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DALHOUSIE 

Faculty of Computer Science


U N IVE RS I TY

News - Events - Opportunities

Autumn 2009
Research News
reactive lights and cameras, tetherless tracking, and
New and Current novel GIS-like production interfaces.

Projects Virtual Worlds


Procedural modeling of 3D objects offers an
unsurpassed capability of synthesizing complex scenes
The GRAND Research Network
(e.g. plants and ecosystems, terrains, buildings and
cities), and thus has a wide range of potential
applications. They include the creation of virtual
worlds for computer games, generation of complex
scenery for computer animations, and computer-
GRAND (GRaphics, Animation and New MeDia) is a
assisted landscape, urban and architectural design.
national scale Networked Center of Excellence that
Video game production is facing challenges, mainly
brings together industry participants, academic
due to the need for ever-larger virtual worlds; teams of
researchers, artists and directors from across Canada
scene designers and graphics programmers are
to develop new technologies and methodologies in 3
becoming as large as entire film crews.
key areas to our current and future economy:
Procedural scene creation is thus becoming a very
attractive solution. Until now, however, applications of
(1)New Media
procedural models have been limited to a relatively
(2)Games and Interactive Simulation
small number of well-crafted special cases. We
(3)Animation, Graphics and Imaging
propose to examine the limiting factors, and develop
The Faculty of Computer Science, in partnership methods that will extend the usage of procedural
with the Cineflux Lab at NSCAD University is methods.
engaged in two projects within the GRAND network:
Digital Media Production, and Virtual Worlds.
The Web Information
Digital Media and Film Production Filtering Lab
The integration of remote avatars or virtual actors
into shared spaces often imposes constraints on the The Web Information Filtering Lab (WIFL) was
realism, believability and artistic control of rendered formed in 2000 shortly after Computer Science moved
content, while real-time data acquired during into its new building. The mission of the Lab is to
interaction and performance is not fully exploited in pursue research that will improve user access to large
current post-production systems. text datasets as exemplified by the Web. Many good
This project will enhance the next generation of students, from undergraduate to doctoral, have fueled
live performance technologies in a manner that the research, led by Mike Shepherd, Carolyn Watters
supports the task-specific demands of communication, and Jack Duffy. The research falls into 3 main areas;
interaction, and production. Our approach to realizing user interaction on the Web, adaptive user
these objectives entails further development and profiles, and classification of web pages.
integration of several enabling technologies, including The user interaction research includes
video acquisition and display architectures, spatially web browsing on small-screen devices,
News
multi-session web tasks, categorization of the kinds workings of the key players in all sorts of industrial
of tasks users perform on the web, novel navigation of processes including wastewater treatment and the
search results, and the design of additional cleanup of contaminated industrial sites.
functionality for web browsers to help users The analysis of these genetic data sets, which can
accomplish tasks. comprise millions of genes and billions of letters of
Adaptive user profiles allow systems to select DNA, is not trivial: bioinformatics is all about making
material on an individual basis on the Web. In WIFL sense of these genetic sequences and understanding
the focus of adaptive user profiles has been on tasks how organisms and communities work and how they
such as reading newspapers and browsing the Web, change over time. A new direction in bioinformatics
which are intrinsic in nature. This makes it difficult to ties genetic data to geography and habitat data, to
predict what news articles or web pages a user would explain the spread of disease and to determine the key
be interested in viewing at any given time. User environmental factors that shape biodiversity. With
profiles in this context change over time, so that the this goal in mind, Dalhousie CS researchers Rob
profiles must be sensitive to new interests while not Beiko, Stephen Brooks and Christian Blouin, along
“forgetting” previous interests. with Jacqui Whalley from the Auckland University of
The third major area of research is the Technology have developed GenGIS, a geospatial
classification of web pages by genre. The genre of a information system for environmental genomic data.
web page, such as FAQ or personal home page, can be GenGIS is all about the fusion of genetic data with
used to improve the results of a Web search by digital maps in a 3D visual environment. Developing
matching the genres of the retrieved web pages to the GenGIS has required us to come up with new
task of the user. WIFL research examines algorithms for 3D GIS visualization, the display of
combinations of genre attributes as well classifiers, genetic data on a map, and optimal layout of trees to
feature sets, and number of features to represent a show hierarchical relationships among data collected
genre. from distinct geographic locations. We have already
With the dependence on the Web continuing to used GenGIS to study microbial biodiversity in the
grow and search engines vying with each other to ocean, pathways of human migration, and the patterns
