View To The U: Office Of The V.p., Research (utm)

On this episode of VIEW to the U we highlight Professor Keisuke Fukuda, also known as K, who talks about his research related to visual working memory and how memory guides behaviour. But along with that, K also talks about other studies his lab is taking on such as why is it so hard to forget things we would rather not remember and how memory distortion can come into play when we are processing information. K also talks about some of the daily inspirations that motivate his research. A full transcript of the interview is available at https://uoft.me/6FU. Resources - See the Fukuda Lab website for more information on his work https://fukudalab.org/. - Also see the accompanying profile, What the mind remembers, at https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/vp-research/news/what-mind-remembers. - There is also the profile “Total Recall” from 2017 to learn more about his ‘leading’ and ‘reading’ the mind focus https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/vp-research/research-campus/researcher-profiles/psychology/keisuke-fukuda. - Fukuda also

This edition of VIEW to the U features Professor Nicole Charles in Women and Gender Studies from UTM's Department of Historical Studies. On this episode she talks about her research related to hesitancy around the human papillomavirus vaccine in Barbados, and why the word “suspicion” resonates so much for her in her work, which intersects across several fields including transnational Black feminist studies, medical anthropology, and science and technology studies. Her forthcoming book Suspicion: Vaccines, Hesitancy and the Affective Politics of Protection in Barbados (Duke University Press ), is due out later this year in December 2021. Nicole Charles joined the faculty at UTM in 2017. A full transcript of the interview is available at https://uoft.me/6u0. Resources - Nicole Charles's website is at https://www.drnicolecharles.com/. - Her book Suspicion: Vaccines, Hesitancy and the Affective Politics of Protection in Barbados (Duke University Press, 2021) can be found at https://www.dukeupress.edu/suspici

On this edition of VIEW to the U, Professor Anna Korteweg from the Department of Sociology at U of T Mississauga talks about the motivations behind her research in immigration integration, policy and practices. She also outlines the work she has done with her long-time collaborator from Humboldt University in Germany, Professor Gökçe Yurdakul. Very much in keeping with this “Adventures in Research” season of the podcast, Anna has a couple of academic anecdotes to share, but she also talks about the influence and importance of stories people tell, as well as the life lessons to be learned from knitting, Her research focuses on the political debates regarding the integration of Muslim immigrants at the intersections of gender, religion, ethnicity and national origin in Western Europe and Canada. She has analyzed debates surrounding the wearing of the headscarf, “honour-based” violence, and Sharia law. Anna joined the faculty at UTM in 2004 and served as the Chair of UTM’s Department of Sociology from 2015

On this short day’s journey into night – coming just in time for the winter solstice, Professor David Samson is featured on this edition of VIEW to the U, on which he talks about his evolutionary biology research in UTM’s Department of Anthropology. For this season of the podcast, which is a focus on "adventures in research," David shares his stories that vividly illustrate studies are not always conducted in a lab and that researchers are sometimes literally ‘going out on a limb’ for their findings! He also lets us in on the details of the “candlelight challenge,” as well as his top tips for a good night’s sleep, based on his extensive research into understanding sleep, sleep disorders and the health implications of sleep deficiency. David Samson is an Assistant Professor at U of T Mississauga. His work has demonstrated human sleep has a unique evolutionary history distinct from other primates. A true champion of science communication and public outreach, along with agreeing to take part in this podcast

On this latest episode of VIEW to the U, Professor Peter Kotanen from the Department of Biology at UofT Mississauga discusses his research and current projects, which have “ecological interactions between plants and their natural enemies,” such as herbivores, insects, and pathogens, at their core. But our chat is also infused with a couple of Peter’s tales from the field, in some of the wilderness in the northern parts of Canada, and for the second time on this podcast, we are privy to polar bear sightings in the Arctic. But he also has his own Gilligan’s Island-type story where he was shipwrecked on an island for days, with no movie star or millionaires in the mix, but at least one professor. We also talk about geese – both the Snow Geese that are part of his research, as well as the Canada Geese that are living large at UofT Mississauga. Peter is a Professor in the Department of Biology at UofT Mississauga and in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UofT where he studies the effects of natural enemies

