Professor Mark Lapping of the University of Southern Maine will give a public talk about food security on Thursday, March 18, at UPEI.

The Institute of Island Studies is hosting this event from noon to 1 p.m. in the Main Building Faculty Lounge. People are invited to bring their own "brown bag" lunch; drinks and sweets will be provided.

A newly appointed research associate with the Institute, Lapping will speak about food security as it relates to rural areas, land use policy and community planning. He is currently working on a project in Cumberland County, Maine, to identify vulnerable populations, assess their levels of food insecurity and develop a plan to tie them together with food banks, farmers, farmers' markets and other agencies to address food insecurity problems.

As a result of this project, he is working with Maine's Good Shepherd Food Bank to determine how the food bank will provide an estimated 36,000,000 meals this year to hungry people, using more local food production and sources. He is part of a group that is working to establish a system of community foundations to handle what will be one of the largest transfers of wealth in American history over the next 20 years.

Lapping is the Distinguished Professor of Planning and Public Policy at the University of Southern Maine. He is author of eight books and several hundred chapters, articles and papers, and sits on the board of directors of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. He has been working on food security issues for close to 20 years.

For more information, contact the Institute of Island Studies at (902) 566-0386.

Dr. Alison Neilson of the University of the Azores, Portugal, will give a presentation called 'Environmental Justice--Creative Collaborations for Challenging Stories' at UPEI on Thursday, March 18.

Neilson's talk will take place in McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre, from 7-8:30 p.m. She is one of three candidates for the position of director of environmental studies at UPEI.

She will explore the relevance of environmental justice to research, teaching and community development in PEI. She will also examine how seeking environmental justice can support innovative collaboration for dealing with complex environmental issues on islands, drawing from her research with environmental educators from Brazil, Iran, Colombia, Tanzania, Paraguay, and Canada; and fishers in the Azores, Portugal and outport Newfoundland. She will highlight concrete examples of practices that seek environmental justice and engage the audience in short activities for overcoming barriers of language and drawing out multiple perspectives.

For more information, please contact Dr. Pamela Courtenay-Hall, UPEI Philosophy Department and Environmental Studies Program, at (902) 894-2838 or pcourtenay@upei.ca.

Students who take part in a national survey for the 2011 Globe and Mail Canadian University Report will have a chance to win a $100 cash prize; a $50 or $25 UPEI Bookstore certificate; and a PC Notebook valued at approximately $500!

The Globe and Mail Canadian University Report online survey is active now and will be available until April 30, 2010. It should take you approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Edyta Kaznowska at ekaznowska@higheredstrategy.com

Click here to complete the survey:

Lee Danisch, president and founder of Measurand Inc. of Fredericton, NB will give a public presentation from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 18 in MacDougall Hall, Room 242. His topic will be "Snake Sales: The customer is always right"--Talking about Technology, Business and Entrepreneurship. Everyone is welcome.

Danisch was the recipient of the 2007 Manning Award for Innovation. His business illustrates a successful experience in taking unique ideas developed in New Brunswick to the world stage. He has shown that innovation in a small city in Atlantic Canada can take on the big players around the world and win. This talk outlines some experiences he has had taking Measurand from a basement business to an award-winning, growing company.

Supporting entrepreneurship and encouraging business development are the key objectives of a new LaunchPad business incubator at the University of Prince Edward Island.
LaunchPad at UPEI provides a professional setting for students to start a business. In addition to the use of a furnished office space and access to communications technologies, the students benefit from the services of professional mentors at the university's School of Business.
'The introduction of the LaunchPad program to UPEI means that full-time student entrepreneurs will now have access to the infrastructure and support needed to start a business while completing their business degree,' said Hon. Allan Campbell, Minister of Innovation and Advanced Learning. 'My department is committed to partnering with the business community and post-secondary institutions in an effort to strengthen our business community and labour force.'
'The University of Prince Edward Island is pleased to partner with the Province and Innovation PEI to promote entrepreneurship,' said Dr Roberta MacDonald, dean of the School of Business. 'The LaunchPad program complements the philosophy of the University and the School of Business. We believe in inspiring excellence in our students by working together so students can pursue their dreams and realize their ambitions in life and in business.'
Two students have already been accepted as the LaunchPad participants for the 2010 year. They are Nicholas MacLeod and Erica Wagner. MacLeod's Future Web Design provides clients with a complete package of internet options such as web development, e-commerce and IT technical support.
'Business is continually evolving with the advancement in technology and the capabilities of the internet,' said MacLeod. 'My clients' needs range from a basic website to effectively promote their business, up to a site with e-commerce capability.'
Erica Wagner focuses on Social Media Marketing as a business tool and Personal Branding. Services range from logo creation to an affordable, seamless and integrated marketing campaign for small businesses on PEI.
LaunchPad business incubator facilities are also available at Holland College, the Atlantic Technology Centre in Charlottetown, and the Holman Building in Summerside.
For more information, visit www.LaunchpadPEI.ca or contact Joan Fleming at the UPEI School of Business at jofleming@upei.ca about LaunchPad at UPEI.

