The King's Connection Magazine Volume 23 Number 2//Fall 2012 | Page 13

Featured article

H

ow do you imagine the world your children
and grandchildren will live in and help to
care for in 50 years?
The decisions we make today about the
challenge of climate change will affect the
world we grow old in – the same world we are
responsible for passing on to our children and
grandchildren. To act responsibly as stewards
of that world, we need to see past rhetoric to
more deeply understand the complex science
and sometimes bewildering data and models
related to our present, past, and future climate.
Over the last six years, the King’s Centre
for Visualization in Science (KCVS) has
worked with global partners to develop
explainingclimatechange.com, a set of
peer-reviewed interactive tools to examine
data related to climate and to understand
crucial underlying concepts from chemistry
and physics, as well as earth, ocean and
atmospheric science.

“The 2011 UN International Year of Chemistry
(IYC) resolution stressed the role for education
in and about chemistry in addressing
challenges such as global climate change,”
says Professor Peter Mahaffy, codirector of the KCVS. “We have just released
the final lesson in this rich set of IYC 2011
legacy resources. They help users ask
crucial questions about what we know and
don’t know, use their learning of science
to understand global climate change, and
see how each of us can develop the deeper
understanding and imagination needed to care
for creation with integrity.”
Developed under the guidance of Professors
Mahaffy and Brian Martin, co-directors
of the centre, explainingclimatechange.com
was created with a talented interdisciplinary
team of undergraduate student researchers.
The peer-reviewed, interactive, web-based
materials aim to help a global audience of
students, teachers, science professionals
and the general public see and understand
the science needed to inform responsible
decisions about climate change. This past
year, almost a quarter-million visitors from over
100 countries accessed KCVS resources.

That number has doubled in the last two-anda-half years.
The King’s Centre for Visualization in
Science is a research centre of The King’s
University College. KCVS is committed
to improving the public understanding of
science in Canada and globally through the
development of innovative ways to visualize
science. Full-time summer undergraduate
student researchers from different disciplines
work and learn together with the King’s faculty
co-directors, while producing materials used
by teachers, students, and the public from
around the world.
For second-year Bachelor of Science student,
Darrell Vandenbrink, participation in
a summer research program in the stimulating
learning environment at KCVS provides
a unique opportunity to both learn and
communicate complex ideas that complement
regular academic year coursework.
Working on the project also informs how
the undergraduate researchers view
climate change.
“This project has opened my eyes to the
effects and realities of climate change and
what we can do to respond to the challenges
it presents,” says third-year student Anna
Schwalfenberg (B.Sc. Biology) “I have
seen the potential we have to leverage
current technology and invest in resources
that can reduce our collective impact on
Earth’s climate”
Resources were developed over a five-year
period by faculty and undergraduate students
as an International Union of Pure & Applied
Chemistry (IUPAC) and UNESCO project in
collaboration with chemists and educators
from the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), The
American Chemical Society (ACS), and the
Federation of African Societies of Chemistry.
Additional financial support was provided by
Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council (NSERC) through the
CRYSTAL and Undergraduate Student
Research Programs. ?

Over the past six
years, the following
students have
made significant
contributions to the
development and
testing of the newly
released climate
change resources:
Denyse Dawe (2011)
Ben Dodds-Scott
(2006-2010)
David Dykstra (2008-2012)
Darren Eymundson
(2008-2012)
Nathan Franck (2012)
Katrina Genuis (2009-2010)
James Gilker (2010)
Theo Keeler (2011-2012)
Naomi Mahaffy (2008)
Dalainya Maslanko (2007)
Matt Price (2011)
Anna Schwalfenberg
(2011-2012)
Amanda Thompson
(2008-2009)
Kristen Tjostheim
(2008-2012)
Amanda Vandehoek
(2010-2011)
Darrell Vandenbrink (2012)
Visiting Students
Andrew Martin – Carleton
University (2007-2008)
Trevor Bekolay –
University of Manitoba (2008)

Left to right Kristen Tjostheim, Darrell Vandenbrink, Dr. Peter Mahaffy,
Theo Keeler, Anna Schwalfenberg , Dr. Brian Martin

The King’s Connection /// Fall 2012 /// 11