The University received the “Campaign of the Year Award” for the public sector. The school also won the Leadership Award, given to the workplace that had the largest increase in donors giving more than $1,000 in a year.

Three departments also took home awards. Physical Resources won the “Joint Union-Management Award,” and the departments of Hospitality Services and Student Housing Services won “Education Division Spirit Awards.”

The U of G campaign exceeded $600,000 for the fifth year in a row and raised more than a half-million dollars for the seventh time.

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The U of G Senate recently approved the interdisciplinary B.Sc. honours major. The program brings together scientists from the departments of Biomedical Sciences, Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Psychol- ogy to offer innovative courses and research opportunities in molecular, cellular, behavioural and cognitive neuroscience.

“The structure and functions of the brain are incredibly complex,” says Prof. Francesco Leri, chair of the Department of Psychology. “Through this new major, we’ll help unshroud some of the mystery that surrounds them.”

The first cohort of students in the neuroscience major will begin in September 2017.

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Changes on the first floor include a new open lounge and meeting space for students, and new energy- efficient and larger washroom facilities, including an accessible universal washroom. Renovations to Peter Clark Hall will include a multi- use meeting space and updates to the carpet, ceilings, lights and soundproofing.

The UC is a shared building that the University and students jointly administer through the UC Board and UC Management. Since the building opened in 1974, the student population has almost doubled.

Philip John, acting director of the UC, says the renovation plans “go a long way in creating much-needed multi-purpose space for students.”

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The policy, which was approved by the Board of Governors in December, includes an expanded definition of sexual violence that incorporates the full spectrum of incidents, ranging from inappropriate comments and harassment through to rape.

Brenda Whiteside, associate vice-president (student affairs), says the new policy is just one of several initiatives that will enhance support of sexual violence programming on campus.

Other initiatives include a Sexual Violence Support and Information website, which contains policy information, as well as information about on- and off-campus resources for those who have experienced sexual violence.

Promoting consent has been a regular part of U of G’s orientation activities. The “Stop. Ask” campaign was launched in September 2016 to remind students to stop and ask for consent before engaging in sexual activity.

Counselling Services and Residence Life front-line staff are trained on how to deal with sexual violence reports. An online training program was launched in January for the rest of the campus community. Both training programs include recommendations on how to offer support and refer people to resources.

“Our focus is the safety and support of survivors and their friends,” says Whiteside. –SUSAN BUBAK

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More than five years ago, Scott VanBommel watched a rocket roar into the sky, propelling the Curiosity rover to Mars.

Now the University of Guelph student hopes to become one of Canada’s next astronauts, a prospect that may line him up to be among the first humans to blast off on a voyage to the red planet.

In February, VanBommel was among 72 astronaut candidates shortlisted by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The list also includes U of G grads Matthew Bamsey and Olathe MacIntyre. VanBommel was one of nearly 4,000 applicants last summer after the CSA announced its current competition.

This summer, VanBommel will complete his PhD. He’ll also undergo numerous CSA tests designed to probe his physical and mental fitness for working in space, including everything from potential missions on the International Space Station to a possible voyage to Mars. The agency will name two astronauts by August.

“Being an astronaut encompasses everything I enjoy,” says VanBommel, referring to constant learning, teamwork and science outreach.

When he came to U of G to begin his B.Sc. in 2006, he was thinking of becoming a teacher like his mom and dad.

He was drawn to physics early and enjoyed the problem solving in his first-year classes. In his fourth year, he worked on a project for the first time with Prof. Ralf Gellert, head of a

U of G research team that designed and calibrated an instrument carried to Mars aboard a roving science laboratory.

About the size of a Rubik’s cube, the instrument — called an alpha X-ray spectrometer (APXS) — is mounted on the rover’s robotic arm. Testing soil and rock samples, it looks for evidence that features on the red planet were sculpted by water, or that the planet might once have supported life.

VanBommel was still in high school when the rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars in early 2004. By 2010, Spirit stopped working. (Opportunity is still sending data to Earth.)

VanBommel studied data from Spirit for that senior project, and found himself hooked. “The death of Spirit was the birth of my career in space exploration,” he says.

It was about two years ago that he realized that his Guelph experience might lend itself to an astronaut career. Last summer’s CSA competition was the first call since 2009.

Current NASA plans include a Mars mission in the mid-2030s. VanBommel says the red planet was once much like Earth, and it’s still possible that Mars harbours signs of life.

“You could argue that the search for life outside Earth is one of mankind’s biggest questions,” he says.
—ANDREW VOWLES

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U of G’s leadership in energy conservation and sustainability has been recognized with a $5.8-million energy-saving incentive from the provincial government’s Save On Energy program. The funding rewards projects that reduce energy consumption.

The University will use the funds to offset construction costs of its $15-million thermal energy storage system, the only one of its kind in Ontario.

The thermal energy storage system works like a giant battery. The system chills water at night when energy costs are lower, reducing demands on the provincial power grid.

