TONI MORRISON, MARCO POLO AMONG CONGRESS HIGHLIGHTS
More than 7,500 delegates are expected to attend the 2002 Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities (formerly known as “The Learneds” – short for the Learned Societies Conference). Delegates are professors and members of about 100 academic societies ranging from linguistics to political science. U of T – which last hosted the annual event in 1974 – is sharing the honours this year with Ryerson University. Special events include scholarly sessions on Marco Polo’s encounters with the East, a series of talks by Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, and an exhibition of Hildegard Feldberg’s extraordinary collection of expressionist paintings. Keep checking the U of T homepage for further updates (www.utoronto.ca).

FACULTY OF LAW CONFERENCE
LOOKS AT ANTI-TERRORISM LEGISLATION
A conference presented by U of T’s Faculty of Law on Nov. 9 and 10 to examine the potential impact of Canada’s anti-terrorism legislation attracted more than 350 people from academia, the legal profession, government, and community groups. Leading legal academics presented papers that addressed the potential impact of Bill C-36 on diverse areas of Canadian life, including criminal procedure, immigration, privacy issues, law enforcement and charitable giving. Proceedings were published by U of T Press in a book entitled The Security of Freedom: Essays on Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Bill just a week after the conference, an extraordinary feat in Canadian publishing. Edited by Dean Ron Daniels and Professors Patrick Macklem and Kent Roach of the Faculty of Law, the book was distributed to MPs and Senators and is available at the U of T Bookstore, Indigo and Chapters.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN SECOND BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
In December, the Innovations Foundation at U of T announced the winners of the 2001 “Innovations Challenge,” a business plan competition that encourages the development of high-tech and biotech business ideas. The winners in the “Most Promising Business” category were Transgaming Technologies, iX Research, the Business Source, and Vector Innovations. The winners in the “Most Promising Technology” category were Boolean Proteomics, Astebro Bernhardt Ltd., and B-Innovative Inc. Between them, winners will receive prize packages that include at least a $500,000 equity investment. For more information about the competition, visit www.innovationsfoundation.utoronto.ca

IAN SPENCE is the new Director, Government Research Infrastructure Programs (GRIP) in U of T’s Research & International Relations office. Spence succeeds ROD TENNYSON, who has returned to the Institute for Aerospace Studies. A U of T faculty member in psychology since 1979, Spence is heading up an operation that has made impressive gains over the past four years in supporting the university’s research capacity. In 2000-2001, GRIP supported the university in making significant research progress through awards from the Canada Research Chairs, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Research & Development Challenge Fund, the Premier’s Research Excellence Awards and the Ontario Innovation Trust. Spence can be reached at ian.spence@utoronto.ca

U of T faculty led the country again in 2000-2001 in scholarly awards,
prizes and honours. Honours included: New Fellows of the Royal Society of London – RICHARD BOND, astrophysics, and ROBERT BIRGENEAU, physics; Killam Memorial Prize – WERNER KALOW, pharmacology; Killam Research Fellowships – TIMOTHY BARNES, chemistry, HEATHER JACKSON, English, and THOMAS TIDWELL, chemistry; Steacie Prize – IAN MANNERS, chemistry; King Faisal International Prize for Science – SAJEEV JOHN, physics; Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize – IAN HACKING, philosophy; Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education Research Award – GLEN JONES, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at U of T; 2001 Synergy Award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council (NSERC) to a partnership including U of T, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, and Solutia Canada Inc., for development of technology that boosts the lustre of paper while cutting down on chemical use in processing. The U of T team is led by MOHINI SAIN of forestry.

Two members of U of T’s Faculty of Arts and Science won Governor General’s Literary Awards in November. GEORGE ELLIOTT CLARKE of English won in the poetry category for Execution Poems and THOMAS HOMER-DIXON of political science won in the non-fiction category for The Ingenuity Gap.

Two U of T researchers were awarded the Order of Ontario in 2001.
DONALD STUSS, director of the Rotman Research Institute at the U of T-affiliated Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and a professor of psychology and neurology, was recognized for his leadership in neuropsychology and behavioural neurosciences. CARIN WITTNICH, director of the Cardiovascular Sciences Collaborative Program and professor of surgery and physiology, was recognized for promoting awareness and education of heart disease in women and children.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation bestowed two awards on U of T researchers in 2001. JAMES RETALLACK of history and German received a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award for achieving international prominence in his field. ANDREAS MANDELIS of mechanical and industrial engineering received a Humboldt Research Award in recognition of his accomplishments in research and teaching. Both of these awards are intended to facilitate extensive research collaboration with German researchers.