The UPEI Co-operative Education Office is inviting PEI employers in private-sector businesses to hire talented Co-op students who are available for 12-16 week work terms. These work terms run during the May-August, September-December, and January-April periods.

'Our students are highly motivated, bright, hard working and possess many of the valuable skills needed in today's work place. These students are serious about their education and are keen to contribute to the success of any business and/or organization,' says Ernie Doiron, Coordinator of UPEI's Business Co-op Program. The program began in 1996 and has grown in popularity with PEI employers ever since.

Wage incentives are available for 50 per cent of a student's hourly wage, up to a maximum contribution of $7.50 per hour. Employers are eligible to this receive this assistance for up to 16 weeks.

For more information on this employment opportunity, contact Ernie Doiron at edoiron@upei.ca

The University of Prince Edward Island will confer honorary degrees on four outstanding people during Convocation on Saturday, May 8, in recognition of their leadership and service in public and community life.

The honorary graduands are the Honourable Patrick G. Binns, Canada's ambassador to Ireland; Donald N. MacKenzie, a leader in the PEI potato industry; Judy Bragg, a philanthropist and active participant in rural community affairs; and Harry Snow, a well-known figure in the construction industry who has served as a mentor for young entrepreneurs.

The convocation ceremonies will take place in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Binns will address graduates attending the morning convocation, and Bragg will speak at the afternoon ceremony.

The Honourable Patrick G. Binns was appointed Canada's Ambassador to Ireland in 2007. He served for 11 years as premier of PEI, four years as an MP for the riding of Cardigan, and six years as a provincial minister in various portfolios including industry, fisheries, and community affairs. Before entering politics, he worked with the PEI Rural Development Council.

Donald N. MacKenzie's far-sightedness in the potato industry led to the development of major seed varieties in PEI and improvements in potato handling and transportation. He was named to the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2008, and as an Honorary Lifetime Director of the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts in 2000.

Summerside native Judy Bragg now lives in Collingwood, NS. She has played a strong leadership role in her family and community throughout the development of her family's business, the Bragg Group of Companies. Founded by her husband John, the companies are major players in the processing of wild blueberries and other agricultural products. Through their family foundation, Judy and John Bragg have supported several universities, including UPEI.

The Mawi'omi Aboriginal Resource Centre at UPEI will host its third annual aboriginal festival on March 24 and 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on the campus.

Connecting Aboriginal Cultures: Embracing the Past, Celebrating Our Future will take place in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre and the Main Building Faculty Lounge at UPEI. The festival is free and open to all ages.

Members of the local First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities will share their cultures in a mini powwow through dancing, drumming, singing, talking circles, traditional teachings, crafts, artist demonstrations, games, food, and activities for all ages and more. Artists, community leaders and elders will share their wisdom during the festival. Well-known dancer, drummer and singer Garland Joe Augustine from Elsipogtog, New Brunswick, will emcee the two-day festival.

National aboriginal role model Jessica Yee, from the Mohawk Nation, will give the keynote address on Wednesday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre. Yee is founder and executive director of the Native Sexual Health Network, a North America-wide organization working on issues of healthy sexuality, reproductive justice, cultural competency and youth empowerment. She is the 2009 recipient of the YWCA Young Woman of Distinction award, and was named one of 20 International Women's Health Heroes by Our Bodies, Our Blog.

Author and newspaper editor Julie Pellissier-Lush will give a writing workshop on Thursday, March 25, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre. Pellissier-Lush wrote a book called My Mi'kmaq Mother to pay tribute to her mother but also to preserve in writing her history and culture for future generations. She is editor of the provincial aboriginal newspaper Kwimu Messenger, published by the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.

