69´«Ã½

For the first time, the 69´«Ã½ will send two teams to this year's Canadian Interuniversity Sport/Canadian Curling Association Curling Championship in Montreal from March 25 to 29.

The mens's team includes three members of this year's Canadian Junior championship and World Junior silver medallist rink. The women's team, skipped by Sarah Clow, curls regularly out of the Cornwall Curling Club and finished in the top three in this year's provincial juniors.

"69´«Ã½Athletics is proud to send two teams to compete at the 2009 CIS/CCA Curling Championship,' says Ron Annear, director of athletics at UPEI. 'Both teams will represent the university and province very well. The emergence of university curling across Canada provides curling student athletes an exciting level of competition between the junior and open divisions."

Canadian junior champ Adam Casey will skip the men's team, with his regular teammates Anson Carmody at third, and Jamie Danbrook throwing lead stones. Business student Brett Gallant, who normally skips the rink, is sitting out this event. Nick van Ouwerkerk joins the team at second, with Jeff Wilson coaching. The Clow foursome includes Brielle Quilty at third, Christina Hennessey at second stone, and lead Courtney Moore. Angela Hodgson is head coach, assisted by Nancy Yeo.

For fans who want to see the weekend action rinkside on March 28 and 29, 69´«Ã½is offering a great travel package, including transportation on the eye-catching Trius Panther fan bus leaving on March 27 and returning on March 29. The cost is $100 per person for the bus, based on a minimum of 40 people; accommodation is available for $90 per room per night (double occupancy). To sign up, please contact Carol Heartz, 69´«Ã½Athletics Department, at 566-0432.

Now in its second year, the championship, sponsored by The Dominion General Insurance Company (The Dominion), will be held at the Royal Montreal and the Montreal West curling clubs.

Round robin play gets underway at 8 am Wednesday morning, March 25, and wraps up with a noon draw on Saturday. Twelve teams, from the ten provinces, plus two additional Ontario teams, are taking part in both the men's and women's divisions. The top teams from each of two men's and women's round robin pools will then play the second-place team of the opposite pool in the semi-finals, which go Saturday at 4 p.m. (men's) and Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. (women's). The semi-final winners will then square off in the gold medal games on Sunday at 2 p.m. All times are Eastern.

The winning teams will advance to the 2010 Karuizawa International Curling Championships, which take place late February in Japan. The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, skipped by Mike Anderson and Holly Nicol, are the defending champions, winning both the men's and women's titles respectively last year.

Live results will be available at and .

Photo: 69´«Ã½men's CIS Championship team (left to right): Jeff Wilson (Coach), Jamie Danbrook, Nick van Ouwerkerk, Anson
Carmody, Adam Casey. Submitted photo.

Colonel Jamie Cade, former Deputy Commander of Canadian and NATO Forces in Kandahar Province, will give a public talk about the challenges facing Canadian Forces and NATO in Afghanistan at the 69´«Ã½ on Thursday, April 2, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the Main Building Faculty Lounge.

Cade was Deputy Commander of Canadian and NATO Forces throughout Kandahar Province from May 2008 to February 2009. During his presentation entitled 'The Struggle for Kandahar: Canadian Soldiers Making a Difference in Afghanistan,' he will talk about the counter-insurgency struggle currently taking place in the heart of Kandahar Province and how Canadian Forces and NATO stood firm during one of the most tumultuous periods in the mission to date.

He will also speak about NATO combat operations, the challenges of command during a demanding and complex mission marked by attacks on civilians, school children, government officials and religious leaders as well as the Sarpoza Prison break, and his views on what is required to achieve mission success. And he will discuss advances being made by Canadian soldiers and civilians in spite of the difficult conditions in the region.

A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Cade entered the Army in June 1979. A graduate of Royal Roads Military College with a Bachelor Degree in Military and Strategic Studies, he joined Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) in Calgary, May 1984.

The highlight of Cade's career was his appointment as Commanding Officer, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) from 2002 to 2004. During his tenure, the Regiment deployed two squadrons to Bosnia, a Squadron to Afghanistan and deployed to British Columbia to fight the forest fires of 2003. In June 2005, he was promoted Colonel and assumed the position of Director Land Force Readiness (Army G3), responsible for coordinating all aspects of Army force generation for overseas and domestic operations. In August 2007, he assumed his appointment as the Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force Afghanistan (Rotation 5).

