UBC This Week 6-Feb-2014

 

Recent UBC Media Releases

Feb 6 UBC experts on Citizenship Act changes
Feb 6 Beatlemania, 50 years later
Feb 6 Want brand loyalty? Scare your customers
Feb 5 UBC Innovation Strategy moves forward with appointment of Innovation Catalyst
Feb 5 How Stalin paved way for Sochi Games
Feb 4 Story ideas and experts for the Sochi Games
Feb 4 UBC affordable housing program targets top academic talent
Feb 4 Hollywood hitmaker returns to UBC
Feb 3 Small Canadian communities not ready for climate change: study
Jan 31 The LGBT struggle in Sochi
Jan 31 Researchers identify nine steps to save waterways

Upcoming Event Highlights

Jan 23-Feb 8 Theatre at UBC presents Chekhov’s The Seagull
Jan 31-Apr 20 Remnants: A Visual Survey of Human Progress
Feb 6 From Homer to the End of Heroes and Back: a two-stage model of Greek epic tradition
Feb 7 UBC Farm Symposium
Feb 7 UBC Thunderbirds Women’s Basketball vs UBCO Heat
Feb 8 Hot Topics in Cardiology and Respiratory Medicine Update
Feb 8 From Cabinets of Curiosities to the Modern Museum
Feb 9 Family Day at MOA with Rumba Calzada
Feb 9 UBC Opera Ensemble – Rota: The Florentine Straw Hat
Feb 10 China in 1900: Tales of Boxer Bandits, Foreign Invaders and a World on the Edge
Feb 11 Patrick Moore: Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout
Feb 11 Drama, Theatre, and Performance: Practising the Discipline – Before and After Retirement
Feb 12 Vday: A memory, a monologue, a rant and a prayer
Feb 12 Sex Trafficking During the Olympics: Myth or Reality?
Feb 13 From Beefy Chiefs to Healthy Families
Feb 13 Cindy Sherman meets Dzunuk’wa: Opening Reception
Feb 13 What is happening to Canada’s international reputation?
Feb 13 Aboriginal Men’s Narratives of Health: Reclaiming our Lives
Feb 14 Faculty Pension Plan Workshop – Understanding Your Retirement Options
Feb 14 UBC Symphonic Wind Ensemble – Paris, Je T’aime
Feb 14 GSNA 2014 Graduate Student Symposium: Abstracts deadline
Feb 20 Workshop – The Policy Challenges and Health Limits of Personalized Medicine
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

Statscan’s cuts have forced us to see Canada through a U.S. lens

Statscan’s cuts have forced us to see Canada through a U.S. lens

Statistics Canada needs to restart its reporting of national marriage and divorce rates, argues UBC economist Marina Adshade.

Read more…

THE DANGER OF PARALYMPIC BOOSTING

Update: Krassioukov and five UBC students will study the dangerous practice of Paralympic “boosting” at the 2012 London Games while running a health clinic for athletes

by Hilary Thomson, March 4, 2010

After years of hard work, Dr. Andrei Krassioukov has finally earned admission to the Athletes Village at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Games.

But Krassioukov isn’t a competitor — he’s an internationally recognized expert in spinal cord injury and leader of the only research team to be granted access to the Vancouver Athletes Village during the Games.

Krassioukov and research team members will investigate the controversial practice of “boosting.” Practiced by some individuals with spinal cord injury, boosting involves intentionally raising blood pressure to stimulate the body’s energy and endurance. Non-athletes with SCI may use boosting to feel more energetic and alert.

Paralympic athletes use boosting to win — it can improve performance by up to 15 per cent. Stressing techniques to stimulate parts of the body below the level of the spinal cord injury, and to produce a spike in blood pressure, can range from wearing pressure stockings, to compressing the testicles by sitting on a handful of ball bearings, or blocking a urinary catheter to distend the bladder.

Injury to the spinal cord disrupts control of heart and blood vessels that are normally regulated by the autonomic nervous system, part of the nervous system that provides non-voluntary control to various organs. This disruption — which varies in severity between individuals — means the body cannot properly replenish energy consumed through exercise leading to a drop in peripheral blood flow, sweating, shortness of breath and faintness . This creates significant disadvantages during competition, leading some athletes to use boosting as a drastic measure to correct functions lost through injury.

Besides creating an unfair competitive advantage, boosting is a dangerous practice. The sudden surge in blood pressure typically seen during boosting is known as autonomic dysreflexia and can lead to stroke, heart attack or death. But the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) 1994 ban on boosting has been difficult to enforce.

A physician-scientist at Vancouver Coastal Health’s GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, Krassioukov has studied autonomic functioning in SCI patients for more than 30 years and has collected data from paralympic athletes headed for competition since 2006. During the last five years he has urged the IPC to go beyond the ban to address how differences in autonomic function affect elite athlete performance.

Krassioukov believes that adding autonomic functioning to the athlete classification system that currently measures only motor and sensory functioning will more evenly match competitors and reduce motivation to boost.

“Being allowed to conduct research in the Athletes’ Village is an exciting milestone for me,” says Krassioukov, an associate professor in UBC’s Dept. of Medicine and co-director of the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), part of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI). “It suggests the IPC will consider how differences in autonomic function create inequities in performance and fuel the risky practice of boosting.”