Partnering with the Mawi'omi Aboriginal Resource Centre are UPEI, the Native Council of Prince Edward Island, the Aboriginal Women's Association of Prince Edward Island and the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island. The Centre has received funding for the festival from Canadian Heritage's Building Community through Arts and Heritage program.

Established in 2009, the Mawi'omi Aboriginal Resource Centre provides students with the opportunity to celebrate and share with others the cultural diversity of Aboriginal peoples on campus and throughout the community.

For more information, contact project manager Julie Bull at (902) 620-5125 or jbull@upei.ca, or visit the festival website.

The University of Prince Edward Island's Department of Music will present its Wind Symphony in its final recital of the academic year this Thursday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m., at the Dr. Steel Recital Hall.

The center-piece of the program will be a performance of Roger Cichy's Bugs. A six-movement work, Bugs attempts to describe in musical terms the characters of a variety of insects. The Praying Mantis, as its name infers, has a slow religious movement. The Butterfly is depicted with its grace and beauty, while Ants are described in a dissonant March portrayed as savage predators, constantly on the move.

Opening the program is Cathedrals by the young American composer Kathryn Salfelder. Cathedrals is an adventure in neo-Renaissance Music, based on Gabrieli's Canzon Primi Toni, a work scored for two brass choirs and typically stationed in opposite balconies of the church. The work is a synthesis of the old and the new, evoking the mystery and allure of Gabrieli's spatial music, intertwined with a rich color palette, modal harmonies, and textures of woodwinds and percussion.

Concluding the program is Scootin' On Hardrock. Subtitled Three Short Scat-Jazzy Dances, this work is an adventure merging the rock and jazz idioms in a virtuosic display for the modern wind band. Rapid woodwind passage work, brass riffs, and percussion punctuation all combine for a wild ride in this genre.

Under the direction of Dr. Karem J. Simon, the Wind Symphony has been acclaimed for its performance standard and programming. The 53 members of this year's ensemble consist of 24 music majors, other UPEI students, high school students, and community musicians.

Performing for their final recital as students with the Wind Symphony are graduating seniors Philip Kromer and Sara Arsenault. Philip, from Montague, PEI, is principal percussionist and has had a highly active undergraduate career contributing not only to the Wind Symphony but to the Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and a variety of vocal groups. His recent solo senior recital was a musical success.

Sara, from Charlottetown, is principal clarinetist and has had an eight-year career with the Wind Symphony extending for three years prior to her five-year Bachelor of Music Education Degree Program. She has been a frequent performer on the university's recital series, has been soloist with the Wind Symphony, and will perform her solo senior recital next week.

Both Philip and Sara are part of the rich Wind Symphony history for which their leadership and musical contributions have had a far reaching impact.

For information, contact the UPEI Music Department at (902) 566-0507.

Dr. Andrew Cumming of McGill University's physics department will give a public presentation called In Search of New Worlds: The Discovery and Characterization of Exoplanets on Friday, March 26, from 3 to 5 p.m., at UPEI.

Cumming's talk will take place in the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium (Room 242) in Don and Marion McDougall Hall.

The last decade has seen a revolution in our understanding of planetary systems, with the birth of the new field of exoplanets, says Cumming. Almost 400 planets orbiting other stars have been discovered, with masses from a few times that of Earth to ten times the mass of Jupiter, and orbital periods of only a few days to more than ten years. These discoveries are answering the question of whether solar systems such as our own are common in the galaxy, and the diverse properties of the known exoplanets are challenging our ideas of the physics of planet formation and evolution.

During his lecture, he will describe the techniques by which these planets are being discovered and characterized, summarize the latest discoveries and what is being learned from them, and look forward to the exciting new discoveries to expect in the coming decade and beyond.

Cumming is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at McGill University, working in theoretical astrophysics. He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in December 2000, where he worked with Lars Bildsten. He then spent a year as a post doc at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) in Santa Barbara before moving to the University of California, Santa Cruz, as a Hubble Fellow. He joined the McGill Department of Physics in September 2004. He has been a Scholar of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Cosmology and Gravity program since 2004, and was awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship.

For more information, contact the UPEI Department of Physics at (902) 566-0491.