The UPEI Wind Symphony presents its final performance of the 2016-2017 academic year featuring a diverse set of pieces designed to showcase the colour of the modern wind band. The performance will be held Friday, March 31 at 7:30 pm at Park Royal United Church in Charlottetown. Following the success of last semester’s recital at Park Royal, the Wind Symphony returns for its acoustic beauty and to ensure that all of its supporters can be accommodated.

The program will open with a fanfare, Through the Looking Glass, by the American composer Jess Turner. Another feature, Summer Dances by Englishman Adam Gorb, is a joyful work in three short movements celebrating his favourite season. Phillip Sparke’s Sunrise at Angel's Gate is a programmatic work which attempts to describe the sounds at dawn at the Grand Canyon.

The centrepiece of the program will be an electro-acoustic piece by American Eli Fieldsteel titled Singularity. This piece is inspired by the idea of technological singularity as explored by Ray Kurzweil, Isaac Asimov, and other scientific writers. The piece outlines a narrative of interaction between organic life, as represented by the acoustic instruments, and non-organic life, represented by the electronic sound. The recital will conclude with Australian Percy Grainger’s Handel in the Strand, a multi-layered work based on folk songs.

This year’s Wind Symphony is in fine form having recently presented this program to a capacity audience at the Halifax Central Library’s Paul O'Regan Hall. Two graduating seniors, Aidan Tremblett (trumpet) and Daniel MacDonald (trombone), have had distinguished tenures with the Wind Symphony, for which this will be their final UPEI recital.

Tickets at $15 Adults/Seniors and $10 Students may be acquired at the music department, at the admissions desk prior to the performance, or online at upeiconcert14.bpt.me.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

Newpy, a social networking app created by fourth-year UPEI Business student Erin O’Halloran and her sister Alana, won the top national prize at the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) Breakthru competition. Breakthru is a biennial start-up competition where more than 60 teams compete for the chance to win $300,000 in business funding.

Newpy is a social network app for posting photos of products that are hidden inside digital packaging. The digital packaging designs grab attention and spark curiosity as to what is inside. Newpy offers two types of digital packaging—variety, which are ever-changing, unique designs to reflect the user’s interests, and custom, which are specifically tailored to reflect a company’s brand. Custom digital packaging showcases the company’s name or logo directly on the packaging. Companies will now have a choice: they can choose to hope that good photos of their products are taken, or they can guarantee with Newpy that every photo posted will grow their brand.

“This is an amazing win and the culmination of an innovative entrepreneurial project,” said Dr. Juergen Krause, dean of UPEI’s Faculty of Business. “We are very proud and wish the O’Halloran sisters great success with their start-up Newpy.”

The O’Hallorans were awarded first place last evening at a gala dinner in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Congratulations, Erin!

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

The School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences (SMCS) at UPEI recently held its fourth annual Pi Day event. Originally planned for Pi Day (March 14, or 3.14—which is almost Pi), the event was held a day late due to weather. The event included an integration tournament, a trivia challenge, and (of course) pie.

Sixteen of UPEI’s top SMCS students competed in the integration tournament. Students went head-to-head to see who could solve integrals fastest. Spectators cheered on students as they raced against each other and against the clock to solve integrals such as:

First-year student Taruna Boodhun won the integration tournament and was bestowed the title of Magnifluent (Isaac Newton, one of the inventors of Calculus, referred to what we now call integrals as fluents, so the winner of the integration tournament earns the title of Magnifluent in his honour). Will Taylor-Melanson was the other finalist, while Justin White and Jad Naaman were the other semifinalists.  Sponsored by AARMS (Atlantic Association for Research in the Mathematical Sciences), the top finishers in the integration tournament were awarded $400 in prizes (and cool SMCS T-shirts). Congratulations to Taruna, Will, Justin, and Jad.

“While it is mainly a fun event, it allows students to demonstrate their skills, and the skill level at this year’s integration tournament was exceptional,” said Dr. Gordon MacDonald, associate dean of the SMCS. “There is very high demand for graduates from SMCS programs in mathematical and computational sciences, and this year’s integration tournament provides evidence that our students are top-notch.”

In between rounds of the integration tournament, attendees participated in the SMCS trivia challenge. The trivia featured questions about mathematical and computational sciences in popular in the past year. Congratulations to Team Angele, who came out on top. Team Angele won SMCS T-shirts and a monetary prize.