69´«Ã½women's basketball coach Dave MacNeill has retired from coaching at the university level.

MacNeill has been coaching the women's basketball team since 2006 after having retired from the position in 1993. He returned on what was supposed to be a temporary basis to fill a gap in the coaching staff. Three seasons later, he is still coaching the team, but he now has a demanding full-time position with the 2009 Canada Games as CEO of Operations.

'In order to be success and fair to the athletes, one needs to spend time developing a team,' he says. 'With my full-time job with Canada Games, that is not possible. I would like to thank all of the players and other support staff for their dedication and hard work over the past three years. It has been a pleasure to work with them.'

69´«Ã½Athletics Director Ron Annear praised MacNeill for his work with the women's basketball team.

"I thank Dave for his time and effort developing and coaching women's basketball at UPEI,' says Annear. 'Dave is a 69´«Ã½Sport Hall of Fame Coach who symbolizes commendable traits all young coaches aspire to, sport knowledge, teacher, motivator, competitor, commitment, character and pride. We are very appreciative of Dave's dedication over the years and wish him well with 2009 Canada Games and his future beyond."

MacNeill has a long history with athletics at 69´«Ã½and St. Dunstan's University (SDU), one of UPEI's two founding institutions. A basketball player in the 1960s for SDU, he coached the 69´«Ã½women's basketball team from 1978 to 1993, with a break from 1980-1983 and again from 1990 to 1991.

In 1978-79, his first year of coaching, he was named AUS Coach of the Year. The following year, he coached the women to a 14-2 record, and first place in the NB/PEI division of the AUS before losing to Dalhousie in the playoff semi-finals before losing to Dalhousie in the playoff semi-finals.

Over the next 10 years, he coached four AUS Championship teams, including three in a row from 1986 to 1989. MacNeill was named AUS Coach of the Year five more times and coached 26 players to AUS All-Conference honours.

The high point of MacNeill's coaching career came in 1988-89, when he coached 69´«Ã½to a silver medal at the CIS, losing to the undefeated Calgary Dinos in the championship game. The following year, he returned to lead his team to a 10-6 record and a berth in the nationals as 69´«Ã½hosted the CIS women's tournament. In 1992-93, UPEI, under MacNeill's leadership, once again captured the AUS title and represented the Conference in Victoria.

MacNeill was inducted into the 69´«Ã½Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

The 69´«Ã½Co-operative Education Student of the Year Awards for 2008 were awarded to three students on Wednesday, March 25, at a special event held in Don and McDougall Hall.

The guest speaker of the event was Dave Perry, Director of Radiology Information Systems Research and Development, for Carestream Health Group in Summerside. His presentation focused on the importance of having interdisciplinary skills, coming to work with the right attitude and being able to work well in a team.

The 2008 Co-op Student of the Year Award for Business went to Julie Mutch of Earnscliffe, who recently completed her 2007-2008 work term at the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce. As special events and communications assistant at the Chamber, she worked on several projects including monthly business mixers, fundraising and sponsorship events, and the members' magazine. Previous work terms included working with UPEI's Advancement Services and Service Canada's Communications Division. She will graduate in May 2009 with her Bachelor of Business Administration from UPEI. She is currently employed with Service Canada in its Nova Scotia-PEI Integrity Services Division and is involved in her community.

Nathan Christensen of North Wiltshire, received the Co-operative Education Student of the Year Award for Computer Science. A third-year mathematics and computer science student, Christensen worked at in the Provincial Treasury's Infrastructure Information Technology Shared Services Division for his 2007-2008 work term. He produced an online database for the division that has proven to be a valuable tool for the server team. He is keenly interested in computer gaming and was pleased to experience the infrastructure behind a large organization. This May, he will begin an eight-month work term with Longtail Studios, a developer of video games, at their Charlottetown studio in the Atlantic Technology Centre. He will graduate in 2011.

Carolyn Ward of Springfield, Nova Scotia, won the Co-operative Education Student of the Year Award for Physics. A fourth year physics co-op student, Ward worked at Defense Research & Development Canada in Dartmouth in 2007-2008 where she was involved in a complex sonar classifier project. Her work earned her recognition as co-author on a paper being presented to the Acoustical Society of America. Previous work terms were at Omega AAT Wind Site in Quebec and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth. An award-winning student, she tutors grade 10-12 students in math and physics. Ward is a member of the 69´«Ã½Physics Society and the Atlantic Undergraduate Physics and Astronomy Conference planning committee, and is involved in her community. She will graduate in 2010.

