How will we power the future? - University of Alberta
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How will we power the future?
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S P R I N G 2019
V O L U M E 75 N U M B E R 1
“We are somewhere between the
hydrocarbon age and the age of electricity.
And one is supporting the other.”
larry kostiuk, ’85 msc
3 39
Your Letters Trails
Where you’ve been and
5 where you’re going
Notes
What’s new and noteworthy 40
Books
10
Continuing Education 42
Column by Curtis Gillespie feature Class Notes
13 20 51
Thesis Energy: from now to next In Memoriam
It’s beyond the stars and within From fire to coal, wind to steam,
our cells. How we organize our our energy has always evolved. 56
human spaces defines us. Why are we so worried? Small Talk
newtrail spring 2019 1
} upfront
A Community of the ‘Kind People’
OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS Native Studies
its steel body was a crisp sky “rescued” from grocery stores that Sean Price, ’95 BCom Chancy Black Water, Awakas’ikitstakiaki
Associate Vice-President (Deer Offering Woman), ’10 BA(NativeStu),
blue. The bright-red tow arm was blemished or in damaged ’10 Cert(AborGov/Ptnshp)
Greg Latham
fit my tiny fingers perfectly as I packaging and would otherwise be Director, Alumni Engagement Nursing
pushed the toy effortlessly around thrown out. The program was only Tracy Salmon, ’91 BA(Hons), ’96 MSc
Eric Martin, ’09 BSc, ’13 BScN
Kate Young, ’07 BScN, ’15 MBA
our family’s apartment, bashing a pilot and needed volunteers to Director, Alumni Programs
Pharmacy
into walls, my lips sputtering like keep going. U of A alumni stepped Coleen Graham, ’88 BSc(HEc), ’93 MEd
Ron Pohar, ’95 BSc(Pharm)
Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives
an old diesel engine. forward in a big way. Working Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation
I loved my Tonka truck. with the Community-University ALUMNI COUNCIL EXECUTIVE Bill Werry, ’73 BA(RecAdmin)
Alumni Association President Public Health
And even though the Partnership, alumni lined up Ayaz Bhanji, ’91 BSc(Pharm) Salima Thawer, ’03 BSc, ’05 Dip(DentHyg),
downstairs neighbours complained partnerships with grocery stores, President-Elect ’06 BSc(DentHyg), ’13 MPH
daily about the noise, I didn’t care. obtained insurance and worked as Heather Raymond, ’82 BEd, ’86 Dip(Ed), Rehabilitation Medicine
Grant Irwin, ’75 BSc, ’79 BSc(PT)
I was happy. I was safe. drivers to get food to those in need. ’95 MEd, ’02 PhD
Committee Chair: Alumni Awards Science
It was 1972 and my mother, Last year, volunteers — 72 per cent Ryan Thompson, ’03 BSc(Hons), ’13 MA Ross Lockwood, ’08 BSc(Hons), ’15 PhD
father, younger brother and I had of whom are alumni — gave Committee Chair: Alumni Student Council
MEMBERS AT LARGE
just arrived in Brantford, Ont., 716 hours to Grocery Run and Ashlyn Bernier, ’06 BSc, ’11 PhD, ’13 MBA
Robert Agostinis, ’86 BMedSc, ’88 MD
having been kicked out of our home supported 115 families a week. Committee Chair: Career Services Yasmin Barre, ’09 BSc, ’12 MSc
Christy Ciezki, ’02 BSc(Spec), ’09 MEd
country of Uganda by its ruthless Our university calls on us to Ramesh Bhambhani, ’66 BSc, ’68 MSc, ’72 PhD
Committee Chair: Priority Programs Maxine Clarke, ’03 BCom
dictator, Idi Amin. I remember “uplift the whole people.” Projects Phil Wong, ’85 BSc(Spec) Rick Dowell, ’03 BSc(MechEng), ’09 MBA
many visitors — “the kind people,” like Grocery Run demonstrate the Committee Chair: Strategic Planning
Vivian He, ’08 BCom
Joel Johnston, ’16 BA(RecSpoTourism),
my parents called them — stopping power of our alumni community to Bill Werry, ’73 BA(RecAdmin)
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We would like to hear your comments
about the magazine. Send us your letters
by post or email to the addresses on page 4.
Yes, In My Backyard! @teasin: Flipping
The two articles on urban wildlife, “Are Coyotes
Letters may be edited for length or clarity. through the
Getting Bolder” (page 15) and “How to Protect
Yourself From Urban Prowlers” (page 30), in our
@UAlbertaAlumni
Winter 2018 issue prompted several responses. mag and found
We share one here. they don’t like
the @goop
I read the two articles on urban pseudoscience
wildlife with much dismay and either. Excellent.
frustration. All wildlife today is @DrJenGunter
faced with two choices: adaptation
–Genifer Thiessen,
or extinction. We generally think ’11 BScN(Hons), Victoria, B.C.,
adaptation is a good thing but in response to “How Not to
Fall for Pseudoscience”
apparently not in the case of coyotes (Winter 2018, page 34)
or other urban wildlife. Instead we
choose the word “exploitation,” as
the article did, with its negative
connotations, to describe animals’
survival skills. I deplore the prevalent
“not in my backyard” attitude to
urban wildlife. Of course, the irony is CORRECTION
that we are, in fact, in their backyard. In the Winter 2018 issue
Yes, I am unabashedly on the side (page 41), we incorrectly
of the few species brave and smart categorized the memoir
enough to see that the one and only Six Weeks on the Throne:
The Tale of a Stowaway
Back: Alex McCalla, ’61 BSc(Ag), ’63 MA, ’14 LLD (Honorary); path to survival lies on the paved
by Rick Frey, ‘78 PhD, as
Daniel Hays, ’62 BA Front: Barbara (Thomson) Moore, ’61 Dip(RM); streets of our urban centres.
