UBC This Week 07-Jun-2012

UBC received nine Prix d’Excellence awards at the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) National Conference held in Toronto on June 2-4. The annual awards recognize outstanding achievements in alumni affairs, public affairs, communications, marketing, development, advancement services, stewardship, student recruitment and overall institutional advancement.

• Gold, Best Development Event – UBC campaign launch symposium and dinner – UBC Development and Alumni Engagement
• Gold, Best Use of Multi-Media – start an evolution online video ads – UBC Development and Alumni Engagement
• Gold, Best Fundraising Case Statement & Campaign Materials – University of British Columbia Cases for Support – UBC Development and Alumni Engagement
• Gold, Best Brochure, Newsletter or Flyer – Success is a Community Effort – UBC Development and Alumni Engagement
• Gold, Best Institutional Annual Report –UBC Online Annual Review 2011/2012 – UBC Public Affairs
• Silver, Best PR/Marketing/Communications Initiative – start an evolution campaign – UBC Development and Alumni Engagement
• Silver, Best Use of Social Media –In Memoriam, UBC Memorial Giving website – UBC Annual Giving
• Silver, Best Annual Fund Initiative –Make Your Mark…The Right Way – UBC Annual Giving
• Bronze, Best Magazine (circulation: 175,000) – TREK Magazine – UBC Alumni Affairs

View a complete list of the 2012 winners and their submission summaries at http://www.ccaecanada.org/index.php/publisher/articleview/frmArticleID/354/

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UBC’s Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Project was selected as one of the most innovative urban infrastructure projects and will be featured in the upcoming Infrastructure 100: World Cities Edition.

The high-profile publication, commissioned by professional services giant KPMG, will showcase 100 of the most innovative and exciting urban infrastructure projects worldwide.

Projects for the publication were selected by distinguished industry judges from hundreds of submissions, based on their scale, feasibility, complexity, innovation and impact on society.

For more information, visit http://www.sustain.ubc.ca/research/articles/ubc-bioenergy-research-and-demonstration-project.

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Two members from UBC’s Faculty of Medicine received Women of Distinction Awards from the YWCA of Metro Vancouver on May 24.

Dianne Miller, an associate professor in the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, was recognized in the Science, Research and Innovation category for her work battling ovarian cancer. She was instrumental in creating the B.C. Ovarian Cancer Research initiative, which brought together her vision of a dynamic team of specialists spanning multiple specialties working towards improving outcomes for women with ovarian cancer.

Alison Lee, an MD student (Class of 2013), who was named this year’s ”Young Woman of Distinction,” has organized more than 120 international exchange opportunities for Canadian medical students as the Canadian National Exchange Officer.

For more information, visit http://med.ubc.ca/faculty-member-and-student-included-among-ywcas-women-of-distinction/.

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Barbara Purves, assistant professor in the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, received the Eve Kassirer Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement from the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASLPA).

For more information, visit http://med.ubc.ca/barbara-purves-recognized-for-outstanding-professional-achievement/.

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Shafik Dharamsi, an assistant professor in the Department of Family Practice, has received the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies (PWIAS) Visiting Scholar Abroad Award.

Dharamsi will work with medical faculty in Nepal at the Patan Academy of Health Sciences to develop a long-term international research agenda on social accountability in medicine and the development of socially responsive physicians.

For more information, visit http://med.ubc.ca/shafik-dharamsi-receives-peter-wall-institute-award/.

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Student exchanges form the basis of an exclusive new student mobility agreement (SMA) signed between UBC’s Okanagan campus and the University of York, U.K.

The first step in the partnership involves student exchanges between the institutions, open to students in every faculty. Initially, third-year chemistry students from York will study for a year at UBC’s Okanagan campus starting in September 2013.

While the exchange program is open to all areas, there is special interest in pursuing an exchange to allow third-year students from UBC’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies to study at York’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television.

For more information, visit https://news.ok.ubc.ca/2012/06/01/ubcs-okanagan-campus-signs-exchange-pact-with-u-k-university.

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A new state-of-the-art patient simulation centre has opened at the Clinical Academic Campus of UBC’s Southern Medical Program at Kelowna General Hospital. The facility is supported by a $500,000 donation from The Colin & Lois Pritchard Foundation.

The Pritchard Simulation Centre – a joint venture between the UBC Faculty of Medicine and Interior Health – will replicate a variety of high-risk / low-probability medical scenarios to provide hands-on training experience.

The centre will be used for medicine and nursing education and continuing professional development, particularly for cardiac and critical-care personnel.

For more information, visit https://news.ok.ubc.ca/2012/06/06/patient-simulation-centre-opens-at-ubc-clinical-academic-campus.

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Renovations valued at about $800,000 are transforming the library at UBC’s Okanagan campus. Work is expected to complete in August and will significantly improve the Learning Commons and the general operation of the library. Highlights include:

• A single service point that combines circulation and reference.
• More seats
• An additional quiet reading room similar to the Field Reading Room
• Additional group study rooms
• Self-service checkout
• Self-service holds and reserves

“The library was originally built to accommodate approximately 3,500 students – we’ve nearly doubled our student base since then,” said Karen Hill, manager, access services at the library.

For more, visit https://news.ok.ubc.ca/2012/06/01/library-renovations-will-enhance-study-teaching-and-research.

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UBC Continuing Professional Development (UBC CPD), a division of the Faculty of Medicine, has launched This Changed My Practice (TCMP), an interactive online learning tool for physicians at http://thischangedmypractice.com/.

Contributing physicians write about practice tips that truly impact their practice, clinical trials that change treatments, and new data that questions something done before. Readers can vote on the self-perceived impact on their practice as well as post comments and ask questions.