Autonomic functioning varies between individuals according to the level and severity of their SCI. Currently, athletes with higher-level injury and significant autonomic function impairment compete directly with individuals with lesser impairment. Athletes have used boosting to close the gap.

During the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, expected to draw 650 athletes from more than 40 countries, he plans to test 50 curling and sledge hockey athletes with spinal cord injury in a Cardiovascular Health Education Clinic in the Village and at ICORD. Volunteers will participate in a 90-minute assessment of autonomic functioning, complete a questionnaire and receive educational brochures about autonomic dysreflexia and risks of boosting.

Krassioukov expects it will be at least four years before his team will provide the IPC with possible guidelines on testing of autonomic functioning in paralympic athletes. Additional data from other paralympic sports must be collected and analyzed and recommendations developed and tested. He hopes research advances will ultimately eliminate the need for boosting but accepts that individuals with SCI are always looking for ways to improve their functioning.

“I am amazed by my patients’ incredible tenacity to achieve what they want to do in life — how they not only survive but fully engage in their adventure with a new body.”

Krassioukov’s work is supported by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada; the Disability Health Research Network; the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation; and the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Tap and rope guide blind swimmer to victory

UPDATE:

Aug. 14, 2012 – Donovan Tildesley will compete in his fourth Paralympic Games in London (Aug. 29-Sept. 9).

Sep. 11, 2008 – Donovan Tildesley won bronze in 400-metre S11 swimming in Beijing.

Sep. 4, 2008 – Donovan Tildesley has been named Canada’s flag bearer for the Beijing Paralympics. Tildesley will lead Team Canada’s 143 athletes into the Opening Ceremony.

By Brian Lin, July 3, 2008 

At age 24, new UBC grad Donovan Tildesley has broken two world records, won a dozen gold medals in international swim meets and is part of Team Canada for the third time in the Paralympic Games in Beijing this summer.

The Vancouver native is also a motivational speaker and part owner of a small radio station in Whistler, B.C.

Tildesley, who was born blind, won a bronze medal in the 2000 Sydney Paralympics and two silver and one more bronze medal in Athens in 2004. He’s currently the No. 2-ranked swimmer with a disability in the world in the 400-metre freestyle.

“Competing in the Paralympics was one of the most amazing experiences in my life,” says Tildesley, who began racing at age nine with the help of his father and coach Hugh, a former competitive swimmer.

Hugh is also Donovan’s “tapper,” charged with the vital task of tapping his son on the head with a pole when he’s one stroke away from the wall.

“The questions I get asked most is how do I avoid swimming into the wall, and how I swim in a straight line,” explains Tildesley.

Using the lane rope as a guide, Tildesley must keep his arms straight and centred as to keep on course. “As I get tired, keeping my arms symmetrical becomes more difficult, but that’s part of the sport.”

Since graduating from UBC this spring with an English degree, Tildesley has been busy speaking at schools and community events on behalf of the RBC Olympians Program. “I love it as much as competing in the pool,” says Tildesley. “It’s a chance to step outside myself and tell my story. “If I can enrich, inspire or help change someone’s life, that makes me happy.”

Another thing that makes Tildesley happy involves skis and may not be everybody’s cup of tea. “There’s nothing more thrilling than being on top of Spanky’s Ladder on Blackcomb and making the 500 vertical feet drop.”

Now imagine doing that with your eyes closed.

Recap: Looking back at UBC and the 2012 Olympics

By CJ Pentland and Henry Lebard, The Ubyssey

Bronze medals, swim-offs, meeting royalty: the 2012 Summer Olympics featured much excitement for past and current UBC students.

Unsurprisingly, the swimmers had the most success in London. Led by Brent Hayden’s bronze medal in the 100m freestyle, several other T-Birds put forth strong efforts.

Alumnus Scott Dickens started the competition strong as he became the first Canadian to swim the 100m breaststroke in less than a minute, coming in at 59.85s. He made the semi-final in that event, along with the semi-final of the 200m breaststroke and the final of the 4x100m medley relay team, which also featured Hayden.

The reigning CIS male swimmer of the year, Tommy Gossland, swam in the 4x100m freestyle relay heats along with Hayden, but their time didn’t qualify them for the final.

As for the women, Martha McCabe led the way by finishing fifth overall in the 200m breaststroke after positing a time of 2:23.16 in the final. Tera van Beilen recorded a time of 1:07.48 in the 100m breaststroke semi-finals, which put her in a tie for eighth and forced a swim-off. However, she lost the two-person race and failed to make the finals.

CIS female swimmer of the year Savannah King raced in both the 400m and 800m freestyles, recording a personal best in the 800m. Heather MacLean swam in both the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays, with her 4x200m team finishing fourth overall.

Back on land, a few former Thunderbirds put up good results in track and field events. Inaki Gomez finished 13th in the 20km race walk with a time of 1:20:58, setting a personal best and breaking the Canadian record time in that event.

Liz Gleadle finished 12th overall in women’s javelin, the highest-ever finish by a Canadian in that event. Curtis Moss competed in men’s javelin, but finished 22nd in qualifying and failed to make the finals.

