The 2024 Royal Society of Canada Eastern Ontario Symposium is a free event open to anyone from the Kingston community and beyond, interested in hearing four experts talk passionately about their research. The speakers are all RSC Fellows or Members of the RSC New College of Scholars, Scientists and Artists. There will be a short period for questions following each presentation. Tickets are required and can be obtained in advance from the IBCPA Box Office (up to two tickets per order). Seating is assigned so getting tickets early will ensure a good seat. Unless the event is sold out, tickets will also be available at the door on the evening of the presentation. A cash bar will be open at 5:30 PM and during the intermission. This event will be available for livestream viewing using the link on this page and for the week following the event on the IBCPA Digital Concert Hall.
In presenting this symposium, the support of the Royal Society of Canada, Queen’s Vice-Principal Research Portfolio, and the IBCPA is gratefully acknowledged.
MERLYNA LIM: Algorithmic Heartbeats: Love and Hate in the Time of Social Media
Merlyna Lim, Canada Research Chair in Digital Media and Global Network Society, Carleton University and RSC Fellow, researches the co-shaping of digital technologies and society, focusing on citizen participation, activism, and democratization/autocratization in the Global South. Lim’s presentation explores how algorithmic and marketing principles shape content visibility, affecting online collectivism on social media, with "love" and "hate" driving polarization and autocratizing trends.
MARGARET MOORE: Territory and sElf-determination
Margaret Moore is a professor of Political Studies at Queen’s and RSC Fellow. Her book, A Political Theory of Territory (2015), was recognized with a Best Book Prize by the Canadian Philosophical Association. Her presentation examines the fact that almost the entire usable surface of the Earth is divided into territorially distinct jurisdictional units, and how we think about and justify these territorial divisions.
PARVIN MOUSAVI: From Diagnosis to Surgery: AI's Role in Transforming Cancer Care
Parvin Mousavi, Canada Research Chair in Medical Informatics at Queen’s, Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector AI Institute and an RSC College member, focuses on developing and translating machine learning approaches for precision medicine. Her presentation will cover innovations in AI and their potential to enhance clinical decision-making in computer-assisted surgeries and interventions, particularly in cancer care.
KERRY ROWE: Presentation TBA
At Queen’s University, Kerry Rowe is the Barrington Batchelor Distinguished Professor and the Canada Research Chair in Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering. He has been recognized by over 120 awards for his research and is both an RSC Fellow and an Officer of the Order of Canada (O.C.). His pioneering research in waste barrier systems has focussed on developing new guidelines for building waste-disposal sites that provide long-term environmental protection.
For more information on the speakers, their presentation and their research, please see this link: