Philip Cox / en Yuechuan Chi's international foundations /news/yuechuan-chis-international-foundations <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Yuechuan Chi's international foundations</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2013-05-17T05:15:43-04:00" title="Friday, May 17, 2013 - 05:15" class="datetime">Fri, 05/17/2013 - 05:15</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Yuechuan Chi came from Inner Mongolia to study chemistry and biology at the University of Toronto (photo by Frances Beatty)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/philip-cox" hreflang="en">Philip Cox</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Philip Cox</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/student-life" hreflang="en">Student Life</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/new-college" hreflang="en">New College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong><em>Yuechuan Chi</em></strong>&nbsp;<em>is a third year chemistry major and developmental biology specialist with the Cell and System Biology department. </em></p> <p><em>He was one of the first students of the International Foundation Program, which offers admission to academically qualified international students whose English fluency scores fall below the direct entry requirements. </em></p> <p><em>Writer Philip Cox asked&nbsp;Yuechan what he’s been up to since completing the program three years ago.</em></p> <p><strong>Tell me a bit about yourself.</strong><br> I grew up in a small city called Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China. In my free time, I enjoy playing tennis, swimming and reading. I actually try to read a little bit every day.</p> <p><strong>How did you hear about New College’s International Foundation Program?</strong><br> My aunt told me about the program. We all think language skills are fundamental for learning. In addition, learning from one of the best institutes in North America was attractive for me. I think I made a good choice.</p> <p><strong>What is your strongest memory from your time with the IFP?</strong><br> I would say the discussions I had with my instructors and peers. I was always amazed by the international experience I had in the IFP. We always generated some stunning ideas together, since everyone had a different background that often gave many different perspectives for the same topic.</p> <p><strong>What was your first impression of Toronto? Has that impression changed at all since you arrived?</strong><br> Toronto is a very international city. I never had trouble finding my favourite food. The city has such a warm culture that is really reflected in people's behavior. People are genial and polite. This impression hasn't changed since I arrived, but I think the culture has changed me quite a bit.</p> <p><strong>Tell me about your research. What kind of projects are you most interested in and why?</strong><br> I started my first research project in high school, which was on developing a new device for sleep apnea. I then worked on molecular recognition, molecular biology and cell biology. My recent project is trying to understand the relationship between angiogenesis (blood vessel development) and breast cancer. It has been a fabulous learning experience for me.</p> <p><strong>I understand you’ve recently published an article. Can you tell&nbsp;us about it?</strong><br> We identified a new class of organic molecules that have the potential to recognize different sugar molecules. It has very broad applications. For example, cell surfaces are decorated with many sugar polymers that have important roles in development. Cancer cells have a very distinct identity of sugar polymers on their surfaces. Others can use our data to produce powerful markers that identify cancer cells at a very early stage.<br> I published the article in my first year and it has been cited a couple times already. It's not bad for first year, right?</p> <p><strong>Why did you choose to pursue cell &amp; system biology?</strong><br> I am very impressed by the cell biology research in Toronto. If you go to the <a href="http://www.torontodiscoverydistrict.ca/" target="_blank">Discovery District</a>, there are many world-class researchers in this field. As an undergraduate student, there is nothing better than learning and working with your favourite scientists. It's like living in the dream.</p> <p><strong>What's your favourite part of campus?</strong><br> Research labs, where the interesting things happen.</p> <p><em>Philip Cox is a writer with Advancement Communications, New College </em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/Yuechuan-Frances-Beatty-13_05_16.jpg</div> </div> Fri, 17 May 2013 09:15:43 +0000 sgupta 5350 at The Rocket Science of Sustainability /news/rocket-science-sustainability <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The Rocket Science of Sustainability</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2012-04-10T07:25:41-04:00" title="Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 07:25" class="datetime">Tue, 04/10/2012 - 07:25</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Professor Andrew Baines (former principal of New College), Professor Yves Roberge (Principal of New College), Sally Walker (Registrar and Assistant Principal of New College), Jaymie Matthews, Dorion Sagan and Colin Swift (president, New College Alumni Cou</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/philip-cox" hreflang="en">Philip Cox</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Philip Cox</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/new-college" hreflang="en">New College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/astronomy" hreflang="en">Astronomy</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">οalumnus relaunches New College lecture series</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When Carl Sagan gave the inaugural lecture for the Jacob Bronowski Memorial Lecture Series at the University of Toronto's New College in 1975, a first-year science student named <strong>Jaymie Matthews</strong> sat quietly in the audience with rapt attention.</p> <p>On April 4, 2012,&nbsp;Matthews - now an Officer of the Order of Canada and Mission Scientist for the Canadian Space Agency -&nbsp;returned to his alma mater to re-launch the series as a hallmark event of New College’s 50th Anniversary celebrations.</p> <p>Entitled The Rocket Science of Sustainability, his lecture explored the implications of recently discovered planets for scientists trying to understand the impacts of climate change.</p> <p>“The lecture was by all accounts a major success,” said New College Principal <strong>Yves Roberge</strong>. “It brought people from all over the city, from such a wide range of professions and interests, to New College to consider a new perspective on a topic relevant to all of us.”</p> <p>&nbsp;It was exactly this that motivated Matthews.</p> <p>“I was driven by the potential of the Bronowski Lectures to reach out beyond the University and draw in people that otherwise might not be involved in this level of discussion. I wanted people walking away discussing things that they hadn’t known before or wouldn’t have thought of,” he said.</p> <p>Also weighing in on the subject as a surprise guest speaker was Dorion Sagan, the son of Carl Sagan and Dr. Lynn Margulis. Dorion is himself a highly esteemed science writer, essayist and theorist who has authored and co-authored some 24 books on topics ranging from culture and evolution to the history and philosophy of science.&nbsp;</p> <p>Matthews and Sagan both spoke passionately about the role of science in social discourse.</p> <p>“Our job [as scientists] is to make the public aware of what we find so that they can decide how society should respond,” said Matthews. “The social responsibility rests on all of our shoulders, but scientists play an important role in raising awareness of these issues so that people can make informed decisions.”</p> <p>The Jacob Bronowski Memorial Lectures at New College were created with exactly that purpose in mind. With a mandate of using an accessible, interdisciplinary approach to explore the social consequences of scientific inquiry and enterprise as it affects us today, the series has featured such prominent speakers as David Suzuki, Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould.</p> <p>According to&nbsp;Roberge, the choice of this year’s lecturer was obvious.</p> <p>“Not only is Jaymie a highly regarded astrophysicist, but he is also a New College alumnnus who actually attended the first lecture and then became a specialist in a field directly related to the first lecture," Roberge said. "The College is a place where connections are made, in research and among our students but rarely do they come together so perfectly as they did at this lecture.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/Bronowski_Lectures-12-04-10.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:25:41 +0000 sgupta 3923 at