Amy Wu, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Ingenuity Labs Research InstituteHelping robots learn to walk Host:Barry Kaplan Synopsis:Dr. Amy Wu is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Queen’s University. She leads the Biomechanics x Robotics Laboratory (BxRL) and is a member of the Queen’s Ingenuity Labs Research Institute. Her research interests include mechatronics, human biomechanics, and wearable and assistive devices. One of Dr. Wu’s projects, Rando the Robot, is a low-cost bipedal walking robot with an open-source mindset, to expand accessibility to and involvement in walking robot education and research. She has demonstrated this project at Queen’s Park in Toronto, Maker Faire Rome, and Science Rendezvous Kingston.In this episode, Dr. Wu discusses her work at BxRL and the first-principles approach in understanding the mechanics and energies of human movement for robot design and biomechanics. Shealso explains the motivation for constructing Rando the Robot with an open-source mindset to encourage cost-efficient robotics research.Please visit the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering for more information about Dr.Wu’s research. Xiaodan Zhu, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ingenuity Labs Research InstituteTeaching language to computers Continue Reading

Blind Date with Knowledge - Queen's Research

S.3 Ep. 5 Amy Wu & Xiaodan Zhu

Host:Barry Kaplan Synopsis:Dr. Elaine Power is an associate professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies and cross-appointed to the Department of Gender Studies at Queen’s University. She is the co-editor of the recently published book,Messy Eating: Conversations on Animals as Food and the forthcoming volume,Feminist Food Studies: Intersectional Perspectives. Her research focuses on issues related to poverty,class, health, and food security. In particular, Dr. Power uses qualitative research methods and critical social theory to investigate food practices, especially in relation to income and social class. She is also a founding member of the Canadian Association for Food Studies and the Kingston Action Group for a Basic Income Guarantee.In this episode, Dr. Power discusses her co-authored book,Acquired Tastes: Why Families Eat the Way They Do,which analyzes over 100 interviews with families across Canada to understand how food habituate shaped by class, health, gender, poverty, and food insecurity.Please visit the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies for more information about Dr. Power’s research Shideh Kabiri AmeriAssistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering E-tattoos and healthcare: nano materials for superior wearable tech Host:Barry KaplanSynopsis:Dr. Shideh Kabiri Ameri is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Continue Reading

S.3 Ep. 4 Elaine Power and Shideh Kabiri Ameri

Liying Cheng Professor, Faculty of Education What’s in a Grade? Host: Barry KaplanSynopsis: Dr. Liying Cheng is a professor of teaching English as a second/foreign language and Peer Research Consultant in the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University. She is also the director of the Assessment and Evaluation Group at Queen’s and was a recipient of the 2017 Prize for Excellence in Research, Queen’s signature internal research honour. Her research interests include the impact of large-scale testing on instruction, the relationship between assessment and instruction, and teaching and learning English for academic purposes. She has obtained research funding totalling more than $1.7 million and conducted more than 220 conference presentations with more than 140 publications.In this episode, Dr. Cheng discusses her project, “What’s in a Grade? A Multiple Perspective Validity Study on Grading Policies, Practices, Values, and Consequences.” She discusses the importance of understanding the teaching and learning values embedded into a given grade. Her project focuses on China and the interpretation of grades by multiple stakeholders with a comparison to a Canadian context.Please visit the Faculty of Education for more information about Dr. Cheng’s research. Samuel Dahan Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen’s National Scholar Algorithms and Precedent: How AI Can Provide Open-Access Legal Continue Reading

Blind Dates with Profs. Cheng and Dahan

Fahim Quadir, Vice-Provost and Dean, School of Graduate Studies Professor, Department of Global Development Studies Civil society, cosmopolitan citizenship, and realistic utopia Host: Barry KaplanSynopsis: Dr. Fahim Quadir is the Vice-Provost and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Queen’s University and a Professor in the Department of Global Development Studies. His research explores international development, international relations, and international political economy. In particular, Dr. Quadir focuses on South-South cooperation, emerging donors, aid effectiveness, good governance, democratic consolidation, transnational social movements, and human security. Aligning his research and administrative interests, he has served as the President of the Canadian Consortium for University Programs in International Development. In this episode, Dr. Quadir discusses how his research focuses on producing new knowledge to address some of the pressing challenges facing the world today. He also explores how the concepts of civil society, cosmopolitan citizenship, and realistic utopia contribute to the role of post-secondary education in society. Please visit the School of Graduate Studies for more information about Dr. Quadir’s research Janet Jull, Occupational Therapist and Assistant Professor, School of Rehabilitation Therapy Shared decision-making: a partnership for client-centred healthcare Host:Barry Kaplan Synopsis:Dr. Janet Jull is an occupational therapist and Assistant Professor in Continue Reading

