News

April 2024:

My article "The Search for the Exact Site of Toronto's Last Duel" is published in The York Pioneer, the annual journal of the York Pioneer and Historical Society.

February 28, 2024:

I will be taught a staff upgrading course for Humber College, Human Resources:

Communicating with Impact

Winter 2024:

As a partial-load faculty, I taught a credit course twice simultaneously. One online for George Brown College's Continuing Education unit: COMM 2017 - Communicating Across Contexts, and the same course with a different code (COMM 2000) for the daytime school in person at Casa Loma Campus. I also taught LIBA 9294 - Copyediting online for Continuing Education.
At Seneca Polytechnic, I taught EAC594 - Business Communication for the Digital Workplace for the second time (days) and PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies (nights) for the 26th time. Both are online.

Fall 2023:

As an adjunct faculty, I taught a daytime credit course for Seneca Polytechnic: EAC594 - Business Communication for the Digital Workplace for the first time.

I recently taught a writing and editing workshop for Canadian Blood Services via Seneca College Corporate Training.

Spring/Summer 2023:

As an adjunct faculty, I updated and taught LIBA 9294 - Copyediting and LIBA 9309 - Grammar for Editors and Writers each for the 1st time with George Brown College. Grammar was for one term only but I took over Copyediting permanently. I also taught COMM 9158 - Technical Writing: Advanced Concepts for the 9th time. Lastly, as adjunct faculty, I taught PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies online for Seneca Polytechnic (formerly Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology), Faculty of Continuing Education & Training online via their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 24th time teaching TWS.

As an adjunct faculty, I am teaching LIBA 9357 - Editing Web Content for the 10th time for George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning via their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada.

I recently completed teaching and documentation review projects for the Ontario Nurses Association via George Brown College Continuing Education and for Kenaidan Contracting Ltd. via Seneca College Corporate Training.

Winter 2023: As adjunct faculty, I taught PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies online for Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training online via their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 23rd time teaching TWS.

I also taught COMM 9093 - Technical Writing and Analysis online for the 4th time for George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning via their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada.

Late this winter I began volunteering with the York Pioneer and Historical Society to help out with outreach communications including their social media and a new website.

Fall 2022: As an adjunct faculty, I taught PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies online for Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training online via their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 22nd time teaching TWS. As adjunct faculty, I also taught COMM 9093 - Technical Writing and Analysis for the 3rd time and COMM 9363 - Creating Accessible Documents for the 5th time. Both COMM courses are online at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning via their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada.

Summer 2022: As an adjunct faculty, I taught PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies online for Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training online via their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 21st time teaching TWS.

Spring 2022: As an adjunct faculty, I taught LIBA 9357 - Editing Web Content for the 9th time.

Winter 2022: As an adjunct faculty, I taught PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies online for Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training online via their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 20th time teaching TWS. As adjunct faculty, I am teaching COMM 9158 - Technical Writing: Advanced Concepts for the 8th time, COMM 9134 - Technical Writing for Product Documentation and COMM 9363 - Creating Accessible Documents, each for a 4th time, and COMM 9093 - Technical Writing and Analysis for the 2nd time. All COMM courses are online at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning via their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. I also taught COMM 9094 - Technical Editing online later in the term for the first time.

Fall 2021: As an adjunct faculty, I taught PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies online for Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training online via their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 19th time teaching TWS. As adjunct faculty, I am teaching COMM 9134 - Technical Writing for Product Documentation for the 3rd time and COMM 9093 - Technical Writing and Analysis for the 1st time. Both COMM courses are online at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning via their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This means I now teach 3 of the 4 required courses making up George Brown's Technical Communications Certificate Program.

Summer 2021: As adjunct faculty, I am teaching PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies online for Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training online via their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 18th time teaching TWS. As adjunct faculty, I am teaching LIBA 9357 - Editing Web Content for the 8th time.

March 2021: Received certificate in REDI (Respect, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) training from York University.

