SFU hits hot buttons at 2012 AAAS conference
An international gathering of world media, researchers, academics – including several from Simon Fraser University – and members of the public is coming to the Vancouver Convention Centre Feb. 16-20.
Simon Fraser University's President Andrew Petter was on hand at the first sounding of a bell announcing the 2012 AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) conference, at the Vancouver Aquarium yesterday.
"The AAAS conference is a must for scientists, academics and science journalists from around the world, and provides an opportunity to showcase outstanding science taking place across Canada," says Petter, a conference co-chair.
The AAAS is an international non-profit organization founded in Washington D.C. in 1848 and dedicated to advancing pure and social science worldwide through annual conferences and its journal Science.
For only the second time since 1981, the AAAS is holding its annual conference in Canada. The international research fair was last held outside of the United States in Toronto in 1981.
Nine well known SFU researchers will be among more than 700 speakers at this conference, which is bringing scientists, policymakers, media and the public together to collaborate and communicate on high profile issues.
So cutting edge is the research that they're presenting on a wide range of complex, interconnected challenges confronting our 21st century world that much of it is being presented for the first time. In some cases, researchers known for their expertise on particular topics will be speaking on others for the first time.
Cancer, fracking and earthquake connections, climate change, forest fire prediction and ecosystem losses are some of the timely issues to be covered by SFU researchers.
SFU PAMR through the AAAS 2012 conference newsroom and our own news release and issues and experts websites will begin regular coverage of what SFU scientists are presenting starting Thurs., Feb. 16.
Here is a synopsis of SFU presenters at AAAS seminars and poster sessions:
Fri., Feb. 17, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Hydraulic Fracturing of Shale: Building Consensus Out of Controversy
Sat., Feb. 18, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., poster presentation, Geomorphic Changes to Lillooet River Due to 2010 Mount Meager Landslide
Sun., Feb. 19, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m., Climate Change in Northern Latitudes
Fri., Feb. 17, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Searching for the Right Space for Innovation
Note: Holbrook's SFU School of Communication students in two classes will be taking a course that involves them attending and doing volunteer work at the AAAS conference.
Fri., Feb. 17, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Six Things Everyone Cares About: Connecting Ecosystems and Human Well-Being
Sun., Feb. 19, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Good Science, Good Communication: Talking to Media and the Public
Sun., Feb. 19, 1 to 5 p.m., poster presentation, The Socio-ecological Role of Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasi) in Nearshore Ecosystems
Fri., Feb. 17, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Climate Change and Human Evolution: Problems and Prospects
Sat., Feb. 18, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Constructing a Human World Fit for Nature
Sun., Feb. 19, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Forest Fires in Canada: Impacts of Climate Change and Fire Smoke
Sat., Feb. 18, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Autophagy: An Emerging Therapeutic Target in Human Disease
Fri., Feb. 17, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., moderator at Water Security: Multidisciplinary Responses to a Global Challenge
Provided by Simon Fraser University