S.3 Ep. 3 Fahim Quadir and Janet Jull

Margaret Moore Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy and DiversityProfessor, Department of Political Studies and Department of Philosophy The People, the Land, and the Government Host: Barry Kaplan Synopsis: Dr. Margaret Moore is the Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity at Queen’s University, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a professor in the department of Political Studies with a cross-appointment in Philosophy where she teaches in the Master’s in Political and Legal Theory program. Her research focuses on justice, nationalism, and the territorial rights of peoples and states. She is the author of A Political Theory of Territory, which won the Canadian Philosophical Association’s biannual book prize for 2017, and most recently Who Should Own Natural Resources?. She is also a recipient of the 2019 Prize for Excellence in Research, Queen’s signature internal research honour.  In this episode, Dr. Moore discusses A Political Theory of Territory and its examination of the geographical domain of the state and the rights associated with territorial jurisdiction. In her book, she puts three things into relationship: the people, the land, and the government to understand the moral significance associated with plans and attachments of place. Dr. Moore also explains how Continue Reading

S3. Ep. 2 Margaret Moore and Gianluigi Bisleri

DJ Cook Associate Professor, Department of Surgery Neurosurgeon, Kingston Health Sciences CentreNetwork Connectivity: Rewiring Lost Brain FunctionsHost: Barry Kaplan Synopsis: Dr. DJ Cook is a Neurosurgeon at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Queen’s University. In 2018, he was named Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and recognized for his work in developing minimally invasive surgical procedures for complex brain disorders and for his innovative research focusing on therapy and treatments to enhance recovery for patients who have suffered a stroke. His Translational Stroke Research Lab has received funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. In his spare time, he runs Otter Creek Farms where he incorporates a scientific approach to raising Japanese wagyu cattle.  In this episode, Dr. Cook discusses what happens to the brain after a stroke and the treatments and strategies for recovery. He also describes the interdisciplinary components of this field of research and how his lab focuses on the brain’s response to injury and the changes in its process of recovery through such methods as multimodal MRI. Dr. Cook also discusses his work with elite athletes as his research helps them overcome neurological shortcomings through training of the Continue Reading

BDWK Season Three Launch! Ep. 1: DJ Cook & Tandy Thomas

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education Microinteractions and how gender functions in a particular space Dr. Lee Airton is an Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies in Education with the Faculty of Education. Their research program explores the micropolitics of gender and sexual diversity accommodation in K-12 and teacher education, with particular emphasis on the issues facing transgender and/or non-binary people in those settings. They recently published a popular press book entitled Gender: Your Guide – A gender-friendly primer on what to say, what to know, and what to do in the new gender culture. As an advocate, Dr. Airton founded They is My Pronoun and the No Big Deal Campaign. In 2017, they received the Youth Role Model of the Year Award from the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity. In this episode, Dr. Airton discusses their book Gender: Your Guide as a resource for public education and advice for someone unfamiliar with the new gender culture. They also comment on the history of transgender activism and the issues facing non-binary people, such as advocacy for access. Dr. Airton also explains their research into the implementation of legal protections against gender discrimination in the policies governing schools at Continue Reading