Faye (MacKenzie) Naples, ’61 Dip(RM); Carol (Weber) Morse, fiction. We apologize for
’61 Dip(RM); Joann (Ellis) Day, ’61 Dip(RM); F. Ann Hayes, –Jane Calvert, ’82 BSc(Spec), Edmonton the error.
’61 Dip(RM), ’68 MD; Joanne (Prockter) Watson, ’61 Dip(RM)
Cancan You Remember?
Our Winter 2018 issue featured a historical tidbit about how kick lines were
Purposeful Retirement
For years I told students, “Embrace a purpose in life.” A sense of
purpose is critical in retirement, too. I have written and researched
a popular part of student political campaigns on campus in the 1950s extensively since retiring in Saskatchewan. I self-published three
and 1960s (“Did You Know?” page 44). We were happy to hear your stories! Second World War veterans’ biographies and had a weekly column
about veterans of that war. I now spend my time researching
Some of the physio class of 1961 were the kick multiple sclerosis. If you attended the University of Alberta and
line for Alex McCalla’s 1961 campaign. Alex are retired, you have unique skills, knowledge and abilities. Don’t
was elected the president of the student body waste them! Research something important to you and others.
that year, with retired Canadian senator Dan Richard Dowson, ’72 BEd, ’82 Dip(Ed), ’91 MEd, Moose Jaw, Sask.
Hays as his campaign manager. It was such
fun being a part of the campaign, so the girls
in the picture and I thought it would be fun to
share it with you.
BOTTOM RIGHT ILLUSTRATION ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES
MORE ONLINE
–Barbara (Thomson) Moore, ’61 Dip(RM), Delta, B.C.
Find these stories and more at ualberta.ca/newtrail.
The kick lines in those days were such a spectacle that their
songs and routines were often better than the candidates’
speeches! My campaign to be Coordinator of Student
Activities in 1966 was so underfunded that all we had was
a piper and a Coke crate (which I still have). But we still
managed to beat the candidate who had an impressive
kick line, made up of a group of well-trained cheerleaders
in navy costumes. I still remember how my campaign
manager at the time, Don Sorochan, ’66 BA, introduced me
Not Your Bathroom Scale Prep for Next Tax Season Today
at the opening rally at old Convocation Hall: “Our opponent
The Bod Pod gives you a Schedule a meeting with an
may have the navy but we are going to “Sinc” the ship!” much more detailed and accountant this summer plus more
–Glenn “Sinc” Sinclair, ’66 BA, ‘68 BEd, ‘70 MEd, ’78 PhD, Penticton, B.C. accurate look at your health tips on how to save next year
newtrail spring 2019 3
“Great things come from UALBERTA .C A /NE W TR AIL
individual acts of service. Supervising Editor
Mary Lou Reeleder
By sharing the knowledge Editor-in-Chief
Lisa Cook
and expertise each of us Managing Editor and Digital Editor
Karen Sherlock
has gained, together our
Associate Editors
Amie Filkow, Mifi Purvis, ’93 BA
Art Director
alumni community can Marcey Andrews
Senior Photographer
change the world.” John Ulan
Staff Writer
Therese Kehler
Editorial Assistant
― Heather Raymond, Stephanie Bailey, ’10 BA(Hons)
’82 BEd, ’86 Dip(Ed), ’95 MEd, ’02 PhD New Trail Digital
Melissa Fabrizio, ’16 BA; Matt Schneider, ’07
BA(Hons), ’09 MA; Ryan Whitefield, ’10 BA; Joyce Yu,
’07 BA, ’15 MA
Proofreader
Philip Mail
Advisory Board
Anne Bailey, ’84 BA; Rhonda Kronyk, ’04 BA, ’07 MA;
Robert Moyles, ’86 BCom; Sean Price, ’95 BCom;
Michel Proulx; Karen Unland, ’94 BA
CONTACT US
Email (Comments/Letters/Class Notes):
alumni@ualberta.ca
Call: 780-492-3224; 800-661-2593
Mail: Office of Advancement, University of Alberta,
Third Floor, Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Ave.,
Edmonton, AB T5J 4P6
Facebook: UAlberta Alumni Association
Twitter: @UAlbertaAlumni
Address Updates: 780-492-3471; 866-492-7516
or alumrec@ualberta.ca
TO ADVERTISE
Trevor Battye, Clevers Media
Email: trevor@cleversmedia.com
Call: Toronto: 647-376-8090;
Vancouver: 778-773-9397
This University of Alberta Alumni Association magazine is
published three times a year. It is mailed to more than 160,000
alumni and friends. The views and opinions expressed in
the magazine do not necessarily represent the views of the
University of Alberta or the U of A Alumni Association. All
material copyright ©. New Trail cannot be held responsible for
unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.
