Upcoming Award Application Deadlines

Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Awards

CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR COAL SCIENCE AND ORGANIC PETROLOGY

Intent to Apply Form for Cystic Fibrosis Research Grants

The Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation invites investigators to submit a notice of intent to apply to the October 2008 Grants Competition.  All research grant applicants, initial and renewal, must advise the Foundation’s office of their intent to apply for funding.  No more than one initial application may be submitted to a single competition.

 The application process is comprised of two steps: 1) a notice of intent to apply and 2) the full application.  The registration deadline for the notice of intent is August 1, 2008.  The deadline date for receipt of the full application is October 1, 2008.

 The Notice of Intent to Apply form and further information are available on the CCFF website (www.cysticfibrosis.ca).  The Full Application form for 2008 will be available on the website in early August.

 If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Mackesy, Manager of Research Programs (amackesy@cysticfibrosis.ca). 

Conference / Workshop Announcements and Calls for Papers

New Website that Might be Useful for Graduate Students - The Graduate Junction

About

The Graduate Junction is a brand new site which aims to give research students an easy way of making contact with others who share their research interests no matter which department, institution or country they work in.

This website has been created by two graduate research students, who felt isolated in the specifics of their respective research projects. This isolation is briefly relieved at conferences, where student researchers can meet others who might be interested and doing similar work. However, conferences are limited and don't happen every week. And whilst, literature reviews are essential, they can only ever reveal completed work. Therefore we want to pioneer the first online meeting place for graduate research students all over the world so that you can find out what research is currently being done by your fellow students.

The Graduate Junction also has a bold vision to break down disciplinary and national boundaries that exist in research. Our own experiences have taught us that research in different subject areas has much overlap. Therefore, key to The Graduate Junction is your Research Keywords rather subject area, department or institution.

The Problem

Graduates have three sources of information about work done in their chosen field.

• Published literature
• Conferences and seminars
• Their supervisor

The problem is that literature reviews can only ever reveal completed work, conferences don't happen every week and supervisors mostly rely on the same sources as you do. It is very easy to become isolated, overly focused on the specifics of your own work and lose a sense of what other related work is being done.

We also noticed that very distinct and separate literatures and conferences exist for different subject areas when in reality there is much overlap in the research being undertaken within these areas. For example, although I am doing a chemistry PhD, my work as a physical chemist overlaps with areas of physics and chemical engineering. In Education, experience has shown that there is overlap in many other of the Social Sciences, such as Human Geography, Sociology, Economics.

A Solution

Networking is an essential part of the research process; promoting collaboration, generating new ideas and preventing duplication of effort. Consequently, we thought, wouldn't it be great if there was a common point for graduate researchers in all disciplines, in all parts of the world to come together and meet others who share their research interests. And by making Research Keywords central to The Graduate Junction we hope to break down existing disciplinary boundaries.

We hope you enjoy and benefit from using the site.

Dan and Esther
The Graduate Junction

Conference Announcement and Call for Papers

The Fourth International Joint Conferences on Computer,
Information, and Systems Sciences, and Engineering (CISSE 2008)
http://www.cisse2008online.org

December 5-13, 2008

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CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
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CISSE 2008 provides a virtual forum for presentation and discussion of the state-of the-art research on computers, information and systems sciences and engineering. CISSE 2008 is the fourth conference of the CISSE series of
e-conferences. CISSE is the World's first Engineering/Computing and Systems Research E-Conference. CISSE 2005 was the first high-caliber Research Conference in the world to be completely conducted online in real-time via the internet. CISSE 2005 was the first high-caliber Research Conference in the world to be completely conducted online in real-time via the internet. CISSE 2005 received 255 research paper submissions and the final program included 140 accepted papers, from more than 45 countries. CISSE 2006 received 691 research paper submissions and the final program included 390 accepted papers, from more than 70 countries. CISSE 2007 received 750 research paper submissions and the final program included 406 accepted papers, from more than 80 countries.

Paper Submission
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Prospective authors are invited to submit full papers electronically in Microsoft Word format through the website of the conference at http://www.cisse2008online.org.

Accepted papers must be presented in the virtual conference by one of the authors. To submit your paper, visit http://www.cisse2008online.org

Paper submission Deadline: October 15th, 2008
Notification of Acceptance: November 9th, 2008
Final Manuscript and Registration: November 26th, 2008

Call for Papers - CONFERENCE - "Discovering the Way to a Sustainable Future"

Wednesday, Nov. 19th and Thursday, Nov. 20th, 2008

Trade and Convention Centre, Saint John, New Brunswick

Over the past 100 years or so, Geomatics has played a part in many discoveries. It now has an important role to play in “Discovering the Way to a Sustainable Future”.

"Sustainability and environment issues are centrally connected to healthy living on our planet and 'green' technologies play an integral role. Geomatics are uniquely positioned to support this role because they act as the glue which binds the understanding of environmental processes to the decision making systems driving our economy."
Jeff Thurston, Editor, V1 Magazine

The Canadian Institute of Geomatics New Brunswick Branch would like to invite interested parties to submit proposals for papers / presentations that support this year’s conference theme. The keynote address will be made by Mr. Carl Duivenvoorden, one of only two Atlantic Canadians tasked with spreading Al Gore’s message on climate change.

Papers / presentations should be proposed in the form of an abstract and include:

• Title, author's name and contact information, including title, employer, address, telephone, fax and e-mail
• Identification of primary speaker where different from the author or where there are multiple authors
• Abstract (no more than 300 words)
• Author's biographical information (no more than 150 words)
• List of any other publications / venues where the paper / presentation may have been previously published / presented.

