Tag Archives: University of Saskatchewan (USask)

(nano) Rust and magnets from the Canadian Light Source

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An October 5, 2023 news item on phys.org highlights research from the Canadian Light Source (CLS, also known as, the synchrotron located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), Note: A link has been removed,

Every motor we use needs a magnet. University of Manitoba researcher Rachel Nickel is studying how rust could make those magnets cheaper and easier to produce.

Her most recent paper, published in the journal Nano Letters, explores a unique type of iron oxide nanoparticle. This material has special magnetic and electric features that could make it useful. It even has potential as a permanent magnet, which we use in car and airplane motors.

What sets it apart from other magnets is that it’s made from two of the most common elements found on earth: iron and oxygen. Right now, we use magnets made out of some of the rarest elements on the planet.

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An October 5, 2023 CLS news release (also received via email) by Victoria Martinez, which originated the news item, provides more detail,

“The ability to produce magnets without rare earth elements [emphasis mine] is incredibly exciting,” says Nickel. “Almost everything that we use that has a motor where we need to start a motion relies on a permanent magnet”.

Researchers only started to understand this unique type of rust, called epsilon iron oxide, in the last 20 years.

“Now, what’s special about epsilon iron oxide is it only exists in the nanoscale,” says Nickel. “It’s basically fancy dust. But it is fancy dust with such incredible potential.”

In order to use it in everyday technology, researchers like Nickel need to understand its structure. To study epsilon iron oxide’s structure in different sizes, Nickel and colleagues collected data at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) in Illinois, thanks to the facility’s partnership with the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan. As the particle sizes change, the magnetic and electric traits of epsilon iron oxide change; the researchers began to see unusual electronic behaviour in their samples at larger sizes.

Nickel hopes to continue research on these particles, pursuing some of the stranger magnetic and electric properties.

“The more we are able to investigate these systems and the more we have access to facilities to investigate these systems, the more we can learn about the world around us and develop it into new and transformative technologies,” she says.

This work was funded through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

For anyone not familiar with the rare earths situation, they’re not all that rare but they are difficult to mine in most regions of the world. China has some of the most accessible rare earth sites in the world. Consequently, they hold a dominant position in the market. Regardless of who has dominance, this is never a good situation and many countries and their researchers are looking at alternatives to rare earths.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Nanoscale Size Effects on Push–Pull Fe–O Hybridization through the Multiferroic Transition of Perovskite ϵ-Fe2O3 by Rachel Nickel, Josh Gibbs, Jacob Burgess, Padraic Shafer, Debora Motta Meira, Chengjun Sun, and Johan van Lierop. Nano Lett. 2023, 23, 17, 7845–7851 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c01512 Publication Date: August 25, 2023 Copyright © 2023 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.

Students from Nakoda Oyade Education Centre and scientists at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) use science to help bison

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It’s known as Paskwâwimostos – ᐸᐢᑳᐧᐃᐧᒧᐢᑐᐢ – The Bison Project and is being conducted at Canada’s only synchrotron, the Canadian Light Source (CLS) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Here’s more from a November 24, 2022 CLS news release (also received via email), Note: Links have been removed,

Bison have long held a prominent place in the culture of the Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation, located about 100 kms east of Regina. The once-abundant animals were a vital source of food and furs for the ancestors of today’s Carry the Kettle people.

Now, high school students from Nakoda Oyade Education Centre at Carry the Kettle are using synchrotron imaging to study the health of a local bison herd, with an eye to protecting and growing their numbers.

Armin Eashappie, a student involved in the Bison Project, says the work she and her classmates are doing is a chance to give back to an animal that was once integral to the very existence of her community. “We don’t want them to go extinct, says Eashappie. “They helped us with everything. We got our tools, our clothes, our food from them. We used every single part of the buffalo, nothing was left behind…they
even helped us make our homes – the teepees – we used the hides to cover them up.”

Eashappie’s classmate, Leslie Kaysaywaysemat, says that if their team can identify items the bison are eating that are not good for their health, these could potentially be replaced by other, healthier items. “We want to preserve them and make sure all generations can see how magnificent these creatures are,” he says.

The students, who are participating in the CLS’s Bison Project, gathered samples of bison hair, soil from where the animals graze, and plants they feed on, then analyzed them using the IDEAS beamline at the CLS. The Bison Project, coordinated by the Education group of the CLS, integrates Traditional Knowledge and mainstream science in a transformative research experience for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit
students.