The recipients are selected based upon a variety of achievements -- job performance, academic performance, academic/school involvement, writing skills, responsibility, and particular contributions to their employers during co-operative education work terms.

For more information, please contact the 69´«Ã½Co-operative Education Office at (902) 628-4395.

Photo: Award recipients from left are Carolyn Ward, physics; Nathan Christensen, computer science; and Julie Mutch, business. Looking on is guest speaker Dave Perry (right), Director of Radiology Information Systems Research and Development for Carestream Health Group in Summerside.

Sheep-for-Wheat Productions is staging Eugene Ionesco's absurdist one-act play, The Lesson, at The Guild on April 2, 3 and 4 at 8:00 p.m.

The actors are Chris Doiron, Meaghan Blanchard, and Kelsey Moore. Stage direction is by Rob Reddin; stage management is by Ashley Clark; and the music is by Keith Baglole. Co-producers Fraser McCallum and Chera-Lee Hickox round out the company. Everyone involved is a past or present 69´«Ã½student.

Written in 1951, the critically acclaimed play was one of the French playwright's most distinguished works, as well as one of the most notable in the history of the Theatre of the Absurd genre. It revolves around a strange study session between a naive young student (Blanchard) and a delirious yet powerful professor (Doiron).

Sheep-for-Wheat Productions is an independent theatre company based in Charlottetown. This is their second production after great success in staging the Harold Pinter drama, The Dumb Waiter.

Tickets are $12 and can be purchased in advance at the box office (902-620-3333) or at showtime. Come one, come all!

The Chair of UPEI's English Department, Dr. Brent MacLaine, is on the shortlist of poets whose books have been nominated for the prestigious Atlantic Poetry Prize, to be given out at a gala awards presentation on May 8, during the ATLANTIC INK Writers' Festival.

MacLaine's Shades of Green, published by Charlottetown's Acorn Press, is his third collection of poetry. Whether emerging from the local landscapes of memory or the present-day streetscapes of Manhattan, the poems record the poet's attempt to seize the chromatic complexity of experience.

Also shortlisted for the 12th annual Atlantic Poetry Prize are Breaker by Sue Sinclair (Brick Books) and Sky Atlas by Alan R. Wilson (Fitzhenry & Whiteside).

MacLaine is a Professor of English and a 3M Teaching Fellow at 69´«Ã½where he teaches 20th-century literature. His previous volumes include Wind and Root (Vehicule 2000) and These Fields Were Rivers (Goose Lane 2004). He also co-edited Landmarks: An Anthology of New Atlantic Canadian Poetry of the Land (Acorn 2001). He lives with his family in Rice Point where he grew up.

MacLaine will give a public reading from his work on May 6 at 7:30 p.m. along with shortlisted authors Douglas Arthur Brown and Alan R. Wilson. Hosted by the PEI Writers' Guild, the reading will be held at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. Everyone is welcome.

The ATLANTIC INK Writers' Festival is a week-long fanfare from May 4 to 9, recognizing the 12 finalists for this year's Ann Connor Brimer Children's Literature, Atlantic Poetry, Thomas H. Raddall Fiction and Evelyn Richardson Non-fiction book prizes. The festival includes readings, signings, school appearances, writing workshops, and panel discussions in the four Atlantic provinces. Prince Edward Island plays host to Philip Roy, author of the shortlisted children's book, Submarine Outlaw (Ronsdale Press). He will visit schools from May 4 to 6.

The awards ceremony will be held at Saint Mary's University Sobey Building in the Scotiabank Theatre. Acclaimed Cape Breton writer Alistair MacLeod will deliver ATLANTIC INK's first keynote, 'A Writer's Life: Geography as Inspiration,' as a prelude to four readings by the winners of this year's book prizes.

More than 300 young scientists will come together at the provincial science fair Thursday, April 2nd to showcase their science abilities and connect with other young scientists from across the province.

Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Gerard Greenan encouraged the public to attend the fair.

'Participating in the school science fair is an excellent opportunity for Island students to think critically about science and get hands-on experience running a science experiment,' said the minister. 'Being invited to the provincial science fair is a great achievement and Islanders are encouraged to come out and celebrate the students' success.'

