NU360 Speaker Night highlights faculty research at Nipissing

Students, faculty, and community members packed the NUSU Student Centre on March 4 for the annual NU360 Speaker Night. Six faculty presenters each had 360 seconds to showcase their research, offering a glimpse into the breadth and depth of research at Nipissing.

The evening was hosted by last year’s NU360 Speaker Night People’s Choice Award winner, Dr. Nathan Kozuskanich. Topics ranged from building resilience in early childhood to exploring how farmers of the past lived off their land, as well as the complexities that newcomers face while navigating the Canadian healthcare system.

After six insightful and engaging presentations, presenters were judged by a panel of local high school students who named Dr. Susan Srigley’s talk entitled “Why Teach Death Studies in the Humanities?”  the winner. Dr. Srigley’s talk explored why teaching death matters and how the humanities are essential for not only living well but also dying well.

The audience chose Dr. Kristen Beck’s talk entitled “Investigating Fire-Ecosystem Interactions in Freshwater Environments Through Palaeoecology” as the winner of this year’s People’s Choice Award. This talk explored how changing fire regimes alter freshwater quality, ecosystem change, and resilience which can help inform our understanding of how freshwater systems may respond under continued climate change.

This year’s list of presenters also included:

• Christine Lalonde - Tiny Worms, Cosmic Rays, and Big Questions: Understanding Stress and Resilience in Childhood
• Jamie Murton - What Can We Learn About Capitalist Food from Early Ontario Farm Diaries?
• Aimable Nkurunziza - How Newcomers Navigate Healthcare in Rural, Northern Communities and What Their Stories Teach Us
• Alireza Khorakian - Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Black Swan Event for Startups

“What we heard tonight reflects the pillars of Nipissing’s research culture: curiosity that drives discovery, collaboration that strengthens community, and a commitment to creating knowledge that improves people’s lives,” shared Dr. Carole Richardson, Interim Provost & Vice-President, Academic, while delivering final remarks for the evening.

NU360 marked the kick off to Nipissing University’s Research Month celebrations. Throughout the month of March, the University will host a series of events highlighting the local, national, and global impact of Nipissing’s research across the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and health disciplines.

For more information about future Research Month events, visit www.nipissingu.ca/researchmonthor contact the Office of Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies via email at officegsr@nipissingu.ca.