The following individuals have been nominated for positions on Science Atlantic’s Board of Directors. The vote will be held during the 2023 Annual Members Meeting, Nov. 24, 2023, hosted at Université de Moncton.
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Malcolm Butler
Nominated for: Chair-Elect
Malcolm Butler is a Professor of Physics at Saint Mary’s University, in the Department of Astronomy and Physics. Prior to that, he was Vice-President Academic and Research at Saint Mary’s (2017-2022), Dean of Science at Carleton University (2010-2017), and Dean of Science at Saint Mary’s University (2006-2010).
Malcolm has a long association with Science Atlantic, from the days when it was called APICS. First, he and his department supported students attending the regional physics conference, including the hosting of the conference at SMU. As Dean at Saint Mary’s, he served on the APICS Council and was the Chair of APICS from March 2009 to July 2010. Malcolm has maintained contact with Science Atlantic in the intervening years and is happy to be connecting again with the organization.
Steven Smith
Nominated for: Treasurer
Steve Smith is a Professor of Psychology at Saint Mary’s University. He has previously held the roles of Associate Vice-President Academic & Enrolment Management, Dean of Science, and Registrar, all at SMU. Steve’s Tri-Council, provincial, and industry-funded research covers a broad range of topics, including forensic psychology, bias against people with criminal records, particularly Black and Indigenous applicants, student success, health promotion, EDIA issues, and others.
Steve has an extensive history of working in and developing effective partnerships, internal to the university, with provincial and national partners, and with industry and government. He also has a long history with Science Atlantic, including serving as the psychology lead for SMU for three years and as an Institutional Representative for more than eight years. Steve has served as Acting Treasurer of Science Atlantic since May of 2023. Currently, Steve is a co-supervisor of a MITACS business strategy internship project with Science Atlantic to build an interactive user interface for the organization’s web presence and student awards management.
Jennifer Tomes
Nominated for: Director, Institutional Representative
Jennifer Tomes is the Dean of Science and Graduate Studies at Mount Allison University,
and for the 2023-24 academic year is also serving as the Acting Dean of Business and Social
Sciences. Jennifer has been a member of the Psychology Department at Mount Allison since
2000, serving multiple terms as Department Head before becoming Dean in 2021. She is a cognitive psychologist whose research focuses on eyewitness memory and differences between true and false memories; the long-term impact of concussion on memory and other cognitive processes; and factors that impact university student success and retention, with a particular interest in “non-traditional” students such as first-generation and mature students. In 2017, Jennifer won the Mount Allison Tucker Teaching Award, Mount Allison’s highest recognition of teaching excellence.
Jennifer attended her first Science Atlantic Conference in 2001 (when it was still called APICS) and helped organize the psychology conference when Mount Allison hosted in 2007. She is also proud to note that several of her honours students have won awards at Science Atlantic events.
Despite many other commitments, Jennifer has accepted the nomination to join the Board because she sees the value in the organization, not only for the valuable resources and experiences it provides for undergraduate students, but also for the support and resources it can provide to programs and faculty members
Angie Birt
Nominated for: Director, Division Representative
Angie Birt is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Mount Saint Vincent University. She is a cognitive psychologist whose research focuses on various aspects of human memory, including the effects of emotion on memory, how technology and social media affect our judgments and memories, as well as the impact of major life events (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic) on our autobiographical memories.
Angie’s first experience with Science Atlantic was as an undergraduate student when she presented her research project at the APICS conference. She first became a Faculty Representative of Science Atlantic in 2008, was the co-organizer for the 2009 and 2023 Psychology student conferences held at the Mount, and assisted with the organization of Science Atlantic’s 50th Anniversary in 2012. Over the years, she has supported numerous students attending regional conferences and has supervised the work of a number of students who have won awards at those conferences. Most recently, she became the Chair of the Psychology Division of Science Atlantic and looks forward to continuing to be a part of such an important and valuable organization.
Isaac Cook
Nominated for: Director-at-Large
Isaac Cook (they/he) is a disabled, transgender and queer social scientist and STEM communicator, passionate about the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. With over eight years of communications, digital marketing, community and event management experience, Isaac is MindFrame Connect‘s Senior Manager and works closely with Canadian entrepreneurs to identify gaps in our ecosystem, improve the craft of mentorship, and foster resiliency. Additionally, Isaac has been involved with Science Atlantic since 2020; sitting on its EDIA Committee and actively sharing the mission to create access and opportunities for science in Atlantic Canada.
Nick Nickerson
Nominated for: Director-at-Large
Nick is co-founder and President of Eosense Inc., a Halifax-based company that designs and manufactures equipment for measuring greenhouse gas emissions. During his undergraduate and graduate degrees, he attended many Science Atlantic Earth Science, Environment, and Physics conferences, helping him learn to present and refine his research in a welcoming atmosphere. He received his PhD from the Department of Earth Sciences at Dalhousie University in 2014 and won the Faculty of Science best thesis award that year thanks to his rigorous training through presenting at many Science Atlantic conferences.
In 2015, Nick won the Discovery Award for Emerging Professional of Distinction. Nick has served on the board of Research Nova Scotia since 2019 where he currently holds the board position of Secretary/Treasurer and is chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk committee. Nick has authored and co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed academic publications on greenhouse gas measurements and does his best to continue to maintain a strong involvement in the research community. He is happy to be nominated to the board to give back to Science Atlantic.
