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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
- Jan. 8: Mortality Rates Higher for Heart Disease Patients in Poorer B.C. Neighbourhoods
- Dec. 31:Trapped Water Cause of Regular Tremors Under Vancouver Island: UBC Researchers
- Dec. 19: UBC Researchers Map Billions in Spending on Prescription Drugs
- Dec. 19: Earth Not Centre of the Universe, Surrounded by "Dark Energy": UBC Cosmologists
- Dec. 18: UBC Researchers’ Discovery Could Rejuvenate the Brain
Upcoming Event Highlights
Visit UBCevents, UBC’s new campus-wide calendar: www.events.ubc.ca
- Jan. 9: The Constitution of a Religion: Ōtani-ha Shin Buddhism as Civil Society Actor
- Jan. 10: 2009 Student Leadership Conference
- Jan. 12: Prebiotic Molecules in Liquid Environments on Titan
- Jan. 13: Teaching & Learning with Technology Series – Facebook and Education: The Pros and Cons
- Jan. 14: Equality for Vulnerable Children: How We Benefit from a Feminist Lens
- Jan. 15: Winter Broomball Championships
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
- UBC members receive appointments to the Order of Canada
- Electrical and computer engineering professors awarded fellowships
- UBC professor named head of physics and astronomy department
UBC People
UBC members receive appointments to the Order of Canada
Four members of the UBC community have received appointments to the Order of Canada in recognition of their outstanding achievements and lifetime of service.
Prof. Max Cynader, named member of the Order, is Director of the Brain Research Centre at UBC and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. Cynader, also a professor of opthamology, holds the Canada Research Chair in brain development at UBC.
Cynader is recognized for his contributions to biomedical research, notably in the study of the brain and visual systems, and for increasing the accessibility of treatments.
Prof. Emeritus Ross E. Petty, named member of the Order, specializes in pediatric rheumatology at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital in Vancouver and established UBC’s academic program in 1979.
Petty is recognized for his contributions to pediatric rheumatology, notably for establishing the first formal Canadian academic program at the University of Manitoba in 1976, and improving the lives of children afflicted with rheumatic diseases.
Adjunct Prof. Gary Birch, appointed to the rank of Officer, earned his B.A. Sc. in Electrical Engineering at UBC in 1983, and in 1988 received a PhD in Electrical Engineering (Biomedical Signal Processing).
Now an adjunct professor at UBC, Birch is honoured for his contributions to the development of the Neil Squire Society, and for his determination and ingenuity in helping Canadians with disabilities to achieve a higher quality of life. The Neil Squire Society develops programs, services and assistive technology for people with physical disabilities.
Tenor Ben Heppner, who studied music at UBC before launching an acclaimed international career, has been elevated to the rank of Companion.
Heppner is lauded for his continued role as a premier musical ambassador for Canada. The Governor General notes he is equally renowned for his generosity of spirit as for his abilities as a tenor.
Heppner’s national break came in 1979 when he won the Canadian Broadcasting Company Talent Festival. He has gone on to perform at Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie and the Metropolitan Opera, and has received both Grammy and Juno awards.
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, announced 60 new appointments on Dec. 30. The Order of Canada is the highest honour that Canada can give its citizens for exceptional achievement, merit or service.
For more information, visit: www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5601.
Electrical and computer engineering professors awarded fellowships
Prof. Vijay Bhargava, Dept. Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been awarded a Distinguished Visiting Fellowship by Britain’s Royal Academy of Engineering. As part of the fellowship, he will present seminars at the University of Kent, University College London, University of Edinburgh and Cambridge University.
For more information, visit http://www.raeng.org.uk/research/researcher/dvfs/default.htm.
Prof. Victory Leung, Telus Mobility Research Chair in the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been elected a Fellow, Engineering Institute of Canada (IEC).
The EIC elects annually a select number of engineers to the grade of Fellow for their exceptional contributions to engineering in Canada.
For more information, visit http://www.eic-ici.ca/.
UBC professor named head of physics and astronomy department
Prof. Doug Bonn has been named head of UBC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, effective January 1, 2009.
Bonn’s research into the electromagnetic properties of high-temperature superconductors has helped make UBC a world leader in the area. His administrative contributions include serving as chair of the University’s senior appointments committee.
He joined the department as an assistant professor in 1994, after completing his PhD at McMaster University and conducting postdoctoral work at UBC.
For more information, visit http://science.ubc.ca/news/237.