February 2021: Received the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans Course on Research Ethics (TCPS 2: CORE)

February 2021: Received training in Agile, Sprint, and SCRUM plus Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (via York University). Certificates in:

Voice of the Customer – Net Promoter Score
Use of Data Transformation in Analysis
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
Lean and Green
Lean Deployment Strategy and Methods
Introduction to Reliability Life Data Analysis
Introduction to Logistic Regression
Introduction to General Linear Models (GLM)
Introduction to Design of Experiments (DOE)
Introduction to Design for Lean Six Sigma
Discrete & Continuous Probability Distributions

December 2020: Completed the Course Builder Workshop (George Brown College).

Fall 2020 - Winter 2021: I worked with colleagues at Florida International University on a COIL (Collaborative International Online Learning) project between the students in one of their tutor training programs and the students in my Technical Writing Strategies course at Seneca College. I am now starting a similar COIL project with a colleague at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle, The Netherlands for my other Seneca course: Technical Writing.

Winter 2021: As adjunct faculty, I am teaching PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies online for Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training online via their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 17th time teaching TWS. As adjunct faculty, I am teaching COMM 9134 - Technical Writing for Product Documentation for the 2nd time at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning at their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. I am teaching LIBA 9357 - Editing Web Content for the 7th time and COMM 9363 - Creating Accessible Documents for the 3rd time.

September 2020: Completed training in Fundamentals of Online Course Design (Seneca College).

Fall 2020: As adjunct faculty, I am teaching PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies online for Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training online via their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 16th time teaching TWS. Also, at George Brown College, I was asked to update the curriculum and teach COMM 9134 - Technical Writing for Product Documentation for the first time.

Summer 2020: As adjunct faculty, I am teaching EAC390 - Technical Writing and PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies courses online for Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training online via their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 17th time teaching TW and my 15th with TWS.

May 04, 2020: I am quoted by The Washington Post's national political investigative reporter Michael Kranish in his article "Trump says he shares his famed uncle's science genius. A friend says the uncle 'would have been horrified.'" My MA research was on Trump's uncle and physics lab partner Robert J. Van de Graaff.

Spring 2020: As adjunct faculty, I am teaching the "COMM 9158 - Technical Writing: Advanced Concepts" course at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning online for their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 5th time teaching TWAC.

Winter 2020: As adjunct faculty, I am teaching LIBA 9357 - Editing Web Content at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning at their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 6th time teaching EWC. COMM 9363 - Creating Accessible Documents is scheduled twice again in February and March-April 2020. EWC is scheduled again for March-April 2020 as is Writing Web Content.

I am also teaching EAC390 - Technical Writing and PRC625 - Technical Writing Strategies courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 16th time teaching TW and my 14th with TWS (Note: PRC625 was previously called EAC 625 - Effective Communications for Engineers until January 2020).

Fall 2019: As adjunct faculty, I created and debuted COMM 9363 - Creating Accessible Documents and LIBA 9357 - Editing Web Content (for the 5th time) at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning at their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada.

I also taught Technical Writing and Effective Communications for Engineers at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This was my 14th consecutive term with ECFE and my 15th with TW.

Summer 2019: As adjunct faculty, I taught Effective Communications for Engineers at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This was my 13th consecutive term with ECFE. "Technical Writing" was on hiatus for the Summer Term.

Spring 2019: As adjunct faculty, I am teaching the "COMM 9158 - Technical Writing: Advanced Concepts" course at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning at their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 4th time teaching TWAC. I have substantially updated and modified the curriculum for TWAC including assignments.

I also taught Effective Communications for Engineers at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This was my 12th consecutive term with ECFE. Technical Writing was on hiatus for the Summer Term.

Winter 2019: As adjunct faculty, I am teaching LIBA 9357 - Editing Web Content and LIBA 9358 - Writing Web Content courses at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning at their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my 3rd and 4th time with EWC, my 4th time at WWC, and my 3rd with TWAC. I have substantially updated and modified the curriculum for TWAC.

I also taught Effective Communications for Engineers at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This was my 11th consecutive term with ECFE. Technical Writing was on hiatus for the Winter Term.