To round out the field events, high jumper Mike Mason came eighth in men’s high jump with a best jump of 2.29m.

There were also a few alumni competing on the outdoor water. In her third Olympics, Nikola Girke finished tenth in women’s RS:X Sailing. Mike Leigh and Luke Ramsay competed in the men’s sailing 470 class, ending up in the 25th spot. And Ricardo Montemayor, who was competing for Mexico, raced in the men’s sailing Laser Class and finished 38th.

In cycling, UBC had one representative. Denise Ramsden raced in both the women’s road race and time trials, finishing 27th and 19th, respectively.

As for the indoor events, badminton player Toby Ng met the Prince of Wales before the Games started, but he and his mixed doubles partner dropped all three of their matches in the group play stage.

The Olympics are now over, but there is still one more UBC athlete left to compete. Paralympic swimmer Donavan Tildesley will be swimming in four events in London once the Paralympic Games kick off on August 29.

This article was originally published by UBC’s student newspaper, the Ubysseyon Aug. 12.

Meet UBC’s 19 Olympians and Paralympians here

Hot topics in the news

UBC experts on pipeline debates

  • Environmental issues
  • Business and trade
  • Aboriginal communities
  • Law and policy

UBC welcomes Paralympics torch

On March 11, 2010 UBC will become one of only 13 community stops on the Paralympic Torch Relay.  Just one day before the 2010 Paralympic Games begin in Vancouver, the Paralympic Torch will zig zag through UBC Point Grey campus, kick-starting the Paralympic experience.

Read more: http://www.webcommunications.ubc.ca/ubc2010/whats-on/paralympic-torch-relay/

The danger of Paralympic boosting

After years of hard work, Dr. Andrei Krassioukov has finally earned admission to the Athletes Village at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Games.

But Krassioukov isn’t a competitor — he’s an internationally recognized expert in spinal cord injury (SCI) and leader of the only research team to be granted access to the Vancouver Athletes Village during the Games.

Krassioukov and research team members will investigate the controversial practice of “boosting.” Practiced by some individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), boosting involves intentionally raising blood pressure to stimulate the body’s energy and endurance. Non-athletes with SCI may use boosting to feel more energetic and alert. Paralympic athletes use boosting to win — it can improve performance by up to 15 per cent. Stressing techniques to stimulate parts of the body below the level of the spinal cord injury, and to produce a spike in blood pressure, can range from wearing pressure stockings, to compressing the testicles by sitting on a handful of ball bearings, or blocking a urinary catheter to distend the bladder.

Injury to the spinal cord disrupts control of heart and blood vessels that are normally regulated by the autonomic nervous system, part of the nervous system that provides non-voluntary control to various organs. This disruption — which varies in severity between individuals — means the body cannot properly replenish energy consumed through exercise leading to a drop in peripheral blood flow, sweating, shortness of breath and faintness . This creates significant disadvantages during competition, leading some athletes to use boosting as a drastic measure to correct functions lost through injury.

Besides creating an unfair competitive advantage, boosting is a dangerous practice. The sudden surge in blood pressure typically seen during boosting is known as autonomic dysreflexia and can lead to stroke, heart attack or death. But the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) 1994 ban on boosting has been difficult to enforce.

A physician-scientist at Vancouver Coastal Health’s GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, Krassioukov has studied autonomic functioning in SCI patients for more than 30 years and has collected data from paralympic athletes headed for competition since 2006. During the last five years he has urged the IPC to go beyond the ban to address how differences in autonomic function affect elite athlete performance.

Krassioukov believes that adding autonomic functioning to the athlete classification system that currently measures only motor and sensory functioning will more evenly match competitors and reduce motivation to boost.

“Being allowed to conduct research in the Athletes’ Village is an exciting milestone for me,” says Krassioukov, an associate professor in UBC’s Dept. of Medicine and co-director of the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), part of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI). “It suggests the IPC will consider how differences in autonomic function create inequities in performance and fuel the risky practice of boosting.”

Autonomic functioning varies between individuals according to the level and severity of their SCI. Currently, athletes with higher-level injury and significant autonomic function impairment compete directly with individuals with lesser impairment. Athletes have used boosting to close the gap.

During the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, expected to draw 650 athletes from more than 40 countries, he plans to test 50 curling and sledge hockey athletes with spinal cord injury in a Cardiovascular Health Education Clinic in the Village and at ICORD. Volunteers will participate in a 90-minute assessment of autonomic functioning, complete a questionnaire and receive educational brochures about autonomic dysreflexia and risks of boosting.

Krassioukov expects it will be at least four years before his team will provide the IPC with possible guidelines on testing of autonomic functioning in paralympic athletes. Additional data from other paralympic sports must be collected and analyzed and recommendations developed and tested. He hopes research advances will ultimately eliminate the need for boosting but accepts that individuals with SCI are always looking for ways to improve their functioning.

“I am amazed by my patients’ incredible tenacity to achieve what they want to do in life — how they not only survive but fully engage in their adventure with a new body.”

Krassioukov’s work is supported by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada; the Disability Health Research Network; the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation; and the Rick Hansen Foundation.

