In This Issue:

News from Berkeley

• Canadian student Alishba Imran plans to “change the world” with pioneering AI & robotics research
• Photos: Kicking off the new semester with a student social!

Upcoming Events

• ACB-FGC: A Culturally Responsive Program to Support Black Families Involved with the Ontario Child Welfare System
• 6th Annual Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner

Academic Opportunities

• The Thomas O. Enders Distinguished Dissertation Award

External Events

• Silicon Valley Terry Fox Run
• Celebrate National Legion Week with US Branch 25!

NEWS FROM BERKELEY

Canadian student Alishba Imran plans to “change the world” with pioneering AI & robotics research

Last week, Berkeley News published a profile of Alishba Imran, a Canadian sophomore majoring in computer science and engineering, as part of the “Berkeley Changemaker” series, which highlights innovative members of the campus community.

A 19-year-old whiz with AI and robotics, Imran has already built up an impressive résumé. After founding her first company at just 17, she was named in Teen Vogue’s 21 Under 21, and was one of 2021’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. She’s now co-authoring a textbook on machine learning in the hope of making robotics more broadly accessible.

Born in Pakistan, Imran’s family immigrated to Canada when she was five. She grew up and attended school in Toronto, and from an early age showed a fascination with technology. She began coding in middle school and was one of the first girls to join her high school’s robotics team.

Since then, Imran has continued to break barriers as she seeks technological solutions to the world’s most pressing issues, from healthcare access to climate change. Her projects range from an app to track counterfeit medicines in developing countries to new materials to decrease the cost of prosthetic limbs. She has also spent considerable time working on improving battery storage capacity, with the aim of expanding solar energy adoption. Imran’s first company, Voltx, raised over $1 million in pre-seed money, and she has even collaborated with Tesla on her battery research. She plans to take advantage of Berkeley’s extensive research networks to follow her own research passions to grow and innovate even further.

Last week, Canadian Studies hosted our first new student welcome in several years. We were thrilled by a fantastic turnout, which including both undergraduates and graduates from across campus, as well as a few longtime friends. The event introduced many new students to the program, including several Canadians who decided to investigate once they saw our flag. Attendees enjoyed connecting with their fellow Berkeley Canadians over a light lunch, including some new students looking for friends to smooth their transition to life at Cal. We’ll definitely host more in the future, so stay tuned!

Left: Students exchange stories about being a Canadian at Berkeley over lunch.

Right: Program director Richard A. Rhodes and program staff welcome students.

UPCOMING EVENTS

ACB-FGC: A Culturally Responsive Program to Support Black Families Involved With the Ontario Child Welfare System

Tues., Sept. 26 | 12:30 pm | 223 Philosophy Hall | RSVP

The disparate treatment of African American families in the American child welfare system is well documented, but researchers are only just beginning to examine the experiences of African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) Canadian families in Canada. In the province of Ontario, recent studies find that Black families are represented in the child welfare system at disproportionate rates. Experiences of Black youth, caregivers, and workers also highlight differential and punitive treatment within the system. These findings have given rise to the development of the African, Caribbean, Black Family Group Conferencing Project (ACB-FGC), a restorative, culturally responsive innovation to support Black families at risk of, or already engaged in, the child welfare system in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). In this presentation, Dr. Lance T. McCready, co-director of ACB-FGC, describes the community-based research that led to the development of the program and implications of ACB-FGC for provincial policies to address anti-Black racism in the child welfare system and among partner institutions.

Dr. Lance McCready is the lead researcher for the Making Spaces Lab, and an associate professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He holds a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. and Ph.D. in education, all from UC Berkeley. He is the recipient of the 2017 Ludwik and Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize from the University of Toronto, and the 2018 Distinguished Research Scholar Award from the Ontario Education Research Symposium. Dr. McCready held a Sproul Fellowship with Canadian Studies at Berkeley in Spring 2023, where he worked on several projects related to the health and welfare of Black families, youth, and GBT/MSM individuals in Canada.

This event is cosponsored by the Berkeley School of Education, the Center for Race and Gender, and the Department of African American Studies & African Diaspora Studies.

6th Annual Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner

Sunday, Oct. 8 | 4:00 pm | Alumni House | Buy tickets

Canadian Studies is proud to partner with the Digital Moose Lounge for our sixth annual Canadian Thanksgiving! Join your fellow Bay Area Canadians for this annual Thanksgiving tradition. Share a delicious turkey dinner as you connect with friends old and new.

Tickets may be purchased through the Digital Moose Lounge.

ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES

The Thomas O. Enders Distinguished Dissertation Award

Deadline: September 15, 2023

The Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS) is seeking nominations for its Thomas O. Enders Distinguished Dissertation Award. The award recognizes original work that makes a significant contribution to the nominee’s discipline and to the study of Canada.

The award consists of an honorarium of $5,000, a certificate of citation, and complimentary two-year membership in ACSUS. The awardee will be expected to attend the ACSUS Biennial Conference in November 2023, where the award will be conferred, and may be asked to give a 20-minute presentation on their work at the conference.

For details on how to apply, please click here.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Silicon Valley Terry Fox Run

Sunday, Sept. 17 | 9:30 am | Palo Alto, CA | Learn more

For the first time ever, the Terry Fox Run, an international event honoring Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope, is coming to Silicon Valley! Participants will gather at the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto for a 5K run/walk event. Funds from the event will be donated to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), a world-leading institution in groundbreaking cancer research and treatment.

By taking part, you’re running not only for yourself but also for everyone whose life has been touched by cancer. (Look out for our friends at the Digital Moose Lounge, who are running as a team!) And if you can’t run, donations are gratefully appreciated. So, mark your calendar, lace up your shoes, and get ready to run!

Celebrate National Legion Week With US Branch 25!

September 17-23 | Learn more

The Royal Canadian Legion is a nonprofit organization serving Canadian veterans and their families. Did you know that there used to be 16 branches of the Royal Canadian Legion in Northern California alone – including one in Berkeley? Or that the Bancroft Library has a collection of British Empire Service League and Canadian Legion records from 1939-1943? Today, US Branch 25 (San Francisco) continues that tradition of service in the Bay Area through hosting annual Remembrance Day services to sponsoring a local cadet corps to maintaining the graves of Canadian and Commonwealth veterans.

Join Branch 25 as they celebrate the first annual National Legion Week from Sunday, September 17 to Saturday, September 23, with stories about the branch, its history, and its current activities. For more information, visit their website.

Canadian Studies Program

213 Philosophy Hall #2308

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