Monday, May 5 was a cause for celebration at the place The Vancouver Sun has dubbed “the intellectual heart of Vancouver”: SFU’s Harbour Centre campus celebrated its 25th year of operations. Executive director Laurie Anderson kicked off the festivities with a lively speech before cutting up the birthday cake. The campus first opened its doors at 10 a.m. on May 5, 1989.
SFU Surrey unveiled its new Institute for Diaspora Research and Engagement on April 25. IDRE director James Busumtwi-Sam explained in a media release that, “The institute will combine interdisciplinary scholarly research with community-based research.”
He continued, “Canada is often described as a ‘diaspora nation’ because of its diverse population and the important role of immigrants and immigration.” The institute’s opening event entailed a speech from President Andrew Petter, as well as a panel of experts to speak on the discipline.
Sunday, May 4 saw a musical performance created by an unlikely composer — a robot! SFU professor Arne Eigenfeldt has created an artificially intelligent system that, along with local Turning Point Ensemble music group, composes music on the spot.
Using technology that allows it to translate the sounds of instruments in an orchestra into sheet music that the musicians read off iPads in real-time, HyperEnsemble delivered a performance of computer and human expertise called An Unnatural Selection.