All abstract submissions must be made by e-mail to Mark Doucette at watrmark@nbnet.nb.ca. By submitting an abstract, the author agrees to its publication in the final program and on the Geomatics Atlantic 2008 web site if it is accepted.

The committee will assess the proposals received and invite the selected authors / presenters to present their paper / presentation at Geomatics Atlantic 2008.

Each paper / presentation will be allotted 30 minutes total in the conference schedule: 20 minutes for the presentation and 10 minutes for questions. All documentation must be submitted in MS Power Point, MS Word or ADOBE PDF formats. By submitting a paper / presentation, the author(s) agrees to its publication on the Geomatics Atlantic 2008 web site.

Deadlines

• Submission of Proposal: June 30, 2008
• Notification of Acceptance: July 15, 2008
• Submission of Final Paper: November 1, 2008
• A complimentary conference registration will be extended to the primary speaker for each paper selected to be presented.

In addition to the paper presentations, come celebrate the 10th Anniversary of GIS Day with us on November 19th and plan to attend the Canadian Institute of Geomatics’ National Annual General Meeting to be held November 20th, 2008, at the Geomatics Atlantic Conference.

Additional information can be obtained from Mark Doucette at 506-454-9189 or at the e-mail address noted above.

CALL FOR PAPERS - Graduate Student Research Conference on Latin America and the Caribbean

November 7-8, 2008
York University, Toronto, Canada
www.yorku.ca/cerlac/lacsconf.htm

2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of York University's Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC), Canada's oldest and largest research group on the region. As part of a year-long series of events to mark this achievement, CERLAC is hosting a Graduate Student Research Conference on Latin America and the Caribbean on November 7th and 8th, 2008, at York University in Toronto.

In recognizing the strength of diversity, papers and presentation proposals are welcome on any aspect of study of Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole and/or its constituent parts. We particularly seek, however, to attract those contributors whose work can open fruitful dialogues and exchange across disciplines. Consistent with CERLAC's long-standing spirit and practice of collaboration, graduate students from other institutions are also invited to submit abstracts to the conference and to share in this celebration of graduate student scholarship.

Since its founding in 1978, the academic and institutional reputation of CERLAC and York University's diverse graduate programs have attracted many students from Canada and abroad. This conference represents an outstanding opportunity to recognize, explore and build upon the work of the current generation of graduate students in all disciplines, including (but not limited to) the social sciences, humanities, fine arts, environmental studies, law and business.

Contact/Submissions:
Please visit www.yorku.ca/cerlac/lacsconf to obtain the required conference application form and for further information. The form includes a request for a 250-word (maximum) abstract for papers or alternative presentations.

The deadline for applications is August 31st, 2008; however, those planning to present in artistic/alternative formats (e.g. film, dance, visual arts, music, etc.) are encouraged to contact us earlier for logistical/planning purposes.

Inquiries and completed application forms may be sent to lacsconf@yorku.ca

Applicants will receive confirmation of acceptance by October 1st, 2008. Those students wishing to receive more detailed feedback from a panel discussant will be asked to submit their full papers/presentation material by October 10th, 2008 to facilitate a thorough review.

2008-09 Competition for Students’ Exchange Program: CARICOM Countries

The Government of Canada is seeking applications from Canadian publicly funded institutions for the 2008 Graduate Students' Exchange Program (GSEP) and the College and Undergraduate Students’ Exchange Program (CUSEP) (under the Canada-Caribbean Community Leadership Scholarships) to provide international students with research/studies scholarships at Canadian institutions. 

Information and online application is available at:  www.scholarships.gc.ca.  Please note that the Canadian institution must apply on behalf of the student.

Please distribute the attached PDF to Exchange Programs officers and others who may be interested.  Note that the deadline is July 18, 2008.  If you have questions, please contact scholarships-bourses@cbie.ca.

Regulating Biopatenting: A Case for Contrast or Convergence?
Friday June 27th 2008
Brocher Center, 471 Rte d’Hermance, 1248 Hermance, Geneva, Switzerland

Biopatenting is a controversial and central aspect of the most significant challenges currently facing societies and governments around the world. It is drawn into alternative energy technology, waste-management, food production, and public health, to mention a few. Given the diversity of global perspectives, a unified approach to biopatent regulation may be difficult to achieve across governance sectors and in different countries, but of critical importance. Or
perhaps not?

You are invited to join a select group of scholars, policy makers, NGOs, technology business innovators, and experienced legal practitioners for this workshop on comparative regulatory policies in biopatenting and their future. The event will be held from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm on Friday June 27th 2008, at the Brocher Foundation, and is hosted with the Foundation’s support by Dr. Bita Amani, Assistant Professor of Law from Queen’s University, Canada.

The purpose of this workshop is to bring together a multi and interdisciplinary group to share perspectives, experiences, and future projections for biopatent policy and regulatory diversity and to encourage fruitful discussion on practical issues in operationalizing policy initiatives for coherent regulation across sectors. In addition, we hope to promote further pluridisciplinary thinking on the governance issues related to the ethical, legal, and social implications of biotechnologies for humanity and society as set out in the mission of the Brocher Foundation’s main current programme. Discussion will focus on biopatent policies at the intersection of other“sectors of vital importance” to “socio-economic and technical development” from different stakeholder perspectives and policy preferences. Please contact us by June 15th, 2008 to participate.
Capacity is limited. Please Register early! Registration is free.