and will be felt through- cators of environmental out the Arctic ecosystem, says change as they are espe- Douglas. It could affect wa- cially susceptible to the ef- terfowl habitat and breeding fects of climate change grounds, invertebrate popula- because of their low water tion dynamics, food for insec- volume, according to Mari- tivores and drinking water for anne Douglas, director of animals, to name only a few. the Canadian Circumpolar “These surface water ponds Institute and professor of are so important because they Earth and Atmospheric Sci- are often hotspots of biodiver- ences. For the past 24 years, sity and production for micro- Douglas and her colleague Supplied organisms, plants and animals John Smol, a professor of in this otherwise extreme ter- biology at Queen’s University, collected Until recently, the ponds were per- restrial environment,” said Douglas. detailed data that included water quality manent features of the landscape, but “The significance of that is that the Arctic and water levels from approximately 40 in early July 2006, because of warming is changing. It’s changing faster than we ponds. Collectively, this data represents trends in the Arctic, several of the main might have anticipated.” Forensics Expert Trying to Foil Fishy Poachers fter four years in an RCMP lab, forensic scientist Lindsey Burke is turning her attention to fish. The DNA analyst is pursuing a masters degree in biological sciences. Her research project is focused on Alberta walleye living in the Athabasca River and in 11 Alberta lakes. A Using DNA extracted from fish fins previously collected by fisheries- bi ologists, Burke wants to help find ways to keep walleye genetically strong and Lindsey Burke will be to foil individuals who may be illegally harvesting walleye. looking at a lot of fins “The number of anglers per lake is far more in Alberta than anywhere as she tries to keep walleye genetically else in Canada,” she said, noting that several decades of increasing harvest strong and catch pressure on relatively few lakes have left the Alberta walleye fishery in a poachers. weakened state. “There is now a need to have more tools available to actively manage walleye in a way that creates and maintains a healthy fishery and preserves the natural genetic diversity of the species.” Burke’s research will focus on specific regions of the DNA. She’ll study it for variations that will indicate differences between walleye populations. She thinks that walleye populations from different lakes will be genetically differ- ent from one another, due to isolation and a lack of migration. “This may be why stocking fish from one lake to another is not consistently successful.” Knowing the genotypes of distinct walleye populations will make it easier to track the success of stocked versus natural fish populations sharing the same water. Tighter genotyping will also make it easier to nab poachers, because wildlife officers will be able to pinpoint the lake Supplied of origin. 4 SCIENCEcontours Star Trek’s Holodeck Here Today omputer scientist Pierre HP markets the technology as the the most recent Star Wars movie where Boulanger has developed a Halo System, which is priced at about life size images of participants were pro- technology that lets people $250,000. Boulanger and Edmonton- jected on chairs in a meeting chamber. half a world away meet based TRLabs, an important partner in “That’s the next step,” says Boulanger. and feel as if they’re in the the project, are working to see how to “The original patent was to digitize the Csame room. keep the quality of the product at a re- person, extract him or her from the back- “When you see it, it’s very Star Trek- duced cost. ground. Then you could bring that per- ish,” says Boulanger about the science Boulanger is also working on tech- son into a virtual meeting room.” fiction television program set in the 24th nology similar to what was shown in century.