April 13, 2006 Source: :
http://communications.uwo.ca/media_newsroom/story.html?listing_id=21174 Researchers Claim Top Research Prize London, ON - Professors Joy Parr and Mel Goodale are this year's winners of the Hellmuth Prize, The University of Western Ontario's highest honour for research excellence. Their studies range from how people react to change within their community to what happens in the brain when we perform visual tasks. Parr, of the Faculty of Information and Media Studies and a Canada Research Chair in Technology, Culture and Risk, examines how people react to social, cultural, environmental and technological change within their communities. Her work includes an examination of the Walkerton water tragedy, where she continues to be involved in a long-term health study of the community. "My research considers the sensory and social implications of radical changes," says Parr. She is the first from her faculty to receive this award. Goodale, a Canada Research Chair in Visual Neuroscience within the department of Psychology and the department of Physiology & Pharmacology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, is also a key investigator with Western's world-renowned Centre for Brain and Mind. A Western alumnus, he is a pioneer in the study of visuomotor control in neurological patients and has developed virtual-object technology to study the visual information used to program and
control grasping movements. "By helping to determine how visual skills are affected in patients with brain damage, we can help to design specific rehabilitation programs," says Goodale. His research also helps with robotic engineering and minimally invasive surgery, where human and machine need to work together. "The Hellmuth Prize recognizes sustained achievement in a field of study," says Ted Hewitt, Western's Vice-President (Research and International Relations). "The expertise provided by Professors Goodale and Parr is helping us better teach tomorrow's leaders and further enhance our standing as a research-intensive university." Awarded annually, the Hellmuth Prize is named in honour of Bishop Isaac Hellmuth, the University's founder. Parr and Goodale will receive their awards at a public ceremony on Monday, April 17 at 4 p.m. in the North Campus Building,
Room 113, where each will deliver a short address. Contacts: Douglas Keddy, Research Communications Coordinator, The University of Western Ontario, (519)
661-2111 ext. 87485; Mel Goodale, (519) 661-2070 - 30 -
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