Chilled water is piped to the central utilities plant to cool campus facilities during warm daytime hours, and is returned to a giant water tank for nighttime cooling. The 30-metre-tall tank holds 22 million litres of water.

Since becoming operational this past summer, the facility has reduced U of G’s energy bill by about $2.5 million, in addition to supporting Ontario’s goal of a cleaner and more renewable energy supply.

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It comes as no surprise to Crerar that some of her first- and second-year students don’t know how to use kitchen appliances or even how to turn them on. They may have grown up in families that were too busy to prepare home-cooked meals and relied instead on take-out and frozen dinners.

“You definitely see the learning,” she says. “They gain that confidence because they know the ‘why’ of what’s happening. They’re able to adapt recipes and create their own recipes because they know how one ingredient interacts with other ingredients.”

Students not only learn the basics of cooking but also the science behind food preparation in class and food safety. They then apply their knowledge in a food lab, which consists of a fully-equipped kitchen and pantry. Whirlpool recently donated eight new stoves, a washer/dryer and a stand-mixer to the kitchen.

Not to be confused with U of G’s food science program, “Understanding Foods” is aimed at non-science students such as those in hospitality and nutrition – the course is a requirement for both degrees.

Students learn about a new food group each week and try recipes using those foods. They began the fall term learning about salads, followed by fruits, then vegetables. When cooking vegetables, Crerar recommends adding a small amount of lemon juice to Guelph’s alkaline water to keep them from getting slimy.

The baking component of the course teaches students how to use common ingredients found in cakes, muffins and desserts. “Even though they’re all the same ingredients, but in different ratios, you get a totally different product,” says Crerar, who studied nutrition at U of G and took the course she now teaches. The order in which ingredients appear in a recipe also matters. Adding lemon juice too early to a lemon meringue pie, for example, will turn it into soup.

As for grading, the proof of the pudding isn’t in the taste. Students are graded not on how well they executed a recipe but how well they demonstrated their learning of the material. Crerar can tell what their concoctions taste like by the looks on their faces.

“Accidents happen, but they learn from accidents,” she says. “Sometimes the accident is edible, sometimes not. There’s a learning opportunity in everything you do.”

What’s the most popular recipe? Crerar often gets emails from former students, asking her for the beef stew recipe they learned in class. “It comes out when they try to impress their significant other’s family.” – SUSAN BUBAK

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About 25,000 cups of coffee are sold each day on campus, mostly in disposable cups.

“This is problematic due to the resources required to manufacture and transport these single-use products, and their significant contribution to landfill waste,” says Alison Tindall, a student co-leader of the campaign.

Tindall, along with students Tasia Wong, Monique Chan and Marion Davies, partnered with the Feeding 9 Billion program started by Evan Fraser, a U of G geography professor. The program aims to improve environmental sustainability and food security locally and globally.

The campaign includes:

• A new stamp-card program rewarding purchases of hot drinks in reusable mugs;
• Convenient public sinks for washing mugs;
• Posters explaining the environmental effects of consumers’ choices and savings from reusable mugs (Hospitality Services charges any hot drink as a “small” if purchased in a reusable mug, which saves $150 a year for the average customer); and
• Cashiers’ verbal recognition of reusable mugs.

Hospitality Services plans to integrate mugs into U of G’s existing “iamreusable” program, which allows patrons to borrow reusable dishes for to-go meals.

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The funding will allow the University to undertake one of its largest-ever infrastructure improvement projects, involving six initiatives across campus.

“This critical investment will allow us to expand our world-class facilities, and the reach and impact of U of G innovations,” says president Franco Vaccarino. “The new spaces and resources will also facilitate the exchange of new ideas and opportunities, providing benefits for decades to come.”

About $26.2 million will come from the federal Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund (SIF). The province will commit $4.7 million and U of G will contribute $35.7 million, for a total investment of $66.6 million.

A key SIF project is a dedicated bio-carbon innovation and commercialization centre to be housed in U of G’s Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre.

As the first such lab in the world for enhancing bio-carbon manufacturing, this new bio-carbon centre will make plastics from engineered green composites and study their use in sustainable manufacturing, specifically the automotive sector.

Other funded projects are:

• A biosafety Level 2 production animal research isolation unit that will improve research and training, and will enhance researchers’ ability to identify and prevent threatening infectious diseases;
• A food innovation centre to accelerate research and innovation, foster industry partnerships and expand food manufacturing training;
• Expansions and renovations in U of G’s Library;
• Renewal and renovation of research spaces in the MacNaughton Building; and
• New research and collaborative spaces in the Reynolds Building.

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Macdonald Hall was built in 1903 and served as a residence. The renovations have kept the history and character of the original building intact while providing modern amenities for staff, faculty and students. Features include modern classrooms with state-of-the-art technology for presentations and visual learning; collaborative learning spaces; student group offices; and open gathering spaces on all three floors.

In addition to a new home, CBE is celebrating its 10th anniversary — since 2006 it has been developing leaders with a social conscience, environmental sensibility and a commitment to their communities.

For more information, visit uoguelph.ca/business.

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