On the evening of March 19, more than 500 members of the McGill community gathered in celebration of student work at the fifth annual Undergraduate Poster Showcase. Hosted each March by the Office of Science Education (OSE), the Showcase invites students from across the University to share their scientific research, field work, in-class assignments, passion projects and more.
On March 27th, in collaboration with Real Ventures, McGill's Chemistry Outreach Group joined other STEM experts and educators for the Future Innovators Science Fair at the Royal Charles Elementary School for International Women’s Month.
by Emma Bergeron Quick
Reflecting on my semester abroad in Barbados, I feel gratitude, excitement, and nostalgia already settling in. Three months of learning in this vibrant small developing island state left an unforgettable mark on my heart and mind, shaping my perspectives, and igniting a sense of exploration, discovery, and newfound desire for change.
Ehab Abouheif, James McGill Professor in the Department of Biology at McGill, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the highest distinctions in the global science community, which recognizes contributions to science and technology, scientific leadership, and extraordinary achievements across disciplines.
National Volunteer Week: April 14-20, 2024
The theme for this year's National Volunteer Week is Every Moment Matters. It highlights the importance of every volunteer and each contribution they make at a moment when we need support more than ever. The sharing of time, skills, empathy, and creativity is vital to the inclusivity, strength, and wellbeing of our communities.
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announced their 2024 fellows, which includes one faculty member from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Professor Henri Darmon.
Professor Darmon is among 188 scholars to receive fellowships, from a pool of almost 3,000 applicants — “a distinguished and diverse group of culture-creators working across 52 disciplines,” according to the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation press statement.
Leveraging gamers and video game technology can dramatically boost scientific research according to a new study published today in Nature Biotechnology.
On Monday April 8th, thousands of people flocked to McGill's downtown and MacDonald campuses, as well as Gault Nature Reserve, to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event: the total solar eclipse. The three spectacular events not only included a viewing party with free glasses, but also educational activities to inform the public on this astronomical phenomenon. Read the Reporter article on the eclipse festivities to learn more.
McGill researchers have discovered a safer and more efficient technique for testing new drugs while they are in development.
Imagine being middle aged and starting to feel that you are off balance a lot and that you are having a hard time coordinating your movements. Those are among the symptoms of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6, known as SCA6, a rare neurodegenerative disease which typically appears in adulthood and worsens over time. Over time, other problems such as slurred speech and difficulty seeing or seeing double, may also appear. It is estimated that fewer than 5,000 people in the US have the condition, which is the result of genetic mutations in the cerebellum.
by Phuong Hoang, Faculty of Science Communications Assistant
True to its name, Montréal’s Nuit blanche is an annual celebration of the vibrant culture of the city, with thematic itineraries and extended business hours that ensure festival-goers a night of endless excitement. From flower printing workshops to ghost story roundtables, Nuit blanche invited Montrealers to share and express their creativity through a diverse range of activities at different locations across Montréal.
On a cloudy afternoon this past December, a group of McGill students gathered in a downtown Montréal boardroom to give a data science presentation to Citera, a sustainability analytics company. This presentation wasn’t for an internship or any other extracurricular activity – it was part of one of McGill’s newest and most innovative courses: MATH 527, Statistical Data Science Practicum.
Recently, McGill undergraduate students had the opportunity to savor an enriching blend of knowledge and soup at the 37th edition of Soup & Science. This week-long event, occurring once a semester, highlights research taking place on campus. This semester’s showcase included topics across disciplines, ranging from quantum meta-photonics to optogenetic stimulation in roundworms, and students were able to learn and engage with these topics in an intimate setting.
What maintains stability within an ecosystem and prevents a single best competitor from displacing other species from a community? Does ecosystem stability depend upon the presence of a wide variety of species, as early ecologists believed, or does diversity do the exact opposite, and lead to instability, as modern theory predicts?
When Jade Raymond, BSc’98, studied at McGill’s School of Computer Science, she was one of few women in the program and “I think the only woman I knew in my year who went and got a job as a programmer in computer science after graduating.”
Raymond became a trailblazer in the video game industry, helping create the huge hit Assassin’s Creed, and building studios from the ground up for Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.