TANNARA YELLAND
Associate News Editor

Science fans will have a chance to see new developments in the field at this week’s Spectrum.

Spectrum is the University of Saskatchewan engineering students’ triennial science and technology display showcase. It takes place from Jan. 14 to 17 and will feature displays from the College of Kinesiology for the first time as well as a special guest speaker, the Discovery Channel’s Jay Ingram.

Ingram will be delivering a talk on the “sexy side of science,” or how evolution can explain human mating behaviour. This is the first time Spectrum has had a guest speaker, and both Spectrum’s coordinator Kyle Gunderson and public relations executive Kaitlyn Scott were excited about it.

“Jay Ingram is kind of a hero to a lot of engineering students, I think,” said Gunderson. “We figured we should try something new, something really out of the ordinary.”

Ingram will be accompanied by a live blues band, something few people associate with the sciences.

Past exhibitions have seen displays of Segways and Starlab planetariums but unfortunately neither will be present this year. However, the U of S Canadian Light Source will have a display for the second time.

“I think that’s a big draw,” Gunderson said. “People on the beam-line level will be here to explain how the CLS works. A lot of people don’t understand what it is or what it does.”

Explaining science and showcasing innovations in science and technology is the main goal of Spectrum. Scott explained that it is geared toward the public “so they can have a better idea of what’s going on, and also of what the College of Engineering is all about.”

“We like to show the cool stuff,” Gunderson added with a laugh.

The College of Kinesiology will be showing a motion-capture display and an electromyography machine. Motion-capture is used in the creation of video games and movies — the character Gollum from the Lord of the Rings films was created partially through the use of motion-capture data.

To use an EMG machine, “you attach electrodes to your muscles,” Scott said. “Then you move around, and it records your movements.” EMGs pick up the electrical currents that occur when muscles contract, and are used in detecting neuromuscular disorders and in directing the movements of prosthetics like arms and legs.

“It’s very cool,” Gunderson said of being hooked up to an EMG. “You can even see the deterioration of your muscles over time.”

The computer science department will also have displays at the exhibition. Gunderson added that they had been in talks with the geology department, but that it did not pan out.

Another special attraction this year is the Kilobots, which are essentially the battling robots from the Comedy Central show Battle Bots, only one size down.

The Saskatoon Combat Robotics Club has taken part in Spectrum since 2004. In addition to holding demonstrations during Spectrum, Jan. 16 and 17 will see a two-day double-elimination Kilobot tournament.

Scott said the SCRC’s combat arena “is the largest in Canada. And I believe that Saskatoon’s Kilobot club is the most active in Canada.”

“We’re a very nerdy city, I guess,” said Gunderson. “That’s okay. We’re okay with that.”

Spectrum is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Thursday to Sunday in the Engineering building. Entrance for students is $4. It is $10 to see Jay Ingram on Jan. 16. The price to see Ingram includes entrance to Spectrum. There will be a battling robot tournament on Saturday and Sunday.

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