The University of Prince Edward Island is reviving its popular Research on Tap series with a presentation titled “Versatile applications of AI in chemistry and education” on November 16 at 6 pm at The Fox & Crow, W.A. Murphy Student Centre at UPEI.

Dr. Jason Pearson, professor of chemistry at UPEI, will provide a look into the versatile applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in chemistry and education, based on a decade of research. Starting with a broad introduction, he will then highlight how AI can be used to model chemical reactivity and assess the potential of drug molecules, thereby speeding up the discovery process.

He will describe the findings of extensive studies involving thousands of undergraduate students across North America. These studies reveal the ability of AI to offer personalized tutoring, improve writing and critical thinking skills, correct flawed logic in real time, and quicken accurate recall, ultimately enhancing student readiness and performance.

Pearson’s talk is designed for a wide audience curious about the transformative impact of AI on academia and the world. Attendees will gain an understanding of the current state of AI, its various applications, and its potential to shape the future of the world.

All are welcome.

UPEI honours its rich heritage and traditions by acknowledging members of the campus community who have contributed to its mission in an exceptional way by naming them Founders. The award is presented to members of the campus community who have played a direct role in  

• supporting the vision, reputation, and continued success of the University, and/or  
• creating a new era of educational, research, and/or service excellence at the University. 

The University of Prince Edward Island is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Founders. 

If you wish to submit a nomination for this award, please complete the online form or email your submission to communications@upei.ca. Emailed nominations should include your name, daytime telephone number, and relationship to the nominee along with the name, address, telephone number, and email address of the person you wish to nominate. They are limited to 500 words in length and should address how the nominee meets the above criteria. Read the full UPEi news release

Completed nominations must be received by November 17, 2023, at 12:00 pm AT (noon). 

The search committee for the Dean of Sustainable Design Engineering announces upcoming presentations by each of the three finalist candidates. Since the search began in June, the committee has conducted a comprehensive search and selected the following finalists for a series of stakeholder meetings on campus. Presentations are scheduled on the following dates and times.

Dr. Ali Akgunduz is a professor and Associate Dean, Academic Programs, at Concordia University. He received a BS (1992) from Gazi University, Turkey, and an MBA (1996) and PhD (2001) in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the Illinois Institute of Technology.  As associate dean at Concordia since 2012, he has led the faculty's accreditation process for all nine undergraduate engineering programs and continual improvement of academic programs. From 2003 to 2008, he served as the Co-op program director. His research interests include airline operations, and decision support system design, using artificial intelligence, including 70 journal and conference papers in these fields. Dr. Akgunduz has received an IIE Excellence Award and Distinguished Professor Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers, and an Excellence in Teaching Award from the Canadian Society of Industrial Engineers.

• Public Presentation: November 15, 2:30–3:30 pm, AVC 207N

Dr. Regina Lee is a professor of space engineering at York University. She received a BASc (1994) in Engineering Science, MASc (1995), and PhD (2000) in Space Engineering from the University of Toronto. From 2018 to 2019, she was the Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies. Between 2013 and 2017, she served as chair of the Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering. Dr. Lee has co-authored over 100 journal and conference papers. Her research interests lie in nanosatellite technologies including micro-propulsion, actuators, remote sensing, and space object tracking. At York University, she has secured over $10 million in research funding, including a $4.2 million CFI project to establish York's first comprehensive microfabrication facility where she served as the founding director. Dr. Lee received the AKCSE Women in Science and Engineering Award in 2022, and the KOFST Engineer of the Year Award in 2020.

• Public Presentation: November 16, 9:00– 0:00 am, AVC 201N

Dr. Yudong (David) Yao is a professor of electrical engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. At Stevens, he served as chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering from 2007 to 2018. He received a BS and MS (1985) from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications and a PhD (1988) from Southeast University, Nanjing, all in electrical engineering. His research interests lie in machine learning, sensors and signals, telehealth, and AI medicine. Dr. Yao has (co-)secured over $10 million in research grants, and his publications have been widely cited (h-index of 51 with over 10,000 citations). Prior to Stevens, he was a senior engineer at Qualcomm in San Diego, and a technical staff member at Spar Aerospace in Montreal. Dr. Yao is a Fellow of several professional associations, including IEEE and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

• Public Presentation: November 22, 9:00– 10:00 am,  AVC 205N

All are welcome to attend. For any who are unable to attend, the presentations will be recorded and available afterward for viewing from a secure site. Paper copies of each candidate’s CV will be available for viewing in the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Research, Kelley 205. Following each presentation, you are invited to provide feedback on the candidate’s suitability for the role to vpar@upei.ca. All feedback will be considered by the committee in its deliberations.

Dr. Joshua MacFadyen will launch a new book that offers an aerial view of PEI’s changing landscapes on November 29, 2023, at 7:30 pm, in the Faculty Lounge (Room 201), SDU Main Building, University of Prince Edward Island.

Published by Island Studies Press, Time Flies: A History of Prince Edward Island from the Air offers an unprecedented view of one island province’s journey into modernity through a unique blend of aerial photography and historical synthesis. The book presents images of iconic landscapes on Prince Edward Island and traces how those communities and natural ecosystems have changed over 85 years (1935–2020). Each site history illustrates and reflects on the nature of modern land use and land cover change in one of four chapters organized around primary resource economies, rural communities, urban development, and islands and coastal change. Time Flies offers a visually rich discussion of one island as the world and offers lessons that we can learn from the social and ecological transformation of PEI.

Dr. MacFadyen is the Canada Research Chair in Geospatial Humanities and an associate professor in the Applied Communication, Leadership, and Culture program at UPEI. His previous books include Flax Americana: A History of the Fibre and Oil That Covered a Continent and Time and a Place: An Environmental History of Prince Edward Island.

This book was published with the support of a Scholarly Book Award from the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and a SSHRC Exchange Publication Award from the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Research at UPEI. 

Books will be available for purchase and signing at the launch. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information about the book or the launch, please contact Bren Simmers at 902-566-0386 or ispstaff@upei.ca.

Overview: Conflict and dispute are a natural part of life and are often found in the workplace. Conflict itself can be a healthy thing, but it also can be very destructive. How conflict and dispute are resolved can ultimately determine the success or downfall of your work environment.

The Certificate in Conflict Resolution program will provide the practical skills required to turn conflict in the workplace into a positive, instead of allowing it to decay morale and productivity. Areas such as conflict theory, managing different types of people, communication within conflict, having difficult conversations, restorative dialogue, and Indigenous approaches to conflict resolution, will be examined and discussed in detail.

At the end of the Certificate in Conflict Resolution program, participants will have the skills and confidence necessary to resolve conflict, mediate, and bring together opposite parties within the workplace.

Please note that completion of the Foundations of Conflict Resolution is mandatory in order to register for and complete any other courses within this certificate program.

Designed for: Managers, team leaders, supervisors, human resources personnel, union representatives, and anybody who works with other people.

Duration: Six (6) courses for forty-eight (48) hours

Courses:

• Foundations of Conflict Resolution
• History of Conflict with Indigenous People
• Conflict Skills: Applications and Insights
• Communication Skills for Conflict Resolution
• Handling Difficult Conversations
• Restorative Dialogue

Facilitators: Jacinta Gallant, Bethany Knox, Julie Pellissier-Lush.

For more information/register

With the release of the UPEI Review Report, the University has coordinated two confidential processes to support faculty and staff who have experienced harm from harassment, sexual violence, or discrimination at UPEI. 

Confidential third-party personal counselling:

The UPEI Health and Wellness Centre has engaged a psychologist to meet individually with faculty and staff, by appointment. Employees may email Caylin Jenkins at cbjenkins@upei.ca, indicating “Appointment required” in the subject line. Caylin will coordinate with the psychologist and confirm the time and location of the appointment with the employee. 

Making a confidential disclosure:

People have asked about the process for making disclosures of incidents of harassment or discrimination by senior executive members of the University. The University has established an independent third-party process to address any such issues with Resonance Inc., a multidisciplinary human resources firm, based in Saint John, NB, that specializes in workplace assessments. The contact person at Resonance is Trisha Perry, who may be reached at tperry@resonanceinc.ca or (506)799-0412. 

