UBC This Week

UBC and the Alma Mater Society have finalized agreements to build the new Student Union Building (SUB).

An official signing ceremony will be held on April 30 to mark the conclusion of discussions and celebrate the partnership for moving forward to complete a new building.

Recently, more than 2,400 students voted in an architect selection process. The three firms selected to provide detailed presentations were Bing Thom Architects, Busby Perkins+Will, and HBBH+BH. A final selection will be made this summer.

The signing ceremony to celebrate the UBC – AMS agreements will take place from 5 – 6 p.m. in the South Alcove of the Student Union Building.

For more information on the new SUB, visit: http://www2.ams.ubc.ca/index.php/ams/subpage/category/new_sub_overview/

to top

Five staff members at UBC’s Vancouver campus are receiving the 2010 President’s Service Award for Excellence for outstanding contributions and personal achievement. Each recipient receives a gold medal, and $5,000, in a presentation during Spring Congregation ceremonies.
 
Maura da Cruz, an organizational and learning consultant in the Dept. of Human Resources, has worked at UBC since 1989. Widely recognized for her generosity of spirit, she has helped launch a wide range of staff and student programs.
 
Paul Lawson has worked as manager of the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest since 1999.  Held in high regard by the B.C. forest community, he is recognized for his insights and achievements in sustainable forest management.
 
Director of Classroom Services Justin Marples began working at UBC in 1981. Colleagues credit him for strong leadership of Classroom Services to greatly enhance campus learning spaces. The award also recognizes his contributions with the Association of Administration and Professional Staff (AAPS).
 
Serving UBC for more than 21 years, Andrew Parr, Managing Director, Student Housing and Hospitality Services is honoured for leading the growth of UBC Food Services and its sustainability initiatives and chairing two United Way campaigns.
 
Gerald Vanderwoude was first employed at UBC as a box office clerk in the Frederic Wood Theatre in 1996.  Today he works as administrator and business manager of the Dept. of Theatre and Film. He is recognized for his hard work, exceptional concern for others and improvements to the department.

to top

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has awarded a total of $1,325,484 to UBC to support 12 projects led by UBC’s top researchers. The awards are part of the Leaders Opportunity Fund and are given to enhance Canada’s reputation as a destination of choice for outstanding researchers. The latest round of awards totals $27M for 118 projects at 32 institutions across Canada.

The recipients are:

1. Advanced Imaging Microscope Suite – Chinten James Lim
2. Beta Cell Genesis Research Facility – Francis Lynn
3. Centre for the Mechanistic Analysis of Radical-Based Enzymes – Kirsten Wolthers
4. Centre for the Study of Psychology and Law – Stephen Porter
5. Climate and Coastal Ecosystem Laboratory: Field Equipment and Computer Infrastructure for Evaluating the Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Ecosystems –  Simon Donner
6. Isolation and Characterization of Novel Viral Pathogens – Curtis Suttle
7. Laboratory for Innovative Research in Enology – Cédric Saucier
8. Laboratory-Scale Reactors for Hydrometallurgical Process Research and Development – David Dixon
9. ROCK MECHANICS OF VOLCANIC SYSTEMS: Instrumentation for Dynamic Measurement of Permeability and Acoustic Emissions – James Russell
10. Social Communication Laboratory – Toni (Tanya) Schmader
11. Soil Biodiversity Laboratory – Miranda Hart
12. Translational Autonomic Research Laboratory – Andrei Krassioukov

For a complete list of the projects awarded, visit www.innovation.ca.

to top

UBC’s Design Centre for Sustainability has received one of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) 2010 Professional Awards, which recognizes the best in landscape architecture around the world in the categories of general design, residential design, analysis and planning, research and communication.

UBC’s Design Centre for Sustainability  received the Honor Award in the research category for its project Getting to Minus 80: Defining the Contribution of Urban Form to Achieving Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets, which synthesizes research findings from a series of projects completed in the City of Calgary, the City of North Vancouver and Strathcona County, Alberta.

The award will be given at a ceremony on Sept. 13 during the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO in Washington, D.C

For more info, visit www.apsc.ubc.ca/news/2010/apr27.html.

to top

The UBC Faculty of Medicine has announced the recipients of the annual awards given to its faculty and staff.  The awards include the Killam Teaching Prize which recognizes excellence in teaching in the medical and science undergraduate programs, residency programs, school and graduate programs within the Faculty of Medicine.

To view a complete list of the awards and award recipients, visit
http://www.med.ubc.ca/about_us/Awards_and_Honours/2010_Faculty_of_Medicine_awards.htm

to top

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Vancouver Section, chaired by UBC Prof. David Michelson, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been awarded IEEE Canada’s 2010 Exemplary Section Award.

This award recognizes outstanding leadership, management and administration by one of the twenty IEEE sections in Canada as it delivers technical presentations, professional development and networking opportunities to IEEE members and other members of the engineering community at the local level.

For more information, visit http://www.vancouver.ieee.ca/content/vancouver-wins-ieee-canadas-exemplary-section-award-2010.

to top

The Centre for Sustainability and Social Innovation at the Sauder School of Business has been renamed ISIS and has also moved to a new location at 2150-1055 West Hastings, Vancouver.

The centre conducts research in areas of social innovation with a particular focus on advancing the growth of the low carbon economy, supporting First Nations enterprise and developing innovative social finance mechanisms.

For more details about ISIS, visit: http://isis.sauder.ubc.ca.

to top

Dr. Margaret Somerville, renowned ethicist and scholar based at McGill University in Montreal, will receive the Doctor of Sacred Letters (honoris causa) from St. Mark’s College at UBC.

The degree will be conferred by Most Reverend J. Michael Miller, Archbishop of Vancouver and Chancellor of St. Mark’s College, in a convocation ceremony at St. Mark’s College Chapel on May 2.

to top