UBC News Digest

Jan 23, 2003

The UBC News Digest is a weekly summary of news stories about UBC
people, research, learning, community, and internationalization
initiatives. News Digest past
issues are also available on-line.

Jan. 23, 2003

UBC Debaters Make Their Mark in the World

UBC students Kevin Massie (Fifth Year History) and Rahim Moloo
(First Year Law) made a big splash at the World University Debating
Championships in South Africa by reaching the Quarter-Finals of
the prestigious event. In doing so, the pair had the highest placement
for a North American team among the 200 teams entered. Massie was
also the top Canadian debater, beating out competitors from Queen’s,
McGill and the University of Toronto.

Two UBC students – Moloo and Michael Kotrly (Fourth Year Economics)
– reached the finals of the Public Speaking Competition at the tournament,
taking two of the final six spots. Ashley Thorvaldson (Fourth Year
Political Science) qualified for the Semi-Finals and was the top
female Public Speaking competitor.

The tournament was won by Cambridge University.

The UBC Debating Society meets Tuesdays at 5 p.m. and Fridays at
4 p.m. in Angus 415.

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2010 Olympic Bid Information Session on Campus

The Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation will hold a community information
session at UBC on Wednesday January 29 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. in
the foyer of War Memorial Gym.

Bid staff and volunteers will provide information and answer questions
on all aspects of Vancouver and Whistler’s bid to host the 2010
winter Olympic and Paralympic games. The session will not feature
a formal presentation, instead using an open house format to enable
as many members of the campus community as possible to drop in,
get information and provide feedback.

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UBC Experts Featured on Knowledge Network

UBC faculty will be featured in a Knowledge Network series highlighting
research at B.C.’s post-secondary institutions. The programs will
be aired on Tuesdays at 7 p.m.

Programs featuring UBC researchers are:

Jan. 28
Animals: Justin Brashares and Tim Karels work with the Marmot
Recovery Foundation to manage captive animals and reintroduce Vancouver
Island marmots to the wild.

Feb. 4
Anthropology: Julie Cruikshank, Anthropology Dept. is documenting
oral traditions of Athapaskan and Tlingit elders in the Yukon who
tell of surging glaciers, floods and extremely cold summers. Their
stories may contribute to the understanding of climate change.

Feb. 18
Health: Karen Bartlett of the School of Environmental and
Occupational Hygiene discusses how researchers are tracking down
the origins of a deadly fungus on Vancouver Island trees.

Dr. Karim Qayumi, Dept. of Surgery, presents CyberPatient, an interactive
web-based tool to teach medical students.

Feb. 25
Humans and Computers: PhD student Simon Di Maio and Prof.
Tim Salcudean of the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
present their virtual biopsy needle that will help doctors learn
how to inject accurately.

Gary Birch, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Steve
Mason discuss their work on a direct brain-computer interface that
will help disabled people to communicate using brainwaves.

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