UBC Reports | Vol. 52 | No. 4 | Apr. 6, 2006
Order of Canada
Three members of the UBC community — a renowned environmentalist, a leading expert in fisheries oceanography and an animal ethicist- were appointed to the Order of Canada by Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean on Feb. 3, 2006.
David Suzuki, professor emeritus of zoology, has been promoted within the Order to the rank of Companion. An award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster, Suzuki recently returned to the university as a speaker in the UBC Global Citizenship Seminar Series. (For an audio recording of his lecture, visit www.ubc.ca/podcasts.)
Appointed to the rank of Officer is oceanography Professor Emeritus Timothy Parsons. In 2001, Parsons became the first Canadian to win the prestigious Japan Prize — Japan’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize — for his contributions to fisheries oceanography and marine conservation.
David Fraser, a professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and the W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics, has been appointed to the rank of member. Fraser’s work on animal welfare and ethics has led to many innovations in animal housing and management, ranging from designing better pig pens to reducing highway accidents involving wildlife.
Established in 1967, the Order of Canada is the highest honour that Canada can give its citizens for exceptional achievement, merit or service. These most recent appointments are effective Nov. 17, 2005. For more information, visit www.gg.ca/honours.
Steacie Fellowships
A UBC tree geneticist and a software engineer 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.
Joerg Bohlmann, an associate professor of Botany and Forest Sciences, 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.
He is one of four co-directors of Canada’s first large-scale forestry genome project. The $15-million project involves sequencing the genome of poplar and spruce to identify the genetic blueprint that determines features such as wood quality and health, including defense mechanisms and resistance systems in forest trees.
Bohlmann, who joined UBC in 2000, has also 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.
Gail Murphy, an associate professor in the Dept. of Computer Science, has been recognized for her contributions to understanding and reducing problems associated with evolving large software systems.
Murphy’s research involves looking at which system structures best support the expression, evaluation and verification of large software systems, and in helping software developers 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.
NSERC Steacie Fellowships — comprising salary support and research funding — are awarded to outstanding Canadian university scientists or engineers, who have earned their doctorate within the last 12 years, and whose research has already earned them an international reputation. For more on the 2006 Steacie Fellowships, visit www.nserc.gc.ca.
UBC chemist wins Prestigious Killam Research Fellowship
On Feb. 28, 2006, UBC chemistry prof. Michael Fryzuk was 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.
