UBC This Week 14-Jun-2012

 

Recent UBC Media Releases

Jun 11 UBC soccerbots host international teams before RoboCup 2012
Jun 11 UBC students report on Brazil violence for The New York Times
Jun 8 Robot regatta – UBC takes on US Naval Academy at Jericho Beach
   
 

Upcoming Event Highlights

Jun 14 Aboriginal (Un)History Month: Event Opening and Musqueam Film Screening
Jun 14 Robson Reading Series: Phil Hall, “Killdeer” and Aaron Bushkowsky, “Curtain for Roy”
Jun 15  Telling Stories With Data
Jun 15 Espalier: Pruning and Training Fruit Trees
Jun 16 Community Appreciation Day @ UBC Bookstore
Jun 16 Vancouver School of Theology presents Visiting Distinguished Scholar Dr. Sallie McFague
Jun 17 Lecture: Visions of Enlightenment
Jun 18 Essential Administrative Skills Series
Jun 19 Bike Coop: Purple and Yellow Volunteer Night
Jun 20 Aboriginal (Un)History Month: Guided Open House at Audrey & Harry Hawthorn Library & Archives and the Museum of Anthropology
Jun 20 Rampant, Unfettered Narcissism: A Defense
Jun 21-24 Franz Lehar: The Merry Widow, operetta
Jun 21 If I were Jack? Adolescent Men and Unintended Pregnancy: An empirical study and educational intervention
Jun 26 Free Webinar: Strategies for Communicating Dementia Research & Care to the Media
Jun 26 Free Lunch Hour Series: Following the Cross-Cultural Path
Jun 26 The Mysterious Body-A Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnosis
   
  Find out what else is happening at UBC this week. For sports events, visit the UBC Athletics site at http://www.gothunderbirds.ca/calendar.aspx.

 

UBC People


UBC People

Director of UBC Animal Care appointed International Fellow of the Explorers Club

Chris Harvey-Clark, director of UBC Animal Care Services, was appointed an International Fellow of the Explorers Club at its May 19 meeting in New York. The Explorers Club Fellowship is extended to individuals who have significantly contributed to scientific knowledge in the field of geographical exploration or allied sciences.

A trained marine biologist, Harvey-Clark is one of the leading experts on the Greenland shark, a very large northern shark that has been found deep in the St. Lawrence and Saguenay river systems. He co-chairs the Greenland Shark and Elasmobranch Education and Research Group (GEERG), and has written four research papers in peer-reviewed journals on this mysterious fish. He has filmed numerous underwater films with sponsor Peter Rowe, including Sharks of the Great White North, Canadian Geographic: Sea Otters, Black Harbour, and Angry Planet: Under Pressure. His next expedition, scheduled for summer 2012, will survey the wreck of the British warship HMS Raleigh, sunk in Labrador in 1922.

Since its founding in New York City in 1904, members of the Explorers Club have been responsible for many firsts: first to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, and first to the surface of the moon.

For more information, visit http://research.ubc.ca/vpri/chc-explorer.

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UBC professor launches fertility education website

In 2010, UBC professor of counseling psychology Judith Daniluk conducted an online survey of 4,000 childless women and men between the ages of 20 and 50. Based on her findings, Daniluk determined there was an urgent need for public education to enhance fertility awareness and ensure that women and men have accurate, up-to-date information about fertility life span and available fertility testing, preservation and family building options.

A need was identified for an independent, online source of current fertility information and decision-making support. In May 2012 a team lead by Daniluk launched http://www.myfertilitychoices.com/, an interactive site containing current information about available fertility testing, preservation, treatment and family building options.

The site is supported through funding provided by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), with administrative support from UBC.

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MSL and Brain Research Centre professor receives Neuropathic Pain Research award

UBC professor Terry Snutch, a Canada Research Chair in Biotechnology and Genomics-Neurobiology at the Michael Smith Laboratories and a member of the Brain Research Centre, received a 2011 Neuropathic Pain Research Award from Pfizer Canada to investigate the effectiveness of pregabalin as an effective prophylactic treatment for chronic migraine sufferers.

The Neuropathic Pain Research awards provide funding grants to research that has the potential to improve the quality of life of people living with neuropathic pain, a common pain condition estimated to affect over one million Canadians.

For more information, visit http://brain.ubc.ca/2012/06/13/terry-snutch-receives-neuropathic-pain-research-award/.

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Simon Peacock reappointed to second term as dean of Faculty of Science

Simon Peacock has been appointed to a second six-year term as dean of Faculty of Science. His second term will run July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2018. For more information, visit http://science.ubc.ca/news/624.