Lee Airton

Professor, School of Rehabilitation Therapy and Department of Public Health Sciences Associate Director, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research A Conversation on Spirituality and Health Studies Dr. Mary Ann McColl is a Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy and in the Department of Public Health Sciences, as well as the Associate Director of the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research at Queen’s University. She is also the Academic Lead for the Canadian Disability Policy Alliance, an association of academic, community and policy partners committed to understanding and enhancing disability policy in Canada. Dr. McColl’s research examines access to health services for people with disabilities, disability policy, spirituality and health, primary care for special populations, and community integration and social support. In this episode, Dr. McColl explores the concept of spirituality, which she defines as a human trait related to the extent to which one is able to or wishes to perceive of something beyond which we can experience with our five senses and our brain, as it relates to disability and health studies. She also explains the development of disability studies, and in particular appreciative inquiry, in teaching future healthcare professionals. https://www.rehab.queensu.ca/mary-ann-mccoll https://www.queensu.ca/cspc/about-us/contact-us/mary-mccoll

Mary Ann McColl

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering Design vs. Nature: Building Infrastructure to Withstand Environmental Disasters  Dr. Katerina Genikomsou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. She is a member of the American Concrete Institute, the American Society of Civil Engineers, la Fédération international du béton, and the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering. Her research on the maintenance of built infrastructure and the development of new sustainable materials and processes has global and local implications in potentially improving the lifespan of structures, particularly during environmental disasters. In this episode, Dr. Genikomsou discusses her research on shear failure and its role in the collapse of buildings during environmental disasters, such as which occurred in Ottawa in September 2018. She also advocates for civil engineers to play a role in the construction of networks of resiliency in design provisions. This would assist engineers in considering such aspects as the effects of climate change and the needs of community members. https://civil.queensu.ca/Research/Structural/Katerina-Genikomsou/

Katerina Genikomsou 

Professor, Chair of Graduate Programs, Dan School of Drama & Music “Nothing Burns Down:” A History and a Career in Theatre Lighting Design Dr. Tim Fort is a Professor and Chair of Graduate Programs in the Dan School of Drama and Music at Queen’s. He received his PhD from the University of Toronto’s Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama, and much of his research examines late nineteenth-century lighting design and staging. Dr. Fort has designed lighting and/or scenery for over 200 productions, including the world premieres of And All For Love at the National Arts Centre and Judith Thompson’s Hothouse at The Isabel Bader Centre. In Kingston, he recently directed and designed Unity (1918), Candide, and The House of Martin Guerre in the Rotunda Theatre. Dr. Fort has also served as the Producing Director at the Weston Playhouse in Vermont since 1988, a hub for many Broadway and regional designers and performers. At Weston, he has directed over 60 productions, including Les Misérables and Avenue Q. In this episode, he discusses his early career fascination with lighting design as his inspiration to study its history. Dr. Fort also discusses the place of authenticity and representation in modern theatre. https://sdm.queensu.ca/dan-school-faculty-and-staff/tim-fort/

Tim Fort

Waste in the West: Advancing our Waste Management Practices Professor, Canada Research Chair in Bioresources Engineering and Director of Beaty Water Research Center Dr. Pascale Champagne is the Canada Research Chair in Bioresource Engineering and a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Queen’s. She is also the Director of the Beaty Water Research Centre, which brings together faculty across disciplines to collaborate on research into water-related issues. Dr. Champagne’s research focuses on the development of alternate water and waste management strategies and environmentally sustainable approaches. She has collaborated widely to develop new integrated bioresource management practices, to introduce alternate aqueous and solid waste management approaches, and to create unique opportunities for the bioenergy and bioproducts sectors. She is a member of several prestigious societies, including the RSC College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists and the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers, and she received the Queen’s Prize for Excellence in Research in 2017. In this episode, Dr. Champagne discusses integrated bioresource engineering as a method to redirect waste to generate energy, effectively recycle, and reduce treatment costs. She explains that multidisciplinary methods, as well as the integration of student involvement, are progressing our understanding of bioresource engineering Continue Reading

Pascale Champagne

Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy Dark Matter and What Goes Bump in the Night Dr. Joseph Bramante is an Assistant Professor at in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Perimeter Institute and a member of the new, Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astro-Particle Physics Research Institute at Queen’s. His research focuses on constructing theories that describe fundamental physics and finding new ways for humans to test those theories. He held postdoctoral fellowships at the Perimeter Institute and the University of Notre Dame, and received his doctorate from the University of Hawaii for work on “Dark Particles and Primordial Perturbations.” In this episode, he discusses the new McDonald Institute’s network of researchers and students whose central aim is to make new discoveries and advance the frontier of knowledge related to astro particle physics. Dr. Bramante also explains how his research on fundamental theories of dark matter has progressed through experimentation at SNOLAB. https://www.queensu.ca/physics/joe-bramante

