Check out the Stars! A stargazing event outside the Robertson Library! Robertson Library and the UPEI Department of Physics are celebrating Science Literacy Week, September 17th-23rd, by co-sponsoring a stargazing event on Sunday, September 23rd at 8:30 pm. Megan Glover, UPEI Department of Physics, will give a presentation on navigating the night sky and how to set up and use the Library’s Dobsonian telescope. You will discover how to find objects in the sky using star maps and learn stargazing tips! In the case of a rainy or cloudy evening, the presentation will be held inside Robertson Library. Check out the stars @ home! You can borrow the telescope from the Service Desk in the Robertson Library with your UPEI Campus Card. The telescope can be borrowed on a 7 day loan. Part of Science Literacy Week - follow #scilit on twitter!

Drop in Art - bring your own supplies and take some time to create. No prior experience necessary. Any medium welcome- Crayons, colouring books, knitting needles, acrylics, pencils.. you bring it, you create it!  This is an open event, bring your own art supplies and take a few minutes for yourself. Come and go as you please.  You do not need to be creative to participate, just have an interest in expressing yourself!  This is the first event - bring your ideas and suggestions for future Art for the Soul meetings. Open to Staff, Students, Faculty 

The monthly meeting of the UPEI & Friends Neuroscience Journal Club will be held on Friday September 14, 2018 from 3-4 pm in the lecture theatre (note the change of location) of the Duffy Research Centre (NRC). All neuroscience research students as well as faculty, scientists and staff with an interest in neuroscience topics are welcome to attend. For a copy of the paper to be discussed please contact Joel Ross (pjross@upei.ca) or Andy Tasker (tasker@upei.ca)

The Department of Psychology welcomes faculty, students, and the campus community to join us at our next Fiona Papps Colloquium Series event entitled "Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Psychology: A Psychology Department Roundtable Discussion". The discussion takes place on Friday, September 28th at 1:30pm in MCDH 243. Hope to see you there.

Calling all alumni, students, staff, faculty, and panther fans to campus!    Join us in one or more of the many events from Thursday, September 27th – Sunday, September 30th and celebrate UPEI's proud past and bright future. For the full schedule of events visit http://upei.ca/homecoming  

Dr. Peter Denton, Living Close to Home, 2018 Dr. Eric Green lecture Friday, Sept 28, 7:30 - 9:30 pm, 329 Don and Marion McDougall Hall, UPEI Author of Live Close to Home (2016); Technology and Sustainability (2014); Gift Ecology: Reimagining a Sustainable World (2012), Dr. Denton will present a lively and dynamic discussion on Living Close to Home: Local Choices for a Sustainable Future. About Dr. Denton: Dr. Peter Denton works in the social, cultural and ethical dimensions of technology in multi-disciplinary contexts. He chairs the Policy Committee of the Green Action Centre and has been involved in UN Environment since 2012 as a civil society representative and as a contributing author to the GEO 6 North American Regional Assessment (2016). Dr. Denton is a principal consultant at greenethics.ca, inc., and holds multiple degrees, including a PhD in Religion and the Social Sciences from McMaster University. He is also an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada. He currently teaches history of technology at the University of Winnipeg and is an Adjunct Associate Professor of History at the Royal Military College of Canada. This event is co-sponsored by UPEI Environmental Studies Program and the Kirk of St. James. It is a free, public event. All are welcome.

All are welcomed to attend this week's FSDE Graduate research seminar on Wednesday, September 19 at 12:00pm in FSDE 212. This week's presenters are: Emad Naseri, PhD-MMS student with his title, "Development of Drug Eluting Bio-piercing Scaffolds Using 3D Bio-printing and Tartela Alkayyali , MSc-SDE student, with her title, "A Growth Chamber for the Discovery of New Natural Products Using Microfluidic Bacteria Encapsulation in Agarose Microbeads All are welcome!

Join UPEI's Dr. Brian Wagner for a demonstration of some incredible chemistry!.  Wednesday, September 19th, 1 pm to 1:30 pm Robertson Library LINC, Room 265 This event is part of Science Literacy Week. All are welcome!

The Island Lecture Series kicks off another season on Tuesday, October 16, at 7 p.m. in the SDU Main Building Faculty Lounge on the UPEI campus, and will feature Ms. Janice Pettit speaking about her master’s research: “Is the ‘Island way of life’ lost when the ferry becomes a bridge?” Politicians began talking about building a fixed link between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick in the late 1980s, and while this was not the first time the topic was broached, the Premier of the day suggested a plebiscite vote to determine Islanders’ interest. Both those opposed and those in favour of the link rallied their two sides at public meetings prior to the vote to ensure their messages were heard. The “no” side raised a number of issues, but their main concern centred on the perceived loss of the “Island way of life” if a fixed link connected the Island to the mainland. During the 1989 plebiscite, Islanders voted almost 60 per cent in favour of a fixed crossing, and in 1997 the Confederation Bridge opened to the public.  Given all that was said and written regarding concerns about the loss of islandness, it is somewhat surprising that, until now, research had not been conducted to determine if the bridge has, in fact, had this impact. Have Prince Edward Islanders lost their “Island way of life”? This presentation, drawn from the exploratory thesis research of a UPEI Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) graduate, provides some insight into whether Prince Edward Island residents still consider themselves islanders and if their island identity has been affected by the fixed connection to the mainland. Janice Pettit graduated from the MAIS program in May 2018 and is a Senior Policy Advisor with the Government of Prince Edward Island. Admission to the lecture is free and everyone is welcome to attend. The next lecture is scheduled for November 20. Mark your calendars!  For more information, please contact Laurie at iis@upei.ca or (902) 894-2881.

Environmental Studies Program and Robertson Library Talks invite the members of the UPEI community to participate in the Environmental Studies Book Club discussion series. The aim of the Environmental Studies Book Club series is to facilitate the campus-wide discussion about various environmental issues and provide an informal learning opportunity to university students. This fall we will be reading Justin Farrell’s book Battle for Yellowstone: Morality and the Sacred Roots of Environmental Conflict (2015). Farrell’s book is an illuminating and engaging account of environmental conflicts that have been raging in the iconic Yellowstone National Park for the past two centuries. “The Battle for Yellowstone asks why it is that, with the flood of expert scientific, economic, and legal efforts to resolve disagreements over Yellowstone, there is no improvement? Why do even seemingly minor issues erupt into impassioned disputes? What can Yellowstone teach us about the worsening environmental conflicts worldwide?” (https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10517.html) The discussion series will be of interest to anybody who would like to exchange opinions and learn more about the history and present day of nature conservation, conflict over natural resources, discourses and narratives about nature, and the role of spirituality and values in shaping human-environment interaction. The e-book is available through the UPEI library. Just go to https://library.upei.ca/ and search in the catalogue for Battle for Yellowstone. Click on the link and begin reading! Contact a librarian if you have questions. The discussions will take place in Robertson Library—Reading Room, 2nd Floor.  September 26th, noon-1pm Chapter 1: Believing in Yellowstone: The Moralization of Nature and the Creation of America’s Eden October 17th, noon-1pm Chapter 3: Buffalo Crusaders: The Sacred Struggle for America’s Last Wild and Pure Herd November 7th, noon-1pm Chapter 4: Between Good and Evil: The Science, Culture, and Polarization of Wolf Conflict November 28th, noon-1pm Chapter 5: Drilling Our Soul: Moral Boundary Work in an Unlikely Old-West Fight against Fracking If you are interested in joining/leading the discussions or have any questions/suggestions, please feel free to contact Dr. Nino Antadze at nantadze@upei.ca