UBC This Week

The 2011 UBC Community United Way Campaign kicks off October.  Every fall, UBC staff faculty and students join together to raise money for the United Way of the Lower Mainland and United Way of the Central Okanagan.  Funds raised help support more than 190 non-profit organizations all working to meet the health and social needs of the Lower Mainland and Central Okanagan communities. This year’s goal is to raise $700,000.

For more information and to find out about events being held around campus, visit: http://www.unitedway.ubc.ca/

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Three members of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC were recently recognized for their contributions to the fields of pharmacy practice and education. Dr. May Ensom was awarded the 2011 American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Education Award “for major contributions to advancing clinical pharmacy education.” Dr. Peter J. Zed was presented with the 2011 Memorial University School of Pharmacy Alumni Achievement Award. Dr. James McCormack was awarded the Eric Elder Memorial Medal.

To read more, visit http://www.pharmacy.ubc.ca/aboutus/faculty-news#EnsomZedMcCormack.

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UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences has announced the appointment of  Angela Kim-Sing to the position of Director, Office of Experiential Education (OEE).

Kim-Sing holds the degrees of BSc (Chem), McMaster University; BSc (Pharm), UBC; and Doctor of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina. She also completed a Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists accredited residency program at VGH, a frontline leadership course through Providence Health Care, St. Paul’s Hospital and CHARA Health Care Society, and teaching programs through UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology and the BC Preceptor Development Initiative.

To learn more, visit http://www.pharmacy.ubc.ca/aboutus/faculty-news#AKimSing

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UBC’s team earned a gold medal for their research project and won a special award for best model this past weekend at the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) Americas Regionals synthetic biology research competition, held in Indianapolis, Maryland.

The team received a gold medal award for their research project on combating the pine beetle outbreak by producing terpenes in yeast. The special award for best model was presented for their modelling work creating both a MATLAB simulation of metabolic pathways to guide their work at the bench, and a model of the potential impacts on the pine beetle epidemic with data from the B.C. Ministry of Forestry.

UBC’s iGEM team comprises undergraduate students from the Faculties of Applied Science and Science who carry out a student-driven research project from May to November under the mentorship of UBC faculty members and graduate student supervisors. This year’s team includes: Laura Bain, Gurpal Bisra, Alina Chan, Joe Ho, Daisy Ji, Marianne Park, Vicki Ma, Rafael Saer, Jacob Toth, Samuel Wu, and Shing Hei Zhan.

For more, visit http://blogs.apsc.ubc.ca/apscnews/2011/10/12/ubc-igem-team-wins-gold-medal-and-special-award-for-best-model/

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UBC engineering students erected an enormous inflatable “7” above the Health Science Parkade – a visual display of their support for the Bay of Fundy, Canada’s only finalist in the global New7Wonders of Nature campaign. The UBC students—Pete Wittstock, Ian Campbell, Andrew Carne, Adrian MacNeil, Alex Kay, Connor Vandenberg, Graham Beales, Shane Beaton, Riley O’Hara, Luke Parkinson, Matt Barclay, Justin Lane, Braeden Hammerl and Hans Seidemann—joined others from across Canada and the U.S. in the contest.

The UBC engineers’ giant 7 tied with Acadia University’s mud-covered human 7 for first place. To read more, visit: http://ow.ly/6IXK7.

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Steve Golob, residence chef at the Vanier Residence dining room, is UBC’s health hero for October.  He has been influencing the food offered at UBC since 1997 and is an advocate of health at UBC and with many food providers in the Lower Mainland.

Every year, Golob develops between 100 and 200 new menu items, many of which are favourite North American “comfort foods” transformed into healthier versions such as chicken noodle soup made with fresh kale from the UBC Farm, and macaroni and cheese made with whole wheat noodles. His soups, which have become a hot commodity on campus, are featured in a blog where he also shares a number of his recipes.

For more, visit http://blogs.ubc.ca/healthyubc/2011/10/05/october-health-hero-ubc-food-for-the-soul/

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David Suzuki, distinguished Canadian environmentalist and UBC professor emeritus, will give a public lecture titled The Global Eco-crisis: Is it too late? on Nov. 3.

In the 60-minute lecture, Suzuki will offer his insights on the state of the environment and whether there is hope for the future.  He will be signing copies of his books at 7:00 pm, and again after the lecture, in the atrium of the Chan Centre.

This event is presented in conjunction with the opening of the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability and the Accelerating Sustainability international conference.  It is presented by the Office of the Vice President Research and International, the Office of the Provost, and the UBC Sustainability Initiative.

