Salon Series 

Curated by Dr. Laleh Behjat and Dr. Marjan Eggermont

HARD SCIENCE. HARD LIQUOR. HARDCORE DANCING.

We are excited to start 2024 with a new (additional) Salon series. A collaboration with  NSERC Prairie Chair for Women in Science and Engineering and Park by Sidewalk we are celebrating science, knowledge, networking and space to burn the dance floor. 

Welcome to Chardonnay with a Cube of Ice, the badass sister of Tzavta, a bi-monthly series featuring women scientists presenting cutting-edge research followed by a DJ dance party. Cheap booze, spicy food, and yes, we will throw a cube of ice in your glass of wine if your heart desires!

THE DETAILS

When: Sunday March 17 at 6pm

Location: Park by Sidewalk Citizen - 340 13th Ave. SW

Price: $50

Mingling / food / bar 

Conversation: 6:45 PM (ish)

Dance party: 7:45 PM (ish)

Your ticket price includes the talk, finger food, and a dance party. There will be door prizes and a raffle. An hour-long presentation with time for Q&A, a short break and then a dance party until 10:00 PM. Dancing is not mandatory, but why not? 

Bring comfortable shoes, and leave your inhibitions at home. 

Elise Fear is a Professor and Associate Head – Research in the Department of Electrical and Software Engineering at the University of Calgary.  She was the Alberta Innovates Technology Futures iCORE Strategic Chair in Multimodality Imaging and Sensing from 2013-2017.  Her team is developing a new approach to breast imaging using low power microwave signals.  In collaboration with oncologists and radiologists, the team is exploring the potential of this technology for breast density assessment, treatment monitoring and cancer detection.  Elise received the 2023 ASTech Award for Innovation in Healthcare and a fellowship from the Engineering Institute of Canada in 2024. She is grateful for the opportunity to work with amazing and dedicated students at all levels, postdoctoral fellows, and research engineers.  Together with research engineer Jeremie Bourqui, Elise co-founded Wave View Imaging in 2020, a spin-off company aimed at commercializing medical microwave imaging. 

Developing new technologies for women’s health

Summary:  Alternative approaches to breast imaging have been of interest for decades.  At the University of Calgary, we have built and tested several generations of prototype imaging system that use low power microwaves.  This approach does not heat the tissues and is comfortable for patients.  In addition to outlining the technology and the results of our pre-clinical studies, I will discuss the importance of mentorship, collaboration, iteration and opportunity in my team’s innovation pathway.

  • Dr Laleh Behjat - Curator

    Dr. Laleh Behjat is a professor at the Department of Electrical and Software Engineering at the University of Calgary and the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering - Prairies. Her research focuses on developing mathematical techniques and software tools for automating the design of digital integrated circuits. Dr. Behjat acted as an academic advisor for of Google Technical Development Guide and was a member of the Google’s Council on Computer Science Education. She is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on CAD, ACM Transactions on Design Automation of Electronic Systems.

    Dr. Behjat is passionate about increasing the status of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and removing systemic barriers. She was the recipient of the 2015 Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) Women in Engineering Champion Award, Association of Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group in Design Automation Service Award in 2014 and 2017 and 2017 Killam Graduate Student Supervision and Mentorship Award. Her team, Schulich Engineering Outreach Team, was also the recipient of the ASTech Leadership Excellence in Science and Technology Public Awareness Award in 2017. Currently, she is leading a change leadership program WISE planet with the mission to envision and build a just, equitable, diverse and inclusive society.

  • Dr Marjan Eggermont- Curator

    Dr. Marjan Eggermont is a Professor (Teaching) in the Schulich School of Engineering (SSE) at the University of Calgary, and currently Associate Dean Sustainability. She is a Biomimicry Institute Fellow and has been working in the field since 2004 with a focus on visualization and abstraction. With co-editors Tom McKeag (San Francisco) and Norbert Hoeller (Toronto) she co-founded and designs Zygote Quarterly (zqjournal.org), an online bio-inspired design journal to showcase the nexus of science and design. As an artist, Marjan shows her work at the Herringer Kiss Gallery (https://www.herringerkissgallery.com/artists). She served on the board of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) from 2014-2017 and was recently inducted into their Hall of Fame. Marjan was awarded Best of Biomimicry: Excellence in Biomimicry Education within a College or University by Biomimicry 3.8 and has received an American Society for Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Innovation Award. For the past 5 years she has volunteered with NASA VINE (Virtual Interchange for Nature-inspired Exploration) as lead of the Education research working group to explore nature-inspired technology in space (https://www.educationteamnasavine.com).

  • Michal Lavi- Owner