The event was organized by SMCS faculty member Dr. Shafiqul Islam and was emceed by Dr.  MacDonald. Other SMCS faculty members volunteered as judges, technical support, and pie wranglers. The winner of the UPEI’s first integration tournament, Morgan Erskine, returned as a celebrity judge.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, President and Vice-Chancellor of UPEI, joined Premier H. Wade MacLauchlan's mission to China. Dr. Abd-El-Aziz met the president of Hainan University to discuss a new partnership agreement to facilitate faculty and student exchange opportunities. Hainan University is interested in new programs that have been recently established at UPEI, including the School of Sustainable Design Engineering, the Applied Communications, Leadership, and Culture program, the School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, and the Climate Research Lab. There is also a growing interest in UPEI’s School of Nursing, and Faculties of Business, Arts, and Education.

In Shanghai, the president spoke with the administrative staff of a new PEI K-12 school based on the PEI curriculum. This school will provide great opportunities to attract international students who want to study at UPEI. He also connected with UPEI partners at CanAchieve China. 

In Beijing, Dr. Abd-El-Aziz and Premier MacLauchlan met with Canada’s Ambassador to China, John MacCallum. The group discussed strengthening Canada’s relationship with China through education, industry, and tourism.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

Dr. Alfonso López, professor emeritus, and Dr. Shannon Martinson, assistant professor, AVC’s Department of Pathology and Microbiology, are authors of a chapter in the recently published sixth edition of Pathologic Basis of Veterinary Disease.

Published by Elsevier, Pathologic Basis of Veterinary Disease is the preferred pathology textbook for DVM students in Canada, the United States, and many other countries. With over 2,100 full-color figures and illustrations, the book covers both general and systemic pathology, stressing diseases of domestic animal species and covering the mechanisms of disease development and the resulting functional and structural changes in the host.

Drs. López and Martinson wrote the chapter about the pathology of the respiratory tract, which illustrates many gross and microscopic pictures taken from routine post-mortem cases done at AVC’s Diagnostic Services. Congratulations, Drs. López and Martinson!

By: Dr. John VanLeeuwen, Atlantic Veterinary College, UPEI

The 2017 Farmers Helping Farmers-AVC three-week senior veterinary student course in Kenya was a resounding success. Over 500 smallholder dairy farmers received education and services in cattle health management; over 650 animals were given individual treatments or health management interventions; and another 130 animals were treated for identified health concerns.

“The work done by veterinarians and veterinary students during this course enhanced the health of the animals and improved sustainable livelihoods of the rural Kenyan people, who demonstrated their appreciation time and again with gifts of mangoes, bananas, eggs, and even a couple 40 kg bags of potatoes,” says Dr. John VanLeeuwen, course coordinator and professor of ruminant health management at AVC. “They have so little, but they always want to say thank you somehow—which really makes you appreciate what you have in Canada.”

Seven veterinary students (Christine Makena, Sophie Masika, Francis Njoroge, and Edward Musemi, of Kenya, and Natalie Dow, Terra Macdonald, and Matt MacFarlane, of AVC) and many animal health personnel received clinical training in the treatment and health management of dairy cattle on smallholder farms.

The major health problems observed included infectious diseases (over 20 cases of East Coast fever and 13 coughing cattle), parasite infestations, udder infections, and insufficient nutrition, leading to low milk production, poor reproduction, and inadequate growth. We also saw numerous down cows and off-feed cow problems, many reproductive checks, and miscellaneous conditions.

The Canadian and Kenyan veterinary students exchanged information about their respective countries and the great challenges of international development work, self-sustainability, veterinary medicine, and producing and marketing milk in poor, remote areas of Kenya, as well as new techniques and theories of dairy cattle health management.

“This year was a notable year in that we broke some records. We had the largest single seminar attendance of 158 people,” says Dr. VanLeeuwen. “We also had the largest single day deworming session at our walk-in clinic, where despite modest handling facilities, we managed to deworm 590 cattle. In fact, we ran out of some types of dewormer but fortunately had other multi-purpose types that would still do the trick.”

During the last week, the team was joined by veterinarians, Drs. Jessica Gonzalez, Laura Kutryk, and Klaas and Karen Leppelman, supported by Vets without Borders-Canada (VWB). The VWB vets, working with a different Kenyan dairy group, had just arrived in Kenya, and so VanLeeuwen helped to orient them to the Kenyan dairy industry and provided additional training on how to handle veterinary problems from a Canadian perspective but in a Kenyan context.

Various veterinary pharmaceutical companies, including Bimeda, Boehringer, Merck, and Vetoquinol, provided products for the project, which enabled the veterinary team to provide suitable treatments for the animals that they encountered. The team appreciated the financial support from Merck Canada Inc. and members of the Atlantic cattle and veterinary community, including veterinary clinics in Antigonish, Cornwall, and Montague; Berwick Animal Hospital; Downsview Vet Hospital; Fundy Vets; Ross Vet Services; and Drs. Laura Field, Mike Walker, Andrea Dube, Marc Verschoor, Martha Sweeting, John Drake, Sandra MacConkey, and Genevieve Luca.