On this episode of VIEW to the U podcast, we continue this season of “Adventures in Research” with Professor Josh Milstein from the Department of Chemical & Physical Sciences at UofT Mississauga and in the Department of Physics at UofT St. George. Josh has a couple of stories to tell about his time in academia, and we also talk about podcasts he’s listening to, books he’s reading, and how the The Big Bang Theory – the TV show, not the actual theory – helped Josh’s mom realize that her son might have a future in science. Prior to coming to UTM, Josh completed his PhD at University of Colorado at Boulder in 2004. He has held a number of prestigious appointments including as a Royal Society Fellow at the University of Oxford from 2004-06, a Sloan-Swartz Research fellowship at the California Institute of Technology from 2006-08, and he was a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from 2008-11. Josh Milstein joined the faculty at UTM/UofT in 2011. Resources - A full transcript of

A familiar voice to the podcast because Professor Alex Gillespie was featured on our very first season almost five years ago now, but this time around she’s in an entirely new seat – physically, virtually, spiritedly – and literally all of the above – at the helm as Vice-President UofT and UTM’s newly appointed Principal. The new season of VIEW to the U is “Adventures in research,” with a focus on interesting, scholarly tales, and so Alex is kicking us off with a remarkable discovery in an archive that happened quite early on in her academic career. Over the course of our chat, Alex defines the UTM research landscape, and she also talks about the ever-evolving research environment in the face of COVID and beyond, with a rethinking of how to make research more sustainable and diverse, plus she has some encouraging words about the times ahead of us. A full transcript of the interview is available at https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/vp-research/sites/files/vp-research/public/shared/AG-interview_transcribed%2CSept

On this episode of VIEW to the U, Historical Studies prof Elspeth Brown, who joined the faculty at UofT Mississauga in 2000, talks about her archival work preserving the stories of people from the LGBTQ community. We also talk about the history of Pride celebrations, timed with Global Pride that is taking place on June 27, how the origin of Pride has parallels with the current racial upheavals happening at this current moment in time, and how Elspeth is rethinking her own approach to research so as to address the structural inequalities that exist within scholarship that further marginalizes people. Elspeth obtained her PhD from Yale University's program in American Studies, and she is the author of Work! A Queer History of Modeling (Duke University Press, 2019) and the award-winning The Corporate Eye: Photography and the Rationalization of American Commercial Culture, 1884-1929 (Johns Hopkins 2005). She is an active volunteer and Vice Co-President of the Board at The ArQuives, Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives,

Métis matters in research and in Canada On this edition of VIEW to the U podcast, Professor Jennifer Adese, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at UofT Mississauga, discusses her Indigenous research. Her research focuses on Indigenous political and cultural representation across several sites. While her earlier work focused on confronting misrepresentations of Indigenous people, her more recent work examines Métis women's political representation and activism. Resources Jennifer's Book recommendations - Chris Andersen, "Métis": Race, Recognition, and the Struggle for Indigenous Peoplehood https://www.amazon.ca/dp/077482722X/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 - Constance Backhouse, Colour-Coded: A Legal History of Racism in Canada, 1900-1950 https://utorontopress.com/ca/colour-coded-4 - John Borrows, Recovering Canada: The Resurgence of Indigenous Law https://www.amazon.ca/Recovering-Canada-Resurgence-Indigenous-Law/dp/0802085016 - James Daschuk, Clearing the Planes https://uof

Considering everyday air contaminants in extraordinary times: On this episode air-pollution scientist Assistant Professor Matthew Adams, who has been on faculty in UTM’s Department of Geography since 2017, talks about his research, which focuses on our exposure to air contaminants in urban environments. He talks about some of the impacts reduced traffic in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Ontario has had on urban environments due to schools and several businesses being shut down. Matthew also talks about the ways in which the current pandemic has shifted some of his lab’s work, and changes he hopes to see in urban behaviour going forward. Resources - Find more information about his work at Professor Adams's website, https://sites.utm.utoronto.ca/adams/. - The paper Prof Adams mentions about pollution related to COVID-19, "Air pollution in Ontario, Canada during the COVID-19 State of Emergency," is available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720340389.

