Big props to the University of Alberta’s Vice-President (Research), Lorne Babiuk and Associate Vice-President (Research), George Pavlich,,  who initiated the new Scholar in Residence for Arts Research in Nanotechnology project and to Heather Graves who has snagged the position. From the Jan. 11, 2011 article by Michael Davies-Venn for the University of Alberta’s Express News,

Establishing the Scholar in Residence for Arts Research in Nanotechnology is the latest initiative by the U of A to foster interdisciplinary research among scholars in the social sciences, humanities, engineering, creative arts and sciences. Lorne Babiuk, U of A vice-president (research), says the program furthers the university’s commitment to interdisciplinary research. “The aim is to broaden the impact of the National Institute for Nanotechnology, or NINT, across the full spectrum of disciplines on campus, into areas that aren’t normally a part of the nano-scientific process,” he said.

The National Institute of Nanotechnology’s (NINT) director also had a few things to say,

Nils Petersen, NINT’s director general, says the scholar in residence program adds value to the institute. “By having colleagues from the arts join us in telling our story, perhaps in non-traditional ways, we hope more Canadians will come to understand the potential of nanotechnology.”

I’m encouraged to see that he wants to have the nanotechnology story told. This is a change of heart. I first started (in 2008) trying to get an interview from Petersen and/or Martha Piper (who was on the board for two years) both of whom stonewalled my efforts (in Petersen’s case, I persisted for 3 or 4 months and in Piper’s case, it was two years [she kept promising]). Interestingly, the NINT website does not have a news release about this new arts scholar initiative on its website. You can check for yourself.

Getting back to the arts scholar herself, here’s a little bit about Heather Graves, University of Alberta professor,

Heather Graves, a U of A English and film studies researcher, will be the first to hold the position of Scholar in Residence for Arts Research in Nanotechnology when she begins working with her colleagues at NINT. She says she will examine how researchers in nanotechnology negotiate the ambiguities of language in their research.

“This is an opportunity to watch the discourse of the new field of nanotechnology emerge and the language usage negotiated among the experts involved,” said Graves. “One of the things we hope that nanotechnologists will get out of our examination is a vocabulary that they can use to talk about what they do.”

The scholar in residence program is a three-year pilot program, funded by Alberta Innovates Technology Futures.

I look forward to hearing more about this interdisciplinary initiative in the near future. Hopefully, they will list this project on the NINT website soon.