Page 15 - EUREKA -Fall 2014

Dean’s Summer Research

might not have had otherwise.
Internships Double Thanks to phenomenal grades but haven’t had
“Students who obtain DSRI’s have
Community Support the opportunity to do much hands-on
research. This gives the students a
taste for actual research, what goes
on behind the scenes,” said Bertram.
By Lindsay Brennan by the platform, Future Funder. “Now when they read a publication,
Future Funder is a new they have a personal understanding
or many first-year students, fundraising website launched in of what it takes to conduct a research
Fthe Dean’s Summer Research February 2013 that allows donors to project of that scale.” Community Engagement
Internships (DSRI’s) offered by the choose specific university initiatives Bertram, who is supervising two
Faculty of Science are a welcome that are important to them, and DSRI students this summer, says the
way to spend hot summer months. complete transactions entirely online. internships are a fantastic experience
Working alongside professors Every donation was matched for first-year students as they progress
and graduate students carrying out dollar for dollar by the Dean of in their degrees.
controlled experiments, analyzing Science, bringing the total amount “By the time they move into their
data, and discussing results is an raised for DSRI’s to over $25,000, fourth-year honours projects and are
invaluable experience that many seeing 30 students awarded these looking for a lab to join, they can talk
apply for, but not everyone receives. much sought-after awards. to the professors and let them know
however, students were rejoicing Dr. Susan Bertram, associate how much actual research experience
this summer as the number of DSRI’s professor of biology at Carleton, they have. They have a much greater
awarded were doubled, thanks to a says that the internships give understanding of what is involved in
successful fundraising campaign run students an opportunity they doing a research project.”

Bringing the School of Mathematics and

Statistics out in the Community

By Kristy Strauss
he Centre for Quantitative Analysis what the trends would be, and using “They have some queries about
Tand Decision Support (CQADS) this information to help them change the number of arriving passengers at
at Carleton University has been their policies and their fundraising airports, and the rate at which they’re
flourishing in its collaborations with approaches based on the data,” he being screened.”
community organizations ever since it says. “We provide an analysis over time, Students and faculty at the centre
opened over a year ago. where we can help them get a better analyzed data to help their new client
“We’ve had a lot of success,” said idea as to what the fundraising picture understand the growth in the number
Patrick Boily, the manager and senior is in this country.” of air travellers, average wait times
consultant of the centre. Boily adds that the centre’s data experienced at airports, as well as the
CQADS brings Carleton’s School enables the United Way to compare impact of screening resources.
of Mathematics and Statistics out their fundraising efforts with those of “Obviously, the more screening
into the community by connecting their competitors. resources you have, the quicker people
university students and faculty with “We’ve managed to help them, can go through,” said Boily, adding
clients to solve real-world issues. at the very least, see their activities in that the centre used math and statistics
Partnering with clients in the public a different light,” said Boily. “We’ve to help CATSA model the relationship
and private sectors, the centre also offered them different ways to look between screening resources and wait
gives Carleton students a chance to at data they have, and useful ways as times at Canadian airports.
gain experience in their field. well.” The CQADS’s success is just
Boily says the centre has been so he adds that CQADS has also beginning, says Boily, and there
successful that it has renewed its third recently collaborated with the Canadian are many other collaborations it is
contract with the United Way, where Air Transport Security Authority currently working on.
it helps the organization project (CATSA), which is an organization For more information on CQADS,
fundraising numbers for different that protects the public by efficiently visit its website at: http://www.
regions of Canada. screening all air travellers and their carleton.ca/math/cqads/
“We’re looking at determining baggage at Canadian airports.

EUREKA 15