Timothy Eashappie, Elder for the Bison Project, says it’s “awesome” that the students can use the Canadian Light Source machine to learn more about an animal that his people have long taken care of on the prairies. “That’s how we define ourselves – as
Buffalo People,” says Eashappie. “Since the beginning of time, they gave themselves to us, and now these young people are finding out how important these buffalo are to them, because it preserves their language, their culture, and their way of life. And now it’s our turn to take care of the bison.”

Once they’ve completed their analysis, the students will share their findings with the Chief and Council for Carry the Kettle.

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The Canadian Light Source (CLS) is a national research facility of the University of Saskatchewan and one of the largest science projects in Canada’s history. More than 1,000 academic, government and industry scientists from around the world use the CLS every year in innovative health, agriculture, environment, and advanced materials research.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation [CFI], Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council [NSERC], Canadian Institutes of Health Research [CIHR], the Government of Saskatchewan, and the University of Saskatchewan fund CLS operations.

You can find more about the CLS Bison Project here,

The Bison Project integrates Traditional Knowledge (TK) and mainstream Science in an experience that engages First Nation, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) teachers, students, and communities. The Bison Project creates a unique opportunity to incorporate land-based hunting and herd management, synchrotron science, mainstream science principles and TK.

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I found a bit more information about bison and their return in a November 23, 2020 article by Mark A. Bonta for The Daylighter,

For ecologists and environmentalists, it’s more than just a story about the return of a keystone species. 

The bison, it turns out, is an animal that maintains and restores the prairie.

Ecological restoration

Unlike cattle, bison are wallowers, so these powerful animals’ efforts to rid themselves of insect parasites, by rubbing their hide and rolling around on the ground, actually create permanent depressions, called bison wallows, in the landscape. 

These create fertile ground for diverse plant species — and the animals that rely on them. 

Bison also rub against woody plants and kill them off, keeping the prairies open, while their dung fertilizes the soil.

Iconic species like the greater prairie-chicken and the prairie dog all benefit from the restoration of bison. 

Bison herds have also proved highly adaptive to the “new,” post-colonial ecology of the Great Plains.

They are adapting to hunting season, for example, by delaying their migration. This keeps them out of harm’s way — but also increases the risk of human-bison conflicts.

Bonta’s article provides a little more detail about the mixed feelings that the return of the bison have engendered.

Illustrating math at the University of Saskatchewan (Canada)

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Art and math intersect in Dr. Steven Rayan’s work on quantum materials at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).

An illustration by Elliot Kienzle (undergraduate research assistant, quanTA Centre, USask) of a hyperbolic crystal in action

A May 2, 2022 USask news release (also received via email) describes Rayan’s work in more detail,

Art and mathematics may go hand-in-hand when building new and better materials for use in quantum computing and other quantum applications, according to University of Saskatchewan (USask) mathematician Dr. Steven Rayan (PhD).

Quantum materials are what futuristic dreams are made of. Such materials are able to efficiently conduct and insulate electric currents – the everyday equivalent of never having a lightbulb flicker. Quantum materials may be the fabric of tomorrow’s supercomputers, ones that can quickly and accurately analyze and solve problems to a degree far beyond what was previously thought possible.

“Before the 1700s, people were amazed that metals could be melted down and reshaped to suit their needs, be it the need for building materials or for tools. There was no thought that, perhaps, metals were capable of something much more — such as conducting electricity,” said Rayan, an associate professor of mathematics and statistics in the USask College of Arts and Science who also serves as the director of the USask Centre for Quantum Topology and its Applications (quanTA).

“Today, we’re at a similar juncture. We may be impressed with what materials are capable of right now, but tomorrow’s materials will redefine our expectations. We are standing at a doorway and on the other side of it is a whole new world of materials capable of things that we previously could not imagine.”

Many conducting materials exhibit a crystal-like structure that consists of tiny cells repeating over and over. Previous research published in Science Advances had highlighted Rayan and University of Alberta physicist Dr. Joseph Maciejko’s (PhD) success in defining a new type of quantum material that does not follow a typical crystal structure but instead consists of “hyperbolic” crystals that are warped and curved. 

“This is an immense paradigm shift in the understanding of what it means to be a ‘material’,” said Rayan.

