Predicting when and where landslides could occur is imperative for the safety of Canadians, integrity of infrastructure, and safeguarding of natural resources. A diverse set of tools exist to accomplish this task but these tools are not without limitations. Scott McDougall published a review in the Canadian Geotechnical Journal describing the state-of-practice in landslide runout analysis. He shared details from his free access review with CSP. You study landslides and related geological processes. What’s so interesting…

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By Erin Zimmerman, Ph.D. The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and the temperature is slowly rising. That can only mean one thing… conference season is upon us. The opportunity to attend a conference can be one of the most informative and motivating experiences of your career, and definitely worth taking full advantage of, whether it’s your first conference or annual favourite. So for grad students and early-career researchers looking to make the most…

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By Sarah Boon, Ph.D. Hope Jahren’s first book, Lab Girl, is a memoir about her career as a scientist from Georgia Tech (1996–1999) to Johns Hopkins (2000–2008) to the University of Hawaii (2009–2016). In engaging prose, it tells the story of how an awkward girl from Minnesota overcame numerous academic challenges (despite being a woman and having a mental illness) to become a world-renowned researcher in partnership with her senior research manager of 20 years,…

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By: Natalie Sopinka  In Canada, plastic pollution of our waterbodies is an emerging concern in a crowd of aquatic stressors. Similar to chemical contaminants such as PCBs, plastics can be pervasive across both time and aquatic food webs. In the oceans, reports of ingested plastic by seabirds have spanned a half century: surveys from 1966–1967 found “plastic toys” in the stomachs of Herring Gull in Newfoundland, and today macroplastics (plastics > 5 mm) and microplastics…

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"Peer review is at the heart of the research ecosystem.”—Publons, 2016 SpotOn Report  Heart, backbone, foundation, mainstay, core, whichever word you use, peer review is fundamental to the scholarly publishing of science. Yet, the volunteer efforts of peer review are not often formally recognized or rewarded. Addressing this paucity in recognition is possible. New initiatives and tools are committed to ensuring peer review stays a “pillar of research quality and integrity”.  Last year Canadian Science…

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By: Joelle Thorpe, Ph.D., Mitacs Canadian Science Policy Fellow The views expressed herein are those of Dr. Thorpe and are not necessarily shared by any organizations with which she is affiliated. Every single Canadian should care about the recently released Fundamental Science Review. If you’re unsure why you should care just consider, for a moment, an average day in the life of a typical Canadian: Our Canadian wakes up to the sound of a radio…

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This post is part of an ongoing series by Jenny Kliever about women in physics who have inspired others and contributed to the field in unique and impressive ways. The Canadian Journal of Physics will be publishing a special issue on Women in Physics later in 2017. Keep up to date on all CJP activities by signing up for the CJP newsletter. By: Jenny Kliever Dr. Ursula Franklin was many things: physicist, educator, feminist, holocaust survivor,…

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The wild leek can be deep-fried, sautéed, and pickled, but it is also a threatened species in Québec, Canada. In a new study published in Botany, researchers at Laval University investigated optimal growing conditions that could aid commercial production of wild leek.    By: Pierre-Paul Dion and Line Lapointe Wild leek (Allium tricoccum; ramps or wild garlic) is a small forest herb very popular for the taste of its bulb and leaves. It usually grows…

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Paul Schaberg and his colleagues at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and USDA Forest Service recently published a study in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research. Below, Paul describes the role temperature has in turning the leaves of sugar maple trees red.    By: Paul Schaberg, Ph.D. The transition of leaf colour from the greens of the growing season to the mosaic of green, yellow, and red in autumn is a wonder to recreational “leaf…

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By Erin Zimmerman, Ph.D. Most academics have a fraught, love/hate relationship with writing. Though the final product brings pleasure and a sense of accomplishment, the process can be both slow and painful. What’s more, writing is often easy to put off in the push to complete more pressing activities, such as research, teaching, and committee work. This procrastination leads many to end up approaching their writing with a sense of dread and writing in occasional,…

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