Hyena stalkings, how hummingbird brains work and meeting Royals

Before Dr. Deborah Saucier and Dr. Michael Quinn were President and Provost at Vancouver Island University, they were researchers. Award-winning researchers whose curiosity took them to unique places and led them in directions they never imagined.

President Saucier and Dr. Quinn shared highlights of their research journeys at the 2023 Research and Creative Activity Symposium. They also shared their views on the role of scholarship, research and creativity at VIU.

Saucier’s background is as a distinguished researcher in both psychology and neuroscience. She was the Canadian Research Chair in Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge and Dean of Science at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. She has earned many research grants over the years, including awards from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

Quinn’s academic leadership roles were preceded by 16 years as an associate and full professor in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary. He oversaw interdisciplinary research programs in parks and protected areas, landscape planning and management, ecological design, human dimensions of wildlife, and sustainability and resilience.

During their presentation, Saucier and Quinn shared stories about the places following their “bliss” took them and some interesting encounters they had along the way, including the ones mentioned in the headline of this article.   

Watch their presentation: