aaupoc@yahoo.ca

AAUPOC Webinars

How a Team of Robots Searched for Objects, and Mapped an unknown Underground Environment (February 03rd, 2023): Robots are a type of automated machines that can execute specific tasks with faster and high precision with little or no human intervention. The webinar talked about how a team of robots are used as a tool to solve a very complex problem in a disastrous situation in our life, such as a natural disaster or an industrial accident. The webinar was given by an award-winning expert on this subject, Dr. Navinda Kottege who is the Research Director of the Cyber-Physical Systems Research Program (Robotics, Computer Vision, and Distributed Sensing Systems) at CSIRO's Data61, and the adjunct associate professor, University of Queensland, Australia.

Dr. Kottege's Team CSIRO Data61 tied for the top score and won a US$1M prize at the final event of the recently concluded DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Subterranean Challenge, a 3yr long international field robotics competition. They also won the QLD iAward Government & Public Sector Solution of the Year 2022 category.

The DARPA Subterranean Challenge was to send a team of autonomous robots into completely unknown underground environments. Their task was to perform a type of scavenger hunt; to look for a series of predefined artifacts. Artifacts include thermal mannequins representing human survivors, fire extinguisher, mobile phones, climbing ropes, hard hat, backpacks, pockets of high concentration of carbon dioxide and so on. These are items that a human team of search and rescue would look for in such a disastrous situation. Dr. Kottege described all the challenges his team faced, what types of robots and technologies they used for navigation, mapping and detection of objects. He also demonstrated through videos how his team of robots overcame various obstacles and became one of the two winning teams with a perfect score for their robot created map. Finally, he answered all the questions raised by the audience on the subject. Webinar had a good turnout with around 70 participants from around the world.

Sponsored by: Katie Omidi (Real Estate Agent) | Watch the video of this webinar
Internet of Things in day-to-day Life (November 27th, 2021): The 5th of the series of webinars was held on November 27th, 2021. The webinar was on a very timely and important topic, "Internet of Things in day-to-day life". The webinar was delivered by Professor Xavier N. Fernando of Ryerson university of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who is an expert in Internet of Things (IoT), wireless, optical, and underground communication among others. Professor Fernando is also an alumnus of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Peradeniya. Although the topic itself was very technical, Professor Fernando's presentation was very well organized and tailored for the general (non-technical) audience.

There were about 120 registered participants and around 81 attendees in the webinar mostly from Canada, Sri Lanka, the United States, UK, and a few other countries. During the presentation Professor Fernando explained how the world is increasingly populated with sensors and connected devices that automatically communicate, make decisions, and perform complex tasks. The power grid is getting smarter, self-healing and more resilient. Autonomous, electric cars will soon be a common item, receiving and redelivering electricity to the grid. Our homes will soon generate their own energy and be more interactive. 5-G networks, smart cities, smart homes and many such technologies and applications were discussed.

Sponsored by: Kavinda Mailewa (Mortgage Broker) | Watch the video of this webinar
Current Status of COVID-19 Vaccination: Facts & Myths (May 22nd, 2021): The 4th of the series of webinars titled "Current Status of COVID 19 vaccination: Facts, was held on May 22nd, 2021. The webinar was delivered by a leading scientist in COVID 19 vaccine development and assessment, Dr Dushantha T Jayaweera, Prof. of Medicine, Millar School of Medicine, Miami, USA. The webinar was attended by about 82 participants around the world.

During the presentation, Dr. Jayaweera explained how the knowledge of transmission of the virus changed over time since the on set of the pandemic. Referring to vaccine program in Sri Lanka, Dr. Jayaweera praised the success of vaccination program and the vaccine acceptance in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Jayaweera described the different vaccines available and compared the efficacy of different vaccines and their duration of efficacy over time. He discussed about myths and facts about mixing and matching vaccines and the vaccine hesitancy in the community. He also talked about the emergence of variants. At the end, he answered the question raised by the audience.