ISSN: 0824-8125 Copyright 2019
Publications Mail Agreement
No. 40112326
If undeliverable in Canada, return to:
The University of Alberta is proud to welcome Heather as
Office of Advancement,
University of Alberta, Third Floor,
incoming Alumni Association president. Congratulations!
Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Ave.
Edmonton, AB T5J 4P6
Printed in Canada
To learn more, visit
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The University of Alberta respectfully acknowledges that we
are situated on Treaty 6 territory, traditional lands of First
Nations and Métis people.
4 ualberta.ca/newtrail
notes w h at ’ s n e w a n d n o t e w o r t h y
DIYANA DIMITROVA / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES
Bee the Cure
a cross-campus team of undergrads has created a buzz in Alberta’s honeybee
industry with a genetically engineered probiotic that targets a common but deadly
fungal infection. APIS, short for antifungal porphyrin-based intervention system,
can help honeybees ward off Nosema ceranae, a parasite infecting bees around the
Students genetically engineer a
world. The fungus poses a big challenge in Alberta, where its damaging effect can
solution for a deadly honeybee be worsened by the cold. The product won in its category at 2018’s International
parasite Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition — and couldn’t have come
at a better time, as the previous treatment is no longer available. The students
would like to bring APIS to market as soon as possible, with the help of Alberta
beekeepers who are eager to start field trials. –andrew lyle, ‘11 bsc(eleceng)
newtrail spring 2019 5
} notes
that are part of our body’s NUMBERS
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identify any differences
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Alzheimer’s Disease Earlier to differentiate between
these three groups,” says Li. The number of years ago that
Promising early findings could point to earlier complex life with mobility may have
The results show promise
intervention, most effective treatments appeared on Earth — 1.5 billion
but, because the sample years earlier than scientists once
could a simple saliva test Canada. But we currently size was so small, more believed. Researchers who took
a closer look at ancient fossils
provide an early warning of don’t know how to prevent investigation is needed. “If found that the tiny, slug-like beings,
Alzheimer’s? or treat the disease. Early we can use a larger set of once thought to be immobile, were
squirming about in the mud.
It’s a new possibility after diagnosis can help. samples, we can validate our
researchers analyzed saliva To this end, chemistry findings and develop a saliva
samples from three sets of professor Liang Li and test of Alzheimer’s disease,”
patients and discovered three psychology professor Li adds. GASSY COWS
biomarkers that detect mild Roger Dixon examined A saliva test would BREEDING
cognitive impairment and saliva samples from prove useful in clinical BOVINES
Alzheimer’s. patients with Alzheimer’s settings for its ease and
TO REDUCE
The number of Canadians disease, people with mild non-invasive nature. It also
living with dementia is cognitive impairment has the potential to detect
EMISSIONS
Can we breed cows to burp
rising dramatically; it costs and individuals with neurodegenerative diseases
less? The agriculture industry
$10.4 billion per year to normal cognition. The pair sooner, allowing for early aims to cut down on methane
care for them, according to examined more than 6,000 intervention. emissions, and bovine burps
the Alzheimer Society of metabolites — compounds “So far, no disease- could play an even bigger part
altering interventions for than their much-maligned farts.
Alzheimer’s disease have Researchers from the
U of A and elsewhere
been successful,” says
are studying cow
Dixon. “Researchers genetics to figure
are aiming to For more on out how to breed
discover the these and other cows to make
earliest signals great U of A more practical
of the disease so research stories, and efficient
visit folio.ca. use of their feed
that prevention
and produce
protocols can be
less methane,
implemented.” in an international
The biomarkers project managed by Mary
could be used in testing De Pauw from the Faculty
to determine what types of Agricultural, Life &
of treatments are most Environmental Sciences. The
Efficient Dairy Genome Project
effective, such as diet, drugs
measures, among other traits,
and physical activity. –katie how much cows eat, how much
willis, ’13 ba, ’18 ma milk they produce and how
much gas they emit.
The purpose is twofold:
cows producing less methane
“The new self-driving car technology will have a reduced impact on
the environment, while cows
… promises many benefits for society, needing less feed will save
farmers money. Improvements
including people with disabilities, but the could reduce feed costs by
$108 per cow per year and
cars are being designed for drivers with
PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN
decrease methane emissions
by up to 26 per cent.
normal competency levels.” “I think we have a very good
chance of taking the tools that
we produce in this project and
Megan Strickfaden, ’89 BA(Spec), ’02 MDes, U of A design anthropologist and co-author of a study that suggests getting it out into the industry,”
the designers of driverless cars aren’t considering features that could address the needs of people with disabilities. says De Pauw. –cbc
6 ualberta.ca/newtrail
Footnotes
A brief look at
what’s new at the U
U of A President to
Step Down Next Year
The search for the
university’s next president
will soon begin. In March,
David Turpin announced
he would not seek renewal
when his five-year term
ends on June 30, 2020.