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Charles Shuler reappointed as dean of Faculty of Dentistry

Charles Schuler has been reappointed as dean of the Faculty of Dentistry to a second term, commencing July 1, 2012 until June 30, 2017.

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Applied Science members win award in ecological economics

UBC School of Regional and Community Planning alumnus Mathis Wackernagel (PhD Planning ’94) and Prof. Emeritus William Rees, co-developers of Ecological Footprint, will receive the bi-annual Kenneth E. Boulding Award from the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) during the ISEE Conference 2012 on June 17, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/LWFF7Z.

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SALA professors recognized

School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA) professor Cynthia Girling has been elected Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Girling was nominated by the Oregon Chapter in the Knowledge category and will be recognized during the 2012 ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, 2012 in Phoenix. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/LWEUMl.

SALA assistant professor Joseph Dahmen has been appointed an Early Career Scholar by the UBC Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies for 2012-13. The award is for UBC faculty at the early stage of their careers with highly promising records, who will appreciate the possibilities of intellectual and interdisciplinary exchange with peers in very different areas of research. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/LWGH3L.

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UBC partners with Mercer International to establish industrial research chair

The Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Pulp and Paper Centre in the Faculty of Applied Science at UBC have recently established a $1 million partnership with Mercer International, a global leader in the production of NBSK pulp, renewable bioenergy and oher bio-products, to create an industrial research chair in Advanced Forest Bio-Products Engineering. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/KGwrsq.

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Pharmacy Faculty receives new CIHR and CDA grants

Members of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC are receiving grants from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA). To read more, visit http://www.pharmacy.ubc.ca/aboutus/faculty-news/2012-06-13.

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Engineering students recognized

The Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 philanthropists includes UBC student Michael Peters, who just completed his second year of pre-med chemical and biological engineering. Peters has devoted his time to creating a technology for individuals contending with mobility challenges. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/Koi3dF.

At this year’s Toyota Canada AUTO21 HQP Poster National Competition, a team of UBC engineers won Best in Theme A (Health, Safety and Injury Prevention), tied for first place overall, and a $4,000 cash prize for their poster, “Injury Prevention Through Adaptive Seat Design”. For more information, visit http://www.ece.ubc.ca/news/201206/first-and-best-auto21.

PhD students Roza Bidshahri and Hadi Mansoor received the Paul Geyer Graduate Award in Biomedical Engineering. This award recognizes entrepreneurial achievements by graduate students in Biomedical Engineering at UBC who have demonstrated both strong leadership and a high standard of scholarly achievement. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/LKpo7w.

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Team UBC Placed and Promised joins Ride to Conquer Cancer

On June 16 and 17, 2012, Team UBC Placed and Promised (a team of 10 with seven UBC staff members) will be cycling 240 kilometers from Vancouver to Seattle as part of the Ride to Conquer Cancer benefitting the B.C. Cancer Foundation.

Their goal is to raise $20,000 to support the breakthrough research, exemplary teaching, and compassionate care made possible through B.C. Cancer Foundation.

For more information on the team and how to support them, visit http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=1413&team_id=47250

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UBC Grand Prix July 10

On July 10, cyclists from across North America will be competing in the UBC Grand Prix presented by Mahony & Sons Public House and part of B.C. Superweek.

The event will feature a Criterium race open to Pro/Am male and female cyclists competing for over $10,000 in prize money. Athletes will race a one-kilometre circuit and navigate around the course for 40-65 laps. A Kids’ Race and a Corporate Team Challenge will be included in the event. Proceeds will go to the B.C. Sports Medicine Research Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.ubcgrandprix.com/.

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Robot regatta finals today – UBC takes on US Naval Academy at Jericho Beach

UBC engineering students take on the US Naval Academy (USNA), the defending champions in the sixth annual International Robotic Sailing Championships. Hosted by UBC and the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, the June 11-14 robotic championship challenged students to design, build and compete with complex crafts. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/KohIHK.

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Mechanical Engineering walking tour June 28

The Dept. of Mechanical Engineering will give a walking tour of the department, their labs, and provide demos of what student design teams are up to. Friends and family are welcome. RSVP at studentassistant@mech.ubc.ca.

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Asia Pacific Memo update: Canada-China education projects, Mongolian election, Hindu nationalism

Short text memos or video interviews on current issues in Asia and across the Pacific are published twice-weekly at http://www.asiapacificmemo.ca/.

• Canada-China Education Projects (video interview with Ruth Hayhoe) (Part 1 and 2)
• Mongolian Election: Bumpy Road, but Heading in the Right Direction, by UBC Prof. Julian Dierkes and Mendee Jargalsaikhan
• Hindu Nationalism is the Biggest Security Threat to India, by Dibyesh Anand

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