UBC This Week

On Sept. 22, UBC Library will hold with its first-ever “Living Library” event – an occasion that allows participants to meet a collection of figures, including students from Afghanistan and Nigeria, gay writers, a pioneering doctor, an extreme athlete/traveller and more.

A Living Library features real, live people who are “lent out” as “books,” and speak about their lives and experiences, to interested users. The idea is to introduce people to a collection of individuals who come from different walks of life and realities compared to their own. It’s an attempt to promote diversity and share a broad range of views and opinions – all within a context of respect and intellectual curiosity.

The Living Library event is open to everyone, including community members. Sign up to speak with your preferred candidate on the day of the event, beginning at 9:00 a.m. For more information, visit www.library.ubc.ca.

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The 2010 Times Higher Education world university rankings has been released, and the University of British Columbia is 30th among the top 200. It is second in Canada after the University of Toronto, which ranks 17th.
 
Other Canadian universities in the top 200 are: McGill University at 35; McMaster University at 93, University of Alberta at 127, University of Victoria at 130, University of Montreal at 138, Dalhousie University at 193 and Simon Fraser University at 199.
 
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010-11 were developed in concert with a new rankings data provider, Thomson Reuters. The rankings employ indicators in five categories:  

• Teaching — the learning environment (worth 30 per cent of the overall ranking score)
• Research — volume, income and reputation (worth 30 per cent)
• Citations — research influence (worth 32.5 per cent)
• Industry income — innovation (worth 2.5 per cent)
• International mix — staff and students (worth 5 per cent).

To see the rankings: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/top-200.html
 
To see the Globe and Mail story: http://www.globecampus.ca/in-the-news/article/canadian-universities-ranked-among-worlds-best/
 
For a review of other annual international rankings for UBC: http://www.ubc.ca/about/global.html

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Six UBC professors were elected as new Fellows by The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) for 2010.  The RSC consists of nearly 2,000 Fellows – men and women who are selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to the natural and social sciences, in the arts and in the humanities. 

Prof. John Wilson Foster, Dept. of English, is an international authority on the literature and culture of modern Ireland, including those of his troubled native region of Northern Ireland. He has spent his academic career in Canada, where he has been a pioneer in Irish Studies since the 1970s. 

Prof. Emerita Julie Cruikshank, Dept. of Anthropology, is an international leader in subarctic anthropology, particularly the living traditions of oral literature and storytelling in the Yukon Territory. Her publications trace the interplay between indigenous knowledge and narrative forms with experiences of landscape, colonialism, societal change and especially how differing cultural groups ‘‘know’’ the natural world and their own agency. 

Prof. Thomas Lemieux, Dept. of Economics, is a labour economics specialist whose research aims to explain why inequalities have increased over the past three decades. He has also written articles about salary determination, the underground economy and the impact of baby boomers on the labour market. 

Prof. Yusuf Altintas, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering is a leading scientific authority in machining and machine tool control engineering worldwide. He contributed to modeling of metal cutting mechanics, machine tool vibration, hatter stability, computer control of machine tools and virtual machining. His journal articles received more than 2,700 external citations since 1996. His algorithms are used by over 130 companies worldwide in improving the quality and productivity of machining operations.

Prof. Loren Rieseberg, Dept. of Botany, established hybridization as a creative force, leading to the origin of novel traits and new species. He also is a world leader in plant genomics, spearheading team efforts to sequence the genomes of several crops and weeds. 

Prof. Chris Orvig, Dept. of Chemistry, is one of Canada’s best known inorganic chemists. He studies metal ions in the etiology, diagnosis, and therapy of disease, making seminal contributions, both fundamental and applied, to the understanding of metal ions in biological processes.

For more information, visit www.rsc-src.ca

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Ten staff members are recognized for their contributions of excellence in categories such as enhancing the UBC experience, leadership and creativity, global citizenship, and customer service as part of the University’s staff awards program.

The President’s Staff Awards (Vancouver) and the Staff Awards of Excellence (Okanagan) both recognize the personal achievements and contributions of staff to UBC and to the vision and goals of the University. 

President’s Staff Awards (Vancouver)
Enhancing the UBC Experience:
Gurpreet Gill, Head Service Worker, Custodial – Building Operations
Jennifer Pelletier, Manager, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Brigitte Priebe, Exam Coordinator, Enrolment Services
Dominique Yupangco, Web and Systems Coordinator, Dept. of English

Leadership and Creativity:
Scott Macrae, Executive Director, UBC Public Affairs
David Shorthouse, Asst. Dean, Finance and Administration, Faculty of Science

Global Citizenship:
T. Bruce Anderson, Senior Advisor, Health, Safety & Environment

Staff Awards of Excellence (Okanagan)
Customer Service:
Pat Braham, Unit Assistant – Math, Statistics and Physics, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences
Brenda Hamm, Reference Assistant, UBC Library
Karen Seddon, Facilities and Finance Assistant, School of Engineering 

To view the eligibility and nomination process for this awards program, visit http://www.ceremonies.ubc.ca/honours-recognition/#psae or http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/facultystaff/current-staff/excellence.html.

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UBC’s Dept. of Public Affairs has received two Silver and three Awards of Excellence at the 40th Annual University and College Designers Association (UCDA) Design Competition. The judges evaluated nearly 1,300 print, electronic media, and going green entries, awarding a total of six Gold Awards, 18 Silver Awards and 213 Awards of Excellence. 