September 12, 2018: Excalibur, "Remembering Priscila". I was quoted in the article about the passing away of friend and colleague Priscila Uppal.

Fall 2018: As adjunct faculty, I am teaching LIBA 9358 - Writing Web Content and COMM 9158 - Technical Writing: Advanced Concepts courses at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning at their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. These are both my second contracts for these courses with George Brown. This is my 3rd time at WWC and my 2nd with TWAC. I have substantially updated and modified the curriculum for both courses.

I also taught Technical Writing and Effective Communications for Engineers courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This was my 14th consecutive term at TW and my 10th with ECFE.

Summer 2018: As adjunct faculty, I taught EAC390 - Technical Writing" and EAC625 - Effective Communications for Engineers courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This was my 13th consecutive term at TW and my 9th with ECFE.

February 20 & March 06, 2018: I was invited as a guest lecturer for Dr. Nancy La Monica's Seneca College course: ENG205 - Applied Communication for Business and Industry. I discussing Linked In for the first class and Technical Report Writing for the second class.

February 15, 2018: Invited to provide guidance to George Brown College's Centre for Continuous Learning on their Technical Communication Certificate Program.

February 2018: I reviewed and edited some draft writings by a new author on a proposed book profiling superstar baseball players of the 1980s.

Winter 2018: As adjunct faculty, I taught LIBA 9358 - Writing Web Content and LIBA 9357 - Editing Web Content evening courses at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning at their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. These are both my second contracts for these courses with George Brown.

I also taught "Technical Writing" and "Effective Communications for Engineers" evening courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This was my 12th consecutive term at TW and my 8th with ECFE.

December 13, 2017: I was delighted to deliver a live webinar Effective Technical Editing for Editors Canada.

Fall 2017: As adjunct faculty, I taught Technical Writing - Advanced Concepts, Writing Web Content, and Editing Web Content evening and weekend courses at George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centre for Continuous Learning at their St. James Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. These are my first courses with George Brown.

I also taught Technical Writing and Effective Communications for Engineers evening courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This was my 11th consecutive term at TW and my 7th with ECFE.

Summer 2017: As adjunct faculty, I taught Technical Writing and Effective Communications for Engineers courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This was my 10th consecutive term at TW and my 6th with ECFE.

January 25, 2017: Excalibur, "'We rearranged the system' - Kathleen Wynne -- New grant system will include low-income and mature students at the cost of previous tax breaks." I was quoted in the article about Ontario premier Wynne's new funding program for mature students.

Winter 2017: As adjunct faculty, I taught Technical Writing and Effective Communications for Engineers courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my ninth consecutive term at TW and my fifth with ECFE.

Fall 2016: As adjunct faculty, I taught Technical Writing and Effective Communications for Engineers courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my eighth consecutive term at TW and my fourth with ECFE.

Summer & Fall 2016: I consulted with Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology to develop a new online business communications course for the Winter 2017 Term. I was also asked if I was interested in developing and teaching a new offering: Star Trek: The Course. I was (and still am).

Summer 2016: As adjunct faculty, I taught Technical Writing and Effective Communications for Engineers courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my seventh consecutive term at TW and my third with ECFE.

Winter 2016: As adjunct faculty, I taught Technical Writing and Effective Communications for Engineers courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. This is my sixth consecutive term at TW and my second with ECFE.

Fall & Winter 2015/2016: Hired as a writing coach for a graduate student attending Royal Roads University in British Columbia.

September 16, 2015: I participated as an alumni panelist at York University's Graduate Studies New Student Orientation.

Fall 2015: As adjunct faculty, I taught Technical Writing and Effective Communications for Engineers courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada. I was also commissioned to overhaul and redesign this course from scratch over the summer.

August 2015: Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training has asked me to overhaul and teach the Effective Communications for Engineers course for the Fall Term. Thank you, I accept!

Summer 2015: As adjunct faculty, I taught Technical Writing and Effective Business Communication courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada.