Thank you again to all our supporters for your assistance in making this possible.
 

Dr. Peter Childs will be the first of two keynote speakers at Atlantic Green Expo, presented by E365, held at the UPEI School of Sustainable Design Engineering on April 21 to 23. Dr. Childs is the head of Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London, UK. His general interests include robotics, creativity tools and innovation, design process and design rationale, fluid flow and heat transfer—particularly rotating flow, and sustainable energy component, concept, and system design. He has co-authored books on rural-urban migration, inclusive sports, and sports technology. Peter Childs will give his keynote address to the public at Atlantic Green Expo on Friday, April 21 at 5:30 pm. 

“An important element of Atlantic Green Expo will be the UPEI SSDE Student Design Expo on Friday afternoon, which will coincide with the industry portion of the show,” says Allan Dale, director of Industry Partnerships at UPEI School of Sustainable Design Engineering. “What better way to connect the academic component with the applied business side of sustainable design than to have a leader in both realms share his ideas? Peter Childs is the person to do that. His background speaks for itself.”

Atlantic Green Expo starts on Friday, April 21 at 1:00 pm with the Student Design Expo beginning at 2:00 pm. All events are open to the public and admission is free. Atlantic Green Expo gives the public a chance to learn more about sustainable products and services available in the Atlantic region, with exhibitors displaying clean tech options, eco-friendly products, and environmental practices.

Find more information at atlanticgreenexpo.com.

Atlantic Green Expo is an initiative of PEI-based company E365, in partnership with Transform Events & Consulting, UPEI’s Climate Research Lab, the UPEI School of Sustainable Design Engineering, and Sierra Club Canada, PEI Chapter.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

Three years ago, Dr. Etienne Côté, professor of cardiology at AVC, was asked to co-edit the eighth edition of the Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine, widely recognized as the most authoritative textbook for small animal internal medicine.

Created in 1975 by Dr. Stephen Ettinger, considered the trailblazer of veterinary specialty medicine, the Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine is the internationally acclaimed “gold standard” textbook in small animal medicine, with its unparalleled coverage of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting dogs and cats. For the first three editions, Dr. Ettinger was the sole editor, and for the next four, Dr. Edward Feldman was co-editor with Dr. Ettinger.

“To be asked by Drs. Ettinger and Feldman to co-edit the latest edition of this essential textbook is a career-defining highlight for me,” says Dr. Côté, who has contributed to the book as an author since the fifth edition. He estimates that he spent about 3,500 hours working on the book over the past three years.

Published by Elsevier, this two-volume edition includes the latest information on topical issues such as clinical genomics, coexisting cardiac and renal diseases, minimally invasive interventional procedures, distinguishing behavioral disorders from neurologic disease, feeding tube placement, evidence-based medicine, and differentiating intoxications from nontoxicological illness, to name a few.

The book includes contributions by 310 authors from 21 countries around the world. Distinguishing features include a library of 517 original videos of characteristic symptoms, clinical procedures, and imaging loops; references accessible online instantly via a QR code at the end of each chapter; and two new sections: minimally invasive interventions and management of pairs of diseases that have opposite treatments (divergent comorbidities).

For Dr. Martha Mellish, “it’s all horses all the time.”

A member of AVC’s Class of 2005, Dr. Mellish recently joined the Atlantic Veterinary College as an assistant professor in the College’s Ambulatory Equine Service (AES), responsible for teaching veterinary students, and providing veterinary and theriogenology services to AES clients.

Dr. Mellish grew up in New Perth, PEI, where her parents, Ken and Teresa Mellish, operated a dairy farm. After graduating from high school, she attended the pre-veterinary program at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) in Truro, Nova Scotia. She didn’t really think about becoming a veterinarian until, while attending NSAC, she had a meeting with Dr. Wendell Grasse, director of AVC’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the time.

“Dr. Grasse inspired me to consider veterinary medicine as a profession,” she said. “I am so glad that I listened to him and became a veterinarian.”

She became interested in large animal medicine while at AVC, but it wasn't until her fourth year that she decided to specialize in equine medicine. Her experience at the VTH and external equine rotations led her to focus on horses, including equine theriogenology. She is board-certified through the American College of Theriogenologists.

Her interest in equine medicine came as no surprise to her family and friends. Horses have been an important part of her life since she was a child. She recently earned her USDF Silver Medal for competing successfully at Prix St. George level in dressage. She is currently riding Fantango NPF, a seven-year-old Dutch Warmblood horse bred for her by her father.