It is expected that hyperbolic materials will exhibit the perfect conductivity of current quantum materials, but at slightly higher temperatures. Today’s quantum materials often need to be supercooled to extremely low temperatures to reach their full potential. Maintaining such temperatures is an obstacle to implementing widespread quantum computing, which has the potential to impact information security, drug design, vaccine development, and other crucial tasks. Hyperbolic materials may be part of the solution to this problem.

Hyperbolic materials may also be the key to new types of sensors and medical imaging devices, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines that take advantage of quantum effects in order to be more lightweight for use in rural or remote environments.

USask recently named Quantum Innovation as one of its three new signature areas of research [Note: Link removed] to respond to emerging questions and needs in the pursuit of new knowledge.

“All of this comes at the right time, as new technologies like quantum computers, quantum sensors, and next-generation fuel cells are putting new demands on materials and exposing the limits of existing components,” said Rayan.

This year has seen two new articles by Rayan together with co-authors extending previous research of hyperbolic materials. The first is written with Maciejko and appears in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The second has been written with University of Maryland undergraduate student Elliot Kienzle, who served as a USask quanTA research assistant under Rayan’s supervision in summer of 2021.

In these two articles, the power of mathematics used to study quantum and hyperbolic crystals is significantly extended through the use of tools from geometry. These tools have not typically been applied to the study of materials. The results will make it much easier for scientists experimenting with hyperbolic materials to make accurate predictions about how they will behave as electrical conductors.

Reflecting on the initial breakthrough of considering hyperbolic geometry rather than ordinary geometry, Rayan said, “What is interesting is that these warped crystals have appeared in mathematics for over 100 years as well as in art – for instance, in the beautiful woodcuts of M.C. Escher – and it is very satisfying to see these ideas practically applied in science.”

The work also intersects with art in another way. The article with Kienzle, which was released in pre-publication form on February 1, 2022 [sic], was accompanied by exclusive hand drawings provided by Kienzle. With concepts in mathematics and physics often being difficult to visualize, the artwork helps the work to come to life and invites everyone to learn about the function and power of quantum materials. 

The artwork, which is unusual for mathematics or physics papers, has garnered a lot of positive attention on social media.

“Elliot is tremendously talented not only as an emerging researcher in mathematics and physics, but also as an artist,” said Rayan. “His illustrations have added a new dimension to our work, and I hope that this is the start of a new trend in these types of papers where the quality and creativity of illustrations are as important as the correctness of equations.”

…

Here are links to and citations for both of Rayan’s most recent papers,

Hyperbolic band theory through Higgs bundles by Elliot Kienzle and Steven Rayan. arXiv:2201.12689 (or arXiv:2201.12689v1 [math-ph] for this version) DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2201.1268 Submitted on 30 Jan 2022

This paper is open access and open for peer review.

Automorphic Bloch theorems for hyperbolic lattices by Joseph Maciejko and Steven Rayan. PNAS February 25, 2022 | 119 (9) e2116869119 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2116869119

This peer-reviewed paper is behind a paywall.

Gerhard Herzberg , the University of Saskatchewan, and the 1971 Nobel Prize for Chemistry

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Half a century ago, a scientist won a Nobel Prize for Chemistry for work he’d done at the University of Saskatchewan and, later, at a National Research Council of Canada laboratory. The Nobel Prize was an unlikely event for more than one reason.

The history description I like the best is also the clunkiest (due to links and citations). From the essay by Denisa Popa for the Defining Moments Canada website (Note 1: I have removed the links; Note 2: NSERC is the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada),

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Gerhard Herzberg was born in Hamburg, Germany on December 25th, 1904. From an early age Herzberg developed a keen interest in the sciences, particularly astronomy, physics and chemistry (Stoicheff, 2002). … Herzberg initially considered a career in astronomy, but lacked the funds to pursue it any further (NSERC). In 1924, he ultimately decided to pursue engineering physics and enrolled in the Technical University at Darmstadt (NSERC). By the time he was 24 years old, he was well established in his field, publishing a number of academic papers on the topics of atomic and molecular physics, as well as obtaining a Doctorate in Engineering Physics in 1928 (NSERC).

