Marine Pursuits camps expanding
The Marine Institute is teaming up with the Bonne Bay Marine Station to offer two new Marine Pursuits camps from July 28–Aug. 1 and Aug. 18-22 at Norris Point in Gros Morne National Park.

The area is an ideal location for a wide range of learning activities with its unique natural ocean laboratories and marine ecology habitats. During the one-week residential camps, high school students from all over the province will get hands-on experience in oceanography, fisheries science, aquaculture and marine technology. They will also try their hand at global positioning, navigation, and chart work in addition to studying marine invertebrates and fish habitat.

The Bonne Bay facility features state-of-the-art laboratories, aquariums, a dock and boat, an accommodations wing and serves as a teaching and research centre for university marine biology and environmental studies students. Opened in September 2002, the station has become a marine interpretation centre for those interested in learning about the area’s marine ecosystem.

Launched with great success last year, Marine Pursuits gives students in grades 9-11, the opportunity to explore various career opportunities available in the marine and related fields. Participants at the Bonne Bay camps will study aquaculture, fisheries science, and oceanography in the field, in the lab and through demonstrations. Last year, over 60 students from across the province took part in Marine Pursuits.

Applications are available on line at www.mi.mun.ca/marinepursuits/.

Sea-Hawk to represent Canada
Memorial University Sea-Hawks basketball sensation Jenine Browne has been named to team Canada’s roster and will compete at the 2003 World University Games in Daegu, South Korea, in August.

The third year Sea-Hawk standout learned of the news from head coach Deb Hubard. The team will train in Vancouver from Aug. 9-12 before heading to South Korea to compete in exhibition and tournament play.

Ms. Browne comes off a stellar season with the Sea-Hawks, leading all Canadian university players in scoring and being named a first team All-Canadian.

The current selection to team Canada is Ms. Browne’s second opportunity to gain international experience, as she was a member of the 2002 Team Canada Under 20 Squad which competed at the World Junior Qualifying Tournament in Brazil. The 2003 Summer Universiade Women’s Basketball tournament schedule runs from August 20-31.

GENESIS Group boosts local bio-tech
Several Newfoundland biotechnology companies participated in the Atlantic Canada Biotechnology Alliance Pavilion at BIO 2003 in Washington, D.C. the event took place from June 23-June 25. BIO is the world’s largest conference and exhibition of biotechnology. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and the three maritime provincial governments provided financial support for the exhibition pavilion.

Two Newfoundland companies reported excellent results from the event. The GENESIS Group, the technology commercialization arm of Memorial University, signed a significant licensing deal with BTG International. Memorial researchers, Dr. Hu Liu, Dr. Lili Wang and Wu Xiao, of Memorial’s School of Pharmacy, have developed a new radio-imaging probe designed to identify plaque lesions associated with atherosclerosis. BTG International is a multi-million dollar organization with operations in Europe and the USA.

GENESIS Group will receive up-front payments and royalties on sales of the technology, said David King, president and CEO of Memorial’s GENESIS Group. BTG has also agreed to a Canada First clause which will seek to commercialize the technologies through Canadian companies.

Aqua Bounty Farms, Inc., a company created to commercialize technology licensed by the GENESIS Group, signed a venture deal at BIO 2003, which will inject new capital valued at several million Canadian dollars into the company. Aqua Bounty’s lead product, a rapidly-growing Atlantic salmon that reaches harvest size twice as quickly as conventionally farmed fish, is already under regulatory review at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company is currently performing late-stage regulatory studies for submission to the FDA in 2003.

The Works online
Check out The Works new Web site at www.theworksonline.ca. Aquarena, Field House and MUN Recreation Facility information, schedules and pricing at your finger tips 24 hours a day. Enter our Online Prize Draw for your chance to win one of five prizes drawn this summer. Feedback regarding the Web site, or any other aspect of The Works’ operations is important. Please click on the Feedback Button on the main page. All questions, comments and suggestions are welcome as The Works continues to seek ways to improve. This is Phase 1 of the Web site development, with more to come to serve you better. If you have not already done so, check out the facilities and programs at The Works – there is something for everyone and everyone is welcome. For a personal tour of the facilities, please contact Paula Blundell at 737-3786.