Under Turpin’s leadership,
the U of A launched its
strategic plan and had
two of its best fundraising
years. He says a priority
over the next 15 months
is continuing to build a
provincial coalition of
post-secondary presidents
and institutions to
LESSEN THE STRESS OF LEAVING A groundbreaking study is shedding light on the stresses advocate for growth
experienced by Indigenous communities ordered to flee to safety during a wildfire. The study, led by across the sector.
Tara McGee, a science professor with expertise in the human dimensions of wildfire, looked at the 2011
evacuation of the Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation in northwestern Ontario. Many left when ordered Phair Reappointed
to do so, but some were reluctant to depart even as the smoke and fire threatened their homes. as Board Chair
Evacuations often send residents to larger centres where there may be language barriers or few Michael Phair will lead
cultural supports. Options such as helping them seek safety in nearby Indigenous communities are the U of A’s Board
recommended instead to make the process less disruptive. Pictured above, evacuees returning home of Governors for a
after the 2011 fire. –katie willis, ’13 ba, ’18 ma second term after being
reappointed as chair.
The board guides the
institution’s future and
EXPERT ADVICE ensures the university
uses public funds
SOME TIPS FOR SAFER RX appropriately.
Do you wonder if the expired drugs in your medicine cabinet are safe? Or how to get rid of them?
Pharmacists are a wealth of information; all you have to do is ask. For example, a 2003 study in the
AI Funding Supports
U.S. concluded that about 90 per cent of meds are fine long after the expiration date — but some may U of A, Industry
become toxic over time while others lose effectiveness, says Jill Hall, ’01 BSc(Pharm), ’01 BSc(Spec).
Alberta Machine
The latter could be a serious gamble when it comes to emergency meds like EpiPens or nitroglycerine.
Intelligence Institute
Here are some other pieces of pharmacy wisdom. –michael brown
PHOTO BY THE CANADIAN PRESS / FRANK GUNN
will receive $27 million
from the provincial
IS GRAPEFRUIT I HAVE A COLD. WHAT SHOULD I JUST government over five
REALLY A RISK? SHOULD I TAKE? THROW IT OUT? years, helping boost
Grapefruit disrupts an enzyme The cold-and-flu aisle can When you have expired support for companies
in the body that affects how be confusing, but Hall medications you aren’t going building in-house AI
some drugs are processed, says differences between to use anymore — whether capacity, and allowing
which affects drug levels in the medications offering the same an inhaler, tablets or it to expand operations
bloodstream. Some experts say types of relief are negligible. cream — bring them back to the into Calgary. Meanwhile,
to avoid grapefruit when taking The important thing is to treat pharmacy to be incinerated. $2.5 million in federal
certain drugs, but Hall offers a the symptoms you have. “If you “It prevents them from getting funding helped create
more moderate view. If you’re don’t have headaches or muscle into our landfills and water AI-Hub, an open-source
not at risk for side-effects, pain, don’t get something supply, and exposing people to facility to help smaller
the occasional grapefruit isn’t with acetaminophen or chemicals they don’t need to businesses access AI and
going to be harmful. ibuprofen in it.” be exposed to,” says Hall. computing expertise.
newtrail spring 2019 7
} notes
that they’d even eat feathers,
a behaviour rarely seen in QUOTED
mammals.
Scavenging in hares has “Parents may observe
been previously reported, but more energy in their
MEAT CUTE this is the first study to detail kids after eating
the frequency and diversity, sugar, but it’s one of
It’s a Hare Eat Hare World says Peers. those self-fulfilling
The study found notions.”
A new study reveals hares’ surprising
scavenging was more
eating habits, especially in the winter
common during the winter, Elizabeth Rosolowsky, a U of A
desperate times call for be an effort to supplement giving rise to the theory about pediatric endocrinologist who says
desperate measures — even their diet with more protein. food or nutrient limitations. the sugar high kids seem to get
from overindulging in candy is likely
for snowshoe hares, which “We have documented It also has researchers caused by related excitement, such
have been documented them scavenging other hare wondering if there’s not as trick-or-treating, rather than the
candy itself.
eating the carcasses of carcasses, grouse and even such a hard line between the
friend and foe when faced lynx, their main predator,” herbivores and carnivores.
with months of sub-zero says Michael Peers, PhD “Researchers are
temperatures. candidate in the Department beginning to suspect IMMIGRATION
The normal winter diet of Biological Sciences. that the occurrence or AN EQUAL START
of a hare is woody plants, The photos suggest that frequency of scavenging FOR ALL
but a study over more than hares aren’t all that picky, is higher than previously
NEWCOMERS
two years showed that they showing them eating a suspected, by species not
Some Syrian refugees in
turn into carnivores — even variety of species among the often considered scavengers,” Canada experienced a tougher
cannibals — that feast on 161 carcasses in the study. says Peers. –andrew lyle, time than others due to varying
carcasses in what appears to Weirdly, it also discovered ‘11 bsc(eleceng) levels of sponsor commitment.
Refugees sponsored by well-
resourced agencies — church
groups, for example — received
extensive support settling into
their new home, says Sandeep
Agrawal, a professor whose
research focuses on ethnic
communities and the effects of
immigration.