VCHRI is the research body of Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which includes BC’s largest academic and teaching health sciences centres: VGH, UBC Hospital, and GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre. In academic partnership with the University of British Columbia, VCHRI brings innovation and discovery to patient care, advancing healthier lives in healthy communities across British Columbia, Canada, and beyond. www.vchri.ca.

UBC’s sustainable sports centre

As a Paralympic competition venue, the UBC Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre will host 20 Paralympic sledge hockey games. The complex was built in the 1960s and is a fitting venue, considering its rich history. Canada’s National Hockey Program was born at the arena in 1963, in preparation for the Innsbruck 1964 Olympic Winter games in Austria.

The arena was redeveloped from 2006 to 2008 to rejuvenate and expand the facility in time for the Olympics, and to reflect the shared environmental, social and economic sustainability goals. Instead of demolishing the whole building, UBC and VANOC kept one ice rink that was still in good shape and upgraded its outdated mechanical and electrical systems.

The new centre has a highly-efficient floor plan inside, and the building site takes advantage of existing road and pedestrian networks and is situated close to public transportation. The centre’s designers used the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) green building rating system as a framework to address sustainability across all environmental performance categories. The facility achieved a LEED Silver performance standard, meeting VANOC’s progressive requirements for sustainability.

In addition to hockey and ice skating programs, the centre accommodates more than 40,000 users monthly through public programs, leagues, special events, concerts and fitness-related programs, to make the most of the facility.

Sports facilities require a significant amount of energy to operate, especially ice rinks and pools. UBC and VANOC found ways to convert the centre into a world-class winter sports facility and meet the building’s ice maintenance, ventilation, de-humidification and lighting needs in sustainable ways.

“Typically those are challenges, but we took them as positives, because we felt there was a lot of opportunity to improve the standards and also be leaders in the development of some of these facilities,” says Kavie Toor, Associate Director of Facilities and Business Development for UBC Athletics and Recreation.

One of the highlights of the redeveloped arena is the ECO CHILL® energy system. This new technology recycles all the energy used to maintain the ice surface back into the arena’s heating system, making use of waste energy that would normally be flushed out of the building.

The arena also uses electric ice resurfacers, which keep energy use to a minimum and don’t impact air quality. Often referred to as a Zamboni®, an ice resurfacer is typically fuelled by propane. “Not only is there energy wasted when they’re running sometimes three times an hour if you’re running multiple rinks, but there’s also a considerable amount of emissions that go into the playing area and into the stands,” Toor says.

To remove moist air from the building and dressing rooms, the arena uses an efficient de-humidifying system that runs about eight to 10 hours a day, compared to the centre’s old system that ran 24 hours a day. The building also uses energy-efficient lighting with sensors and control systems that turn lights off when a space is unoccupied.

Games inspire new research centre for sport

The interplay of sport and sustainability is being put under the microscope at the University of British Columbia, where a new, one-of-a-kind research centre is analyzing the opportunities and effects created by sport and mega sporting events.

The UBC Centre for Sports and Sustainability tackles questions about the environmental impacts of Olympic Games, society’s perception of Paralympic athletes and how to give youth opportunities to learn through sport, among other topics.

“There’s a growing need to better understand how sport transforms people, communities and cultures to deliver lasting economic, social and health benefits,” says UBC President Stephen Toope.

“As a UBC legacy project from the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the centre will fill an important niche as an international hub for knowledge on this very specialized area of research.”

The centre already exists — virtually. Through a joint project between UBC and the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC), the university is formalizing an existing network of researchers who are engaged in sport and sustainability research and instruction.

Researchers are considering how a large-scale sport event or infrastructure project can spur innovation in urban design, and what factors influence national pride, social cohesion and the inclusion in sport of groups such as new immigrants, indigenous populations and the economically disadvantaged.

“This is about more than sport itself,” says Robert Sparks, director of the UBC School of Human Kinetics. “This is sport as it links to economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social development in communities.”

“How do you ‘green’ sports facilities and how do you use sport programs to foster community development and healthy lifestyles?”

Part of the centre’s mandate will be to ensure this new knowledge is made available to local, national and international event organizers and host cities so they might optimize their planning and provide an enduring legacy. Already underway is the Paralympic Games Impact Survey, which looks at how the Paralympic Games impact the social perceptions of persons with a disability. A post-Paralympic Games survey will study changes in these perceptions.

”The overall idea is to look at how society might change its views of people with disabilities upon watching the quality performances of Paralympic athletes,” says Rob VanWynsberghe, lecturer in Human Kinetics and Educational Studies and UBC lead for the project.

Researchers are also looking around the country to find programs that teach others how to coach athletes with a disability, Vanwynsberghe says. “We suspect that many Paralympic coaches are experts in a sport for athletes without disabilities. They’ll draw on these skills to teach Paralympic athletes, but the cross-over isn’t easy; sledge hockey and hockey, for example, are two very different things,” he says.

“We want to make sure there are enough programs in place to train coaches and athletes for the Paralympics, and from a research perspective, consider the social perceptions that follow.” This is baseline work for the Olympic Games Impact study, which is also being conducted at UBC and led by VanWynsberghe. The massive study was developed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to introduce a standardized cross-Games method of monitoring, measuring and reporting on the economic, social and environmental impact of hosting the Olympic Games.