Date: Nov. 3
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
Info:    Tickets are $5 and available at the Chan Centre Box Office or Ticketmaster

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An earthquake symposium will be held on Oct. 18 with an expert panel organized by Carlos Ventura, Director of UBC’s Earthquake Engineering Research Facility. The symposium will include a shake table demonstration, five presenters and a question and answer period.

Date     Oct. 18
Time:    3:40 – 6 p.m.
Place:   Centre for Integrated Research on Sustainability (CIRS), Room 1250 – 2260 West Mall

Info:     RSVP to blossom.sobrinho@ubc.ca. Refreshments provided.

For more information, visit www.riskmanagement.ubc.ca/shakeout_symposium

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The Small Business Accelerator (SBA) celebrates BDC’s Small Business Week with a host of compelling speakers.  The SBA, an initiative of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, provides access to industry-specific resources and information for entrepreneurs and small businesses in B.C. Visit http://www.sba-bc.ca/ for more information.
 
Two upcoming speaker sessions are:
 
Paul Cubbon, marketing instructor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, and George Moen, a UBC alumnus, serial entrepreneur and president of Blenz, the Canadian coffee company.

Date:    Oct. 17
Time:   5:30 – 6:45 p.m, followed by networking reception
Place:   HSBC Hall (C680), UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street
Info:     Free admission.  Public invited.

RSVP by Oct. 13 at http://www.sba-bc.ca/eventregistration

Scott Coleman, management student at UBC’s Okanagan campus and co-founder, FunCore Strength and Conditioning; Norine Webster, adjunct instructor, Faculty of Management, UBC’s Okanagan campus; Laurel Douglas, CEO, Women’s Enterprise Centre.

Date:    Oct. 19
Time:    5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m, followed by networking reception
Place:   Arts Atrium (ART186), UBC Okanagan Campus
Info:    Free admission. Public invited.

RSVP by Oct. 17 http://www.sba-bc.ca/biztalkOkanagan

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Hubert T. Lacroix, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, will meet UBC students to talk about the future of Canadian public broadcasting.  This talk is a joint presentation between the UBC School of Journalism and the Faculty of Arts.

Date: Oct. 18
Time: 7 – 9 p.m.
Place: Liu Institute for Global Issues
Info: http://wire.arts.ubc.ca/events/the-future-of-cbcradio-canada-a-conversation-with-president-hubert-t-lacroix/

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Shunmyo Masuno, head priest at Kenko-ji Temple and a landscape architect, is known for both his traditional and contemporary Zen gardens. He has realized gardens in Japan, Europe and North America and is responsible for the renovation of UBC’s Nitobe Memorial Garden. Masuno received an honorary degree from UBC in 2005 and returns to the university  for the first Paul Sangha Lecture at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

Date: Oct. 17
Time: 6.30 p.m.
Place: MacMillan Space Centre
Info: http://www.sala.ubc.ca/

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For current issues in Asia and across the Pacific, the Asia Pacific Memo series publishes short text memos or video interviews twice-weekly via email.

• Asia Pacific Memo will be releasing a video interview featuring Sheri L. Gibbings on her anthropological research on Indonesian democracy and street vendors.

To view the Memo, visit http://www.asiapacificmemo.ca/

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UBC offers employees a simple, safe and secure way to purchase Canada Savings Bonds (CSB) through the Payroll Savings Program. This year’s campaign runs Oct. 3 to Nov. 1.

Bond purchases are deducted from each pay starting Dec. 1, 2011 and start earning interest immediately. There are no fees to purchase, hold or redeem your bonds.

New Payroll Plan subscribers and existing Plan Owners who are new to the CSB website will be required to create a personalized Client ID. Those already purchasing bonds through the Payroll Program will continue their current deductions.

To purchase a CSB:
• Choose how much you want to save with each pay (min. $2 per week)
• Sign up online using UBC’s Employer Code (12207) at
http://www.csb.gc.ca/payroll-savings-program/employees/
• Click on Buy or Change my Payroll savings

For any questions, contact CSB Customer Service at 1-888-773-9999.

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Internationally recognized clinician-scientist, Dr. Jerilynn Prior, director, Centre for Menstruation Cycle and Ovulation Research (CeMCOR), and her German gynecology colleague, Dr. Seifert-Klauss, will present the innovative idea that progesterone increases new bone formation and bone strength.

This free public lecture will be held on Oct. 20 in the Cordula and Gunter Paetzold Auditorium in the Jim Pattison Pavilion, Vancouver General Hospital, from 7 – 9 p.m.  

For more information, visit http://www.cemcor.ubc.ca/Progesterone_%2526_Bone_Strength.

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