Summer Wednesday Talk: May  31, 2023, 2-4pm – Zoom only

Abstract:  Inuit have lived and thrived for millennia in one of the most challenging environments on the planet. How is this possible? It is chemistry which, in many aspects, provide the underlaying explanations for Inuit survival. Over the past ten years, Geoff, together with two Inuit students, have researched and documented some of these links. In this presentation, he will provide case studies of Inuit life and culture and describe the chemistry involved–in a non-technical manner. 

Bio: Geoff Rayner-Canham, F.R.S.C., F.C.I.C. is Professor Emeritus at the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.  He is the co-author of Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry which has had six editions and been translated into Khmer, Korean, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.  As part of his commitment to chemistry education, he has been very active in Outreach, taking chemistry to schools in remote and isolated communities.  Resulting from 20 years of the award-winning Outreach program, he teamed up with two Inuk students, first, Chaim Christiana Andersen of Nain, Nunatsiavut, then Rosalina Naqitarvik of Arctic Bay, Nunavut, to research and write about the links between chemistry and the Inuit way of life.  His other line of research has been the forgotten women in the HERstory of chemistry, which he has undertaken with Marelene Rayner-Canham, resulting in 40 research publications and seven books.   

Link to register: https://forms.office.com/r/wRPXdMijKG  

The deadline to register is the morning of the the event before 8:00am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.  

If you have any questions, please contact the organizer – Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca.