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Bernhard Kraatz (CRC in Biomaterials), Alex Moewes (CRC in Materials Science with Synchrotron Radiation), and Evelyn Peters (CRC in Identity and Diversity: the Aboriginal Experience), all had their appointments renewed for another five years.

"These chair renewals allow our faculty to build upon their growing foundations of world-leading research, enhancing the international prominence of this university in both the physical and social sciences," said U of S Vice-President Research Steven Franklin. "Our students will continue to benefit as they learn from these leaders in their fields."

The renewals are included in an announcement of new appointments and renewals across the country made today at the University of Ottawa by Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the Canada Research Chairs program.

"The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of investing in university research," Bernier said. "This investment will enable our universities to develop the expertise and innovative ideas that fuel economic competitiveness and create new jobs for Canadians."

Associate professor of geography Evelyn Peters is using custom-built computer modeling tools and population statistics to produce maps that reveal how Aboriginal people are integrating into Western Canadian cities, to guide city planners, community groups, and First Nations agencies providing programs and services.

In her first term as CRC, Peters worked with PhD student Oksana Starchenko to produce the Atlas of Urban Aboriginal Peoples, an extensive online resource that provides population distribution and socio-economic data for six major Prairie cities. Starchenko is one of nine graduate students to benefit from Peters' supervision. Her award-winning work also includes one volume of an international peer-reviewed journal, one edited book, 20 papers, and 15 national and international conference presentations. She is co-leader of a comparative study of Aboriginal issues in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Her work is a key component in launching an Institute of Aboriginal and Indigenous Graduate Studies and Research at the U of S.

Peters has found Aboriginal people are steadily diffusing into Prairie cities as their economic situation improves, but there are still major challenges with no easy answers.

"Aboriginal households living in areas of extreme poverty talk about fear, housing inadequacy, and problems their children face," Peters says. "But the areas where Aboriginal people live in Prairie cities are not like U.S. ghettos. We cannot assume we know what's going on by analogy with the U.S. situation. We need a made-on-the-Prairies perspective."

Chemistry professor Heinz Bernhard Kraatz works at the intersection between bioscience and materials science, aiming to understand and replicate complex molecules such as bioconjugates and biomaterials for sensing and materials' applications. In the process, he is discovering how to custom-build molecules to act as potential drug delivery systems and biosensors, including an application that may lead to a device to sniff out chemical weapons.

In his first term as CRC, Kraatz published more than 70 papers and reviews, including co-authorship with fellow CRC Moewes on the first peer-reviewed paper based on data collected at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron. He also published a book, and has five patents published or pending. The Canadian Society for Chemistry honoured him with its 2006 Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry, recognizing his world-leading achievements such as the first artificially designed "beta barrel," a tube-shaped molecule that in nature passes nutrients and other molecules through the cell wall.

Kraatz's team currently includes nine PhD students, two postdoctoral fellows, and three undergraduate students, as well as summer students. Everyone, including the undergraduates, participates in research.

"The only way to get them interested is to make them responsible for their own projects," Kraatz says. "It helps them become independent researchers."

Physics professor Alexander Moewes uses synchrotron light to study the electronic properties of materials, that is, how they conduct or resist electricity. His work, conducted both independently and with a world wide network of collaborators, is shedding light on materials that could be used in super-durable electronics for extreme environments, or as molecular "wires" in nanotechnology applications.

In his first term as CRC, Moewes published 80 papers and gave 10 invited talks at international conferences. He is co-leader of the REIXS beamline project at the Canadian Light Source, and promotes synchrotron research through workshops, outreach, and teaching. His research group, collectively known as the Beam Team, published the first peer-reviewed paper based on data collected at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron. This study, co-authored with fellow CRC Kraatz and graduate student Regan Wilks, described the electronic properties of protein fragments called peptides.

"This is very substantial work," Moewes says. "This project has both experimental and theoretical significance in biology and materials science."

The Beam Team has graduated five MSc students and one PhD student - two of which, Wilks and Janay McNaughton - have received national and international recognition and awards for their work. Currently, the team includes an undergraduate student, four graduate students, and a post doctoral fellow.

The U of S has so far named 28 Chairs under the $900-million Canada Research Chairs program, created to enhance universities as centres of world-class research excellence by attracting and retaining excellent researchers in Canadian universities. For profiles of U of S Canada Research Chair holders, visit www.usask.ca/crc or the national website at www.chairs.gc.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Heinz Bernhard Kraatz
Department of Chemistry
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-4660
bernie.kraatz@usask.ca
http://rincewind.usask.ca

Alexander Moewes
Department of Physics and Engineering Physics
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-6431
moewes@usask.ca
http://beamteam.usask.ca

Evelyn Peters
Department of Geography
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-5639
evelyn.peters@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/crc/profiles/peters.php

Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2427
michael.robin@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research