Board Members and

Officers

Arunika Gunawardena (President)

Arunika        Gunawardena        joined        the        Biology Department   at   Dalhousie   University   in   September 2006,   after   winning   a   prestigious   University   Faculty Award      from      NSERC      (National      Sciences      and Engineering   Research   Council).   Since   then,   she   has been   actively   involved   in   outreach   activities   in   the province.      She   is   a   professor   of   Biology   and   her   lab studies    Programmed    Cell    Death    (PCD)    in    plant development   ( see   official   website ) .   She   is   passionate about   her   research   on   PCD   and   very   much   enjoy teaching      and      mentoring      undergraduate      and graduate    students.    She    joined    ASLA    in    2011    and recently   became   the   President.   She   looks   forward   to the    continued    privilege    of    sharing    her    knowledge and love of science with young children.

Patrick Ryall

Patrick    Ryall    completed    his    PhD    in    geology    at Dalhousie   in   1974.      He   spent   a   year   as   a   Killam   PDF before   going   to   Universiti   Sains   Malaysia   to   teach geophysics.        After    3    years    there    he    returned    to Dalhousie    as    a    Research    Associate    for    3    years before   becoming   a   faculty   member.      Over   the   years he   became   more   involved   in   administration,   being Chair    of    the    Geology/Earth    Sciences    Dept    from 1986-96.      He   later   became   an   assistant   Dean,   an Associate   Dean,   and   Interim   Dean   for   a   year.      He has   been   extensively   involved   in   many   professional organizations   –   he   was   the   founding   President   of the    Association    of    Professional    Geoscientists    of Nova   Scotia,   and   volunteer   organizations   –   he   has been involved with ASLA since the beginning.

James Brenan

James   Brenan   is   Professor   and   Chair   of   the   Earth Sciences     Department     at     Dalhousie     ( see     official website) .      His   research   involves   making   magma   in the      laboratory,      with      the      recovered      products characterized    for    texture    and    composition.        This information   is   then   used   to   interpret   the   conditions at   which   natural   igneous   rocks   form.      He   also   seeks to   understand   the   processes   by   which   nature   can achieve      extraordinary      enrichments      in      scarce precious   metals   to   form   mineable   deposits.      Brenan has   a   B.Sc.   Honours   from   McGill   (1985)   and   a   PhD from    Rensselaer    Polytechnic    Institute,    Troy,    New York   (1990).      He   spent   19   years   at   the   University   of Toronto before joining Dalhousie in 2016. Neil Ross (Treasurer) Neil    Ross    obtained    his    PhD    in    biochemistry    from McGill    University    in    1986.    Following    a    two    year postdoc    at    a    pharmaceutical    laboratory    (Syntex Canada),     he     worked     at     the     National     Research Council   for   over   23   years   as   a   scientist,   a   Director   of Research   and   an   industrial   technology   advisor.   His primary     research     interests     are     in     the     area     of aquaculture.   He   is   currently   assisting   a   number   of small   companies   in   developing   their   research   and development      needs.      He      loves      getting      into classrooms    with    students    and    bringing    his    joy    of science to young minds.

Rajesh Rajaselvam (Executive

Director)

Rajesh   Rajaselvam   completed   his   post   graduate   degrees   in   Biology   at Oxford   University,   UK,   and   the   University   of   Toronto,   Canada   in   1997 and   2003   respectively.      He   joined   ASLA   as   the   Coordinator   in   2011,   and became   the   Executive   Director   in   2014.   He   is   now   a   full   time   faculty member   at   Dalhousie   University   and   teaches   undergraduate   courses in   Ecology,   Conservation   and   Plant   Sciences   ( see   official   website ).   He has   a   strong   passion   for   outreach   activities   and   does   this   through ASLA.

Administrative Assistant (Current)

Shanukie Embuldeniya

Shanukie    Embuldeniya    joined    ASLA    in    2019    as    the    Administrative Assistant.   She   is   currently   a   PhD   student   in   the   Biology   Department   at Dalhousie   University.   Shanukie   is   a   science   outreach   enthusiast   and enjoys    bringing    ASLA’s    vision    to    fruition.    She    is    a    firm    believer    of delivering     quality     scientific     opportunities     to     both     teachers     and students in junior high and high schools in Nova Scotia.

Administrative Assistants (Past)

Clare Snow (2018-2019)                                                  

Clare   Snow   joined   ASLA   in   2018   as   the   Administrative   Assistant.   She holds    a    Bachelor    of    Science    from    Dalhousie    University    where    she graduated    with    a    double    major    in    Biology    and    Psychology    and    a Certificate    in    Animal    Behaviour.    She    is    passionate    about    teaching students   at   both   the   high   school   and   undergraduate   levels   and   enjoys finding   new   ways   to   make   science   both   approachable   and   exciting   for her students..

Michaela Kember (2017-2018)                                 

Michaela   Kember   joined   ASLA   in   2017   as   an   Administrative   Assistant. She   is   currently   a   post-graduate   student   at   Dalhousie   University   after completing    a    double    major    in    Microbiology    and    Immunology    and Philosophy.      She   hopes   to   continue   working   with   ASLA   to   help   students and   teachers   in   Nova   Scotia   become   more   involved   with   science   and technology