March 24-26, 2015: I visited the A.W. Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory to research a paper on the decommissioning of their Emperor Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator. I also gave a seminar on March 26 to Yale's Department of Physics about my Van de Graaff research. See slides for Smashing Atoms for Science & Profit: A Brief History of the Van de Graaff Generator & High Voltage Engineering Corporation.

January 23, 2015: Presented a briefing on historic changes in American government funding of science from the 1930s onwards and recent Canadian government funding of defence technologies and science at the Better Science Policy in Canada workshop at the University of Toronto, Victoria College - hosted by the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST) and by Scientists for the Right to Know. Read about it in The Varsity and in The Bubble Chamber.

Speakers:

11:05 - 11:20 Margrit Eichler (President, Scientists for the Right to Know)
11:20 - 11:35 Christianne Stephens (Anthropology, York)
11:35 - 11:50 Pamela Wong (Ecology, U of T)
11:50 - 12:05 Amrit Phull (Architecture, Waterloo)
12:05 - 12:20 Bruce Hyer (Deputy leader of the Green Party)
12:20 - 12:35 Rebecca Moore (IHPST, U of T)
12:35 - 12:45 Ted Hsu (MP, Science & Technology Critic, Liberal Party of Canada) (plus short response by Marty Cooke via video)
12:45 - 13:00 Edward Fenner (STS, York)
13:00 - 13:15 Curtis Forbes (IHPST, U of T)

Winter 2015: As adjunct faculty, I taught Technical Writing and Effective Business Writing courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada.

November 2014: Preliminary discussions with Yale University's A.W. Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory about me writing a paper on the decommissioning of their Emperor Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator.

October 24, 2014: Attended the Big Picture Conference at York University. There were fascinating, informative, and interactive discussions on:

The Future of Communications
Macro Societal Trends
Marketing for the Youth Market
Post-Secondary Education Trends

October 15, 2014: I attended Fall Convocation where I graduated with my Master of Arts in Science and Technology Studies at York University in Toronto. Photo.

Summer 2014: I became a member of the Science & Health Policy Research Cluster (SHPRC) at the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) in the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, ON, Canada.

Summer & Fall 2014: As adjunct faculty, I taught Technical Writing and Effective Business Writing courses at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Faculty of Continuing Education & Training at their Newnham Campus in Toronto, ON, Canada.

May 26, 2014: I presented a paper at the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS) 2014 Congress at Brock University. Topic: "Smashing Atoms and Making Money: Robert J. Van de Graaff's High Voltage Engineering Corporation — Methods and challenges of marketing peaceful uses for particle accelerators during the Cold War."

May 21-23, 2014: I participated in the inaugural workshop: The Science-Policy Interface — International Comparisons — Canada/UK/US at the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) in the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, ON, Canada.

May 02, 2014: I presented a paper at Localities: Science and Technology in Places, Spaces, and Times at York University's 4th annual Graduate Student Conference. Topic: "No Clean Room Required. Developing and Manufacturing Robert J. Van de Graaff's Electrostatic Particle Accelerators for Science and Profit in the American Northeast."

Summer 2014: I began teaching EAC390 - Technical Writing on Monday evenings this summer at Seneca College (Newnham Campus) in Toronto as part of their Faculty of Continuing Education and Training.

April 07, 2014: My proposal to present a paper at Localities: Science and Technology in Places, Spaces, and Times at York University's Graduate Student Conference was accepted. Topic: "No Clean Room Required — Developing and Manufacturing Robert J. Van de Graaff's Electrostatic Particle Accelerators for Science and Profit in the American Northeast."

April 05, 2014: I presented a paper at the 14th annual STGlobal Consortium Science and Technology in Society Conference at The National Academies in Washington, DC. Topic: "Smashing Atoms and Smashing Sales — The Prospects and Perils of Manufacturing Particle Accelerators for Science and Profit."

March 18, 2014: My proposal to present a paper at the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS) 2014 Congress at Brock University has been accepted. Topic: "Smashing Atoms and Making Money: Robert J. Van de Graaff's High Voltage Engineering Corporation — Methods and challenges of marketing peaceful uses for particle accelerators during the Cold War."

