Lakehead faculty and staff, as well as community members, gathered Tuesday morning to kick off the university’s annual Research and Innovation Week.
The week showcases a series of events and speakers meant to highlight the research carried out by local students and faculty.
“The many events happening during this week provide an opportunity for us to open our doors to welcome, celebrate and encourage collaboration among the research community, industry, government and our local partners,” said Linda Rodenburg, interim principal of the Orillia campus.
“Through this year’s theme, ‘Improving our lives through research,’ we are showcasing the way our researchers imagine, innovate and discover through research to improve lives and better the world.”
Some of the planned events for the week are as follows:
- A keynote talk about the United States Capitol riots and performance crime, by Sandra Jeppesen;
- A climate action summit;
- A research presentation on sustainability through chemistry, by Anna Bohachyk and Thamara Laredo; and
- A public talk on Indigenous Futurisms, by Chelsea Vowel.
David Barnett, provost and vice-president, academic, highlighted Lakehead’s evolution into a global leader.
“We are proud to be the highest-ranked university in the world with under 10,000 students in the Times Higher Education impact rankings. In 2022, Lakehead ranked as one of the top universities in the world contributing to poverty reduction, elimination of hunger, reduced inequalities, good health and well-being and to peace, justice, and strong institutions,” he said.
“These are all some of the ways that our faculty and student researchers are helping to improve our lives and to make an impact on a global scale.”
Since opening in 2006, Orillia campus faculty have been awarded more than $6.3 million in research funding, noted Andrew Dean, vice-president of research and innovation.
“(I’ll mention) how strong the campus is in the area of social science and humanities research,” he said. “This, of course, is still the case, but we’re also seeing that research activity has increased across the disciplines.”
A number of awards will be given for research during this week’s activities. Jeppesen received the university’s Research Excellence Award.
More information about this year’s Research and Innovation Week and its events can be found here.