However, some refugees
received only the minimum
legally required support, while
others were abandoned by
their sponsors altogether.
“[Those sponsors] did not
have the means or the time
to adequately support their
matched refugees,” says
Agrawal, who interviewed
84 Syrian newcomers to
Edmonton, along with private
sponsors, volunteers and
agency representatives.
GEOFFREY REYNAUD / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES
Refugees who came
through the blended program,
in which a private sponsor and
the federal government share
the cost and responsibility of
settling the family, had the best
experiences. “We should also
consider the blended program
as possibly a better way
forward,” says Agrawal. “This
composite approach could
offset the deficits inherent in
each single approach.” –katie
willis, ’13 ba, ’18 ma
8 ualberta.ca/newtrailthe artist and creator
The transition
to streaming themselves,” says Fauteux.
services has Here are some calls-to-
hurt artists action from the report:
like Danny
Michel, whose
income from 1. MORE PUBLIC
album sales
has dropped
FUNDING FOR ARTISTS
an astounding In North America, three
95 per cent. companies — Universal,
Sony and Warner — control
86 per cent of the recording
and publishing market, says
Fauteux. The result is that
the top one per cent of artists
take home 77 per cent of all
music income. The report
recommends increasing
public funding dedicated
to smaller creators who are
more likely to be squeezed
out by market consolidation.
2. RETURN COPYRIGHT
TO ARTISTS SOONER
The report also suggests
returning music rights to
ARTS
managing, for the most part, artists well before the current
to earn a comfortable living term of 50 years after their
Copyright Killed the Radio Star without ever producing a hit death. This would allow
song. But by 2018, his income artists to either reissue their
Existing Canadian copyright laws benefit
from album sales had dropped work or reinvent it in creative
music companies but hurt independent artists
an astounding 95 per cent new ways while still alive.
despite what many of work — changes that would due, in part, to an industry They recommend a copyright
us think, copyright in help musicians like Danny transition to streaming term of 25 years after a
the music industry limits Michel, a Juno- and Polaris services, says Fauteux. company first acquires the
innovation and does a poor Prize-nominated singer- Spotify, for example, often rights.
job of ensuring musicians songwriter from Ontario. pays an artist $0.0038 per play.
earn a living, says a U of A Michel has recorded “Michel is now wondering 3. LESS ENFORCEMENT,
researcher. In fact, many 25 albums in the last 13 years, how long he can remain a NOT MORE
musicians end up not holding musician,” says Fauteux. People are less likely to
rights to their own work and “He is not alone.” produce new, creative works
the law works against them. With sound recordings out of fear of copyright
Hoping to win a better accounting for about infringement, according to
deal for Canadian artists, six per cent of an artist’s Fauteux and his team. The
Brian Fauteux, an assistant income, Michel and many report calls for the need for
professor of popular music, others are trying to make more liberal “fair play” rules,
leaped into the copyright up the shortfall with live so both creators and listeners
fray. In late 2018, he was part performances. That, in turn, have less-fettered access to
of a multi-university team creates problems of artists audio recordings. Having
that presented to the federal vying for limited venue space more works in the public
committee reviewing the and reducing the time they domain helps encourage
Copyright Act. need to create new work. cultural sharing, appreciation
The team’s report cited an SPOTIFY “A lot of what the industry and innovation of music.
DANNYMICHEL.COM
imbalance of power between OFTEN PAYS has been talking about, in The standing committee’s
creators and big business,
and proposed substantial
AN ARTIST terms of the changes they
want to see, are more about
final report, which will be
used to revise the Copyright
changes to how creators $0.0038 protecting the industry, Act, is expected later this
earn money from their PER PLAY. and aren’t as much about year. –geoff mcmaster
newtrail spring 2019 9} continuing education
Learning doesn’t end when you accept your degree. We are all lifelong learners, whether we pursue lessons
in a class or a lecture hall — or these lessons pursue us. Curtis Gillespie, ’85 BA(Spec), reflects on the
continuing opportunities for education that life throws our way, sometimes when we least expect them. by Curtis Gillespie
me — I began to wonder what had
It’s Your Call possessed me to become a squash
referee in the first place. Adel was up
against the sixth-ranked player in the
world, England’s Sarah Jane Perry,
ILLUSTRATION BY KELLY SUTHERLAND; PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN
BECOMING A SQUASH REF WAS LIKE LOOKING AT MY OWN
O
STRENGTHS AND FAULTS IN HIGH-DEF, ON A BIG SCREEN and neither of them was moving that
smoothly. I made a couple of tough calls
ne thing that unites people in sports is their universal antipathy and, after one, Adel looked at me and
to referees. In baseball, managers get into nose-to-nose shouting said, witheringly, so that everyone could
matches with the umpire, which usually end with the manager hear, “What are you doing?”
getting tossed. In soccer, some refs need security escorts to make it I explained my call with stoic
out of the stadium. In tennis, Serena Williams directed her abundant detachment and told her to play on,
anger at Carlos Ramos in the U.S. Open last year. It’s not just the pros, but if I’d had the cheek to say what I
either; after a recent minor hockey game in Lloydminster, fans physically assaulted was really thinking, I’d have said, “Fair
two refs. For decades, as an athlete, I had wondered who these people were, these refs question, let me get back to you on that.”