UBC and VANOC will also present a three-part think-tank series to analyze lessons learned from the 2010 Games, new precedents for large scale sport event sustainability, and the use of sustainability indicators in planning future Olympic bids.

“We want to capitalize on our research with the Olympics and Paralympics to become a knowledge hub capable of helping groups down the road who want to take on similar projects,” Sparks says.

Another project under the centre’s umbrella — the nascent Coaching Sustainability Initiative —has a local connection in Vancouver. By creating community service learning placements in the Downtown Eastside, this UBC legacy project supports leadership development and physical activity among secondary school students in Vancouver.

For more information, visit
ubc.ca/2010

UBC Board of Governors approves balanced operating budget for 2024/25

UBC is reporting a healthy financial position as part of its 2024/25 budget, approved by the Board of Governors this week.

The budget report acknowledges that UBC, like many other universities, is navigating a challenging financial landscape. Broader economic conditions, geopolitical tensions, and sector-specific issues are creating a measure of uncertainty for post-secondaries in Canada and beyond. Despite these challenges, the university forecasts a balanced operating budget for 2024/25.

“UBC is globally recognized for our academic and research excellence,” says Gage Averill, Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver. “Supporting this outstanding learning environment and enhancing our research impact continue to be the overall priorities for the university in the coming years.”

Active management of revenues, thoughtful efforts to reduce expenditures, and steady government support from the Province of British Columbia have enabled UBC to navigate the challenging financial environment. The operating budget for 2024/25 (the funding that covers the university’s day-to-day activities) is forecasting a balanced position, while the consolidated budget (which includes funding restricted for specific purposes like research and capital projects) is projecting a $94 million surplus. Leading credit rating agencies continue to consider UBC as having an “excellent market position” and “extremely strong enterprise profile.”

Frank Laezza, Vice-President, Finance & Operations, adds: “Our financial plan is strategically designed to both enable the ongoing financial sustainability of UBC, and to further our mission of inspiring people, ideas, and actions for a better world. We are being responsive to the current financial environment and taking a prudent approach to safeguard UBC against potential long-term challenges.”

In addition to fortifying the university’s long-term financial sustainability, the budget is designed to protect and enhance the academic mission, drive positive social change, and holistically support students. UBC is actively making investments in faculty recruitment, research and learning support, and core operating technologies. Investments in new academic facilities and research infrastructure, such as the School of Biomedical Engineering and Gateway Buildings in Vancouver and the x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn building in the Okanagan, also support UBC’s growth as a world-class university.

“The budget for the coming year ensures that our limited resources are making the biggest impact in support of teaching, learning, and research,” says Lesley Cormack, Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, UBC Okanagan. “In addition to advancing the health and vitality of our academic mission, it demonstrates our commitment to supporting our students and our community.”

A good proxy of research excellence and impact, over $753 million is projected in research investment through 2024/25—mainly from government agencies and non-profit funding. The budget also earmarks a further $54 million from the Academic Excellence Funds (UBCV) and $16 million from the Excellence Fund (UBCO) to enhance and amplify academic transformation and research excellence.

Budget 2024/25 will sustain investments in academic and non-academic supports for students to enable their success inside and outside of the classroom. This includes $2 million in continued funding to expand mental health and wellbeing supports, $4 million from 2024 to 2031 to expand the Work Learn program, and $33 million from 2024 to 2027 to enable a bursary top-up program for undergraduate domestic students.

While UBC is in a healthy position due to careful financial oversight, strengthening its long-term financial resilience remains a top priority. “Over time, our strategy and our investments have supported UBC in becoming one of the top 40 universities in the world,” adds Laezza. “Our prudent financial management approach will ensure we can continue to transform learning, push the boundaries in research, and attract outstanding faculty and students from around the world.”

UBC In The News

The 2024 wildfire season has started – here’s what we need to know

Last year’s wildfire season marked B.C.’s most destructive on record: 2.8 million hectares burned, more than double any previous year. UBC researchers Dr. Lori Daniels and Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais actively work on projects enhancing wildfire resilience, collaborating with community, government, private-sector and academic partners, and First Nations.

Dr. Daniels is the Koerner Chair in the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence at UBC, focusing on proactive management to increase ecosystem and community resilience to climate change and wildfires. Dr. Bourbonnais is a former wildland firefighter and now assistant professor at UBC Okanagan who employs advanced technologies to study wildfire risk and behaviour.

We spoke with Drs. Daniels and Bourbonnais about the outlook for wildfire season, and how communities can prepare for a challenging year.

What should we expect in terms of wildfire magnitude and severity this year?

Dr. Lori Daniels

LD: Predicting the fire season is challenging, but we are hoping for spring rains after the dry winter. Most of the province is in a multiyear drought, which contributed to the severe 2023 fire season. This persistent drought has primed us for another intense summer. Almost a hundred fires from last season are still burning in northeast B.C., with new wildfires breaking out. Now is the time to start thinking about how to be “FireSmart” and prepared!

What progress has been made so far to help communities reduce their wildfire risk?

