2002-06-13. MUN Gazette, vol. 34, no. 19

              Memorial
) University of Newfoundland
Publications Mail
Registration No. 40062527
me 34 Number 19
A MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND PUBLICATION
June 13, 2002
Professor wins
national award
hane O'Dea, English, was
named as one of the 10
national recipients of the
prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowships. The award was announced
yesterday at the annual conference of the Society for Teaching
and Learning in Higher Education
in Hamilton, ON.
This award recognizes excellence in teaching over an extended
period-of time, principally, but not
exclusively, at the undergraduate
level and also acknowledges educational leadership in commitment
to the improvement of university
teaching within the candidate's
own institution.
vlr. O'Dea has been a faculty member at Memorial since 1970 and has
i consistently recognized for his teaching excellence, his personal
rest in his students and his high academic standards.
'Professor O'Dea excels in all dimensions of scholarly activity, both in
university and the community, and has been a singular influence in
ing public awareness for the preservation of Newfoundland's architec-
il heritage," said Dr. Evan Simpson, vice-president (academic).
'Professor O'Dea has been a mentor to me and countless other stu-
ts at Memorial. His concern for his students' intellectual growth is
eptional, resulting in many students like me, who take as many cours-
vith him as they can," said Andrea Budgell, former English student at
morial. "But perhaps his most defining quality as a teacher is his dedi-
on to finding new and better ways to teach his students."
Mr. O'Dea has been involved in numerous educational leadership
vities at Memorial, sharing both his professional knowledge and his
see O 'DEA, page 10
Convocation wrap j
rhe Gazette continues its coverage of the 2002 spring convocation in St. John's and Grenfell College starting on page 5 of
this week's paper. Inside are speeches by President Axel
sisen and Grenfell Principal Adrian Fowler, orations for the hon-
ary graduates, and excerpts from the convocation addresses of the
moraries. This year, the full convocation addresses of honorary
;gree recipients will appear on our Web site at www.mun.ca/
mrel/gazette.
The spring convocation will be broadcast on Rogers Cable (channel
in the St. John's area) on Saturday, June 15, and on Sunday, June 16,
jginning at 10:30 a.m. The convocation sessions will be aired in
jronological order.
Photo by HSIMS
Astronaut Dr. Roberta Bondar chatted with students Kyla Hynes, Roncalli High School, (right) and Sheena Winsor, Lake-
wood Academy, following her talk at the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame symposium.
Astronaut values curiosity
By Sharon Gray
Dr. Roberta Bondar has never been afraid to
ask "why" and her curiosity led her to earn
a PhD and a medical degree as well as
become one of Canada's first astronauts and the first
Canadian woman in space.
On May 24, at Discovery Days in Health Sciences,
a group of high school students heard about Dr. Bondar's adventures in space. Discovery Days is an event
held to promote awareness in health sciences among
young people. About 100 students were selected from
those who applied through their schools to attend the
day, which also included hands-on workshops and a
career panel.
"In space, we're just as fragile as we are down
here," said Dr. Bondar, a neurologist whose role on the
space shuttle Discovery in 1992 was to study how the
human body reacted to weightlessness and the growth
of plants without gravity. "Some of the problems in
space include feeling nauseous in the first 48 hours.
And what happens if your nose gets itchy in a space
suit? We came up with a velcro strip for that problem.
Another problem we had to figure out was how much
nutrition is needed - you can eat 3,000 calories a day
in space and still lose weight."
Dr. Bondar said that what is true on the ground is
not true in space. "In space we lose all the reflexes we
have in gravity, for example putting out our arms to
break a fall. For every day up, an astronaut needs a day
back to recover."
Born in 1945, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Dr. Bondar noted that she was born before anything had left
the Earth. She encouraged the high school students to
pursue careers they enjoy. For her, that has been medicine. "As a doctor, you can do anything. Medicine
opens the key to the world - it's not just about helping
other people, but helping yourself."
Dr. Roberta Bondar has received numerous honours and awards, including Officer of the Order of
Canada, a NASA Space Medal and induction into the
Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Discovery Days in Health Sciences was sponsored
by Pfizer Canada and the Canadian Medical Hall of
Fame.
Inco Innovation Centre for Memorial
rhe Inco Innovation Centre
will be established on the
St. John's campus of
emorial University. The centre
11 address the scientific, techni-
1 and human resource needs of
i Voisey's Bay project and will
cus on education and research in
ining, exploration, metallurgical
ocessing techniques as well as
her innovative activities.
Inco will spend $10 million on
e facility and provide operating
support of $1 million over 10 years.
The announcement of the centre
came earlier today when the Government of Newfoundland and
Labrador and Inco Ltd. signed a
Statement of Principles regarding
the development of the Voisey's
Bay mineral deposit.
"Memorial University has been
working in conjunction with the
provincial government and Inco to
establish a centre dedicated to innovation  and  outstanding  research
which builds on Memorial's commitment to serve the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador. We
look forward to developing and sustaining a highly educated workforce and to ensure a supply of
qualified personnel for the Voisey's
Bay project and related activities,"
said Dr. Axel Meisen, president of
Memorial University.
The centre will provide world-
class education and research opportunities for 50-60 students per year
engaged in bachelor's, master's and
doctorate level programs.
"Today's announcement will
help Memorial extend its existing
education and research activities
which are strategic for the
province," said Dr. Meisen. "The
Inco Innovation Centre will assist
in the development of the
province's nickel industry, provide
great benefits to the people of the
province based on innovation and
will  help   address   long-standing
needs of the university for
improved educational and research
infrastructure."
The Innovation Centre will be
located in the former Thomson Student Centre building. Renovations
and modifications to the building
including architectural design,
preparation of tenders and engineering work will begin in late fall
2002 with a target completion in
2004.
NSERC-SSHRC
results       1 '