improve search results to attract users. WIFL is no of HIV-1 infection in Africa. The 2009 H1N1v 'swine
danger of running out of interesting research flu' pandemic was studied on an unprecedented
genetic scale: mirroring trends in Free and Open
Source software, swine flu genetic data were available
GenGIS: Visualization, geography
online within days of their collection, and we were
and genetics: together at last! able to use GenGIS to track its spread in geographic
Everyone has heard of the Human Genome Project, and evolutionary terms.
but this endeavour is only the tip of the iceberg when Different aspects of GenGIS has been described in
it comes to learning about the genetic basis of life. journal articles and conferences. PhD student and
New technologies are now allowing researchers to Killam scholar Donovan Parks received a Best
determine the DNA sequence of bacteria that cause Conference Paper award for his presentation about
tuberculosis, botulism, salmonella, and a host of other optimal tree layout algorithms at Geoinformatics
diseases. And people are now taking these 2009. Undergraduate students Suwen Wang and
technologies into the field to study biodiversity at a Harman Clair developed new 3D GIS features, and
level of detail that could not have been imagined undergraduate (and prospective MSc student) Mike
twenty years ago. The outcomes of this work will Porter tied it all together with a user interface that
teach us about the microbial communities supports statistical analysis, screen captures
that keep us healthy, and what goes and movies, and custom analyses written
wrong when we get sick, leading in the Python scripting language.
to new therapeutic techniques GenGIS is free and open source.
beyond the blunt hammer of
antibiotics. Beyond this, we http://kiwi.cs.dal.ca/GenGIS/Main_Page
will be able to pin down the
News
In Partnership
with Industry
Partners for Success: GenieKnows Inc and
Showcasing Research Strengths Dalhousie FCS
Designed to showcase the research strength of the GenieKnows Inc is a Halifax based IT company that
Faculty of Computer Science, this innovative new connects search technology, community and content
series of workshops was launched in the fall of 2008. by developing niche-specific portals tailored for
An initiative of Dean Michael Shepherd and distinct searching communities. GenieKnows works
Associate Dean -Research Evangelos Milios, the closely with researchers and students at the Faculty of
objective is to create University-Industry partnerships Computer Science, a relationship which began from a
in the areas of research and development. The first MITACS funded project eight years ago. These early
workshop in the series was held November 27, 2008, beginnings led to the establishment of R&D at
on the topic of Electronic Health. The event GenieKnows and a growing partnership which
attracted 25 participants, including a senior member continues to deliver benefits to all parties involved.
of the IT team for the Nova Scotia Department of Working together on research projects has opened up
Health, who contributed as one of the panelists. The access to government grant programs, provided
second workshop, held on May 1, 2009, was on the valuable opportunities to graduate students and
timely topic of Emergency and Rapid Response, professors and has provided GenieKnows with cost-
featuring guest speaker Mark Elmore of the Oak effective research, helping it to maintain its
Ridge National Laboratory. Due to local fires and the competitive edge in a rapidly changing market. Since
H1N1 flu outbreak, the original 40 participants were the original MITACS funded joint project, the
reduced to 23, as participants were pulled away to partnership has benefitted from the NSERC CRD
deal with emergencies and to provide rapid response program, the MITACS Accelerate Internship
(rather appropriate given the topic of the workshop). program, the NRC-IRAP program and from ACOA-
Even so, the workshop and Mark’s presentation were AIF. Working together has also provided the
well received. The most recent Partner’s workshop, advantage of exposing graduate students and the
on February 2, 2010, covered the topic of Digital/ company to each other. Many GenieKnows R&D
Social Media and Gaming, and drew a lively staff are Dalhousie graduates who had worked on
audience of 22. The series is a showcase for FCS internships or co-op placements at the company.
faculty; however the real benefit is making Professors at the Faculty of Computer Science have
connections with local industries that could been involved as consultants/advisors and have
eventually become partners. The Faculty will benefitted from the exposure to real world industrial
continue the series with another workshop in problems and the inspiration this brings to their own
preparation for spring and/or fall of 2010. research.
For more information on upcoming Partners For Looking to the future the partnership looks set to
Success workshops, please contact continue growing. New collaborative projects are
Rosemary.Bulley@dal.ca or phone 902-494-3446. being sought and new funding opportunities, such as
the NSERC Engage program, are becoming available.
Such a partnership model that provides
“In the long history of humankind
(and animal kind, too) those who
research funding to both industry and
learned to collaborate and academia, which is affordable for
improvise most effectively small business, and which builds
have prevailed”
capacity and brings economic
- Charles Darwin benefits to the region is a
win-win-win scenario.
NSERC’s Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation Faculty