For more information, go to https://www.upei.ca/response-to-independent-review/community-support

Want to select datasets quickly in Excel? If you are using a mouse to drag the cursor over hundreds of lines, there is a faster way. 

Click in the first cell you want to select and hold down Ctrl+Shift, then hit either the down arrow to get all the data in the column below, the up arrow to get all the data above, or the left or right arrow to get everything in the row (to the left or right, of course). Combine the directions, and you can get a whole column as well as everything in the rows on the left or right. It'll only select cells with data (even invisible data).

The UPEI Working Group for Online- and Technology-Supported Learning invites faculty, staff, and administrators to share their thoughts about the future of online learning at UPEI through an online consultation survey. There is a companion survey for students circulated by email to their UPEI accounts.  

By May 2026, all universities in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick will be required to develop an institutional framework for online- and technology-supported learning that is aligned with the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission’s Guidelines for Institutional Frameworks for Online- and Technology-Supported Learning.  A working group of faculty, staff, and students at UPEI has recently started to work on the development of an institutional framework that will guide the development of high-quality, student-focused online and technology-supported learning for UPEI.

The working group appreciates and thanks colleagues and students for taking time during this busy point in the semester to provide their input into the development of this framework for online- and technology-supported learning at UPEI. The consultation survey will be open until November 22, 2023, at 12:00 midnight.      

Complete the survey today (for staff, faculty, and administrators).

Presenter: Fatima Imtiaz

Title: "Remote Sensing for Land Use and Land Cover Classification”

Date/Time /Location: Friday, November 17, 2023, 2:00 pm, AVC 287N

Everyone is welcome.

The University of Prince Edward Island is reviving its popular Research on Tap series with a presentation titled “Versatile applications of AI in chemistry and education” on November 16 at 6 pm at The Fox & Crow, W.A. Murphy Student Centre at UPEI.

Dr. Jason Pearson, professor of chemistry at UPEI, will provide a look into the versatile applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in chemistry and education, based on a decade of research. Starting with a broad introduction, he will then highlight how AI can be used to model chemical reactivity and assess the potential of drug molecules, thereby speeding up the discovery process.

He will describe the findings of extensive studies involving thousands of undergraduate students across North America. These studies reveal the ability of AI to offer personalized tutoring, improve writing and critical thinking skills, correct flawed logic in real time, and quicken accurate recall, ultimately enhancing student readiness and performance.

Pearson’s talk is designed for a wide audience curious about the transformative impact of AI on academia and the world. Attendees will gain an understanding of the current state of AI, its various applications, and its potential to shape the future of the world.

All are welcome.

UPEI honours its rich heritage and traditions by acknowledging members of the campus community who have contributed to its mission in an exceptional way by naming them Founders. The award is presented to members of the campus community who have played a direct role in  

• supporting the vision, reputation, and continued success of the University, and/or  
• creating a new era of educational, research, and/or service excellence at the University. 

The University of Prince Edward Island is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Founders. 

If you wish to submit a nomination for this award, please complete the online form or email your submission to communications@upei.ca. Emailed nominations should include your name, daytime telephone number, and relationship to the nominee along with the name, address, telephone number, and email address of the person you wish to nominate. They are limited to 500 words in length and should address how the nominee meets the above criteria. Read the full UPEi news release

Completed nominations must be received by November 17, 2023, at 12:00 pm AT (noon). 

Come out and take care of YOU at the UPEI Self-Care Fair on Wednesday, November 22, between 10:00 am--2:00 pm in McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre. Visit over 20 informative and interactive booths that will focus on self-care including acupuncture, reflexology, Reiki, body composition scanning, reflexology, blood pressure/glucose testing, COVID-19 vaccine boosters, nutrition, mental health, physical activity, and more. There will be free food and prizes. We will also accept non-perishable food donations in support of the UPEI Campus Food Bank.

Join the UPEI Teaching and Learning Centre’s multimedia specialist and colleagues from UPEI’s teaching community on November 14 at 12:30 pm in the Teaching and Learning Centre to talk about ideas, obstacles, and success in creating multimedia for your courses. This is a space to gather and talk about what you are working on, what you have created, and what you might be thinking about making. Topics will generally be about video, podcasting, visual graphics, etc. that you are using as course resources. The drop-in is open to faculty and staff in an effort to provide support, create connections, and build community around these topics. This will be hosted monthly throughout the fall semester.

