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UBC This Week is a weekly summary of UBC people in the news, recent media releases and upcoming event highlights. UBC This Week past issues are also available on-line.
Sign up for UBC This Week and other UBC Public Affairs e-mail services at www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/eservices.
Recent UBC Media Releases
- Apr. 11: UBC opens $79.7M Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
- Apr. 14: Corporate director and community volunteer elected UBC Chancellor; new board members named
- Apr. 15: Chung Collection of Chinese immigrant, West Coast history finds permanent home at UBC
Upcoming Event Highlights
- Apr. 17-18: UBC Visual Art Grad Show
- Apr. 18: The Behavior of Mine Waste Rock in a Cold Climate
- Apr. 19: Transferring to Torture: Canada, Human Rights, and Detainees: Michael Byers
- Apr. 20: Great Canadian Songbook II
Find out what else is happening at UBC this week. For sports events, visit the UBC Athletics site at www.gothunderbirds.ca/schedule.asp.
UBC People
- Exploring modern Punjabi literature at UBC
- UBC’s Annual Report best in Canada in 2008
- Burgess appointed Principal of CFIS
- Exhibition opens at the Belkin Satellite
- Persistence of Vision Film Festival hits the screen
- UBC sponsors ExplorAsian 2008
- Moms and sons needed for UBC research
- Supply Management hosts acquisition solutions tradeshow
- Nostalgia and anxiety in rural China
- UBC offers t’ai chi in the Garden
- Faculty of Medicine to host Spring Gala
- UBC Engineering team tops Shell eco-marathon
UBC People
Exploring modern Punjabi literature at UBC
UBC’s Centre for India and South Asia Research and the Department of Asian Studies, in association with the Dean of Arts and the Departments of Anthropology and English, will host the conference Modern Punjabi Literature and its Worlds.
The conference is dedicated to sessional lecturer Sadhu Binning, who will retire this year from teaching Punjabi at UBC.
Writers, students and scholars will discuss Punjabi literature as a North American and world literature through academic papers in English on modern Punjabi literature (including Diaspora literature), readings in Punjabi and discussion by local poets and students. All sessions will take place in English, except for the writers’ discussion and poetry reading on the second day.
Date: April 26-27
Place: UBC Asian Centre, 1871 West Mall
Info: www.asia.ubc.ca/index.php?id=5257&backPID=5257&tt_news=1683
UBC’s Annual Report best in Canada in 2008
UBC’s Annual Report has won the gold award for Best Institutional Annual Report in the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education’s 2008 Prix D’Excellence. The judges praised the creative design, convincing portraits and the approachable presentation of information.
Kudos to Robbin Simao, Integrated Marketing Communications Manager, who headed up the production of the Annual Report; writer Diane Haynes for her work; Martin Dee, University Photographer, for his high quality photographs; Rob Wilson and Mike Ko, Senior Web Co-ordinators, for their web work; and Demo Graphic Inc. for their design.
To view the report, visit www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/annualreports.
Burgess appointed Principal of CFIS
UBC’s Board of Governors appointed Prof. Michael Burgess, Department of Medical Genetics and Chair in Biomedical Ethics at the Centre for Applied Ethics, as Principal of the College for Interdisciplinary Studies until June 30, 2010.
Burgess’ recent research has been in the areas of applied ethics, science and technology, political science and genome science. Previously, Burgess collaborated in the use of qualitative methods to study inherited diseases and genetic testing.
Exhibition opens at the Belkin Satellite
UBC’s Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery Satellite will launch an exhibition entitled Everything Is Not Lost, featuring the work of Christian Nguyen, Nhan Duc Nguyen-duy and Khanh Vo. These contemporary artists address themes of family, loss and the intricacies of memory as they interpret the 30-year influence of the Vietnam War through autobiographical experiences, narratives and post-memories.
This exhibition is curated by Kim Nguyen, a candidate to the Masters Degree in Critical and Curatorial studies at UBC.
Date: April 19 – May 18
Hours: Wed – Sun, Noon – 5 p.m.
Place: Belkin Satellite, 555 Hamilton St., Vancouver
Info: www.belkin.ubc.ca/satellite
Persistence of Vision Film Festival hits the screen
Fourth year UBC Film students will present seven short films created over the course of the year on 16 mm film at the 19th annual UBC Persistence of Vision (POV) Film Festival.