March 09, 2014: I presented a paper at Cornell University's Northeast Graduate Student Conference in Science and Technology Studies. Topic: "Smashing Atoms and Expectations — Entrepreneurial Science and the Dawn of High-Tech Venture Capital at Robert J. Van de Graaff's High Voltage Engineering Corporation." Read the NESTS program PDF at this link.

February 19, 2014: My proposal to present at the Science and Technology Studies Northeast Graduate Student Conference at Cornell University has been accepted.

February 05, 2014: My proposal to present at the 14th annual STGlobal Consortium Science and Technology in Society Conference in Washington, DC. has been accepted. Topic: "Smashing Atoms and Smashing Sales — The Prospects and Perils of Manufacturing Particle Accelerators for Science and Profit."

December 04, 2013: Joined the Accessing Built Environments Subcommittee of Access York — the University's committee for issues surrounding disability and accessibility.

October 30, 2013: Macleans - On Campus - "Autumn leaves lift spirits on campus" (Blog Central, "From Acadia to Victoria, students snap photos of fall"). Macleans selected my autumn photo (#43) as one of two to represent York University in the photo gallery of Fall colours at university campuses across Canada. My photo is in here. Storify gallery of photos here. On Instagram at yorkuofficial. All are part of the #YorkUFall tagboard on Twitter.

October 30, 2013: I was nominated by a colleague to the Communications Committee 2014 for YUSA (York University Staff Association) at the Annual General Meeting. I accepted the nomination and served for one year.

October 22, 2013: Toronto Star: "Toronto elephants reach California sanctuary" (Letter to the Editor, "Less risky for elephants").

July 31, 2013: My review of Successful Science Communication is published in Vol 2, No 1 (2013) issue of DEMESCI - International Journal of Deliberative Mechanisms in Science. It has been used by the publisher - Cambridge University Press - in many of its marketing and promotional efforts for the book.

July 8-15, 2013: The research trip to the American Institute of Physics in College Park, Maryland, USA was a success. Great staff and I learned a lot about Van de Graaff, his colleagues, and High Voltage Engineering Corporation. Paralleling that were successful trips to Washington DC to do some research at the Smithsonian Institution's Archives and at the National Museum of American History Library.

February 2013: My suggestion of Entre YU is one of four finalists in York University's Intranet naming competition.

November 05, 2012: YFILE: "Ready, set, flip! Flapjacks fly for the United Way" (news photo co-subject; l-r: Marsha, me, Amy, & Norma).

October 25, 2012: York University Mature Students Blog: "Mature Student Success: Keeping up with Edward Fenner-Part 2".

October 22, 2012: York University Mature Students Blog: "Mature Student Success: Keeping up with Edward Fenner-Part 1" (author).

October 19, 2012: YFILE: "International students at York claim three of six City of Toronto awards" (author).

June 26, 2012: YFILE: "Tiananmen Square memorial returns to Keele campus" (alumni news photo credit).

June 2012: Joined the ACMAPS 5-Year Review Working Group.

May 07, 2012: I was once again honoured to be recognized as a Murray Ross Award (President's Medal) winner when I was invited to attend the unveiling of a new permanent memorial to recipients of York University's top awards. I was pleased to meet other recipients and especially pleased to share the event with my wife Linda. Photos on my facebook album (publicly available). Read the YFile story and view the short video.

February 29, 2012: I set up and launched my academic research blog: The Smashing Mr. Van de Graaff today.

February 28, 2012: I was a panelist on the Career Conversations Panel Series:"Discovering Careers in Writing & Publishing. View the YorkU Career Centre event page at York University.

February 23, 2012: I hosted a workshop for professors, academic advisors, and teaching assistants: "Getting Better Essays from Your Students." It was part of a series of talks and workshops presented through the Office of the Master, Vanier College, York University.