Reach out to Kristy McKinney at kmckinney@upei.ca if you have any questions.

The search committee for the Dean of Sustainable Design Engineering announces upcoming presentations by each of the three finalist candidates. Since the search began in June, the committee has conducted a comprehensive search and selected the following finalists for a series of stakeholder meetings on campus. Presentations are scheduled on the following dates and times.

Dr. Ali Akgunduz is a professor and Associate Dean, Academic Programs, at Concordia University. He received a BS (1992) from Gazi University, Turkey, and an MBA (1996) and PhD (2001) in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the Illinois Institute of Technology.  As associate dean at Concordia since 2012, he has led the faculty's accreditation process for all nine undergraduate engineering programs and continual improvement of academic programs. From 2003 to 2008, he served as the Co-op program director. His research interests include airline operations, and decision support system design, using artificial intelligence, including 70 journal and conference papers in these fields. Dr. Akgunduz has received an IIE Excellence Award and Distinguished Professor Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers, and an Excellence in Teaching Award from the Canadian Society of Industrial Engineers.

• Public Presentation: November 15, 2:30–3:30 pm, AVC 207N

Dr. Regina Lee is a professor of space engineering at York University. She received a BASc (1994) in Engineering Science, MASc (1995), and PhD (2000) in Space Engineering from the University of Toronto. From 2018 to 2019, she was the Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies. Between 2013 and 2017, she served as chair of the Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering. Dr. Lee has co-authored over 100 journal and conference papers. Her research interests lie in nanosatellite technologies including micro-propulsion, actuators, remote sensing, and space object tracking. At York University, she has secured over $10 million in research funding, including a $4.2 million CFI project to establish York's first comprehensive microfabrication facility where she served as the founding director. Dr. Lee received the AKCSE Women in Science and Engineering Award in 2022, and the KOFST Engineer of the Year Award in 2020.

• Public Presentation: November 16, 9:00– 0:00 am, AVC 201N

Dr. Yudong (David) Yao is a professor of electrical engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. At Stevens, he served as chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering from 2007 to 2018. He received a BS and MS (1985) from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications and a PhD (1988) from Southeast University, Nanjing, all in electrical engineering. His research interests lie in machine learning, sensors and signals, telehealth, and AI medicine. Dr. Yao has (co-)secured over $10 million in research grants, and his publications have been widely cited (h-index of 51 with over 10,000 citations). Prior to Stevens, he was a senior engineer at Qualcomm in San Diego, and a technical staff member at Spar Aerospace in Montreal. Dr. Yao is a Fellow of several professional associations, including IEEE and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

• Public Presentation: November 22, 9:00– 10:00 am,  AVC 205N

All are welcome to attend. For any who are unable to attend, the presentations will be recorded and available afterward for viewing from a secure site. Paper copies of each candidate’s CV will be available for viewing in the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Research, Kelley 205. Following each presentation, you are invited to provide feedback on the candidate’s suitability for the role to vpar@upei.ca. All feedback will be considered by the committee in its deliberations.

Submissions and inquiries for Central Printing should now be sent to cpo@upei.ca.  The use of whenderson@upei.ca will come to an end at the end of November. You can also call Wendy at Central Printing at 902-566-0558.

Dr. Joshua MacFadyen will launch a new book that offers an aerial view of PEI’s changing landscapes on November 29, 2023, at 7:30 pm, in the Faculty Lounge (Room 201), SDU Main Building, University of Prince Edward Island.

Published by Island Studies Press, Time Flies: A History of Prince Edward Island from the Air offers an unprecedented view of one island province’s journey into modernity through a unique blend of aerial photography and historical synthesis. The book presents images of iconic landscapes on Prince Edward Island and traces how those communities and natural ecosystems have changed over 85 years (1935–2020). Each site history illustrates and reflects on the nature of modern land use and land cover change in one of four chapters organized around primary resource economies, rural communities, urban development, and islands and coastal change. Time Flies offers a visually rich discussion of one island as the world and offers lessons that we can learn from the social and ecological transformation of PEI.