TCMP is accredited as a learning activity for 0.25 credits by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. It has received one of three Royal College Accredited CPD Provider Innovation Awards, given annually to promote innovation in the development and implementation of: educational/administrative policies or processes, and education resources.

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UBC Law graduate Emily MacKinnon was presented with the Law Society Gold Medal Award during the Faculty’s graduation reception at Allard Hall on May 23. The medal is awarded each year to a J.D. student who has maintained the highest cumulative grade point average over the three years of law school.

For more information, visit http://www.law.ubc.ca/news/2012/june/06_04_12_gold_medal.html

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UBC Master of Laws student Andrew Pilliar is the recipient of the Action Canada award, which recognizes emerging leaders in law, medicine and/or business. Pilliar is one of 20 Canadians selected to participate in the 11-month leadership development and public policy program.

Pilliar clerked at the BC Supreme Court, worked as a lawyer at a boutique firm and at one of Canada’s major law firms and has been active in a broad range of community groups in Vancouver. He is completing a Master of Laws degree at UBC, working to improve access to civil justice by developing new entrepreneurial approaches to legal practice.

For more information, visit http://www.actioncanada.ca/en/fellows/fellows/20122013-fellows/#andrewpilliar.

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Alexa Geddes, a student in the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, is one of 22 post-secondary students selected for the Premier’s Scholarships for Study Abroad, announced by the Victoria Foundation. Geddes, about to begin the third year of a bachelor of science degree, will receive a $10,000 scholarship to study in Sweden.

Premier’s scholarships are funded from the returns on a $13-million endowment fund established by the Province of B.C. for international education. For more information, visit https://news.ok.ubc.ca/2012/06/05/science-student-receives-10000-scholarship-to-study-abroad.

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On May 29, the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences celebrated the graduating class of 2011-2012 at the Annual Dean’s Reception. Numerous awards were presented to graduating students, including The Merck Frosst Pharmacy Doctoral Prize, awarded to the head of the Doctor of Pharmacy graduating class, and the Peter Jewesson Graduate Scholarship in Pharmacy.

To read more, visit http://www.pharmacy.ubc.ca/aboutus/faculty-news/2012-06-07.

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Congratulations to Chemical and Biological Engineering PhD candidate Nagu Daraboina for winning the poster competition at the second annual conference hosted by Carbon Management Canada (CMC) in Gatineau, Quebec from May 23-25, 2012.

Daraboina’s winning poster is titled “Secure Storage of Impure Co2 in the Form of Solidy Hydrate in Depleted Pools in Northern Alberta”, with contributions from the Thermodynamic Group at UBC supervised by Prof. Peter Englezos.

For more information, visit http://blogs.apsc.ubc.ca/chbenews/2012/05/30/carbon-management-canada-cmc-poster-competition/.

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UBC Library, in partnership with the Musqueam Indian Band, the Centre for Teaching and Learning Technology and the Museum of Anthropology, has coordinated a series of events in June. Aboriginal (Un)History Month celebrates Aboriginal creativity, scholarship, and intellectual traditions. The events include film screenings, discussions, lectures, exhibits and tours.

Find out more at http://about.library.ubc.ca/2012/05/30/aboriginal-unhistory-month-cultivating-conversations/.

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UBC is honouring Dr. Irving K. Barber with a Celebration of Life event on Monday, June 11 at the Old Auditorium from 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. and everyone is invited.

The celebration will feature friends, family and others providing tributes to Dr. Barber. A reception follows at 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. at the Golden Jubilee Room, located on level four of the Learning Centre. Those unable to attend can watch the event via a live webcast at http://tiny.cc//ikebarber.

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Come cheer for your UBC Thunderbots as they compete against the best teams in the world in artificial intelligence and robotics on home turf, June 9 – 15 at the Engineering Design Center, 2345 East Mall.

Learn about autonomous soccer-playing robots and the technology and people that keep them scoring goals. You may even get a chance to even take control of a robot and drive it using an Xbox controller.

The round robin takes place on Sunday, June 10. Public demonstrations will occur on Monday and Tuesday, prior to the final round of competition.

For more information, visit http://www.robocupnaopen.com/.

To learn more about the home team, visit http://www.ubcthunderbots.ca.

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GEERing Up! UBC Engineering & Science for Kids is a non-profit organization that promotes science, engineering and technology to youth in the Greater Vancouver area. It is affiliated with UBC and operated by UBC students.

GEERing Up! hosts engineering and science summer day camps at UBC in July and August. It is always looking for professors and graduate students who want to share their research with or show off their lab to the campers. Past lab visits have included the wind tunnel, the eng-phys lab, and growing bacteria at the LSC. Anyone interested in running a tour or planning an activity to share at camp, please contact geeringup@apsc.ubc.ca.

For more information, please visit http://www.geeringup.apsc.ubc.ca/

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The public is invited to a free artist talk tonight on the state of environmentally concerned art by renowned eco art theorist and curator Beth Carruthers. The artist talk is at 7 p.m. at the Kelowna Art Gallery.

Carruthers is in Kelowna to facilitate a four day-workshop titled Vivarium 1: Scar Sites, sponsored by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC and the City of Kelowna. The event will bring together local artists to investigate the fragile skin and body of Knox Mountain Park, and will conclude in a series of eco art proposals addressing human interaction and impact on the land of the Okanagan Valley.

On Friday, June 8, from 4:30 p.m. -7 p.m., Park users are invited to meet the workshop artists at a free public Stakeholders’ Soirée at the Rotary Centre for the Arts. On Sunday, June 10, Vivarium 1 is hosting a Knox Mountain Eco Art Event in various locations on Knox Mountain.

For more information, contact Nancy Holmes, associate professor in creative studies, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at 250-807-9369 or email nancy.holmes@ubc.ca

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