Let's go behind the scenes of the Society or Graduate Students (SOGS) as Madison Bettle tells us about her time as former VPSS. On this week's episode, hosts Chantal Lemire and Nick Handfield-Jones explore Madison's tenure as Vice President - Student Services of SOGS. Madison tells us about the strides she made in representing Western graduate students. Specifically, she explains that including grad students in mental health programs was a great accomplishment, but that more work needs to be done. Finally, hear her tips on how grad students can take care of their mental health and what kind of discussions can be had to improve the grad school experience as a whole. If you would to get ahold of her, contact her at [EMAIL]. For more about SOGS, check out sogs.ca
Producers: Yimin Chen and Gavin Tolometti
Let's enter the Matrix with Ethan Jackson as he explains his work on machine learning algorithms. This week hosts Yimin Chen and Nick Handfield-Jones dive into Ethan's fascinating research on artificial intelligence and how machine learning algorithms can solve complex problems in the information age. Self-driving cars, big data, and the iPhone face recognition app; all this will be discussed, and more. Plus, listen as Ethan tells us about his new project, where he trains a computer to play Ms. Pac-Man against itself! To learn more, find Ethan here.
Produced by Gregory Robinson.
Julian Barg is a Doctoral student at Ivey. He speaks with Gregory Robinson and Ariel Frame about this research based program and how his work highlights the data on companies’ ability to act sustainably.
Produced by Joyla Furlano
Joyla Furlano and Ariel Frame speak with Aida Parvizi, Masters student in Biology, about her work on the armyworm moth and how she may be able to use spermatophores of the males to determine the natal origin of these pests.
Produced by Gregory Robinson
Let's all walk the plank with Abdullah Al-Jaja as he shares his research with us. This week hosts Nick Handfield-Jones and Gavin Tolometti learn about Abdullah's journey immigrating to Canada from Lebanon and is now investigating dopaminergic signaling and anxiety in Parkinson's disease, which involves patients walking on a small plank to induce stress. All the while, Abdullah walks his own plank every day balancing the rigor of graduate studies at Western and the devotion of being a father. To learn more about his research, go to www.jessicagrahn.com or www.pennymacdonald.net.
Produced by Gregory Robinson.
In her research, sociocultural anthropologist Mingyuan Zhang asks a deceptively simple question, "What does it mean to be Chinese?" in a remarkably complicated context: Madagascar. This week, Viki Telios and Yimin Chen learn that there's more to Africa's largest island than just lemurs. Plus, how to introduce yourself in the Malagasy language. To read more about Mingyuan's work check out Academia.edu
Produced by Ariel Frame
What does it mean to be a man? Do the movies that we watch influence the ways in which we understand masculinity? Ryan Schroeder, MA student in Media Studies, think so. This week, hosts Yimin Chen and Greg Robinson learn about how the presentation of male protagonists in films has changed, and perhaps softened, over the years––from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Ryan Gosling.
Produced by Nick Handfield-Jones
In this special episode, hosts Taniya Nagpal and Roger Hudson interview three talented students - Natalia Skomorokhova, Sonja Dass and Rachel Gain - participating in the Western University Graduate Symposium on Music. A variety of topics are discussed, including the ways in which music can imitate art, feminist advocates ahead of their time, and what in the world a harpsichord is!
How do you study rocks up in space? Look at comparable formations here on Earth! Hosts Yimin Chen and Viki Telios learn about the work that Earth and Planetary Science PhD student Gavin Tolometti has been doing with Western's Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration (CPSX). On this episode: lava, impact craters, karaoke, and Scrabble!
Produced by Ariel Frame