The theme, Celebrating Science on PEI, was chosen to highlight how every year parents, family members, educators, elected officials, community leaders, donors and volunteers from across the province come together to celebrate student curiosity, the type of curiosity that has led to many incredible discoveries.

The fair will be held at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre at UPEI. Parents, family members and friends are invited to attend after 2:00 p.m. The awards ceremony begins at 4:00 p.m.

Over $10,000 in specialty prizes and awards has been donated by government, industry, community groups and organizations across PEI.

PEI Science Fair Coordinator Bill Whelan says participating in the science fair can have a lasting positive outcome.

'Research shows that a positive science experience in elementary school can build a positive attitude towards science in the junior and high school years, and ultimately attract many to the field of science as a career,' he said.

The provincial fair is run by a team of dedicated volunteers who have a passion for science.

Once again, 69´«Ã½scientists will open up their research laboratories to science fair participants in the afternoon. There will also be innovative engineering demonstrations and activities throughout the day.

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, which is the largest supporter of the provincial science fair, covers most of the expenses to put on the fair.

This year the top five students will represent PEI at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Winnipeg.

Last year at the Canada-Wide Fair in Ottawa, Prince Edward Island students walked away with some of the top awards.

• Rebecca Wolfe from Three Oaks Senior High won the prestigious Manning Innovation Achievement Award ($4000 sponsored by the Ernest C Manning Foundation).
• Simon Trivett from Stonepark Intermediate won the Bronze Medal in the Engineering Category and a $1000 Scholarship to the University of Western Ontario.
• Brandon Doyle from East Wiltshire won the Silver Medal in the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Sciences Category and a $1500 Scholarship to the University of Western Ontario.

'This level of success on the national stage is remarkable,' said Bill Whelan.

For more information, visit the PEI Science Fair website at

Contact:

Jean Doherty
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
902 368 6449
jmdoherty@gov.pe.ca

Bill Whelan, Provincial Science Fair Coordinator
69´«Ã½Department of Physics
902 566 0419
wwhelan@upei.ca

This release is distributed by Island Information Service at the request of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Photo: Brian Simpson

For the second year in a row, a group of fourth-year marketing students at UPEI's School of Business have been learning first-hand the business of bioscience, and as a result have earned recognition for their efforts from the Island's bioscience industry. Working with three local bioscience companies, eleven teams of business students have been designing marketing strategies for the companies' products and services that may be used in national and international promotions and sales activities.

This is the second year for the program, organized by the PEI BioAlliance and the 69´«Ã½School of Business. The purpose is to engage local bioscience companies and 69´«Ã½business students in a project that gives the students real marketing experience with products being produced by the growing PEI bioscience industry for global markets.

"This project is a terrific learning exercise for our students, and provides a great opportunity for them to showcase their talents," says Dr. Don Wagner, acting dean of the 69´«Ã½School of Business.

Rory Francis, Executive Director of the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance, said the interest and response was so positive last year, that both companies and faculty were anxious to incorporate the program into the 69´«Ã½Business curriculum again this year.

"We want the students to see and feel for themselves the exciting business opportunities that bioscience companies are creating here in PEI. Bringing new products to life is challenging and fascinating, and we hope this experience motivates these students to be part of PEI's future prosperity."

The National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) provides support to the BioAlliance in carrying out this and other initiatives that help grow small and medium sized bioscience enterprises in PEI.

Awards were presented for the Best Marketing Strategy for each of the three companies' products, and to overall winners at a reception held at the 69´«Ã½School of Business yesterday. The overall winning team included: Cayla Leger, Jennifer MacLean, and Brad Gallant for their marketing strategy developed for AquaBounty Canada Inc..

Participating companies for the Second Annual 69´«Ã½School of Business/PEI BioAlliance Marketing Strategy Competition included: AquaBounty Canada Inc., Atlantic AgriTech, and Tube Fab Ltd.

The Prince Edward Island BioAlliance is the cluster of individuals and organizations dedicated to building the bioscience-based economic sector in PEI, with an emphasis on collaborative initiatives in research, business, education, and supporting infrastructure.

For more information about the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance, contact rose@peibioalliance.com or by calling (902) 367-4403.