Following his graduation, he entered a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Göttingen (University of Saskatchewan). Following that, Herzberg returned to Darmstadt where he spent five years conducting research on spectroscopy (University of Saskatchewan).  Spectroscopy is used to analyze the ability of molecules and compounds to emit and absorb different wavelengths of light and electromagnetic radiation (Herschbach, 1999). Through understanding the properties of the light/radiation that is emitted (or absorbed) scientists can learn more about the characteristics of molecules and compounds, including their structure and the types of chemical bonds they contain (Herschbach, 1999). 

While completing his postdoctoral fellowship, Herzberg met Luise Hedwig Oettinger, a university student also focusing on spectroscopic research (Stoicheff, 2002). The pair grew close and eventually married on December 30th, 1929 (Stoicheff, 2002). Over the years Luise, who received her Ph.D from the University of Frankfurt in 1933, co-authored a number of scientific papers with her husband (Stoicheff, 2002). The Herzbergs’ academic life in Germany would soon end in 1934 when the Nazi regime rose to power and began implementing new restrictions against Jewish scholars in academic institutions (Stoicheff, 2002). Herzberg received notice that he would no longer be permitted to teach at Darmstadt because of Luise’s Jewish heritage (Stoicheff, 2002; University of Saskatchewan). With the help of John W. T. Spinks (a chemist who visited and became closely acquainted with Herzberg in Darmstadt) and Walter C. Murray at the University of Saskatchewan, as well as funding from the Carnegie Foundation (as the university’s budget was limited during the depression era), the Herzbergs moved to Saskatoon that following year (NSERC). 

From 1935 to 1945 Herzberg established himself at the University of Saskatchewan, where he continued his research on molecular and atomic spectroscopy, publishing three new books (NSERC). He then spent the following three years at the University of Chicago’s Yerkes Observatory investigating “the absorption spectra of many molecules of astrophysical interest.” (NSERC) In 1948, the Herzbergs relocated back to Canada when Herzberg was invited to “establish a laboratory for fundamental research in spectroscopy” at the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada. (NSERC) It was during his time at the NRC that one of his key discoveries was made–the observation of the spectra of methylene radical (CH2) (Stoicheff, 2002). Scientists describe free radicals as chemical species that have an unpaired electron in the outer valence shell (Winnewisser, 2004). Free radicals can be found as intermediates in a variety of chemical reactions (Herschbach, 1999). It was Herzberg’s contribution to the understanding of free radicals that contributed to his Nobel Prize win in 1971 (NSERC). Dr. Gerhard Herzberg had two children and passed away on March 3rd, 1999 at the age of 94 (Herschbach, 1999). 

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Kathryn Warden’s Saskatechwan-forward article was first published in August 2021 in the University of Saskatchewan’s Green & White magazine (Note: A link has been removed),

When Gerhard Herzberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry 50 years ago for ground-breaking discoveries in a lifelong exploration of the structure of matter, he publicly thanked the University of Saskatchewan.

“It is obvious that the work that has earned me the Nobel Prize was not done without a great deal of help,” Herzberg said in his acceptance speech, acknowledging “the full and understanding support” of successive USask presidents and faculty who “did their utmost to make it possible for me to proceed with my scientific work.”

Herzberg’s brilliance in studying the spectra of atoms and molecules to understand their physical properties significantly advanced astronomy, chemistry and physics—enhancing knowledge of the atmospheres of stars and planets and determining the existence of some molecules never before imagined.

“He was certainly a pioneer,” said USask PhD student Natasha Vetter, winner of both the 2014 Herzberg Scholarship and the 2018 Herzberg Fellowship. “Without his work, the fundamental tools we use as chemists and biochemists wouldn’t exist. I feel pretty honoured to be part of that legacy and to have received those awards.”

While at USask from 1935 to 1945, Herzberg made discoveries that laid the groundwork for his work at Chicago’s Yerkes Observatory and then at the National Research Council (NRC), culminating in his celebrated work on free radicals—highly unstable, short-lived molecules that are everywhere: in our bodies, in materials and in space. They help important reactions take place but an imbalance can cause damage such as cancer or age-related illness. Knowledge of their structure is now used to make pharmaceuticals, medical radiation tests, light sensors, and a wide range of innovative materials.

“This was the beginning of molecular spectroscopy, and it was an exciting time because it was all so new,” said Alexander Moewes, Canada Research Chair in Materials Science with Synchrotron Radiation.

“Herzberg was unravelling the structure of molecules, specifically free radicals. Many of today’s drugs and human biochemistry processes are governed by these molecules. So much that we have developed today would not have been discovered if Herzberg hadn’t done this fundamental research. This can’t be overstated.”

