UBC This Week

UBC’s Board of Governors has approved the appointment of Louise Cowin as the new Vice President, Students. Cowin will begin her five-year term in October 2011. Cowin has held a variety of university administrative and teaching roles, the most recent as Warden of Hart House at the University of Toronto.

In her new role as VP, Students, Cowin will have leadership responsibility for shaping the student experience and broad learning environment at UBC. Her portfolio includes student development and services, student housing and hospitality services and athletics and recreation. 

Cowin will succeed Brian Sullivan as VP, Students. Sullivan, who held the position from 1999 to 2011, stepped down in March and is now an advisor to UBC Alumni Affairs. Louise Nasmith was appointed VP, Students, pro-tem, and will continue in that role until October.

Prior to her appointment as Warden of Hart House, Cowin was the director of Student Services and the School-University Partnerships Office at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. In this role, Cowin focused on enhancing supports for students, diversifying co-curricular programming and on equity and diversity initiatives.

Cowin holds a PhD in Educational Studies from McGill University, a MSc in Physical Education from Dalhousie University and a BA (Hons) in Educational and Sports Studies from Borough Road Physical Education College. She has held tenure-streamed positions at Queen’s University and Dalhousie University and taught as an instructor at UBC, Dalhousie University and the University of Toronto. Cowin was also the associate director of a fine and performing arts camp and the director of a non-profit camp for children who have had open heart surgery or transplants. 

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Prof. Dennis Danielson from the Dept. of English is the recipient of this year’s Konrad Adenauer Research Award, jointly administered by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Royal Society of Canada and the University of Toronto.

Danielson was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in 1990-1991.

For details, visit http://www.english.ubc.ca/.

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Prof. Dave Michelson was elected Chair of the Wavefront Wireless Commercialization Centre’s Academic Advisory Board and to a seat on Wavefront’s board of directors. During his two-year term, Michelson and his team will help Wavefront develop and execute a strategy for helping universities connect with the wireless industry and commercialize innovative wireless technology developed by their faculty and students.

For more information, visit www.ece.ubc.ca.

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Eleven student university teams from UBC and across Canada convened at UBC on July 23, 2011 for the seventh annual International Autonomous Robot Racing Competition and Exhibition.

Student teams competed against one another and displayed their autonomous robotic vehicles which operate without any human guidance or control.

UBC Thunderbird Robotics, an interdisciplinary student organization in the Faculty of Applied Science, hosted the family friendly competition.  This year marks the first time that the annual event was held in Western Canada.

For more information, visit: http://robotracing2011.com/.  Photos available at: www.vancouversun.com/technology/Photos+International+Autonomous+Robot+Racing+Competition/5152906/story.html.

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Students in the summer UBC Engineering Physics course will go head-to-head with their autonomous wall-climbing robots as the robots climb an eight-foot vertical wall.  The showcase is free and open to the public.

Date:    Aug. 4
Time:    10 a.m. – 12
Place:   Hennings Bldg., Rm. 200, 6224 Agricultural Road
Info:     http://www.engphys.ubc.ca/

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Asia Pacific Memo is currently on its summer publication break and will return in mid-September 2011. See the below memo, and revisit past memos at http://www.asiapacificmemo.ca/.

• July 21 – Getting Global China Right – Public Fears and Conservative Policy, by UBC IAR director, Paul Evans.

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