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.
Sep. 18, 2003
- Two Faculty of Applied Science professors win innovation
awards - Film by UBC Law professor a hit with critics and
audiences - New drug advisory board includes two UBC members
- City Approves Vancouver-UBC Charter
Receive UBC News Digest via
e-mail.
Two Faculty of Applied Science professors win
innovation awards
Two members of UBC’s Faculty of Applied Science have won Innovation
and Science Council of B.C. awards for 2003.
John Grace, a professor of chemical and biological engineering,
was honoured with the Chairman’s Award for Career Achievement for
distinguishing himself as an educator, researcher, and innovator
in his 35-year career as a leading authority on fluidization and
chemical reaction engineering.
Professor of civil and mechanical engineering Nemkumar Banthia
received the Solutions Through Research Award for his work to make
roads safer, buildings stronger, and bridges last longer.
The winners will be honoured at an awards dinner at the Fairmont
Hotel Vancouver on Nov. 3.
Film by UBC Law professor a hit with critics and
audiences
The Corporation, a feature-length documentary written by UBC law
professor Joel Bakan, wowed critics and audiences alike when it
premiered earlier this month at the 2003 Toronto International Film
Festival. The film, which takes a comprehensive look at the dominance
of corporations and its far-reaching repercussions, was second runner-up
for the People’s Choice Award.
Using case studies, anecdotes and true confessions, the film reveals
the corporations’ inner workings and controversial impacts. Among
the 42 interview subjects are CEOs, a Nobel Prize-winning economist
and a range of historians and critics including Noam Chomsky, Naomi
Klein, and Michael Moore. The film is based on Bakan’s forthcoming
book, to be published in Canada by Penguin Books in March, 2004.
The Corporation will be screened at the 2003 Vancouver International
Film Festival on Oct. 6, 8 and 10. For more information, visit the
festival website at www.viff.org.
New drug advisory board includes two UBC members
Ken Bassett and Bruce Carleton have been appointed as members of
the 11-person Canadian Expert Drug Advisory Committee (CEDAC), a
new advisory body of drug therapy and drug evaluation experts.
Bassett is a medical consultant at the Centre for Health Services
and Policy Research at UBC and is also a member of the UBC Therapeutics
Initiative. Carleton is associate professor and chair, division
of clinical pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
CEDAC will provide listing recommendations for new drugs based
on the best available clinical and economic evidence. Further information
is available on the Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology
Assessment website at www.ccohta.ca.
City Approves Vancouver-UBC Charter
Vancouver City Council approved the City of Vancouver-University
of British Columbia Charter at its meeting of Sept. 16.
The charter is designed to define and guide the university’s relationship
with the City of Vancouver.
In speaking to Council on the charter, UBC President Martha Piper
outlined UBC’s shared history with the city. Piper pointed out the
number of UBC facilities in Vancouver — including the Downtown
Eastside Learning Exchange, UBC at Robson Square, the five teaching
hospitals, the Portland Dental Clinic, Belkin Art Gallery Satellite
and the new Great Northern Way Campus. She reviewed UBC’s 3.8 billion
economic impact on the Greater Vancouver Regional District.
Piper said the current $600 million in academic construction at
UBC’s Point Grey campus makes it the largest construction site west
of Ontario. She reported how sustainability objectives, particularly
transportation initiatives, are being met for the emerging University
Town at Point Grey that will allow more university community members
to live where they work.
The report on which Council voted is at: http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20030916/rr1.htm.