In honour of Herzberg, the University of Saskatchewan is naming both a hall and a lecture theatre at the Canadian Light Source (CLS), Canada’s synchrotron facility, after Herzberg, from a November 10, 2021 University of Saskatchewan news release,

As part of a national initiative to mark the 50th anniversary of Gerhard Herzberg’s Nobel Prize, the University of Saskatchewan (USask) is naming the main experimental hall of the Canadian Light Source (CLS) and a prominent physics lecture theatre on campus after the renowned scientist.

…

“Canada and the University of Saskatchewan welcomed Herzberg and his wife when no other country or university did,” said Stoicheff [USask President Peter Stoicheff]. “His legacy is evident today in so many ways, including at our Canadian Light Source where scientists from across Canada and around the world continue to unravel the mysteries of atomic structure.”

The Herzberg Experimental Hall is at the heart of the CLS, “the brightest light in Canada.” The enormous hall the size of a football field houses the synchrotron which supplies light to the many beamlines where wide-ranging experiments are conducted. The naming was endorsed by both the CLS board of directors and the CLS Users’ Executive Committee, and subsequently approved by the President’s Advisory Committee on Naming University Assets.

“As the father of modern spectroscopy, Herzberg conducted experiments that fundamentally changed scientific understanding of how molecules absorb and emit light,” said CLS board chair Pierre Lapointe.

“So it is very fitting that we honour his legacy at the Canadian Light Source where scientists from across Canada and around the world carry on the important work of using light to investigate the structure of matter—work that is leading to discoveries in fields as diverse as health, environment and new materials.” 

In his 2020 co-authored book on the history of the CLS, former CLS director Michael Bancroft said Herzberg’s fundamental research program in spectroscopy at USask in the 1930s paved the way for Canada’s only synchrotron.  He states that the close friendship that developed between USask chemistry researcher John Spinks and Herzberg in 1933 and 1934 in Germany, along with Herzberg’s subsequent hiring by USask President Walter Murray in 1935, “were the most important events in eventually landing the Canadian Light Source over 60 years later.” 

As Herzberg was a member of the USask physics department for a decade, the Physics 107 Lecture Theatre, across from a display dedicated to Herzberg, will be named the Dr. Gerhard Herzberg Lecture Theatre.

…

Chris Putnam’s December 10, 2021 article for the University of Saskatchewan highlights Herzberg’s other interests such as music and humanitarian work.

Finally, Herzberg gave an interview to Mary Christine King on May 5, 1986 (audio file and text) for the Science History Institute. Here’s a little more about Ms. King who died months after the interview,

“… born in China and educated in Ireland. She obtained a BSc degree in chemistry from the University of London in 1968, which was followed by an MSc in polymer and fiber science (1970) and a PhD for a thesis on the hydrodynamic properties of paraffins in solution (1973), both from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. After working with Joseph Needham at Cambridge, she received a PhD in the history and philosophy of science from the Open University (1980) and thereafter worked at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the University of Ottawa, … King died in an automobile accident in late 1987 …”

The interview is an oral history as recounted by Herzberg.

Black History Month (February 2022): a Canadian conference and a US magazine cover story

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I’ve got two items that feature science in Black History Month 2022.

BE-STEMM

The Canadian Black Scientists Network (CBSN) is holding its first annual Black Excellence Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine and Health (BE-STEMM) conference Jan. 30-Feb. 2, 2022.

The conference is featured on CBSN’s homepage and it’s where you’ll find a welcome video, which may be livestreaming an event, “Only select public sessions can be viewed here, for full access to all sessions and speakers, please register and join the conference.” Join Conference Register Now!

I did find a bit more information about the conference programme in a January 24, 2022 news item on a University of Saskatchewan (USask) Health Sciences news page (Note: Links have been removed),

The event, sponsored by the USask Office of the President and other major Canadian universities, aims to remove barriers to attracting and retaining Black Canadians in STEMM fields.

“The CBSN was created with the following vision: To elevate, make visible, celebrate and connect Black Canadians in STEMM across sectors. The CBSN is open every Canadian in the STEMM field who identifies as Black,” said University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Medicine professor and researcher Dr. Erique Lukong (PhD), who serves as vice-president of the CBSN.

