Western Academy for Advanced Research officially launches

Western University campus (Western Communications) - With the launch of the Western Academy for Advanced Research , Western University is charting an ambitious new course to address major issues facing humanity in Canada and around the world. Fred Longstaffe Complex challenges such as climate change, homelessness and income equality are global in scale and have impacts at an individual level, with the solution often lying in between disparate disciplines. That's where the Western Academy comes in, acting as a catalyst for interdisciplinary and international teams of scholars to collaborate and seek answers. "We're bringing together our faculty and experts from around the world to brainstorm and pursue focused research for a year," said Western Academy director Fred Longstaffe , Distinguished University Professor, earth sciences, and Canada Research Chair in Stable Isotope Science. "Our key mission is to create that special interdisciplinary mix and match of Western colleagues and international thought leaders most likely to spark creative solutions to significant global challenges." - Western president Alan Shepard, at the Western Academy for Advanced Research launch, Sept. 15 (Chris Kindratsky/Western Communications) - During each 12-month period, Western faculty work exclusively on their research theme, along with a team of internationally established or emerging scholars; experts from Western, government and the private sector; postdoctoral scholars; and senior graduate students.