WHAT'S HAPPENING AT UNB
ALUMNI NEWS MAGAZINE | Summer 2024
On Feb. 27, UNB named a street on its Saint John campus Abraham B. Walker Way. A collaboration between UNB and the City of Saint John, Abraham B. Walker Way pays tribute to Walker, a distinguished civil rights pioneer, the first Canadian-born Black lawyer and UNB law's first Black student.
UNB's Analytics Everywhere Lab AE Lab), in the faculty of computer science, has leveraged the power of AI to help a local company expand its range of products that detect defects in manufacturing sectors like automotive and paper processing. Under the guidance of computer science professor Hung Cao (PhD'20), the AE Lab explored how to train a computer model to make decisions about manufacturing defects, based on data found in quality control images taken during the manufacturing process. The joint project, called Automated Defect Detection Using Transfer Learning, brought together the leadingedge knowledge of AI capabilities from the AE Lab and the real-world industrial solutions being pioneered at Fredericton's Eigen Innovations.
The company operates worldwide, providing products that help make manufacturing more efficient by analyzing data from machine vision systems and process sensors using intelligent algorithms to identify and predict defective products in real time on an assembly line. Their systems have done everything from identifying coating defects on specialty paper using thermal imaging to seeing critical surface defects on automotive parts using synchronized illumination and image capture, resulting in millions saved for manufacturers.
After being open for almost two years, the UNB legal clinic has emerged as
a powerful resource in improving access to justice, not just in the City of Fredericton but throughout New Brunswick. Since opening its doors in September of 2022, the clinic has answered hundreds of inquiries and provided legal support for well over 100 clients in need.
Jeannette Savoie, supervising lawyer for the clinic, has seen a remarkable demand for services, specifically surrounding tenancy. "We're seeing a lot of issues with evictions, especially around large rent increases, renovictions, or landlords claiming they are changing the use of the premises - also, unreasonable house rules and lease agreements."
Mi'gmaq entrepreneur, and national and community leader, Victoria LaBillois
(BA'91, MBA'04), has been honoured with the faculty of management's Certificate of Achievement Award and inducted permanently on the faculty's Alumni Wall of Fame.
Kieran Johnson has always kept her perspective focused on the environment and the human impact on it. That longstanding work was recognized last November when Kieran won the Golden Award for the Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative in Cape Breton. Hailing from the Eskasoni First Nation in Unama'ki (Cape Breton), N.S., Kieran's work focuses on the watershed in that community - primarily on species at risk, including animals and fish that live in the watershed, as well as plants and other flora.
She worked to help make one of the rivers in the system more habitable for salmon and other plant and animal life. Using deflectors made of logs and rocks, the community is working to transform the river into a healthier environment for the salmon that call it home. "The deflectors divert the water towards the center of the river. They make the water deeper, create pools, and help build up the banks, creating cooler water and spots for salmon and other fish to rest in. I was working on assessing the effectiveness of these deflectors and trying to encourage the salmon to come back."
Kieran explains how Elder Albert Marshall related the concept of twoeyed seeing (Etuaptmumk) to her. "It is taking the strengths of lndigenous knowledge and ways of knowing and the strengths of western knowledge and ways of knowing and using 'both eyes' (both perspectives) for the benefit of all. It is a guiding principle and is action-oriented;' Differing definitions between the Indigenous and Western perspectives highlight the need to acknowledge and reflect on the multiple ways of understanding the environment. One definition Kieran is interested in is oldgrowth forest. "What I would like to do is go through the old growth policy [in Nova Scotia] and see what is considered old growth to them, and I know that our community has also talked about what is old growth. I'd really like to compare the two and really use both to classify areas."
When the prestigious Currie Scholars program for Atlantic Canadian students was established in 2004 by then-Chancellor Richard J. Currie (LLD'87), Elizabeth Steele Meier (BA'71, MSc'75) was a founding member of the selection committee.
Over the past 20 years, Liz, who stepped down from the committee this spring, has interviewed some 200 final candidates for UNB's most valuable renewable awards, selecting more than 65 accomplished award recipients. The rigorous application process looked at the candidates' academic record, character, communication skills, leadership potential and, like Dr. Currie, their ability to face and overcome obstacles and barriers in their lives. Although the application information and essays were important, the real decision was made after meeting and interviewing the candidates. According to Liz, "The most enjoyable aspects of the selection process were the events of the scholarship weekend itself. Meeting the students at the reception and having a chance to watch and talk with them at the dinner were not only instructive but a lot of fun. We also had fun at the interviews. It never was our intention to put anyone on the 'hot seat' but rather to make them feel comfortable enough with us to let their true personas show. There was a lot of joking and laughter going on always at the interviews. After meeting these outstanding young people, I would leave the weekend feeling that the world was going to be a better place from the ripple effect of what these students could contribute on their life journeys."
A published cancer researcher and award-winning realtor, Liz has also been a long-time, active volunteer for various health, education and newcomers organizations.
The current selection committee, inspired by Liz's dedicated example, has just completed its work for 2024-25. Members are Beth Currie Watt (BPE'93), and former Currie Scholars Taylor Steele (BScCE'13) and Brendan Wood (BScEng'10, MScME'13).
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