(SPI) Gives Researchers New Tools to Connect Michael Shepherd, Dean


with Industry by Jason Frenette, NSERC
Raza Abidi
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Dirk Arnold
recently launched a new Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation in December, Robert Beiko
2009. A key goal of the Strategy is strengthening the opportunities for Christian Blouin
collaborative research between universities and Canadian companies. Two new James Blustein
pilot programs give researchers from Canadian universities an opportunity to Peter Bodorik
meet with potential collaborators and work on company-specific problems. Alex Brodsky
The Interaction Grants program provides up to $5,000 over three months to Stephen Brooks
support expenses associated with travel and meetings in order to allow academic Philip T. Cox
researchers to establish contact with one or several companies to identify new Abdel-Aziz Farrag
potential research projects. Occasionally, travel expenses for University-Industry Qigang Gao
Liaison Office staff to participate or for representatives of small companies to Malcolm Heywood
visit a university may also be eligible.
Nauzer Kalyaniwalla
The Engage Grants program supports the development of new collaborations
Vlado Keselj
through short-term R&D projects undertaken by eligible university researchers
Brad Lushman
and Canadian private-sector partners. A maximum grant of $25,000, over a
Michael McAllister
period of six months or less, can be awarded to the academic researcher to cover
Evangelos Milios
the direct project costs associated with the research activities needed to address
Andrew Rau-Chaplin
an identified industrial problem. Engage Grants are meant to foster the
Denis Riordan
development of a new collaborative relationship between a company and the
Srinivas Sampalli
academic researcher, so there can be no existing or past relationship between the
Norm J Scrimger
two parties, including a previous research collaboration, consulting contract, or
Arthur E. Sedgwick
involvement by the academic researcher in the company.
Jacob Slonim
University researchers can also pursue research collaborations with the
Thomas Trappenberg
private sector through the NSERC Collaborative Research and Development
Carolyn R. Watters
(CRD) program. CRD Grants support industry-driven R&D projects in which
direct costs are cost-shared by the industrial partner(s) and NSERC. These Norbert Zeh
Nur Zincir-Heywood
projects can range from one to five years in duration, although most awards are
for two or three years. The average grant size is approximately $65,500 with a
Contact
maximum amount of $500,000 per year. The CRD program enjoys one of the
highest NSERC success rates for applicants, with over 85% of project Faculty of Computer Science
applications being successful. In some cases, CRD Grants can be aligned with Dalhousie University
6050 University Avenue
companies receiving support from other government R&D programs, such as the Halifax NS B3H 1W5
National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC- Canada
IRAP) or the Atlantic Canadian Opportunities Agency’s Atlantic Innovation
(phone) 902-494-2093
Fund (ACOA-AIF), both of which act as catalysts for enhanced private-public
(fax) 902-492-1517
sector R&D. Combining efforts through these programs can help companies inquiries@cs.dal.ca
stretch their R&D budget and maximize their opportunities to innovate. www.cs.dal.ca

For more information on NSERC and its programs, please visit our partnership
site at www.nsercpartnerships.ca

“Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody
else has thought”

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (1893-1986)

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