The Public Affairs team thanks UBC staff, consultants and trades for their contributions on the winning projects and delivering on challenging deadlines for the UBC brand launch and the 2010 Games. 

• Silver: Video, A Place of Mind
• Silver: Annual Report/Donor Report, Open Mind 
• Award of Excellence: Brand Launch Construction Hoarding Site 
• Award of Excellence: Environmental Graphics FROM HERE (War Memorial Gym) 
• Award of Excellence: Exhibit/Display Graphics, 2010 Games Visitor Centre 

For more information on UCDA, visit http://ucda.com/

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Daniel Buchman, a doctoral student in the National Core for Neuroethics, has been named a Frederick Banting and Charles Best Graduate Scholar by the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR). The award provides special recognition and support to students pursuing a doctoral degree in a health-related field in Canada. The 3-year award carries a $30,000/year stipend plus a $5,000/year research allowance.

Buchman will examine how neuroscience is affecting attributions of responsibility for developing and overcoming substance use problems. He has worked as a clinical social worker in front-line and outpatient addiction and mental health settings, in addition to inpatient work at an acute care hospital.

For more information, visit http://www.med.ubc.ca/about_us/Awards_and_Honours.htm#buchman

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A study conducted by UBC Civil Engineering’s Prof. Tarek Sayed and Paul Deleur, ICBC transportation safety engineer, shows that ICBC’s investment in road improvements are helping keep B.C. roads safer. The evaluation of ICBC’s investment in 102 road improvement projects (from a total of 750 projects), showed a 20 per cent reduction in fatal and severe injury crashes and a 12 per cent reduction in non-injury crashes.

The evaluation concluded that for every dollar invested, ICBC and its customers see a return five to 12 times the investment. That is, for every dollar invested, ICBC and its customers save $5.60 over two years and $12.80 over five years in reduced crash costs.

For more information, visit www.engineering.ubc.ca/news/2010/sep10.html 

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September 2010 marks an important milestone for the Dental Hygiene Degree Program at UBC.  For the first time this fall, all four years of the Entry-to-Practice (ETP) option are on campus together. 

“After years of planning and creating new curriculum content, having all fours years of classes finally at UBC is a dream come true,” explains Prof. Bonnie Craig, director of the Dental Hygiene Degree Program. Craig has been instrumental in not only the vision and inception of the degree program at UBC but also in the development of its curriculum. 

For more information, visit http://www.dentistry.ubc.ca/News/2010/milestoneDHDP.asp

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An event will be held to launch Legitimacy and Legality in International Law, a book written by Prof. Stephen J. Toope, University of British Columbia President and Vice Chancellor.  

Comments will be given by UBC’s Natasha Affolder and Asha Kaushal.  Affolder is assistant professor and director for Centre for Global Environmental and Natural Resource Law at the Faculty of Law, and Faculty Fellow at Liu Insitute for Global Issues.  Kaushal is a PhD student in the Faculty of Law, based at the Liu Institute for Global Issues.

Date: Sept. 23
Time: 3 – 5 p.m.
Place: Liu Institute for Global Issues, 6476 NW Marine Drive
Info: Register at http://www.ligi.ubc.ca/?p2=modules/liu/events/view.jsp&id=889

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The Institute of Asian Research’s Asia Pacific Memo is a new online publication on contemporary Asia. 

Current stories featured on the memo include: 

The Privatization of Security in Indonesia
Violence is becoming more frequent in Indonesia and is taking on new forms. There have been attacks by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) against Christian churches in greater Jakarta over the past two years. This has raised concerns about the future of democracy and religious tolerance in Indonesia.

Regulating Pacific Seasonal Labour in Australia
In 2008, the Australian government piloted a scheme for bringing seasonal workers from four Pacific Island countries (Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Tonga, and Vanuatu) to fill the gaps in Australia’s horticultural industry. 

Analysis of the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taiwan and China
On August 17th, 2010, the Taiwanese legislature passed the “Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement”.  This is an agreement between Taipei and Beijing, signed on June 29th, 2010, towards creating a cross-Strait free trade agreement.  Some see economic integration as the precursor to political integration. 

View the full memo at http://www.asiapacificmemo.ca/

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As part of a continuing collaboration between Green College, UBC, and The Global Civic Society organization directed by former Mayor of Vancouver Sam Sullivan, the College offers UBC students a limited number of complimentary tickets (reg. $15) to the second Public Salon  to be hosted by Sullivan. 

Entitled “An Evening to Educate and Inspire,” the program includes international aid-worker Nicole Aube, UBC brain researcher Max Cynader, historian and author Chuck Davis, percussionist and music educator Sal Ferreras, chief justice of the BC Court of Appeal Lance Finch, conceptual artist Ken Lum, award-winning journalist Peter McKnight, and UBC ecologist Bill Rees.

Date: Sept. 23
Time: 7:30 – 9 p.m.
Place: Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, corner of Hamilton and Dunsmuir
Info: Tickets first-come, first-served basis (max. two per request)
Contact gc.events@ubc.ca by Sept. 21 noon for complimentary tickets
www.globalcivic.org

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Nanci Martin, Director of UBC Science’s Student Advising team, has been named 2010’s Coach of the Year by Special Olympics North America. Martin, a Vancouver native with more than 19 years of experience as a certified coach, is the first Canadian named to the award since it was launched in 2005. 

For more information, visit http://www.specialolympics.ca/en/default.aspx

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