January 18 and 20, 2012: The Faculty of Graduate Studies posted a story about me "STS student awarded American Institute of Physics grant" which was picked up and tweaked a wee bit by YFILE two days later: "Part-time student awarded American Institute of Physics grant" and reposted in the newly redesigned YFILE. Thanks to all who have written to me or spoken to me with congratulations.

December 19, 2011: I received an e-mail today telling me that I have been awarded a grant-in-aid from the Friends of the Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics, in College Park, Maryland, USA. Worth up to USD $2,000, this grant is meant to help reimburse expenses regarding my investigation into Robert J. Van de Graaff and his devices while visiting the Center's Niels Bohr Library & Archives and Emilio Segrè Visual Archives. Thank you AIP for your support!

December 09, 2011: YFILE - "York in the World: New exchange program offers experience in migration culture" (author). The same story was edited for student readership in YLIFE.

November 10, 2011: I was a panelist on the Career Conversations Panel Series: Discovering Careers in Communications & Public Relations. View the YorkU Career Centre event page at York University.

November 07, 2011: Today, I successfully dubbed an old 7-inch reel of 1/4-inch audio tape of Robert J. Van de Graaff. It's been 25 years since I used a reel-to-reel machine. With the help of Rob van der Bliek, music librarian and YorkU's Sound and Moving Image Library, I was able to get a good, clean copy on modern media. The old reel was in remarkably good shape since it likely hasn't been played since circa 1967.

November 03, 2011: YFILE: "President's Pancake Breakfast breaks participation record" (news photo subject).

October 12, 2011: YFILE: "TTC site accident affects transit service" (news photo

credit). YLIFE: "Classes at Schulich cancelled tonight due to accident" (news photo credit).

October 05, 2011: A £350 (CDN $522) grant came through from the Scientific Instrument Society, based in the UK. Thank you, SIS!

August 18, 2011: YFILE: "Subway construction moves into high gear" (news photo credit).

August 2011: I visited Bill Van de Graaff for the first time and have added about 1,200+ photographs of Robert's documents and files, plus lots of reports from HVEC (High Voltage Engineering Corporation). Bill and his lovely family reside in Burr Ridge a suburb of Chicago, Illiniois.

July 2011: I visited John Van de Graaff in Northampton, Massachusetts again and have a total of 8,000+ photographs of Robert's documents and files. I also spent some time at the MIT Archives in Cambridge.

May 02, 2011: YFILE: "A tree is planted for Qian Liu" (news photo credit).

March 11, 2011: The Scientific Instrument Society, based in the UK, approved a grant of up to £350 (CDN $500) to help reimburse expenses regarding my road trip investigations into Robert J. Van de Graaff's devices. This is very helpful to part-time graduate students like me who do not qualify for (nor are we usually permitted to apply for) grants and scholarships in the same fashion as full-time graduate students.Thank you, SIS, for your support!

January 31, 2011: I was the guest speaker in professor Jan Rehner's Professional Writing: Process and Practice course (AP/EN 1700 9.0) at York University.

January 06, 2011: I was a panelist on the Career Conversations Panel Series: Discovering Careers in Writing & Publishing. View the YorkU Career Centre event page at York University. View videos or listen to audio files.

January 2011: York University's Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies publishes my "Tips for Mature Students" in their January 2011 Newsletter.

December 07, 2010: YFILE: "QR codes engage current and prospective students" (quoted).

December 01, 2010: YFILE: "Water main rupture diverts buses on the Keele campus" (news photo credit).

November 03, 2010: I got a nice mention in a profile on Toronto poet and editor Karen Correia Da Silva. Thanks, Karen! Read The Toronto Quarterly profile.

October 21, 2010: I was a panelist on the Career Conversations Panel Series: Discovering Careers in Communications and Public Relations at York University. View the YorkU Career Centre event page. Also, view videos or listen to audio files from the panelists.

September 2010: Joined the STS Executive Committee as the MA representative for the 2010-2011 academic year. View the STS Program website.

September 15, 2010: YFILE: "Annual Words Alive Literary Festival draws York authors, poets" (mentioned).