Dr. MacFadyen is the Canada Research Chair in Geospatial Humanities and an associate professor in the Applied Communication, Leadership, and Culture program at UPEI. His previous books include Flax Americana: A History of the Fibre and Oil That Covered a Continent and Time and a Place: An Environmental History of Prince Edward Island.

This book was published with the support of a Scholarly Book Award from the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and a SSHRC Exchange Publication Award from the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Research at UPEI. 

Books will be available for purchase and signing at the launch. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information about the book or the launch, please contact Bren Simmers at 902-566-0386 or ispstaff@upei.ca.

Authenticity in tourism is a hot topic. Can tourism experiences ever really be authentic and truly reflect the character, history, and people of a place? One underrepresented voice in authentic tourism is that of locals. Using a research panel of 600 Prince Edward Islanders, we asked if it was possible for visitors to experience the "real" PEI, and if so, what kinds of experiences best reflected the place that locals call home. Over 400 respondents enthusiastically proclaimed that indeed it was possible for visitors to glimpse the "real" Prince Edward Island, and they identified myriad ways that could happen in areas such as culinary-, cultural-, historical-, and Anne of Green Gables-based experiences. Join us on November 21 at 7 pm in the Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building, to hear more about this research project from Dr. Susan Graham, Faculty of Business.

Does the thought of research ethics make you feel

1. excited 
2. overwhelmed 
3. intimidated 
4. frustrated 
5. prefer to specify: _________________ 
6. prefer not to specify 

No matter how you feel about research ethics right now, we’ve got good news for you! 

Your friendly colleagues on the UPEI Research Ethics Board have been working hard to adapt to recent TCPS 2 updates and to streamline and demystify related processes.  

If you do research with humans at UPEI, please join Research Compliance Coordinator, Dr. Stephanie Palmer, and Research Ethics Chair, Dr. Jessica Strong, to learn about recent changes to the TCPS 2 and UPEI REB process, including multi-jurisdictional applications, among others. We will also introduce some new tools you can use to streamline your application process. We look forward to seeing you on November 24 at noon at the TLC! 

November 28th is Giving Tuesday! This year, it's all about supporting UPEI Athletics and Recreation!

UPEI Athletics and Recreation is such an important part of our campus--where students, faculty, staff, alumni, and our community members come together to create a sense of camaraderie and PRIDE.

Your support on Giving Tuesday will be a game-changer! You'll be contributing to supercharging varsity academic support, fueling nutrition programs, making dreams come true with athletic financial awards, cranking up high-performance training, boosting recruitment, and making schedules even more exciting, as well as the awesome community engagement, club sports, and recreation activities that are so very important.

These initiatives aren't just about making our student experience rock; they're also about inspiring the future generation of leaders and athletes.

Every donation designated to "UPEI Athletics and Recreation" made on or before Giving Tuesday will be matched by our amazing friends--John Horrelt, Donnie MacFadyen, Bruce Donaldson, and the UPEI Alumni Association--up to a total of $15,000!

Your support is the key to empowering our student-athletes to reach their full potential, both academically and athletically, and to create club sport and recreation opportunities for our campus community.

Get ready to make a splash on Giving Tuesday and be part of something truly extraordinary! Let's come together, donate, and support UPEI Athletics and Recreation!  

Donate on Giving Tuesday, and let's make a lasting difference! 

upei.ca/donate or call 902-894-2888

For more information visit the Giving Tuesday page.

Giving Tuesday is a global movement for giving and volunteering, taking place each year after Black Friday. As the “opening day of the giving season,” it is a time when charities, companies, and individuals join together and rally for favourite causes. To learn more about Giving Tuesday, you can visit givingtuesday.ca.

Once again, the UPEI Bookstore will be offering Christmas staff shopping to all staff and faculty. 

Faculty and staff will be able to charge purchases from the UPEI Bookstore to their personal account between Monday, November 20, and Saturday, November 25, 2023.

Payroll deductions will be from January 19 to April 26, 2024. 

Your 20% discount will apply.

Please contact bookstore@upei.ca if you have questions.