LD: In B.C., there’s a significant effort to assess forest fuels surrounding communities—particularly in warm, dry, fire-prone regions—then proactively thin the forest, removing small trees while preserving larger ones for shade, wildlife habitat and biodiversity. Reducing forest fuels aims to alter fire behaviour, slowing a fast-spreading crown fire and shifting it to a less intense surface fire. This enhances firefighters’ ability to contain fire before it reaches homes. Successes include the 2021 Tremont fire near Logan Lake and the 2020 Christie Mountain fire near Penticton.

There are extra benefits when forest thinning treatments are combined with controlled burns in the understory, whether through prescribed fires or Indigenous-led cultural burns. One example of success is from the ?aq’am First Nation in southeast B.C.

Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais

MB: From a community protection standpoint, years or decades may pass before fuel treatments face a real test. In the case of ?aq’am First Nation, timely implementation of fuel treatments prevented potential devastation and helped save critical infrastructure, including many homes and the Cranbrook International Airport during the St. Mary’s River fire in July 2023. We are seeing more fuel treatments tested by wildfires throughout the province, including Logan Lake and West Kelowna, and in all cases the outcomes would have been far worse if fuel mitigation work had not been completed.

The success of these initiatives owes much to partnerships among First Nations, communities, BC Wildfire Services, private contractors and funding agencies. While these plans require years of planning with a narrow implementation window, their effective execution can protect communities and restore wildlife habitat and cultural resources.

How is technology shaping wildfire management?

MB: Drones, satellite imagery and related tech have the potential to contribute significantly to wildfire management, offering insights into landscape fuels and forest health. For example, drones with thermal cameras can detect hotspots at night when aircraft can’t operate. My team is working with Rogers Communications to develop a cost-effective, AI-driven forest monitoring system, tracking real-time conditions for fire risk prediction and firefighting efficiency.

As wildfire management grows more challenging due to extreme conditions, pre-emptive mitigation is essential. We analyze factors like fuel types and condition, weather and wind speeds to accurately anticipate fire risk and behaviour.

What roles do you play in advancing these efforts?

LD: I study wildfire-forest interactions using tree rings, field data and fire behaviour models, while Mathieu focuses on wildfire risk by monitoring microclimate changes and their impact on fuel dynamics across landscapes. Together, these approaches help us understand how proactive management may affect wildfire risk. For example, while reducing tree cover may increase dryness and risk, it also reduces fuel availability and mitigates fire intensity. Our combined research can verify complex effects, to avoid unforeseen consequences.

Mathieu and I coordinate research efforts across UBC’s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. We gather data to support proactive mitigation in collaboration with multiple agencies including the BC Community Forest Association, BC Wildfire Service and local experts from multiple Indigenous communities.

How can B.C. and Canada better manage wildfires?

LD: Wildfire management is becoming more challenging in B.C., across Canada and around the world due to climate change. Transforming forest and fire management is critical for our society to adapt and be ready for future fire seasons.

Across B.C., the forest industry must adapt, shifting focus from timber production to landscape resilience. We need to reduce the amount of waste wood, currently burned in piles, by investing in the bioeconomy to invent new ways to use small trees. Other innovations include reintroducing prescribed fire as part of reforestation, using partial harvesting to retain protective tree cover in drought-prone environments, creating strategically located cut-blocks and regenerating fire-resistant species to redirect wildfire spread across landscapes. Diversifying our forests and their management will also diversify the jobs held by forest professionals.

Equally important are the proactive fuel treatments in forests surrounding communities: thinning, prescribed and cultural burning. Public education by engaging homeowners through the FireSmart program is also high priority. However, we need greater government commitment and increased funding to support these local initiatives.

MB: Public and commercial interest in wildfire has surged recently and with that it’s important to show successes and failures in adaptation and mitigation and to change perceptions around prescribed fire. Yet, the current $30-million mitigation budget falls short compared to the billion dollars that firefighting cost B.C. last year. We have to increase the commitment to ensure sustainable support for proactive community fuel treatment programs. While there has been progress in B.C. and Canada, we can learn from other regions—for example the U.S. and Australia—that actively use fire to mitigate risk.

How do individuals and businesses adapt to increasing wildfire risk?

LD: Each of us has a role in coexisting with fire. We encourage homeowners to “FireSmart”  their homes and yards this spring, perhaps starting this Easter long weekend, in advance of fire season. Check roofs, clean gutters, and clear yard clutter. Opt for non-flammable landscaping when planning gardens and avoid cedar hedges and junipers. In apartments or townhouses with wood siding, suggest safer landscaping options like rock gardens if your home is currently surrounded by wood chips.

Spring has arrived early in B.C.’s southern interior, prompting outdoor activities. Be sure campfires are fully extinguished, be aware that motorbike and ATV engines can spark grass fires in dry areas, and refrain from discarding burning cigarettes.

MB: Over the short and long term, we must intensify our efforts to reduce wildfire risk around communities. The landscapes and forests near our towns are increasingly susceptible to fires, making containment harder and causing greater destruction. Strategies such as mechanical thinning to remove biomass from the forest and expanding the use of prescribed fires are important, and we should support communities and First Nations that are leading these initiatives.

Residents should actively inquire about community wildfire plans and engage in discussions on risk management. Businesses like Rogers can also play a significant role in advancing technological research. Messaging efforts, such as tourism bodies promoting the acceptance of wildfires as part of the landscape, can help drive public awareness and engagement.

