UBC This Week 05-Dec-2013

 

Recent UBC Media Releases

Dec 5 Dehorning Daisy? Better make it painless
Dec 4 Expert on Thailand’s crisis and national holiday
Dec 4 Dyslexia’s deadly toll

Upcoming Event Highlights

Dec 2-10 The Beauty of the Book exhibition
Dec 6 International Conference: “Public Health Policy in Asia: Rights, Risks, Redistribution & Resilience”
Dec 6 December 6th Vigil
Dec 7 Brazil: The Tropical Giant
Dec 7 Pinata Workshop Part 2
Dec 8 Faraday Science Show – the Physics & Astronomy of the Human Body
Dec 9 GPS/Mitacs Step Event: Foundations of Project Management II
Dec 9 Educating the Heart and Mind through Culturally Responsive Education
Dec 10 MFA Open Studios
Dec 10 Year of Teacher Education Event: Out in Schools (Anti-bullying & Anti-homophobia)
Dec 10 The Rise and Fall of Vioxx: Pharmaceutical company unethical behaviour or system failure?
Dec 11 Reducing Health Disparities in Canada…..Should We?
Dec 11 Dinner Night for the Youth at Vancouver Native Health Society
Dec 12 Registration closes for Winter Break trips
Dec 12 IRES Seminar Series
Find out what else is happening at UBC this week. For sports events, visit the UBC Athletics site at http://www.gothunderbirds.ca/calendar.aspx.

UBC People


UBC People

UBC makes top 10 public B.C. ‘dream employers’

UBC made the grade as a “dream employer” on a new survey conducted by Insights West on behalf of Miles Employment Group and Business In Vancouver. Thirty-nine per cent of the British Columbians polled named a private, for-profit company as their dream employer, while 36 per cent chose public sector organizations, including government and crown corporations. The public sector top 10 includes UBC, B.C. Hydro and TransLink. Among the top ten for-profit companies are HootSuite, Electronic Arts, and Lululemon. View the complete list in this Huffington Post article.

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Two faculty members share in CIHR Knowledge Translation Award

Two faculty members – Jim Wright, professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and Stuart MacLeod, professor in the Department of Pediatrics – were invited to Ottawa’s Rideau Hall for the awarding of the Knowledge Translation Award from the Canadian Institute of Health Research to the Canadian Cochrane Centre.

Wright is coordinating editor of the Cochrane Hypertension Group, one of 52 review groups in the Cochrane Collaboration, an international network of more than 31,000 people from over 120 countries. MacLeod is a member of the Canadian Cochrane Centre’s Advisory Board. Both are noted authorities in using population-based approaches to study health outcomes and health economics to support decision-making around drug therapy. For more information, click here.

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Government of Canada and IBM announce support for Vancouver Institute for Visual Analytics

A federal investment of $513,141 will help Vancouver Institute for Visual Analytics (VIVA), a partnership between UBC, Simon Fraser University (SFU) and industry establish the Visual Analytics Research and Instructional Laboratories (VARILab) for visual analytics training and education at UBC and at SFU’s Burnaby campus. The funding will be used to purchase an IBM private cloud computing platform, providing students, faculty and VIVA’s industry partners with scalable, secure access to servers, storage, applications and services. For more information, click here.

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UBC profs receive funding to develop blood test for COPD lung attacks

Computer Science professor Raymond Ng, together with Dr. Don Sin, professor of Medicine at UBC, received $7.2 million of funding to develop a blood test for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) lung attacks. This test will help medical professionals provide better treatment and ultimately lead to patients with fewer attacks and reduced hospitalization and emergency visits. For more information, click here.

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Quake Global enables hands-on education in M2M technology

Students at UBC will now be able to get hands-on experience in developing satellite machine-to-machine (M2M) applications, thanks to a donation from Quake Global, Inc., a leading manufacturer of M2M devices for terrestrial and satellite networks. For more information, click here.

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Energy Aware's Kickstarter campaign funds energy-saving sensor

Neurio is a sensor made by Energy Aware that tracks the use of power by appliances in the home. The company raised nearly $267,373 through Kickstarter to help bring the sensor to market. This invention originated as UBC Sauder alum Janice Cheam‘s team project in New Venture Design, a UBC course that brings business students together with engineering students. Cheam now runs the company bringing this idea to market. For more info, click here.

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UBC student wins TestDRIVE competition

PhD candidate Daniel Mang has won the AUTO21 TestDRIVE national automotive competition, receiving a $10,000 scholarship for his work on anti-whiplash car seats. His adaptive car seat can reduce whiplash injuries following rear-end collisions. For more info, click here.

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Subscribe to UBC Reports by Dec. 13 and win $160 culinary tour

On Dec. 16, UBC News will launch its seventh annual Next Big Thing package of stories featuring UBC experts describing novel ideas that are bound to advance research and change our world.

To receive these ten feature stories, which will be posted two per week until mid-January, subscribe to our weekly digital UBC Reports. If you do so by Dec. 13, you will be entered to win a culinary tour for two, thanks to UBC Food Services. The winner and a friend will have the opportunity to experience diverse culinary offerings on campus, from street food at the Hungry Nomad food truck to fine dining at the newly renovated Sage, casual dining with a fresh and local menu at Point Grill and the Cucina Italiana of Mercante. The approximate total retail value is $160.

To learn about the Next Big Thing and how to subscribe to win the tour, click here.

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Applied Science: support single parents

The Faculty of Applied Science invites the community to participate in the Seasonal Hamper program which has helped support single parent students for the past four years during the holidays. Members of the community can contribute to the purchase of gift cards or by donating a gift card rather than physical gifts to allow for parents to choose what best fit the needs of their family. Deadline for donations is Dec. 13, 2013. To participate and for more information, contact CJ Rowe at cj.rowe@ubc.ca or 604-822-2415.

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UBC culinary instructor to launch culinary memoir

UBC culinary instructor and Vancouver-based French chef Eric Arrouzé will launch his first book Child to Chef: A Gourmand in Training. This book is the first in a series tracing Arrouzé’s path from boy in a small, blue-collar French town to a successful professional chef. Arrouzé’s vivid and humorous recollections are accompanied by over 30 authentic recipes from his childhood.

Arrouzé has been a culinary instructor at UBC for 13 years, where he teaches courses in regional cuisine and leads culinary tours to France and Quebec.

Date: Dec. 11, 2013
Time: 4 – 7 p.m.
Place: Trees Organic Coffee Shop (Richards Street) in Vancouver.
Info: RSVP here.

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Physics and Astronomy annual Faraday Science Show

Can your body act as a battery, or even be part of a music instrument? When we smell a Christmas turkey, what are we really smelling? These questions and more will be covered at the Department of Physics and Astronomy’s 10th annual Faraday Science Show: The Physics and Chemistry of the Human Body. Children of all ages and adults are invited to this free event. Attendees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to support the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.

Date: Dec. 8, 2013
Time: 2 – 3:30 p.m.
Place: UBC Hebb Theatre, 2045 East Mall (map)
Info: Free admission. More info here.

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Let Swirls Christmas Bakeshop do the baking this holiday season

The Swirls Christmas Bakeshop is offering Christmas treats for the holiday season. Place an order by Dec. 12 and last day for pick-up is Dec. 20. To view this year’s selection and to place an order, click here.

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