Global connectivity in a crisis On this episode of VIEW to the U we hear from Professor Edward Schatz in U of T Mississauga’s Department of Political Science about his research that spans several areas including identity politics, social transformations, and anti-Americanism. He also talks about the ways in which the current pandemic has illuminated some of the issues, like the flaws in our global capitalism and social inequalities that, no matter where you are living, the amplification of these universal problems is undeniable. Ed Schatz is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto Mississauga and at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He did his undergraduate studies at Yale University, and pursued an MA and PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His book entitled Slow Anti-Americanism is due to come out later in 2020, and he is just embarking on a new collaborative project on China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its impact across Eurasia. Ed

The value of Art and times of social upheaval In this episode Professor John Paul Ricco from UofT Mississauga’s Department of Visual Studies talks about his art and art history research, and also about how past health crises have shaped art movements. We also talk about some of the ways in which this current pandemic may influence artists now and in creations to come, and what kinds of things John Paul is doing in this time of solitude. John Paul is an art historian and queer theorist whose interdisciplinary research, teaching and writing draws connections between late-twentieth-century and contemporary art and architecture; continental philosophy; and issues of gender and sexuality, bodies and pleasures, pornography and eroticism. He graduated from New York University where he majored in art history and minored in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. After a couple of years lecturing for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, John Paul went on to complete a PhD in the Theory, Historiography and Criticism of Art H

In this episode we hear from Professor Beth Coleman, an Associate Professor in UTM’s Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology and in UofT’s Faculty of Information Studies (FIS) about her research in aspects of human narrative and digital data in the engagement of global cities, including aspects of locative media/mobile media and smart cities. We also talk about weeding through all of the COVID-19 information we are bombarded with everyday, and some of the things she’s doing during this time of self-isolation - we might even have a recipe or two to share. Beth has been on faculty at ICCIT and at FIS since 2019. She has curated numerous art exhibits and media installations within North America and in Europe. A full transcript is available at https://uoft.me/6fA. Resources * Professor Coleman's website https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/iccit/beth-coleman * Detox lentil soup recipe https://pinchofyum.com/the-best-detox-crockpot-lentil-soup/comment-page-2 * Sequestered Black bean with bacon

In this first sequestered episode, Psychology Professor Samuel Ronfard talks about his research and also about how to best chat with young kids about things like germs, global pandemics, and physical distancing. We also talk about some of the things he’s doing during this time of self-isolation, and how he’s balancing work at home while also having a toddler toddling about. Samuel Ronfard is an Assistant Professor in UTM’s Department of Psychology and the Director of The Childhood Learning and Development Lab. His work explores how children learn about, come to believe in, and come to understand ideas and concepts that defy their everyday experiences and their intuitive theories about how the world works. A full transcript of the interview is available here: https://bit.ly/3a5XyQr. A companion profile to read more about Professor Ronfard is here, https://uoft.me/5i6, and go to the CHiLD Lab website for more details about his research https://www.utmchildlab.com/.

Technological tools for education & connection For this particular episode we focus on: “Why and how are mobile phones and social networks enabling education as it relates to refugees? How is this working in some remote places around the world?” We turn to Professor Negin Dahya from UTM’s Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology and UofT's Faculty of Information Studies for an answer to these questions, along with some other insights related to her research. Over the course of the interview we cover Negin’s work that considers the cultural and social contexts of digital media production and use through the lens of education and learning with a particular focus on women in refugee camps in Kenya. Negin also talks about how she got into the area of research initially, the potential impact of her work for things like educational design in blended-learning systems, and the importance of International Women’s Day on March 8 but also that feminism is a fight for equality that should

