UBC News Digest

Mar 12, 2004

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.

Mar. 12, 2004

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UBC International House Presents International
Week 2004 March 17 to 19

This year’s keynote panel, entitled "Borders Within: Two-Tiered
Citizenship in Post-9/11 Canada," features panelists Tarek
Fatah, the founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress; Hind Charkaoui,
sister of Adil Charkaoui, a Montreal father of two who has been
detained without charge since May 2003; and Sunera Thobani, a professor
in the women’s studies’ department at UBC and former president of
the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. The panel
convenes on Friday, March 19 from 2-4 p.m. in the Norm Theatre,
SUB.

Other International Week events include panel discussions on human
rights and self-determination; international dancing featuring Japanese
and Chinese contemporary bands, drum circles and salsa dance lessons;
and cultural displays, international food, games, music, and mini
performances at International House.

For a full schedule of events, visit www.students.ubc.ca/international.

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UBC Grad Student Wins ASI Innovation Award

The Advanced Systems Institute of BC (ASI) has announced Orcun
Goksel, a graduate student in the electrical engineering department
of The University of British Columbia, is one of three winners chosen
from ten finalists for the ASI 2004 Innovation Award. Goksel won
for his entry of a prostate brachytherapy haptic simulator, designed
to help train medical students.

"Congratulations to this year’s winners," said Victor
Jones, ASI President. "The ASI Exchange Innovation Awards is
a new initiative to honour outstanding new technologies exhibited
at BC’s premier advanced technology event, the ASI Exchange 2004.
The recipients have been selected based on their ability to demonstrate
that their technologies are highly innovative and have a strong
potential for commercial success."

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Eight UBC Students Win Communication Awards

Eight UBC graduate students have won the annual ASI Exchange Communications
Awards.

The awards were presented to university students who showed outstanding
ability in communicating their research at the ASI Exchange technology
exhibition on March 9, 2004. In the undergraduate category, two
winners were chosen from 13 candidates. In the graduate category,
15 winners were selected from more than 120 candidates. UBC winners
were:

  • Stephane Bibian, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Meghan Deutscher, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • David Du, Department of Mechanical Engineering
  • Orcun Goksel, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Erik Jensen, Barry Po and Alvin Poon, Department of Computer
    Science
  • Kim Lam, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Patrick Pilarski and Nelson Siu, Department of Electrical and
    Computer Engineering
  • Chris Snow, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

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UBC Celebrates Commonwealth Day

Former Lieutenant Governor Garde Gardom and the Consul General
of Malaysia Mat Dris Hajii Yacoob headed the celebration of the
26th annual Commonwealth Day at UBC on March 7.

Speakers included UBC students, staff, and alumni who represented
some of the 53 member nations. Among those who provided personal
insight into what freedom means in today’s world were: Brenda Adhiambo
Ogembo, an undergraduate student from Kenya; Lih Yeen Tan, a Commonwealth
Scholar from Malaysia; Devni de Silva, a staff member whose husband
is also a Commonwealth Scholar from Sri Lanka; and Mohamed Chelali,
a UBC alumnus who was honoured for saving the life of President
Chirac of France.