Long-term planning and proactive management are essential. Each season that passes without implementing these measures means we miss opportunities to enhance resilience and learn to coexist with wildfire.

Tools and resources:

Interview language(s): English (Daniels, Bourbonnais), French (Bourbonnais)

Why your plans to age in place need to start now

Aging in place means staying in your home for as long as you are able.

Most people aspire to it, but few people know how to position themselves for it—or that they need to start this decades in advance.

Dr. Karen Humphreys aims to change that with her new book, The Mission of Maya and Methuselah. The clinical instructor from UBC’s faculty of medicine and internal medicine specialist pulls together advice on fitness, functionality and financial health for the wave of Canadian baby boomers who may soon find themselves in a social safety net that is fraying under their weight.

Who did you write this book for?

Dr. Karen Humphreys

The book is geared for adults 40-plus who are either dealing with aging parents or aging grandparents. It’s a guide for families to help individuals in those age brackets take steps to remain in their own home for as long as they can.

Everyone wants to age in place, but the reality is if you’re not functionally fit—mentally and physically—that isn’t an option. This is much like preventative medicine for heart disease, in that we need to start early in our 40s and 50s to change that trajectory. By the time people get to the medical ward and they’re already frail, it’s too late.

What does the book’s title mean?

Maya is a persona I named after the poet Maya Angelou. There are scenarios in the book where Maya is in her 50s, with a mother in her 70s. For every decade of life—50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s—there’s a clinical scenario, and then there’s nutrition and lifestyle advice.

Methuselah is another persona, based on an acquaintance of mine who was 93 and danced with people who were 20 years younger on a weekly basis. He was just an exceptional nonagenarian, until he got sick—basically, he was until he wasn’t. So those are the bookend cases of the personas in the book.

It isn’t all about health advice. Why do you also cover financial advice?

As you get to the point where you might require assisted living, long-term care or even private home care, there is a substantial financial cost. People need to be aware of that and prepare for it. A lot of people think the Canada Health Act is going to provide care for us when we get old, but it doesn’t pay for any of this. It’s up to the individual or the family.

What other aspects of preparing for old age do people often neglect?

I think being physically and mentally strong. Only a limited number of Canadians get the World Health Organization’s recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. And 150 minutes is a minimum—the range is 150 to 300.

I grew up in a society that was like, “Cardio, cardio, cardio! Everyone needs to do cardio to keep your heart strong!” But as we age, resistance training and balance exercise become more important for maintaining your functional fitness. In order to survive at home, you really do need to be physically quite strong.

How do the changing demographics of Canadian society affect all of this?

We’re in an interesting timeline. We’ve got the glut of the baby boomers no longer working, and they’ll require care between 10 and 20 years from now. It’s estimated that by 2030, we’re probably going to need 455,000 care home beds and right now there are just under 200,000. So, we’re going to have boomers who require care and we don’t have the infrastructure. But if we build another 200,000 beds in the next five years, those are probably only going to be used for 10 to 15 years and then we’re going to have an overabundance of them. So there has to be a strategy where we use those spots for not just the elderly in the short term, but also university students in the longer term.

Interview language(s): English

UBC In The News

Ask Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen your questions about going to the Moon

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen will become the first Canadian to venture to the Moon – but first, he’s stopping by UBC (virtually) to answer your lunar questions.

The Outer Space Institute and the UBC department of physics and astronomy will hold a webinar on March 27 from 3.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. PT featuring a 20-minute presentation by Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut and former fighter pilot, followed by a public question-and-answer period.

Attendees may join the webinar in person on the UBC Vancouver campus or virtually via Zoom. Registration is required.

Hansen is one of four crew members for the Artemis II mission, which will send astronauts around the Moon on the first crewed flight of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, no earlier than September 2025. He has lived in a cave underground and on the ocean floor in space mission simulations, and will be the first Canadian to participate in a lunar mission.

Event: Meet Canadian Space Agency and Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen (virtual and hybrid event)

Date/Time: Wednesday, March 27, 3.30 p.m.-4.30 p.m. PT

Event website: https://bit.ly/4cp1LA2

Locations:
Online via Zoom
In-person at Math 100, 1984 Mathematics Road, Vancouver BC, V6T 1Z2.
Please register at: https://forms.gle/Sy2wo2wKtTSKeGG38  due to physical and virtual space considerations

Interview opportunities:

  • Journalists may submit questions for Hansen via the webinar platform as part of the public Q&A period
  • Dr. Aaron Boley, professor, UBC department of physics and astronomy
  • Media who wish to interview Jeremy Hansen may contact the Canadian Space Agency’s media relations: medias-media.csa@asc-csa.gc.ca

Interview language(s): English (Boley, Hansen), French (Hansen)

UBC In The News

Solar eclipses associated with increased traffic fatalities

With a total solar eclipse approaching, researchers are offering advice to prevent a possible surge in traffic fatalities based on new research examining traffic risks around the 2017 total eclipse.