Joseph Bramante

David Lyon, Professor, Queen’s Research Chair in Surveillance Studies David Murakami Wood, Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Surveillance Studies Midori Ogasawara, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology From the Babysitter to Alexa: Surveillance is All Around Dr. David Lyon is Director of the Surveillance Studies Centre and Professor of Sociology and Law at Queen’s University. Dr. Lyon is credited with spearheading the field of “surveillance studies,” and he has produced a steady stream of books and articles on the subject. His most recent book, The Culture of Surveillance: Watching as a Way of Life, looks at the imaginaries and practices of everyday surveillance. Dr. Lyon is also the Principal Investigator of the “Big Data Surveillance” project, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. This study examines the relationship between big data and surveillance in security, marketing and governance. Dr. David Murakami Wood is the Canada Research Chair in Surveillance Studies at Queen’s. He is a widely published specialist in the sociology and geography of surveillance and security in cities from a global comparative perspective, with a particular focus on Japan, Brazil, Canada and the UK. His current research focuses on security and surveillance in Continue Reading

Queen’s Surveillance Studies Centre – David Lyon, David Murakami, Midori Ogasawara

Gabor Fichtinger, Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Computer-Integrated Surgery, School of Computing Caitlin Yeo, Chief Resident in General Surgery, School of Medicine Flying Blindly vs. GPS Navigation in Surgical Procedures Dr. Gabor Fichtinger is the Canada Research Chair in Computer-Assisted Surgery and a Professor in the School of Computing at Queen’s. His research focuses on computer-assisted surgery and interventions, specifically on integrating and translating medical imaging, image computing, scientific visualization, surgical planning and navigation, robotics, and biosensors into clinical use. He also specializes in minimally invasive percutaneous interventions performed under image guidance, with primary applications in the detection and treatment of cancer. He has an active lab filled with many undergraduate and graduate student researchers, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Dr. Caitlin Yeo is the incoming Chief Resident in Surgery, and a past Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Lab for Percutaneous Surgery under the supervision of Dr. Fichtinger. She has been a Resident in General Surgery at Queen’s since 2013, and she completed her Master’s of Medical Education at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Dr. Yeo collaborates closely with the PerkLab and other members of the School of Computing and Continue Reading

Gabor Fichtinger & Caitlin Yeo

Queen’s National Scholar in Political Philosophy and Critical Prison Studies, Department of Philosophy Is Treating the Death Penalty as a Medical Procedure Due Diligence to Avoid Pain? Dr. Lisa Guenther is the Queen’s National Scholar in Political Philosophy and Critical Prison Studies, jointly appointed in the Department of Philosophy and the Cultural Studies Program. Dr. Guenther’s research focuses on the intersection of phenomenology, political philosophy, and critical prison studies, with further specializations in feminism and philosophy of race. She is a public philosopher, publishing her work both in academic journals and in major media outlets including The New York Times and CBC’s “Ideas.” She is the author of the renowned 2013 book Solitary Confinement: Social Death and its Afterlives and is currently working on a book about incarceration, reproductive politics, and settler colonialism in Canada, Australia, and the United States. In this episode, Dr. Guenther discusses the medical effectiveness of the death penalty in the United States, the only Western country to practice capital punishment in the twenty-first century. https://www.queensu.ca/philosophy/guenther-lisa

Lisa Guenther

Do you ever wonder what drives a researcher’s curiosity? What was the spark that led them to discovery? Blind Date with Knowledge seeks to demystify scholarly research and personalize the research process through discussions with various Queen’s faculty members. The show is a collaboration between CFRC, the Office of the Vice-Principal (University Relations), and the show host, Barry Kaplan. Kaplan is a member of the Kingston community, and his passion for spreading knowledge about research at Queen’s is palpable. Our name is based on the premise that research isn’t predictable. Like a blind date, research is about taking risks and being prepared for failure and success.

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Blind Date with Knowledge - Queen's Research

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