UBC This Week | Mar. 16, 2006

Mar 16, 2006

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UBC This Week is a weekly summary of UBC people in the news, recent media releases and upcoming event hightlights. UBC This Week past issues are also available on-line.

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UBC People

UBC People

UBC doubles up on prestigious Steacie Fellowships

Joerg Bohlmann, Assoc. Prof. of Botany and Forest Sciences, and Gail Murphy, Assoc. Prof. in the Dept. of Computer Science, have each been awarded 2006 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Steacie Fellowships — one of Canada’s premier science and engineering prizes — earning UBC two of the six prizes awarded Canada-wide.

As co-director of Canada’s first large-scale forestry genome project, Bohlmann explores trees’ chemical defense mechanisms against insects and other pathogens. Also a member of UBC’s Michael Smith Laboratories and an associate of UBC’s Wine Research Centre, Bohlmann’s work could lead to new, environmentally safe methods for plant protection.

Bohlmann, who joined UBC in 2000, has previously been recognized as a UBC Distinguished University Scholar, a Peter Wall Institute Early Career Fellow and has received the Faculty of Science Achievement Award for Leadership.

Murphy’s research looks at ways to support the expression, evaluation and verification of large software systems, and to help software developers to manage these structures. She looks at computer systems to find patterns of use so that software to detect developers’ patterns of activity and assist that activity automatically.

Murphy, who joined UBC in 1996, is a recipient of a Dahl-Nygaard Junior Prize from the Association Internationale pour les Technologies Objets (AITO), a European association to promote the advancement of research in object-oriented technology, and a UBC Killam Research Fellowship.

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UBC chemist wins Killam Research Fellowship

UBC chemistry prof. Michael Fryzuk has been awarded one of 10 new Canada Council for the Arts Killam Research Fellowships for his research work, "New Strategies for the Activation of Molecular Nitrogen."

Among Canada’s most distinguished research awards, the Killam Research Fellowships enable Canada’s best scientists and scholars to devote two years to full-time research and writing.

Made possible by a bequest of Mrs. Dorothy J. Killam, the awards support scholars engaged in research projects of outstanding merit in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, engineering and interdisciplinary studies within these fields.

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Dean Edwin Yen honoured by College of Dental Surgeons

Dr. Edwin Yen, Dean of UBC’s Faculty of Dentistry, has been recognized with a Distinguished Service Award from the College of Dental Surgeons.

Dean Yen was recognized for his outstanding contributions to the dental profession over a number of years. He has served as dean since 1994.

The Faculty of Dentistry recently opened its new Nobel Biocare Oral Health Centre. The facility occupies 3,510 sq. metres of the new David Strangway Building at the corner of Wesbrook Mall and University Boulevard at UBC’s Vancouver campus. It will be open to patients in September 2006.

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Pitman Potter named to the Board of Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

UBC Prof. Pitman Potter, Director of the Institute of Asian Research and the Faculty of Law’s Chinese Legal Studies, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

Potter’s appointment is one of four announced on March 14 by John McArthur, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. "We are delighted to welcome individuals of such high calibre to the Board of Directors. They bring a wealth of diverse talents, knowledge and experience to their positions that will prove to be a tremendous asset to the Foundation," said McArthur.

The Asia Pacific Foundation is Canada’s leading independent resource on Asia and Canada-Asia relations. It promotes dialogue on economic, security, political and social issues, helping to influence public policy and foster informed decision-making in the Canadian public, private and non-governmental sectors. The Foundation is funded through an endowment from the Government of Canada and a grant from the Province of British Columbia.

For more information, including detailed biographies of the four appointees, visit www.asiapacific.ca/about/board.cfm.

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Three UBC undergrads win Millennium Excellence Awards

UBC students Muxim Sun, Anna Wong and Monica Tang have won the Millennium Scholarship Foundation’s top-level awards for in-course excellence in 2005.

The three third-year students receive renewable $5,000 prizes and an invitation to attend the annual Think Again conference organized by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, where leading experts will discuss social issues facing Canadians.

Tang, a political science and commerce student, is vice-president of the Oxfam chapter at UBC. Wong, also a political science major, is involved with the UBC Learning Exchange community service learning program and holds a co-op placement on Parliament Hill. Sun, a pharmacology major, is a volunteer for the BC Epilepsy Association, the UBC Kids Help Phone Club and the UBC hospital club.

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Call for nominations: 2006 B.C. Innovation Council Awards

The B.C. Innovation Council is calling for nominations for the 2006 B.C. Innovation Council Awards. This annual awards program recognizes outstanding achievements made by researchers, industrial innovators, high technology entrepreneurs and science communicators in British Columbia.

This year, five winners will be selected from the following seven categories:

  • Lieutenant Governor’s Technology Innovation Award
  • BC Science and Technology Champion of the Year Award
  • Cecil Green Award for Technology Entrepreneurship
  • Chairman’s Award for Career Achievement
  • Eve Savory Award for Science Communication
  • Frontiers in Research Award
  • Young Innovator Award

The B.C. Innovation Council supports applied research and the commercialization of science and technology to foster province-wide economic development. As a Crown Agency of the Province of British Columbia, the council is responsible to the Ministry of Advanced Education.

The deadline for nominations is April 28, 2006. For details on the categories and submission requirements, or to download a nomination form, visit www.bcinnovationcouncil.com/awards.