AAUPOC cordially thank Mr. Murugiah Gandhiram (Financial advisor - life insurance, visitor visa, RRSP, RESP/ individual financial plan) and Ms. Eranthika (Eran) De Lambert (Mobile Mortgage Specialist- TD) for sponsoring the webinar.

Sponsored by: Murugiah Gandhiram (Financial advisor - life insurance, visitor visa, RRSP, RESP/ individual financial plan), Eranthika (Eran) De Lambert (Mobile Mortgage Specialist- TD) | Watch the video of this webinar
Is my Depression for Real, Stress, or Brain-Chemistry related? Treatment Options (February 13th, 2021): We have successfully concluded our third webinar on the 13th of February, 2021.

Sponsored by: Dulaksha Herath (Sales Representative) https://www.rightathomerealty.com, Samiddha Aryasinghe (Mortgage Agent) https://www.samary.ca
New COVID Therapeutics and Vaccines (December 13th, 2020): We have successfully concluded our second webinar on the December 13th, 2020. The webinar was on a very topical issue of vaccines and therapeutics for Novel Corona Virus. The webinar was a successful collaboration between the Alumni Association of the University of Peradeniya, Ottawa Chapter and the Sri Lanka Foundation, California, U.S.A.

The two expert medical professionals who presented in the webinar were Dr Deepthi Jayasekera, Infectious Disease Specialist, Clinical Professor of Western University, in California, U.S.A and Dr Dushyantha Jayaweera, Professor in Clinical Medicine of University of Miami, Florida, U.S.A. Dr. Jayasekera deliberated on "Covid-19 Vaccines and What to expect" and provided the details about the development of four major vaccines and some of the aspects of how these new "m-RNA" platform is different from the other traditional types of vaccines. Dr. Jayaweera's presentation was on "New Covid-19 Therapeutics and Vaccines" and he elaborated on some of the commonly used therapeutic products and their effectiveness against coping up with the disease.

There were about 130 attendees in the webinar mostly from Canada, Sri Lanka, the United States and a few other countries. After their presentations, the two presenters spent about 40 minutes answering the diverse scope of questions. Some of these questions may be important for you as well, and if you have missed the opportunity to listen to the webinar, the video is available below.

AAUPOC cordially thanks the sponsor of this event, Ms Ericka Ushliyanage, from MORTGAGE ALLIANCE for the financial support to conduct this webinar, which was a benefit to many who attended this event.

Sponsored by: Ericka Ushliyanage, Mortgage Alliance | Watch the video of this webinar
Why We Need to Control STRESS Levels and Ways to Do It (October 18th, 2020): The inaugural webinar organized by the Alumni Association of the University of Peradeniya, Ottawa Chapter was held on the 18th of October, 2020. The timely important topic "Why We Need to Control STRESS Levels and Ways to Do It" was presented by the Speaker Dr. Lal Fernando, eminent professor in Psychiatry, at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, Canada. Dr. Lal Fernando is also an alumnus of the University of Peradeniya, Faculty of Medicine.

Of the 122 registered participants, 91 were in attendance and connected via ZOOM for this webinar. The participants were mainly from Canada, Sri Lanka, UK, USA and Malaysia regardless of time zone differences. During this presentation, Dr. Fernando explained the initiation of a variety of stressful events as well as how the stress can be controlled using different approaches and the importance of controlling this stress on one's livelihood.

The friendly and informal gesture of the speaker was well appreciated by the audience at this webinar presentation. After his presentation there was an interactive 45 minute question and answer period which was a good indicator of the audience's interest in the presentation.

We would like to sincerely thank our sponsor, Mahaweli Trading Incorporated (MTI) for their generous financial support, without their support this event would not have been possible.

If you have missed the opportunity to listen to the webinar, the video is available at the following link below:
Sponsored by: MTI Groups | Watch the video of this webinar