and umpires and judges, these masochists who willingly placed themselves in the Over the last few years, my hobby has
crosshairs of everyone’s rage. Why would anyone subject themselves to that? subjected me to the kind of pressure
Turns out I’m the wrong guy to ask. When the Egyptian squash player Yathreb and scrutiny normally reserved for
Adel, ranked 17th in the world, was upset with me in Chicago in late February during criminals on trial. Many of my friends
the Professional Squash Association World Championships with fans, coaches and peers use their free time to hang
and other players watching — and the world’s top ref, John Massarella, assessing out on golf courses and beside pools,
10 ualberta.ca/newtrailFESTIVAL OF
} continuing education
sipping icy cold ones, while for some the professional level. Played right, as volunteers, or helping out a
reason I’ve chosen to explore fresh squash’s speed and athleticism make problematic friend or family member.
avenues of potential embarrassment understanding its movement patterns In the back of our minds, usually during
and mortification. so difficult that you have to perceive and a rough patch, we ask what we did to
My interest in reffing squash began process them nearly simultaneously. find ourselves there. That’s looking at
with playing the game. People play There’s no time to filter them through a it the wrong way around. We didn’t find
squash the world over and Egyptians are conscious decision-making process. the situation, the situation found us.
currently the dominant world power. The Oh, and for added fun, the ref sits Usually because the situation needed
sport combines athleticism, psychology in the middle of the crowd, so that something and we could bring it.
and emotional control like no other sport when the aforementioned insulted When it comes to stumbling into
I’ve ever played or witnessed. Forbes player challenges your original call, being a squash ref, it turns out the
magazine once called it the world’s best you are part of the viewing audience demands of the role actually suit
sport and if you play it, if you ever get the that watches the replay on numerous my personality, amplify my better
chance to watch the world’s best players screens. At the recent Worlds in Chicago, qualities and highlight (hopefully for
close up, it’s hard to disagree. the entire front wall of the court remediation) my weaker attributes.
But playing squash bears about morphed into a giant, high-def screen More importantly, the pressure is
the same relation to reffing it as during a video challenge, all the better forging a clearer sense of who I am.
making french fries does to farming to highlight the call you just blew. It There are some good parts and some
potatoes — they’re related but being is a setting in which the opportunities that need work, but they are all me.
good at one doesn’t make you good at the for open derision come around with And, if I am learning one thing working
other. Which was how I got started in gut‑churning regularity. these tournaments, it’s that the best
reffing. I was playing at a reasonably high So why do it? refs in the business are the ones who
level, but no one, me included, seemed They say life is a journey. I suppose know themselves.
to understand the rules. Reffing in our that might be true for some people. In the last year or so, as people have
league was fraught with anxiety. I figured But I’ve never thought that was quite vented at me in at least 15 languages,
I might as well learn the rules, since no accurate, in that a journey typically I have come to understand that dealing
one else knew them. That’s how I got begins with a destination in mind and with pressure is less about granular
hooked. There are elements to reffing a sense of what route to take. But that’s correction and more about placing my
squash that make it addictive, impossible not the way my life has gone. If my life imperfections within a broader context
to fully understand and open to wide has been a journey, there has been no of striving for fairness and equity.
interpretation. Kind of like watching one at the wheel and the dog ate the The best players can tell when you’re
Game of Thrones or parenting teenagers. map. My life has often felt more like a making mistakes of ego as opposed to
And once you get to the pro level, big pot of spaghetti. I throw a handful of errors of good faith. Those are two very
well, reffing is a challenge on a whole noodles at the wall and whatever sticks different vibes. Once they know that
new scale. is what I keep doing. Not the kind of life you are of the second camp, they are
There are so many moving parts, advice you’d pass on to your children, more accepting of the occasional error
especially when you’re on the glass but luckily mine are mostly grown and (emphasis on occasional).
show court, which has seating for about even found a few strands of spaghetti Not that I’m advocating we all take
1,000 people and is televised. You’ve got still stuck to the wall that I claimed was up hobbies that give us ulcers and
an earbud in one ear attached to a mic fatherly guidance. sleepless nights. I have nothing against
to address the crowd and players, and But one thing I believe is that, more benign pursuits and I have been
a different wire in the other ear that through some sort of alchemical magic known to indulge easier pastimes. But
links you to the video referee in case that none of us truly controls, we find there’s value in scaring the jeepers out of
one of the players decides they don’t ourselves in pursuits or professions that yourself every now and then. Clarifying
like your call and wants to challenge are less about conscious choice and more your strengths and weaknesses is never
it. This happens with unnerving about tacking toward those things that a bad thing.
frequency. You have to communicate tap into our character, our essence, our Though I’d think twice about doing it
with the crowd, the players and the best and sometimes our less-than-best in front of an audience.
video ref simultaneously. On your selves. Maybe it’s neither surprising nor
lap is an iPad, with approximately positive. Some people may find their
80 different commands and functions truest selves affirmed by becoming, say, Curtis Gillespie has written five books and earned
to track the game. On top of that, white-collar criminals. seven National Magazine Awards. His New Trail
article “A Hard Walk” won gold for best article of
you have to actually oversee the play, Many of us end up in unpleasant 2018 from CASE, an international post-secondary
which is tough at any level, let alone situations while on boards, or working association.
12 ualberta.ca/newtrailabout
SPACE
thesis diving deep into one idea
ILLUSTRATION BY ELLICE WEAVER
Space and the City
the skylines of north america’s cities are studded with
lumbering, box-like silhouettes, marked by precast concrete
and the ungainly proportions of mid-20th-century building
stock. Make no mistake, there are lovely structures dating from
Our buildings, our neighbourhoods and the this time, but lovely and unlovely, they’re getting old. Architect
grasslands at the edges of town have built- Vivian Manasc, ’82 MBA, spends a lot of time thinking about
in value for city dwellers. Do our policies our aging buildings and the best ways to renovate and beautify
recognize that inherent worth? those old gronks sustainably. “ ‘The greenest build is the one
newtrail spring 2019 13} thesis
that already exists’ is an oft- The new neighbourhoods
repeated quote,” Manasc says. are built on former farmland For such a small package
(30 x 10 x 10 cm and just
“And it makes sense because and grasslands, the loss 2.64 kg) student-built
there’s so much embodied of which worries Brent satellite Ex-Alta 1 (shown
here with a few bragging
energy in our buildings.” Swallow, a professor in the points) was such a success
Embodied energy is the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & the group is at it again,
total energy required for Environmental Sciences. “The building Ex-Alta 2.
the extraction, processing, best agricultural land is that
manufacture and delivery which is disappearing at the
of building materials, and highest rate,” he says. PAYLOAD
PERFECTION
architects and engineers can This space at the edge No bigger than a loaf
assign a dollar value to it. of town is valuable not of bread, the satellite
Manasc says it’s more efficient solely for its potential called Ex-Alta 1 packed such
to renovate a building than food output, Swallow says, specialized equipment as a
to knock it down and start but also because native fluxgate magnetometer, a
over. “Why would we redirect grasslands and wetlands multi-needle Langmuir
probe and a radiation
those resources to a landfill?” in this landscape are part
dosimeter to monitor
she asks. She’d love to see of what he calls our green space weather.
policies that encourage us to infrastructure. “When we
reimagine those structures convert this land, it loses its
instead. Manasc says that to ability to produce ecosystem
use our existing city space goods and services,” he says.
better, we should think about By this he means what we
densification and renovation. consume directly (food, water
Our cities change, and wood) and what we
gentrifying here, falling benefit from (water filtration,
into neglect there. But temperature regulation and
neighbourhoods don’t wildlife habitat). Grasslands
go from junky to funky improve the quality of air YOUR
NAME IN SPACE
organically. Journalist Peter and water in a city and punch U of A’s nanoFAB etched
Moskowitz says that change above their weight as habitat a tiny silicon chip with the
isn’t the product of consumer for an array of creatures and names of all the donors whose
choice, rather of policy plants. It’s a kind of embodied contributions helped launch the
“crafted in the offices of real energy. Why redirect it? satellite. The CubeSat (and the
estate moguls and in the And grasslands sequester names) travelled around the
world about 8,000 times before
halls of city governments.” 30 per cent of the world’s
a scheduled plunge into
In his 2017 book, How to carbon. The U of A’s the atmosphere.
Kill a City, he says seeing Rangeland Research Institute
gentrification as mercurial values the carbon stored
blinds us to its consequences, in Alberta’s grasslands at
including displacement of $9 billion, Yangzhe Cao, ’18
lower-income families and MAg, writes in her master’s
“decreased affordability of life thesis. On an individual
for everyone.” scale, Cao demonstrates
Meanwhile, new that homeowners will pay
neighbourhoods with tony more for property near
names pop up at the edges greenspaces.
of town, pressuring a finite Before we knock down a
tax base to provide new building, advocates want to
infrastructure. The policies see if we can reimagine that
that push city boundaries
ever outward also devalue
space. And before we plow
a greenfield, they challenge The Life and
Death of a Very
our older neighbourhoods. us to find an alternative.
Grocery stores and other When we craft our policies,
Good Satellite
amenities move farther out it’s useful to consider the
and older neighbourhoods concept of embodied energy
in the vast middle go and apply it not just to
underserviced. New, far-flung buildings but to other spaces
There’s no such thing as a free orbit
schools open, while older inside and around the city.
ones close. –mifi purvis, ’93 ba
14 ualberta.ca/newtrailCOMMAND
AND CONTROL
The little spacecraft, STRENGTH
which orbited at 415 km IN NUMBERS
from Earth at an inclination Ex-Alta 1 was part of a
of 51.6 degrees, had an onboard swarm of dozens of cube
computer that stored telemetry satellites, which together
and instrument data, demonstrated that building
transmitting it to student viable spacecraft can be done
satellite operators at quickly and cheaply, opening
the U of A. new doors for researchers
and industry.