The event dates coincide with the beginning of Black History Month, which honours the legacy of Black Canadians and their communities. With the federal government announcing this year’s theme, The Future Is Now, the CBSN BE-STEMM conference provides the perfect opportunity to engage with the discoveries and innovations taking place in Black Canadian research communities.

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Lukong is a leader within the CBSN and is a current USask College of Medicine breast cancer researcher who will be presenting at the BE-STEMM conference. His work focuses on analyzing the cellular, physiological and clinical roles of enzymes BRK and FRK in the development and progression of breast cancer.

The BRK enzyme is found to be elevated in 85 per cent of breast cancer tumours and has been found to cause potential drug resistance. The FRK enzyme often goes undetected in triple negative breast cancers – a type of breast cancer where the tumour is missing three important receptors commonly found in other breast cancers.

“I will discuss recent data highlighting the contrasting roles of BRK and FRK in breast cancer and show how these proteins can be targeted to improve breast cancer outcomes and especially in the most vulnerable populations like Black women where there is a disproportionate burden of triple negative breast cancer,” said Lukong.

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Another exciting offering of the conference is the Leadership Summit sessions scheduled for Feb. 2 [2022]. The Leadership Summits will be comprised of six concurrent, 90-minute panels, engaging employers, academia, industries, government ministries, health-care professional and funding bodies.

USask College of Medicine assistant professor Dr. Erick McNair (PhD) is one of the facilitators of the Leadership Summit panel discussions.

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The CBSN and BE-STEMM were first mentioned here in a November 17, 2021 posting which also noted a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio programme, “Quirks & Quarks: Black in science special”which won an award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Ebony magazine and Olay highlight ‘Beauty and Brains’

Ebony magazine is going to publish its first paper issue since 2019 for Black History Month February 2022.

Ebony magazine and Olay (currently a skin care brand of US company Proctor & Gamble) sponsored a beauty pageant/contest for the magazine’s cover. From the September 18, 2021 contest page on the Ebony website, Note: HBCU stands for Historically Black Colleges and Universities,

Introducing EBONY’s HBCU STEM Queens Competition

We are pleased to announce EBONY’s HBCU STEM [science, technology, engineering, mathematics] Queens competition. Since 1975, EBONY has celebrated Black collegiate women – poised to make a positive change in the African American community – through the Campus Queens competition at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). EBONY is proud to continue its longest-running editorial franchise. And this year, we’re excited to be partnering with Olay.

Ten beautiful, talented and accomplished HBCU STEM Queens will be featured in EBONY’s Commemorative print issue debuting on newsstands in February 2022.

ELIGIBILITY

Only female students who are STEM majors attending an HBCU are eligible for consideration.

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COMPETITION AWARDS

The 10 selected EBONY HBCU STEM Queens with the highest number of votes will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to receive a makeover with professional hair and wardrobe consultation. This trip includes the official “HBCU STEM Queens” photo shoot, which will be featured in the February 2022 Commemorative issue of EBONY magazine as well as online. Students will be notified of the winning group of 10 Queens on October 8, 2021, with subsequent correspondence outlining the schedule and arrangements for the photo shoot.

Meseret Ambachew’s February 1, 2022 article for AdWeek provides more details about the partnership and the upcoming issue of the magazine.

Sarah Mahoney’s January 31, 2022 article for MarketingDaily includes this tidbit,

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The special issue celebrates 10 “STEM Queens” from HBCUs, selected by voters on Ebony’s website. Each of the ten winners gets a $10,000 grant, mentorship options from women scientists at P&G, and a trip to Los Angeles for the awards.

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Welcome to Black History Month 2022!

Want to help Arctic science and look at polar bears from the comfort of home?

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Two polar bears scored according to the Polar Bear Score Card Standard Fatness Index. The bear on the left is categorized as thin, a score of 2/5, while the bear on the right is considered very fat, 5/5. (Photo: Doug Clark, USask

A March 1, 2021 news item on phys.org announced a call for volunteers from University of Saskatchewan (USask) polar bear researcher Doug Clark (the response was tremendous),

University of Saskatchewan (USask) researcher Doug Clark is launching a first-of-its-kind research project that will engage citizen volunteers to help advance knowledge about polar bear behavior by analyzing a decade’s worth of images captured by trail cameras at Wapusk National Park in northern Manitoba.