Dr. Mellish said she loved her time as a student at AVC. She felt excited and challenged by the educational program offered, and she enjoyed the close bond formed among her classmates. One major highlight for her was meeting her husband, Dr. Dave McRuer, also a member of the Class of 2005. The two met and began dating when they worked at AVC between their first and second years, and married in 2010.

After graduating from AVC, she completed a year-long internship at a private equine clinic in Virginia. For the next ten years, she worked in private practice in that state, with a six-month stint in Australia when she was between positions. Her husband provided veterinary care to wild animals at the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

When asked what brought her back to AVC, Dr. Mellish said it was a combination of family and the opportunity for professional growth. Her family lives on PEI, and her husband’s in Nova Scotia. Their son Keith, age two-and-a-half, will get to know his grandparents and other family members.

She is looking forward to sharing her knowledge and expertise with students at AVC as they work toward their own careers in veterinary medicine.

UPEI’s Department of Athletics and Recreation celebrated the 2016–17 season at the 48th annual UPEI Athletic Awards Gala on Saturday, April 1, recognizing outstanding student athletes who have excelled in sport, the classroom, and serving the community. The UPEI Alumni Association’s Outstanding Athlete of the Year awards went to men’s soccer fullback Mark Ashlee and women’s hockey goalie Marie-Soleil Deschenes.

The event, held at the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel, included student-athletes, coaches, staff, along with members of the University community, alumni, donors, sponsors, and booster club supporters.

In addition to the Athlete of the Year awards, club and varsity team awards were presented. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Rookie of the Year award winners from each team include (note that the MVP is listed first followed by Rookie of the Year):

Women’s volleyball: Karli Aucoin, Alessandra Corno
Men’s rugby: James Coyle, Isaac Kirkland
Women’s rugby: Holly Jones, Tara Campbell
Field hockey: Sydney Stavert, Karleigh MacEwen
Men’s soccer: Mark Ashlee, Mohamed Jaber
Women’s soccer: Jen Balderston, Amanda Stanyer
Men’s hockey: Cody Payne, Cody Payne
Women’s hockey: Marie-Soleil Deschenes, Sydnee Baker
Men’s basketball: Tyler Scott, Logan MacDonald
Women’s basketball: Kara Rigby, Jenna Mae Ellsworth
Track and field: (female) Bailey Smith, Kylee Wallace; (male) Damon MacDonald, Darcy Norton
Swimming: (female) Rebekah Nitschmann, (no Rookie of the Year awarded); (male) Matthew Smith, Pieter VanLeeuwen
Cross country: (female) Rebecca Doyle, Emma Moore; (male) Jeremy Thompson, Alex MacFadyen
Junior varsity women’s hockey: Jessie Howard, Rebecca Mosher

The J.T. “Mickey” Place Awards are presented by the UPEI Student Union to student-athletes who have made a contribution to student leadership on their team and on campus. John Thomas “Mickey” Place was connected not only with Athletics at UPEI, but also with all aspects of campus life. These awards were given in his memory to Rebecca Chapman (women’s rugby), MacKenzie Deighan (field hockey), Cullen Mullally (men’s soccer), Jerika Gimpel (women’s soccer), Ryan MacKinnon (men’s hockey), Teagan Pringle (women’s hockey), Lorenzo Parker (men’s basketball), Kiera Rigby (women’s basketball), Angela Sande (track and field) and Kelsie Bolivar (swimming).

The Gordon and Muriel Bennett Award is given to a student (male or female) who, over four years, best combined athletic achievement and academic excellence. Women’s rugby student-athlete Holly Jones was this year’s recipient.

The W.A. Ledwell Award goes to a student-athlete who has demonstrated outstanding athletic ability in the intercollegiate program, academic excellence, and the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and citizenship. Nelson Armstrong from men’s hockey was the recipient.

All team nominees for the Passion for Life Award, created in memory of former UPEI soccer player Rene Ayangma, were recognized, with the overall award going to women’s basketball player Kiera Rigby.

A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the inaugural Barb C. Mullaly Memorial Athletic Award in memory of the late Barb Mullaly, former director of athletics at UPEI. It was presented to third-year science student Kelly Green, a member of the women’s soccer team, for her positive attitude, leadership, and mentorship.

About the UPEI Athletes of the Year

Marie-Soleil Deschenes, a goalie on the women’s hockey team, is a fifth-year science student from Île-Perrot, Quebec. She was named an AUS 1st Team All-Star.

Mark Ashlee, a fullback on the men’s soccer team, is a fifth-year arts student from Victoria, British Columbia. He was named an AUS 1st Team All-Star.