SOLAR PANELS
The satellite featured
nine solar panels, each
with two photovoltaic cells
to generate power with a peak
output of 1.23 W per cell. Four
lithium ion cells in the battery
pack stored that power,
providing a reserve
capacity of 38.5 Wh.
escaping the surly bonds of earth Eighteen months later, and by design, understand space weather and
takes so much money and energy that it burned to a crisp as it re-entered Earth’s potentially crippling geomagnetic storms.
some denizens of the International Space atmosphere. Ex‑Alta 2, due for launch in 2021, will use
Station drink recycled urine to limit the Certain kinds of space science are multispectral photos to track wildfires.
water that needs to be hauled up. The best done from low orbit, around 400 (It will also pioneer open-source CubeSat
cost of sending astronaut Kjell Lindgren’s km above sea level. Objects orbiting at design practices.) Then it, too, will burn up
ILLUSTRATION BY ANDY KALE
bagpipes to the ISS, for example, has been that height, like the International Space in the atmosphere.
estimated at $259,000. (Science can’t Station, periodically need a boost or AlbertaSat team members don’t
explain why we’d do this.) they’ll slow down and burn up entering the feel too sad. “If you spend years doing
So why would AlbertaSat, the atmosphere. But no such boosts come for something and it accomplishes a goal, it’s
university’s donor-funded, student-led CubeSats, the loaf-sized satellites like this a success,” says engineering student Erik
aerospace club, traffic in disposable one designed and built by AlbertaSat. Halliwell, who leads the design of the power
satellites? In 2017, the club’s Ex-Alta 1 For its brief life, Ex-Alta 1 collected systems of Ex-Alta 2. “It doesn’t matter how
satellite became the first Alberta satellite information about the Earth’s long it takes to accomplish those goals and
to reach orbit. magnetosphere, helping researchers then burn up.” –lewis kelly
newtrail spring 2019 15} thesis
whether I was going to keep hating it,” she told Kenton.
But she loves their house. The couple designed every
Tiny Gets Real
square centimetre — all 341,800 of them — from the solar
panels on the roof to an extra-wide interior so they don’t have
to “shimmy past each other.” They sleep in the loft above the
‘We have everything we need and nothing more, kitchen and overnight guests stay in the smaller loft above
the bathroom. There’s a couch and a fold-out table for games
and somehow that makes everything simpler’
nights with (no more than five) friends. “We use up a lot of
PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN
storage with our board game collection,” Melissa admits.
There can be tension over who gets to sleep on which side
When Melissa Zerbin, ’13 BA, Kenton Zerbin, ’09, BEd, ’11 Dip(Ed), of the bed, but there’s nowhere to storm off to. “My wife and
and their cat moved into a 34.18-square-metre home on a farmer’s I work hard on our interpersonal skills and we don’t get into
field near Edmonton two years ago, she said she was going to many arguments,” Kenton says. They just figure things out, like
hate it for three months. “And then I’d make my assessment on Melissa’s growing wardrobe. Doing her master’s in occupational
16 ualberta.ca/newtrailINNER SPACE
An interdisciplinary centre allows you to
virtually venture where you couldn’t before
it’s hard to imagine a Zoom out further:
three-dimensional space students can practise clinical
based on a flat illustration, skills on virtual patients, so
especially when the space by the time they meet a real
is microscopic — think the one, they have exercised
inside of a cell. Cognitive that muscle well. “Currently,
Projections aims to examiners end up testing
change all that. It’s an students’ ability to stay cool,”
interdisciplinary lab that uses Maeda says. “VR practice
virtual and augmented reality can remove anxiety from the
in teaching and learning. Now equation so it’s students’
you can put on a headset clinical knowledge that is
and take a virtual tour inside getting tested.”
a cell, even manipulating Now make that space
the Golgi bodies and bigger: an immersive VR
mitochondria if you like. experience inside a room-
“This technology is driven sized cube allows patients
therapy, she needed spiffier (They pay for their water by gamers,” says Nathanial working with experts at
clothes for practicums. So and rent their spot by Maeda, ’12 BSc(MechEng), the Institute for Stuttering
Kenton rolls up his clothes undertaking some significant ’18 PhD, director of Treatment and Research to
operations. The centre has practise speaking in front
and stores them in a hollow in yearly farm chores.) More
programming expertise, an of virtual crowds. Maeda
the bathroom wall, near the municipalities are making artist on staff and access plans for the centre to work
ILLUSTRATION BY ELLICE WEAVER
drying rack, washing machine, room in their bylaws for tiny to digital 3D libraries. with veterans with PTSD to
shower (they truck in water) houses as more people invest Zoom out: students provide immersive therapy
and composting toilet (not as the $40,000 to $120,000 it can perform their first to help them master their
bad as you may think.) takes to build one. “It feels head-and-neck dissections trigger experiences.
Kenton gives workshops like a shoe that fits,” Melissa virtually, getting an in-depth “We have content experts
understanding of the bones, from across campus and we’re
about tiny houses and the says of their home. Speaking
the various tissues and their hoping to garner industry
Zerbins are thrilled with of shoes, those not in season functions before they ever partners,” says Maeda. “There
their small environmental live in the shed. get close to a cadaveric are so many possibilities.”
and financial footprints. –jennifer allford, ’84 ba dissection. –mifi purvis, ’93 ba
newtrail spring 2019 17You can also read
