Contact Information:

Alexander Keewatin (A. K.) Dewdney
Adjunct Professor
Dept. of Biology
University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario
CANADA N6A 5B7

Professor Emeritus
Dept. of Computer Science
University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario
CANADA N6A 5B7

Former Professor
School of Computer Science
The University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
CANADA N2L 2G1

Email address: <akd@uwo.ca>
Personal website: <www.csd.uwo.ca/~akd/>

Telephone Numbers:
(519) 679-8105 (office)
(519) 661-3566 (UWO Dept. of Computer Science)
(519) 679-7804 (fax)

Home address:
42 Askin Street
London, Ontario
CANADA N6C 1E4

Literary agent:
Linda McKnight
Westwood Creative Artists
94 Harboard Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1G6

Educational Background:

Hon BSc Mathematics, The University of Western Ontario 1964
MSc Mathematics, The University of Waterloo 1965
PhD coursework, The University of Michigan 1969
PhD thesis and degree, The University of Waterloo 1975

Research:

I am currently engaged in the study of populations in natural communities of living organisms. A new species/abundance distribution called the logistic-J describes abundances of said populations better than any extant proposal. (See cv for relevant articles.)

I am also studying randomness as a manifestation of deterministic processes under the name of “effective randomness.” A new tool called spectral randomness enables one to measure the degree of randomness - or does it? The relationship of spectral randomness to Chaitin-Kolmogoroff randomness has yet to be determined.

Conservation Activities:

I own and operate Newport Forest, a closed, 45-ha conservation area deep in southwestern Ontario (lat. 42-37 N). My wife Patricia and I are currently engaged in a broadband species inventory of Newport Forest similar to the three-year study of A’Nowaghi Forest Ponds that we undertook for the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority (completed 1998 - see CV). In the latter endeavor we logged nearly 2000 species. In the current one, we have just passed the 1000 mark, a realistic ultimate goal being 3000+ species. The inventory work proceeds at a slower pace in the new study because we are also managing the property, with forest regeneration, trails & infrastructure, tours, Fleming Creek watershed management, and related projects all making demands on our time.

Our dream is to assist in the creation of a very large (12,000+ ha) tract called Skunk’s Misery National Forest that will include both upland and riverine forest components.

As Coordinator in southwestern Ontario for the Ontario Puma Foundation, I respond to calls from organizations and individuals in the area to investigate sightings of these big cats. There is now ample evidence that not only are cougars in the area, but they are breeding naturally. Escaped pets, while possibly contributing to this population, are unlikely ultimate sources for it.

Writing:

I am currently working on a book about Newport Forest, as well as a book on the ups & downs of mathematical research. As a skeptic on the 9/11 terror attacks, I also contribute to one of the many investigative websites flourishing on the web these days: physics911.net/public

Hobbies:

My wife and I enjoy canoeing down the many creeks and rivers of southern Ontario. We have a NovaCraft ultralight that weighs only 40 lbs. Here is a picture of early arrivals for a run down Otter Creek in 1995.

I learned to paddle a canoe from my father, who canoed extensively all his life and was an expert in canoeing and camping (voyageur style). He used the J-stroke, much favoured by sophisticated paddlers who wish to avoid the amateurish always-changing-sides stroke. Recently, however, I discovered a better stroke widely used by those native Americans who are heir to the ancient canoeing tradition. In the Ojibway stroke, you don’t twist the paddle at the end, you simply stroke with the blade (pitch) angle adjusted to give an outward kick throughout the stroke. It takes only a few seconds of paddling to get the pitch just right, sending the canoe forward in a straight line.

We love to observe animals in the wild, particularly mammals like the Raccoon, the Virginia Opossum and the Striped Skunk. We have raised several foundling raccoons and released them all - with largely unknown results.










We have spent many interesting hours watching animal behaviour at feeding stations, both in the wild and in our back garden in London, Ontario. Raccoons are especially interesting because of their near-prehensile abilities and clever brains that seem capable of dismantling nearly any mechanism made by humans. (It is high time that Canada ditched the rodent as its national symbol and turned to the raccoon. Let its ability to survive anywhere inspire us -- even if it means we only come out at night.)





I enjoy drawing and sketching, having received a small amount of training from my father, who was an artist. Here, as an example of my “primitive” art, is an informal tessellation of cats. I think it would make a nice design for a quilt, each cat being stuffed to bas-relief, then stitched into place.