“This is a totally different way to do polar bear research,” said Clark, an associate professor at USask’s School of Environment and Sustainability. “It’s non-invasive, it involves the public for the first time, and it’s being done in a way that can carry on through the pandemic without endangering anyone in northern communities.”

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A February 26, 2021 University of Saskatchewan news release by Sarath Peiris, which originated the news item, described the project

Clark is collaborating with Oxford University penguinologist Tom Hart on the project, which will be run on Zooniverse—a “people-powered” online platform that has more than two million volunteers worldwide who assist researchers in almost every discipline to sort and organize data.

Hart has been using Zooniverse to help with his Antarctic Penguin Watch and Seabird Watch projects. He’s helping Clark and his students to set up the polar bear project by aggregating and uploading data, and will work with Clark on the analysis. (The platform gets institutional support from Oxford University and the Adler Planetarium, and receives grants from a variety of sources.)

“This allows people, who might otherwise just passively consume images on TV and social media, to participate in polar bear research and understand how these bears are interacting with people and other wildlife in what we know is a rapidly changing environment,” said Clark.

The volunteers are supplied with a field guide and asked to count the number of bears in photos, their gender, cubs, body condition and other factors, choosing from provided options. Beta testing with more than 60 volunteers showed the process works well. The photos will be uploaded in tranches over the coming months, allowing volunteers to work through one batch before moving on to the next.

“Volunteers can help us process data in ways that are incredibly labour-intensive, which otherwise would take us and our students years to do. Frankly, Zooniverse produces more robust data and more robust analyses than if we were tiredly flipping through photos on our own.”

The project … launched Feb. 27 [2021\, on International Polar Bear Day.

The research project began in 2011 when Clark was asked by Parks Canada to find out if the field camps it established in Wapusk attracted or repelled polar bears—a question that still hasn’t been conclusively answered.

Other questions his team is trying to answer are:

  • What are the drivers of polar bear visits to human infrastructure/activity? (i.e. is it environmental, is it a result of a lack of sea ice/nutritional stress, or is it a response to human activity?)
  • Are there changes over time in where/when polar bears, and all the other Arctic and boreal species seen in the photos, are observed?

Researchers have installed five non-invasive trail cameras at each of three field camp sites, and eight more at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre that operate year round, and have captured more than 600 discrete polar bear observations over 10 years, along with images of other species such as wolf, caribou, grizzly bears, moose, Arctic and red foxes, and even occasional wolverines.

The four sites are along the Hudson Bay coast and are separated by almost 200 kilometres, across the ecological boundary between boreal forest and tundra providing invaluable data on multiple species in a changing environment.

Ryan Brook, an associate professor in USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources, is taking advantage of the lucky “by-catch” of Clark’s project—the images of caribou and wolves—to conduct research on these species, especially caribou populations, at a time of Arctic warming and changing weather patterns.

Here’s more about the project from The Arctic Bears Project on Zooniverse,

Work with us to understand how polar, grizzly, and black bears behave in a changing environment

About The Arctic Bears Project

We’re learning how polar, grizzly, and black bears behave in the changing Arctic environment, with special attention to how they interact with people. The images you’ll see come from remote cameras set up on the fences of field camps in Wapusk National Park, on the west coast of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. Wapusk means “white bear” in the Cree language, and the park was established in 1996. At the time the park was established the area was well-known for its importance as polar bear denning habitat, and local people knew black bears lived in the forests there, but the appearance of grizzly bears in the late 1990s was a surprise. Read more about our research findings here.

When we say “we”, that includes a whole lot of people who all contribute to making this project happen: and not just the researchers! Wapusk National Park’s staff in Churchill, Manitoba, got the ball rolling in 2010 and since then community members in Churchill and elsewhere have helped us shape this project. Their enthusiasm for non-invasive wildlife research tools, and for the unexpected things we see on the cameras, motivates our team. In the early days of this work we were just excited that our cameras survived over the winter, but pretty soon we were realizing just how many photos we were collecting. This is where you come in: Zooniverse volunteers. Your help processing a decade’s worth of pictures from a changing sub-Arctic landscape is a critical task, and we’re so grateful to have your assistance with this research. These photos are downloaded once a year from most cameras, and the days when we finally see those images are special treats that every one of our team enjoys. We hope you experience the same feeling.

As of Wednesday, March 3, 2021, The Arctic Bears Project is now out of data but hopefully there will be more in the future. In the meantime, you can check out the Zooniverse for other projects.