Welcome! ::. Sigma Xi McGill-Montreal Chapter .::

updated: 6 April 2009

Friday 17 April 2009

Dr. Robert Boily
Challenges Facing Scientific Knowledge at the Dawn of the XXIst Century.
Friday, 17th April 2009
Public Lecture: 6:00 P.M.

McCord Museum
690 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, Quebec H3A 1E9
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Followed By Banquet at Le Caveau

March 2009

Prof. Nathalie Tufenkji
Bonding with Bugs: Bioadhesion in Environmental and Biomedical Processes
Monday, 30th March 2009
Public Lecture: 6:00 P.M.
McGill University
Otto Maass Chemistry Building
Room 10
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Council Meeting: 4:30 P.M.
Ruttan Room
_____________________________
Member Reception: 5:30 P.M.
Ruthan Room

February 2009

Prof. Sylvain Roberts
Global warning - Recent facts about the ozone layer and global warming Monday, 23rd February 2009
Public Lecture: 6:00 P.M.
McGill University
Otto Maass Chemistry Building
Room 10
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Council Meeting: 4:30 P.M.
Ruttan Room
_____________________________
Member Reception: 5:30 P.M.
Ruthan Room

January 2009

Prof. Micheal von Grünau
Vision on the go: How well can we see when we walk?
Monday, 26th January 2009
Public Lecture: 6:00 P.M.
McGill University
Otto Maass Chemistry Building
Room 10
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Council Meeting: 4:30 P.M.
Ruttan Room
_____________________________
Member Reception: 5:30 P.M.
Ruthan Room

December 2008

Sigma Xi
Christmas Party and Special Lecture: Dr. Alex Koukoulas
Going Green: Opportunities and Challenges for the Green Revolution
Monday, 15 December 2008
Université McGill
Otto Maass Chemistry, Room 10
6:00 P.M.

Followed by the Party!!!
Ruttan Room 7:15 P.M.

November 2008

Prof. Jean Paris
The Forest Biorefinery, an Opportunity for the Canadian
Pulp & Paper Industry, not a Panacea
Monday, 24th November 2008
Public Lecture: 6:00 P.M.
McGill University
Otto Maass Chemistry Building
Room TBA
_____________________________
Council Meeting: 4:30 P.M.
Ruttan Room
_____________________________
Member Reception: 5:30 P.M.
Ruthan Room

October 2008

Prof. Patrick Ayotte
Life and death of a snowflake: Molecular beam studies of elementary heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry processes
Monday, 27th October 2008
Public Lecture: 6:00 P.M.
McGill University
Otto Maass Chemistry Building
Room 328
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Council Meeting: 4:30 P.M.
Ruttan Room
_____________________________
Member Reception: 5:30 P.M.
Ruthan Room

September 2008

Dr. Steven J Melnick PhD.,M.D.
Pharmaceutical Medicine in Crisis! A search for harmony between Western and traditional medicine systems
Monday, 22nd September 2008
Public Lecture: 6:00 P.M.
McGill University
Otto Maass Chemistry Building
Room 10
_____________________________
Council Meeting: 4:30 P.M.
Ruttan Room
_____________________________
Member Reception: 5:30 P.M.
Ruthan Room

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Friday 17 April 2009

McCord Museum

Robert Boily, Ph.D.
President Inforex Inc
SigmaXi John P. McGovern
Science and Society Award

Banquet Information

Challenges Facing Scientific Knowledge at the Dawn of the XXIst Century.

Since the 1980s, we truly live in the « society of knowledge »… a period of time marked by the rapid evolution of computers and information technologies in general. This has resulted in profound changes in the way we see, use, work and interact with knowledge. In the history of Humanity, there has never been more accesses to scientific information than today : journals, books, magazines, television, radio, DVDs and, of course, the Internet. This is very good news for the democratization of science, as more and more people can be informed about research activities from all over the world. However, serious problems have also resulted from the overabundance of information (also called « infobesity »). The growth and quality of scientific information are now out of control for the most part. In recent years, even peer-reviewed publications had their share of problems regarding credibility, and the public opinion was affected negatively as some very unfortunate events were revealed in the mass medias. Because the population is better informed, we have seen in recent years numerous pressure groups being created to keep a close eye on scientific research. This lecture will present some of the main challenges that scientists have to face in this new reality.