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February 19, 1999
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Volume 6, Number 11 |
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About OCNCover
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RESEARCH
$3 million in software donated for state-of-the-art U of S geological research
Corporate donations of software valued at $3 million will give U of S researchers the best tools of any university in Canada for creating images of the interior of the earth. "We are extremely pleased to receive these donations," says Professor Zoltan Hajnal, of Geological Sciences. "This new laboratory software will revolutionize what we're able to do within our geophysics program." He says it will also permit researchers to recruit high-calibre faculty and attract more research dollars, "because we can undertake research work that's relevant to the needs of the potash and mining industries." U of S researchers and students in Geological Sciences will now be able to create three-dimensional computer images of the earth to several kilometres in depth, providing a spatial map of sub-strata. Previously, only two-dimensional images could be created from seismic field survey data. "Think of the earth as a layer cake," Hajnal says. "Until now, we could only 'see' the layers of the cake where we had made a vertical cut. With this new technology, we can make many slices and see how thick the cream filling is throughout the cake and even what the quality of it is." While this software technology has been used elsewhere in oil and gas exploration, Hajnal's team will take a new step in applying it principally to the potash and other mining industries.
"In the past, we didn't know how big a mineral deposit was or what shape it was. Now we can map mineral formations both vertically and horizontally." He says this new underground world will also reveal channels of buried rivers, ancient reefs, mountains, and many of the complexities of the geologic strata with very high precision." The donations come from four international companies:
Hajnal notes that the total package of state-of-the-art software programs is unique at a Canadian university. The programs will be run on computers in the Department's Seismological Laboratory. All the donor companies have had, or still have, U of S graduates working for them. "These donations were received because, throughout the years, the exploration and the oil and gas industries recognized the novel professional qualities of our graduates," he says. "The excellent contributions they make daily to the activities of these companies were the major factors that tilted these organizations' decisions to sponsor our program." He notes that Brian Russell, co-chair of Hampson and Russell Software Services Ltd., is a U of S graduate and president of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the largest international professional geophysical organization in the world. The U of S is one of only three universities in Canada chosen by Landmark Graphics to collaborate on geophysics research under the company's alliance grant program.
Research sub-committee seeking faculty input re meeting of new Tri-Council ethics standards
With the December deadline looming to meet the Tri-Council standards and procedures for ethical review [see Nov. 27/98 OCN], a University research sub-committee is seeking input from across campus by March 12 on what needs to be done at the U of S to comply. The Tri-Council policy statement, a joint policy of the three federal granting councils, was released last fall. It sets out ethical principles covering all three areas of granting council research involving humans. The guidelines address issues as varied as confidentiality, consent, conflict of interest, inclusion of women in research, use of fetal tissue in research, and the banking of genetic material. Universities have until September to bring their standards and practices for ethical review of research projects into line with the new policy. The U of S research committee, chaired by Professor Murray Fulton, expects to make recommendations for action to the Research Committee of Council by early summer. To prepare its recommendations, Fulton's committee is seeking input from faculty in all disciplines over the next couple of weeks.
"In particular," he says, "we're examining the organizational structures and resources required at the University to address the Tri-Council statement." He notes that some parts of the Tri-Council statement are requirements for change, others are "good practices" to be encouraged, and still others are up to individual research ethics review boards to determine. Among the key questions the committee will ask are:
Responses should be returned to the Office of Research Services, Room 208 Kirk Hall. For more information, contact Fulton at -8507 or e-mail Murray.Fulton@usask.ca The Tri-Council guidelines are posted on the Web at http://www.sshrc.ca/english/programinfo/policies/ethics.htm For further information, visit the web site or contact communications@usask.ca
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Next issue of On Campus News: Friday, March 12
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