Photo: Rory Francis, Executive Director of the PEI BioAlliance (far left), and Valerie Barbosa, AquaBounty Canada Inc. (far right), present the BioAlliance Award for the 69´«Ã½School of Business Best Bioscience Marketing Strategy to the winning team comprised of Cayla Leger, Jennifer MacLean and Brad Gallant.

The Tourism Research Centre (TRC) at UPEI's School of Business has released two reports based on the 2007-2008 Visitor Exit Survey. The first looks at summer visitors (July and August 2007) and the other examines fall visitors (September and October 2007).

Visitor origin shifts slightly in the fall. Of total travel parties, the percentage visiting from Quebec and Ontario decreases substantially, but the remaining markets (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the rest of Canada, US, international,) all make gains. This is not to say, for example, that there are more international travel parties in the fall, but they increase as a percentage of total travel parties.

One of the biggest differences noted between summer visitors and fall visitors was party composition. The family market is still very important for P.E.I. tourism, but it is not as prevalent in the fall season. Most of the fall visitors travel in parties of two adults.

The shift in travel party type is also reflected in the increase in the age of the average visitor. Unlike visitors in the main season, of whom the majority were between the ages of 35 to 54, visitors in the fall were largely over the age of 55. Only those of New Brunswick origin were slightly more likely to be in the 35 to 54 age bracket.

'The mature adult market in the fall is an opportunity for P.E.I.,' said Dr. Paul Lewis, Director of the TRC. 'We would do well to create sophisticated tourism experiences aimed at this market, and certainly things seem to be moving in this direction with initiatives like the Shellfish Festival and Fall Flavours. Opportunity also lies, however, in growing the fall-season family market. Though the fall presents more difficulty for families because of school schedules, family-oriented weekend getaway packages or similar tourism experiences might prove attractive to these visitors, particularly those from the Maritimes.'

Despite a perception that P.E.I. is a summer-only destination, fall-season visitors from New Brunswick, Ontario, the US and other international countries actually record longer stays in P.E.I. during September and October than in the main summer season. In addition, fall visitors from Ontario, Quebec and international countries (excluding the US) spend more per person per night than visitors from those regions in the main summer season.

In terms of activities, the percentage of travel parties going on a sightseeing/driving tour remains relatively constant over the two seasons, and it is still the most participated-in activity. Naturally, going to the beach and visiting national/provincial parks is less popular in the fall along with other traditional tourist activities. Overall, a higher percentage of parties visit family or friends in the fall, and a higher percentage of travel parties from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec play golf.

Both reports are available on the exit survey section of the TRC's website: . Further information about the report can be obtained from the Tourism Research Centre, School of Business, University of PEI, at (902) 566-6096 or trc@upei.ca.

Dr. Randolph Seidler, Head of Corporate Department, Research and Development, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc., will give a public presentation at the 69´«Ã½ on Tuesday, April 14.

Seidler's presentation, entitled 'Research and Development at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health-Innovation as a key driver for success,' will take place from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium (Room 242), McDougall Hall. The 69´«Ã½School of Business and the Atlantic Veterinary College, in collaboration with the Province of Prince Edward Island, NSERC and the P.E.I. BioAlliance, are hosting this event.

The veterinary pharmaceutical and vaccine industry has worked together with clinicians and academic experts to improve patient care and greatly contributed to finding new treatment modalities. Seidler will give an overview about the requirements for drug discovery and development in the veterinary industry and the framework for bringing innovative and improved treatments to patients.

Seidler received his training in veterinary medicine from the Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich, Germany. He did his PhD research at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and LMU in the area of cardiac physiology and pharmacology. He joined Boehringer Ingelheim's (BI's) R&D group in Biberach, Germany, and worked in the area of general pharmacology and cardiovascular drug discovery. This was followed by an assignment at BI's R&D center in Ridgefield, Connecticut, in the field of cardiovascular research. During this time, Seidler headed a group of scientists in the area of heart failure research and led several drug discovery projects that progressed to clinical development. In July 2007, he was appointed head of Corporate Department, R&D, at BI's Animal Health, overseeing global R&D. The R&D group at BI Animal Health currently consists of approximately 190 employees located on three continents.

Lunch will be provided in Schurman Market Square. To register, please contact Tammie Rose by Wednesday, April 8, at (902) 566-0564 or tmrose@upei.ca.