The research revealed a significant increase in traffic risk around the time of the total eclipse, resulting in 46 extra deaths in the U.S. Dr. John Staples, a clinical associate professor in UBC’s department of medicine, co-authored the research letter along with lead investigator Dr. Donald Redelmeier of the University of Toronto. It was published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The increased risks “likely derive from increased traffic, travel on unfamiliar routes, speeding to arrive on time, driver distraction by a celestial event, drug or alcohol impairment, or eclipse viewing from unsafe roadside locations,” said Dr. Redelmeier.

A total of 741 people were involved in fatal crashes over the three-day eclipse exposure interval (10.3 per hour) and 1,137 were in fatal crashes over six control days (7.9 per hour), corresponding to a 31 per cent increase in fatal crash involvement.

“To help prevent another possible surge in traffic fatalities, drivers should respect speed limits, minimize distractions, allow more headway, wear a seatbelt and never drive impaired,” said Dr. Staples.

The next total solar eclipse will occur on April 8, and is within driving range for more than 200 million people in the U.S. and Canada.

Media interested in speaking with Dr. Staples about the findings can email erik.rolfsen@ubc.ca.

UBC In The News

UBC In The News

UBC People


UBC People

Music professor nominated for Juno

Stephen Chatman, chair of the Composition Division in UBC School of Music, has received a Juno nomination for Classical Composition of the Year for his work “Magnificat: Songs of Reflection.”

Recorded at the Chan Centre in December 2012, the work was performed by soprano soloist Bahareh Poureslami (BMus 2013), the University Singers and UBC Symphony Orchestra, and conducted by Jonathan Girard, director of orchestras at the School of Music.

View the list of Juno nominees here. For more on the recording, click here.

to top

Applied Science announces new leadership roles; increases focus on professional development and industry partnerships

UBC Applied Science Dean Marc Parlange recently created two new senior leadership roles and appointed Prof. Elizabeth Croft as Associate Dean for Education and Professional Development, and Prof. James Olson as Associate Dean for Research and Industrial Partnerships.

“These two new roles mark our steadfast commitment to providing the best education and research possible in serving our students — future engineers, nurses, architects, landscape architects and planners — and society,” says Parlange. For more information, click here.

to top

UBC professor listed among 20th century Canadians “who changed the world”

Michael Hayden, University Killam Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics, has been featured in Ken McGoogan’s recent book, 50 Canadians Who Changed the World (Harper Collins).

The book features activists, humanitarians, scientists and inventors who have had a global impact, and recounts Hayden’s early life and career, his arrival at UBC, and his significant achievements as a researcher in medical genetics, an entrepreneur in biotechnology, and a leader in his field. For more information, click here.

to top

Computer Science professor receives Steacie Fellowship

Computer Science professor Kevin Leyton-Brown is the recipient of the Steacie Memorial Fellowship, which recognizes outstanding young researchers with a promising career in science research. Each fellow receives a research grant of $250,000 and is relieved of teaching and administrative duties for two years. Only six fellowships are awarded across Canada every year. Click here for more information.

to top

Computer engineer among UBC’s research stars

Computer and Electrical Engineering associate professor Purang Abolmaesumi has been selected to receive a UBC Killam Research Prize in recognition of his distinguished research and scholarly contributions. For more information, click here.

to top

Special Olympics BC charity free-throw contest at T-birds game

During half-time of this season’s final game, when the UBC women’s basketball team takes on the University of Victoria Vikes at home, 10 Special Olympics B.C. (SOBC) basketball players will attempt to sink as many free-throws as possible to raise money for two Special Olympic organizations.

Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities. UBC is hosting the Special Olympics Canada 2014 Summer Games this July.

Date:  Feb. 15
Time:  5 p.m. (game begins)
Place: UBC War Memorial Gym, 6081 University Blvd
Info: Click here

to top

Help shape UBC’s 20-year Sustainability Strategy

Join the conversation and help shape the long-term vision for sustainability at UBC and be part of an ongoing consultation process with faculty, staff, students and community members.

UBC is currently seeking feedback on the draft vision – share your thoughts and enter to win an iPad Mini (limited to faculty, staff and students). Complete the short eight-minute survey by Feb. 14.

Click here for more information or contact Marko Pajalic, Engagement Specialist, UBC Sustainability Initiative.

to top

Embracing ComplexCity – SCARP Student Symposium

The School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) Planning Students’ Association will hold its sixth annual SCARP Student Symposium titled “Embracing ComplexCity.” The panel sessions will explore ways to respond to environmental, social and economic challenges and, improve the resilience of cities and regions in the face of uncertainty and complexity.

Date: Feb. 7
Time: 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Place: Graduate Student Society, 6371 Crescent Road
Info: Click here for registration, fees and schedule

to top

Vancouver Campus Student Development Awards invites nominations

The Office of the Vice President, Students recognizes exceptional contributions or significant improvements to the student experience and learning environment at UBC. It is inviting nominations from students, faculty, staff and alumni for the 2013/14 UBC Vancouver Student Development Awards.

Refer to the VP Students website for the categories of awards and the list of winners for the past three years. Nominations should include a written statement from the nominator and two supporting letters outlining the exceptional contributions or improvements. Nominations are to be submitted to the Office of the Vice President, Students at vpsassist@mail.ubc.ca by March 7, 2014. Award winners will be announced late March and honoured at a special ceremony.

to top