August 2010: I spent time with Robert's son John and had a visit with Robert's original generator at the Museum of Science in Boston (the generator was state-of-the-art when newly built at Round Hill, South Dartmouth, Massachusetts in 1933). I also spent some time at the MIT Archives and the MIT Museum. All are preliminary investigations into my research on Robert and his machine for my Master's research and for a potential book.

July 2010: I began preliminary investigations into the life, science, and legacy of American experimental physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff - the focus of my Master's degree studies in STS. If anyone has any suggestions, links, or other comments, do let me know. Read the Wikipedia profile of Robert J. Van de Graaff.

June 22, 2010: I was a guest on Daytime, the morning show on Rogers TV for York Region. I talked with hosts Jeff Moore and Jacqueline Betterton about the mature student experience, graduating after six years of study, receiving the Murray G. Ross Award, reviving Existere - Journal of Arts and Literature and mentoring students there, establishing YUMSO (York University Mature Students Organization), & about helping to promote the Words Alive Literary Festival. Visit Daytime's website.

June 2010: The Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies at York University has posted three brief videos of me chatting about my experiences at York University. You can view them on York's YouTube channel:
1. Profile of a Mature Student Graduate.
2. Professional Writing Program.
3. York University Mature Students Organization.

June 2010: The Senate of York University has bestowed upon me the 2010 Murray G. Ross Award - the University's highest honour given to a graduating undergraduate student. I am deeply, deeply honoured and humbled to receive such a prestigious award. View the notification letter. And, read the June 16, 2010 YFILE " Mature student receives Murray G. Ross Award for contribution and academics."

June 2010: Vanier College, York University has awarded me top honours. I shared in the Vanier Master's Award for Academic Achievement and Outstanding Go to Vanier College.

March 2010: Faculty of Graduate Studies, York University has offered me a place in the Science and Technology Studies master's degree program in Fall 2010. I, of course, accepted. View the STS Program website.

March 18, 2010: Appeared on A-Channel's First Local news hour story about GO Transit bus route cancellations (Barrie, ON).

March 17, 2010: Stong College, York University presented a staged reading or my play The Tesla Chronicles. View the Stong College flyer about The Tesla Chronicles. Also, view the programme.

Spring, 2010: Canadian Newcomer Magazine: "Mature Students: What Are Post-Secondary Institutions Offering To Them?" (co-subject of story). La version française:"Ales étudiants adultes: Comment les établissements post secondaires répondent à leurs besoins."

March 16, 2010: Guest on Rogers TV's Focal Point as part of a panel about GO Transit bus route cancellations.

March 16, 2010: YFILE "Edward Fenner to give a reading on Wednesday of his play The Tesla Chronicles" (subject of story).

March 12, 2010: YFILE "Riders pledge to drive as GO kills bus routes" (mention).

March 06 & 10, 2010: I'm quoted in two YorkRegion.com articles 'GO poised to

cancel bus routes. York University; Yonge buses on chopping block.' View the first article and 'Hundreds protest GO route cuts. Alternatives mean longer trips, higher costs, riders say.' View the second article.The same articles appeared in The Banner newspaper March 7, 2010 (pages 1 & 8) and March 11, 2010 (pages 1 & 8) respectively.

January 25, 2010: YFILE: "York and China University of Geosciences sign a memorandum of understanding" (news photo credit).

January 21, 2010: I acted as MC and moderator/chair for the inaugural Mature Students Success Forum at Ryerson University. Our panel comes from York University, Ryerson University, University of Toronto and other Toronto area institutions. Over 100 students came from as far away as Thunder Bay (Lakehead University) and Sudbury (Laurentian University) to attend in person. Mount Allison University (New Brunswick) also attended via Skype webcast. Thanks go to Latoya Dickenson (MSAR founder) for organizing this event. Click to visit the event page.

December 15, 2009: Dead Poets Night - part of the Dead Poets Society annual meeting and the Art Bar Poetry Reading Series. I read a short poem and a portion of a long poem from Mark Twain and from Stephen Leacock. View the programme.