Date: April 25-26
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Empire Granville 7 Cinemas, 855 Granville St., Vancouver
Info: http://web.mac.com/tfcw/POV/Home.html or ubcpov19@gmail.com
UBC sponsors ExplorAsian 2008
As part of the nation-wide celebration of May as Asian Heritage Month in Canada, UBC will be the title sponsor for ExplorASIAN 2008, a community initiative to highlight the art, education, and cultural expressions of Pan Asian Canadian artists and culture. The festival includes performances, demonstrations, lectures and community displays around the theme Many cultures: Many languages: One celebration.
The month’s festivities will open with an evening of neo-traditional Japanese music, Infinite Echoes from Japan: New Directions in Traditional Japanese Music.
Date: May 1
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: Frederic Wood Theatre, 6354 Crescent Road, UBC
Info: www.explorasian.org
Tickets: free admission; reservations are recommended. RSVP by 5 p.m., April 25
Moms and sons needed for UBC research
Prof. Charlotte Johnston, Department of Psychology, invites mothers with sons between the ages of 5-12 to participate in a study on how mothers perceive different types of child behaviours and whether certain instructions influence ratings of child behaviours. Mothers can participate at the UBC psychology lab or from home, and will be asked to watch child behaviour videos and fill out questionnaires. The visit takes about 1.5 hours, and mothers will receive $35 for their participation.
For more information, visit www.psych.ubc.ca/~cjlab or call 604-822-9037.
Supply Management hosts acquisition solutions tradeshow
UBC’s Supply Management will host its 11th annual tradeshow, Acquisition Solutions, to show the latest products and services offered at UBC.
Date: April 24
Time: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Place: War Memorial Gym, 6081 University Boulevard, UBC
Info: www.supplymanagement.ubc.ca/tradeshow
Nostalgia and anxiety in rural China
UBC’s Centre for Korean Research will host a lecture by Visiting Scholar Assoc. Prof. Wangbae Kim, Department of Sociology, Yonsei University, Korea, entitled Nostalgia and anxiety: The Social Change of Joseonjok (Korean-Chinese) Village in Rural China. Kim will discuss the transformation of Chinese socialism through the prism of Korean-Chinese residents struggling in rural areas, mostly in Manchuria.
Date: April 17
Time: 4 – 5:30 p.m.
Place: Room 120, C.K. Choi Building, 1855 West Mall
Info: www.iar.ubc.ca/bulletin/seminarsAPRIL2008.htm
UBC offers t’ai chi in the Garden
UBC’s Botanical Garden will offer a 10-session yang style t’ai chi class in the garden. T’ai chi is characterized by slow, continuous and gentle movements, and is practiced with the intent to strengthen muscles, improve balance and relieve stress. Participants will learn a sequence of 108 postures in the long form of the yang style.
Date: April 24 – June 26
Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Cost: (General) $75 or (Garden Members) $70
Place: UBC Botanical Garden (daylight and weather permitting) or in the Reception Centre, 6804 S.W. Marine Dr.
Note: Advance registration required at nadine.diner@ubc.ca or 604-690-5375
Faculty of Medicine to host Spring Gala
UBC’s Faculty of Medicine will host the 14th Annual Spring Gala, a fundraiser showcasing arts performances by medical and dental students. All proceeds go to Let Kids Play, a foundation that facilitates participation of underprivileged children in organized sport.
General seating tickets are $15, available from www.ticketmaster.ca (surcharge applies) or via the Dean’s office (11th floor, Diamond Health Care Centre, VGH, or Woodward IRC Building).
Date: April 26
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent Road
Info: www.ubcmed.com/gala/
UBC Engineering team tops Shell eco-marathon
UBC Engineering’s Supermileage Team achieved a mileage of 1864.9 mpg to become the top Canadian qualifier and place fourth overall in the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition held this last weekend in Fontana, California.
For more information, visit www.nam.nl/home/content/eco-marathon-en/welcome_global.html.
Engineering students to race vehicles designed for space exploration
Twenty student-designed ice vehicles will battle over speed, endurance and maneuverability at the Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre as practical engineering experience for students in the Mech 2 Program. Simulating icy conditions on moons and planets, the briefcase-sized explorer vehicles will be powered by compressed air and use radio-control for steering.
The students had three weeks to prepare. In addition to speed and agility, entrants will be judged on the vehicle’s ability to carry and tow cargo through five rounds of races.
Date: Friday, April 18
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Place: Rink C, Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre, UBC
Students: 118 students divided into 20 teams
Info: http://origin.mech.ubc.ca/~mech2/