Immigrant wellbeing and Global Health For this particular episode we focus on: “Although low- and middle-income countries like Ghana, Kenya and Malawi are urbanizing at a rapid pace, why is the spread of non-communicable and infectious diseases still so prevalent?” For this we turn to Professor Vincent Kuuire from UTM’s Department of Geography, along with some other insights related to his research. Over the course of the interview we cover Vincent’s work, which includes a broad range of considerations such as social inequities associated with access to healthcare and immigrant integration dynamics with regards to the healthcare system in Canada, as well as healthcare for older populations and maternal health, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Vincent explains the “double burden” of disease and the “pro-poor” policies that exist in insurance schemes. Vincent also emphasizes the importance of global-health research and collaboration in this area for times, as we have seen recently, during a virus outbreak

In this episode, Season 4, Episode 1, we are turning to Professor Norman Farb from U of T Mississauga’s Department of Psychology for an answer to the question, “Why is meditation and mindfulness so important for us, and why is it on so many people’s radar these days? For this particular episode, because it is January, and people may have started off with some intentions for the new year ahead, which statistically speaking, might be starting to wane right about now, our main question, or the “eye on why” tackles these questions and hopefully the talk offers some inspiration about maintaining a meditation and mindfulness practice if you have made it one of your goals for 2020, and it will help to keep you on track. Over the course of the interview we also cover how yoga ties in to meditation, what mindfulness means, how Norman got into this area of research to begin with – spoiler alert, Psychology wasn’t his original academic path – and a bit of a eureka moment he had in the lab in a study related to stude

Plugged into robotics research Jessica Burgner-Kahrs is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Mathematical and Computational Sciences at U of T Mississauga and in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at UofT, and the Director of the Continuum Robotics Laboratory at UTM, a newly established lab. Over the course of this interview Jessica talks about being at the forefront of continuum robotics, what inspires and influences her work in the lab, her global collaborations, and how she got into this field. Her research focuses on continuum robotics and in particular on their design, modeling, planning and control, as well as human-robot interaction. Her fundamental robotics research is driven by applications in minimally invasive surgery and maintenance, repair, and operations. A full transcript of the interview is available: https://uoft.me/52I. _________ Resources Photograph by Maeve Doyle, http://maevedoyle.ca/. Visit Professor Burgner-Kahrs's website for more information on her work: https://mcs.ut

Reimagining Research & Roots Maria Hupfield is an Assistant Professor cross appointed in the Departments of Visual Studies and English & Drama at UTM. She is UTM’s first Canada Research Chair in Transdisciplinary Indigenous Arts, she is a globally renowned Indigenous performance artist, coming to UTM hot off the heels of nearly a decade based in Brooklyn, New York, making her mark in art circles there, and she also happens to be returning to her alma mater where she completed her own studies in Art and Art History at UTM in 1999. Over the course of this interview on VIEW to the U Maria talks about the power and impact of art, some of the projects she will be undertaking as part of her Canada Research Chair (CRC) designation, how her innovative industrial-felt creations have pioneered a closer connection between craft and art, and how youth have the potential to reinvigorate ideas and perspectives. Prior to coming to UTM, Maria was based in the U.S., where she co-founded Native Art Department Internationa

Dialectical Discourses June 27 is Canadian Multiculturalism Day, so in the spirit of the day, today’s episode of the VIEW to the U podcast features Professor Arsalan Kahnemuyipour to learn more about the linguistics research he undertakes in U of T Mississauga’s Department of Language Studies. With this new, third season of VIEW to the U highlighting UTM’s Global Perspectives, Arsalan outlines some of the ongoing international collaborations he has with linguists around the world. Arsalan Kahnemuyipour is an Associate Professor in the Department of Language Studies at U of T Mississauga and in the Department of Linguistics at University of Toronto St. George campus, where he has been on faculty since 2010. Prior to coming to UTM, Arsalan was an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Syracuse University in the U.S. for six years. His areas of expertise include many facets of linguistics including the syntax of phrases, morphology – or the structure of words – and phonology, the sounds of speech, with a