Pilgrimmage to Holland

May 2005 marked the 60th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. A large number of Canadian veterans travelled to Holland to mark the occasion, remember the good times and honour their comrades who never made it home. Among the many returning veterans was George Blackburn who served as a FOO (forward observation officer) with 4th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery throughout the course of the campaign in Northwest Europe. Blackburn has written an award-winning trilogy about his wartime experiences, The Guns of Normandy (1995), The Guns of Victory (1996) and Where the Hell are the Guns? (1997). The following article is excerpted from a letter sent to Terry Copp in June 2005

I am not a superhero but I do have secret weapons! : using technology in higher education teaching to redress the power balance

This article explores the role of technology in supporting student learning. It expresses the view that university/college students need to have educators who act as 'superheroes' seeking to understand their students' views of the world and their learning experiences within it. The author explores how a range of 'secret weapons' namely learning and communication technologies have been used by a reluctant adopter (not a superhero) to simply and effectively engage and empower students in the classroom. The overall aim of this approach was to offer students an opportunity to learn in a way that will put them in a strong position to be successful not only at university but also in their life ahead. Beginning with a discussion of the current UK learning context and the power dynamics that exist within the university classroom, the article then goes on to offer practical and pragmatic advice on using a specific range of technologies to support student learning. These technologies are a student response system called Socrative (available as a free smartphone app); Google Sites (a free website building tool - used for enhancing case studies and designing authentic assessments); tablet computers and audio (voice) feedback recorders. The paper concludes with a range of general tips for those adopting new technologies. These include involving the wider team (fellow academics and learning technologists) as well as students. Additionally it encourages thinking about pedagogical and practical approaches that need to be considered when adopting new technology either in the classroom or in assessment

The Manichean Mindset in Augustinian Theology: Dualism, Evil, and the Solution

Undergraduate Textual or Investigativ

Electro-kinetically enhanced nano-metric material removal

This project is a fundamental proof of concept to look at the feasibility of using field activated abrasive particles to achieve material removal on a substrate. There are a few different goals for this project. The first goal is to prove through visualization that particle movement can be influenced and controlled by changes in electric field. The second goal is to fundamentally prove that particles controlled by electric field can remove material from a substrate. Third, it should be shown that changes in electric field can control the amount of material being removed in a given amount of time. A mathematical model will be presented which predicts metallic material removal rates based on changes in electric field strength. In this project, a technique combining concepts from electrokinetics, electrochemical mechanical planarization, and contact mechanics is proposed, aiming at enhancing planarization performance. By introducing an AC electric field with a DC offset, we try to achieve not only a better control of metallic material removal but also more flexible manipulation of the dynamic behaviour of abrasive particles. The presence of electric field will lead to electrokinetic phenomena including electroosmotic flow of an electrolyte solution and electrophoretic motion of abrasive particles. As a result, we aim to improve both the mechanical performance of planarization that is largely determined by the polishing parameters (e.g. down pressure, rotation speed, pads, and types of abrasives) and the chemical performance of planarization that is governed by selective and collective reactions of different chemical ingrediants of the slurry with the sample surface. The aim is also to understand and improve the interactions of abrasive particles with the sample.M.S.Committee Chair: Danyluk, Steven; Committee Member: Butler, David; Committee Member: Hesketh, Peter; Committee Member: Yoda, Minam