UBC This Week | June 4, 2009

Jun 4, 2009

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2008 Focus on People Annual Report:

http://www.focusonpeople.ubc.ca/annualreport/

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.

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Recent UBC Media Releases

Upcoming Event Highlights

Visit UBCevents, UBC’s new campus-wide calendar: www.events.ubc.ca

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 People

In memoriam of Arthur Erickson, friend of UBC School of Architecture

The School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture regrets the passing of Canadian architect and former UBC faculty member Arthur Erickson on May 19.

Erickson played a crucial role in establishing enduring standards in the School of Architecture’s pedagogy in its formative years. His legacy will live on in the buildings he designed and through his mentorship which has guided the careers of many of Canada’s pre-eminent architects.

In 2006, the School named an annual public lecture series in Erickson’s name and brought an internationally renowned architect to Vancouver. The next lecture in November 2009 will be given by Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa and will include a tribute to Arthur Erickson.

For more information, visit http://www.apsc.ubc.ca/news/2009/may21.html

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Official carbon offsetter of 2010 Games co-founded by Sauder professor

Offsetters, a BC-based carbon asset management company and supplier of high-quality carbon offsets, has been named the official carbon offsetter of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The company was co-founded in 2005 by James Tansey , President of Offsetters and associate professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business.

Offsetters will provide the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) with a portfolio of offset projects created through local expertise in new, clean energy technologies.

For more information, visit http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/news/news-releases/-/67826/32566/1lyxk96/offsetters-named-official-carb.html .

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Sauder professor receives Laval honorary doctorate

On June 6, Mark Thompson , professor emeritus at the UBC Sauder School of Business, will receive an honorary doctorate of social sciences from Laval University in Quebec City. Thompson is being recognized for his contributions to the development of the field of industrial relations and its practice in Canada and North America.

For more information, visit http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=News&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=31020

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Applied Science members receive Killam awards

Three members of UBC’s Faculty of Applied Science received UBC Killam Teaching Prizes during convocation ceremonies at the Chan Centre: Prof. Wendy Hall , School of Nursing, Carol Jaeger , Senior Instructor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dusko Posarac , Senior Instructor, Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

The Killiam Teaching Prizes are awarded annually to faculty nominated by students, colleagues, and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching.

For more information, visit http://www.apsc.ubc.ca/news/2009/may26.html

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Civil engineering team wins best paper award

UBC civil engineering Ph.D. student Kazi Parvez Fattah , M.A.Sc. student Ying (Melissa) Zhang , Prof. Don Mavinic and research associate Fred Koch have been given the 2008 Donald R. Stanley Award by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. The team won the award for best paper on a civil engineering subject in the area of environmental engineering.

For more information, visit http://www.engineering.ubc.ca/news/2009/jun1.html

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Mechanical engineer professor elected ASME Fellow

UBC Mechanical Engineering’s Prof. Thomas Oxland has been elected Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) in recognition of his contributions to engineering.

Oxland holds a Canada Research Chair in Spine Biomechanics and a joint appointment with the UBC Dept. of Orthopaedics. An expert in biomechanical aspects of the spine, spinal injury, orthopaedic implants and surgical techniques, his work includes bio-engineering research studies and medical product development.

For more information, visit http://www.engineering.ubc.ca/news/2009/jun3.html

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Earth and ocean science researchers receive awards

Prof. Oldrich Hungr , of the Dept. of Earth and Ocean Sciences, has been awarded the E.B. Burwell, Jr. Award by the Geological Society of America for his 2005 book on debris flow hazards. The award recognizes an author of a published paper that advances knowledge of engineering geology.

The Society also awarded its 2009 Gilbert H. Cady award to Prof. Marc Bustin , Earth and Ocean Sciences, for his contributions to coal geology research.

For more information, visit www.eos.ubc.ca/home/aurora/newsflash.html

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Zoology research shows growth boost of key sea star species

New research by UBC zoologists indicates that elevated water temperatures and heightened concentrations of carbon dioxide can dramatically increase the growth rate of a keystone species of sea star.

The study is one of the first to look at the impact of ocean acidification on marine invertebrates that don’t have a large calcified skeleton or external shell, and challenges current assumptions about the potential impact of climate change on marine species.

For more information, visit www.science.ubc.ca/news/282

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Statistics department hosts annual meeting

The UBC Dept. of Statistics hosted the 2009 Statistical Society of Canada annual meeting from May 31 to June 3. The conference was chaired by Asst. Prof. Matias Salibian-Barrera , Assoc. Prof. Lang Wu and Prof. and Dept. Head Nancy Heckman.

For more information, visit www.ssc.ca/2009/index_e.html