September 2009: The Tesla Chronicles was performed by pettichild productions - a team of York University theatre students who have formed their own company. View photos 1, 2, 3, 4, from the performance. I was also delighted to perform the festival's first proxy reading: that of Halifax author Binnie Brennan's debut novella Harbour View. I also act as MC for the festival's monthly Open Mic Nights at Books/Cafe & Things in Newmarket.

September 15, 2009: YFILE: "Words Alive Literary Festival boasts strong York connection" (mention).

May 14, 2009: I won the Kent Haworth Playwriting prize at York University for my short play The Tesla Chronicles - my third win in four years in this competition (runner-up in 2008). With this win, I am retiring from this competition for undergraduate students. This play was given a performed reading at Words Alive on September 20, 2010.

May 05, 2009: YFILE: "York International launches Web site profiling York's international connections" (mention).

April 2009: Vanier College Productions produced my short play Grim Business as a radio-style play in their Radio 10 Live Festival April 29-30 (8pm) at York University's Fred Thury Theatre. The 3-day festival (to May 1st) featured five short plays performed in the style of old-time radio dramas. No sets, no pre-recorded sounds. VCP director and festival coordinator: Guy Doucette. Read the April 27, 2009 YFILE: "Radio 10 Live Festival brings back the magic of radio theatre."

March 06, 2009: I moderated the "Profession of Publishing Panel: The Editor Today and Tomorrow" at The Book Publishing Business - Inside the Trade: The York University Conference on the Book. On the Panel: Eleanor MacKay (Pearson), Laura Shin (Penguin), and Janie Yoon (Anansi). View the conference flyer. Or, view the conference programme.

February 12, 2009: My third guest blog on Academica.ca is up. Go to blog Edward Fenner --- "On Connecting with Mature Students - Nationally."

January 14, 2009: I am honoured to be included in York University's 50th Anniversary book The Way Must Be Tried by Michiel Horn. I'm quoted on page 228 regarding mature students at York and my role in founding YUMSO.

January 08, 2009: I announced that I created a new national mature student enterprise called CAMSO (Canadian Assembly of Mature Student Organizations).

October 23, 2008: I was interviewed by The Muse, the student newspaper for Memorial University in Newfoundland, for their feature story "Artists weigh in, post-election" including commentary on my arts Facebook site. Go to The Muse website. Note: The story is temporarily not on-line. The newspaper is undergoing a redesign. In the meantime, you can read these jpg files: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

October 10, 2008: In only 16 days, my pro-arts Facebook site protesting prime minister Stephen Harper's funding cuts to the arts attracted over 66,000 members from across Canada and around the world: "Ordinary Canadians DO SUPPORT the Arts, Mr. Harper. You are dead wrong." It was a very successful experiment to demonstrate the power and futility of social media protest groups.

October 08, 2008: My second guest blog is up. Go to blog Edward Fenner --- "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

October 01, 2008: The Excalibur newspaper did a story on my pro-arts Facebook site regarding prime minister Stephen Harper's funding cuts to the arts. Go The Excalibur story "Ordinary Canadians do support the Arts."

July 16, 2008: My first guest blog is up. Go to blog "Edward Fenner on Mature Students" on the Academica Group website.

June 06, 2008: I have agreed to become Academic Group's new guest blogger on adult learning issues starting in early July. Go to Academica Group's website.

March 19, 2008: I was deeply honoured to make the cover story of YorkU Magazine. "Second Chance: How Mature Students like Edward Fenner renew their lives and enrich York." Go toYorkU Magazine's April 2008 cover story "Second Chance: How mature students like Edward Fenner renew their lives and enrich York." Or view the PDF.

March 12-15, 2008: Vanier College Productions produced my short play The Prodigal Father as a fully-staged play in their One Act Play Festival in the Fred Thury Theatre at York University. The 4-day festival featured four short plays by YorkU students. Play director: Joel Pettigrew.

January 29, 2008: The Excalibur newspaper did a story "Walk a day in the shoes of a mature student" which looks at the mature student experience of several students - including myself.