spotlight on research
New Take on New Media New media is just one of the many areas being explored from multiple perspectives at the U of L and to receive support through the University’s new Interdisciplinary Research Development Fund (IRDF). This year, a multidisciplinary group of researchers in fields ranging from new media, art, education and management received IRDF funding to discover how we are using new media tools and how educators can work together to expand research and teaching practices. The IRDF was created to provide the foundation for developing the next generation of interdisciplinary concentrations of research excellence at the U of L. In 2012, it funded five projects (up to $100,000 each over two years).
The U of L is home to nine research centres and institutes: • The Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy is a multidisciplinary, cross-faculty institute dedicated to researching the long-term global impacts of demographic, economic and social issues related to changes in world population patterns. • The Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience is the only research facility of its kind in Canada. There, internationally acclaimed faculty and their students engage in leading-edge brain research. • With implications for diseases, biotechnology and our understanding of evolution, the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute is dedicated to RNA research and training excellence in one of the fastest growing fields in the life sciences.
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• At the Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Centre, researchers are taking a decidedly big-picture view of the planet – one that can be seen from space. The Centre focuses on remote sensing and imaging spectroscopy, applying their research to monitoring natural resources and the environment. • The Centre for Socially Responsible Marketing aims to educate students and empower non-profit personnel in areas of social marketing, sustainability and social responsibility, and non-profit marketing and management. • Researchers at the Water Institute for Sustainable Environments are analyzing water resources, including natural science analyses of watersheds, and water quantity and quality, while also considering aspects such as water policy and economics.
• The Institute for Space Imaging Science explores our relationship with our own planet and our place in the universe using space imaging technology. This innovative approach allows us to see space and the cosmos in new ways, and discover answers to questions that push the boundaries of human understanding. • Focusing on privately-held small businesses, the Small Business Institute helps bridge connections between researchers and the business community. • The newly established Institute for Child and Youth Studies will bring together researchers from across disciplines and Faculties, along with community partners, to explore children and youth as categories of experience, development, expression and investigation.
s am | s o u t h e r n A l b e r t a M ag az i n e | U n i v e r s i t y o f Le t h b r i d g e