UBC This Week 03-April-2014

 

Recent UBC Media Releases

Apr 3 Researchers design trees that make it easier to produce pulp
Apr 2 Scientists eager to participate in public discourse on environment
Apr 1 Engineering students demo ultra fuel-efficient cars
Apr 1 Women leaders may reduce Wall Street risky business
Apr 1 Canada needs national autism strategy
Mar 31 Smoking out health risks
Mar 28 UBC gets $8.5M boost for eight Canada Research Chairs
Mar 27 Lightweight magnesium car parts cut down emissions

Upcoming Event Highlights

Apr 3 How Mobile Can Disrupt Social
Apr 3 Indigenous Women in Film
Apr 4 Grand Rounds: Children’s health: envisioning a new future
Apr 4 Open House at the Centre for India and South Asia Research, IAR
Apr 5 Royal Opera House Live Cinema at UBC – Puccini: Turandot
Apr 5 UBC Faculty of Education Reception at the AERA Annual Meeting
Apr 6 Tennis Single League
Apr 6 Aidrien Wilkins, Guitar (M.Mus. Solo Recital)
Apr 7 From Molecules to Mice: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Lyme Disease Spirochete
Apr 7 Translation and the Colonial Desire for Transparency
Apr 8 AMS Block Party
Apr 8 Connecting to Community Grants Pitch Session
Apr 9 Basic SPSS workshop
Apr 9 FNSP 401E Digital Media Practices Student Project Presentations
Apr 10 Dialogues in Critical Indigenous Studies
May 2 Without Masks: Contemporary Afro-Cuban Art (opening)
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

Political Science professor shortlisted for Donner Prize

International Law and the Arctic, a book written by Michael Byers, political science professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law, is one of five books shortlisted for the 2013/2014 Donner Prize for best public policy book by a Canadian. Refuting the widespread misconception that the Arctic is an unregulated zone of potential conflict, Byers illustrates a strong trend towards international cooperation and law-making. The winner of the $50,000 prize will be announced at an awards ceremony in Toronto on April 30, 2014. Click here for more information.

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Chemical and Biological Engineering professor awarded 2014 Grove Medal

The 2014 Grove Medal is being awarded to David Wilkinson, professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Canada Research Chair in Clean Energy and Fuel Cells. The medal is awarded in honour of Sir William Grove, the inventor of the fuel cell. Prior to UBC, Wilkinson spent nearly 15 years building and leading Ballard Power Systems’ technological leadership in PEM fuel cells.

The presentation of the medal and Wilkinson’s plenary address opened the Fuel Cells 2014 Science and Technology conference in Amsterdam on April 3, 2014. For more information, click here.

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Theatre and Film professor a finalist for 2014 Canada Prizes

UBC Theatre and Film professor Kirsty Johnson is among the finalists of the 2014 Canada Prizes announced by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Johnston’s book Stage Turns: Canadian Disability Theatre documents the development and innovations of disability theatre in Canada and the aesthetic choices and challenges of the movement, from local to the increasingly global.

The awards are given annually to the best scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences that have made a contribution to scholarship and enrich the social, cultural and intellectual life of Canada. Click here for more information.

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Economics professor receives Bank of Canada Fellowship Award

Professor Thomas Lemieux of UBC’s Vancouver School of Economics is the recipient of the Bank of Canada’s Fellowship Award for 2014. Lemieux is recognized internationally as an influential labour economist. The Bank’s fellowship program encourages leading-edge research and development of expertise in Canada in a number of areas including macroeconomics, monetary economics, and international finance. Click here for more information.

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Cooking class study seeks to increase health outcomes for prostate cancer survivors

Carolyn Gotay, professor and Canadian Cancer Society Chair in Cancer Primary Prevention in the School of Population and Public Health, is leading a team that recently received an Innovation Grant from the Canadian Cancer Society. The funding will support a study aimed at increasing health for prostate cancer survivors through an innovative cooking class. For more information, click here.

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Four UBC students make top 25 in SSHRC Research for a Better Life: The Storytellers challenge

Four UBC students are among the top 25 finalists in the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) 2014 Research for a Better Life: The Storytellers challenge. SSHRC asked postsecondary students from across the country to demonstrate (in three minutes or 300 words) how an SSHRC-funded research project at their institution is making a difference in the lives of Canadians. View a video of each student’s project by clicking on their name: Michael Muthukrishna (Dept. of Psychology), Klara Abdi (Faculty of Education), Daniel Manson (Dept. of Anthropology) and Hazel Hollingdale (Dept. of Sociology).

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PhD grad receives Mitacs Elevate Fellowship

PhD graduate of Electrical and Computer Engineering Ainara Garde has received a Mitacs Elevate Fellowship supporting her work with Guy Dumont at LionsGate Technologies. During her postdoctoral fellowship, Garde will apply her research expertise to develop a sleep apnea-screening tool using the Phone Oximeter, a smartphone device connected to the audio port of the phone to measure blood oxygen saturation. Mitacs Elevate is a two-year program providing recent PhD graduates with an opportunity to lead a long-term research projects with a partner organization while developing professional skills and leadership training. For more information, click here.

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Franklin Antonio Intern Scholarship winner advances indoor mapping

During his internship at Qualcomm, Electrical and Computer Engineering student Bader Alahma developed an indoor map solution that can pinpoint the location of assets inside a building. Alahma’s mentor An Chen, Senior Director of Engineering at Qualcomm has said, “Bader is one of the best interns I have seen in terms of raw talent. He has the ability to take a very complex and vague problem and develop an innovative solution.” The Franklin Antonio Scholarship is given to an intern working in Qualcomm’s Office of the Chief Scientist who exhibits stellar performance. For more information, click here.

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UBC students trek to Everest base Camp for Tanzania Heart Babies Project

This summer, a team of 12 UBC students will trek to the base camp of Mount Everest, Nepal to raise funds for the Tanzania Heart Babies Project. Through this campaign and other fundraising events around campus, the trekkers’ goal is to raise US$50,000 to support the surgeries of 20 Tanzanian children. Tanzania Heart Babies Project is an initiative by UBC students that aims to raise funds and awareness for children in Tanzania born with congenital heart disease. For more information, click here.

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Learning Centre helps B.C. history go digital

A collection of projects highlighting the stories and histories of British Columbia will soon be available for online viewing, thanks to the B.C. History Digitization Program (BCHDP). The program, launched by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre in 2006, provides matching grants to support projects that make B.C. heritage freely accessible to the public via the Internet. This year, about $200,000 in matching funds was allocated to 23 projects throughout the province. In total, the BCHDP has awarded more than $1.4 million for 167 grants over the past eight years. For a map and comprehensive listing of the 2014 projects, visit the Learning Centre site.

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New resources for copyright, open access

UBC’s copyright website has added new resources on copyright and open access:

• Open Course and Educational Resource Guidelines
• Author Rights/Open Access Toolkit on the How Do I Make My Work Open Access? page

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Poetry night at Koerner Library on April 9

In celebration of National Poetry Month during April, Koerner Library will host a trio of local poets for a night of food and verse: Kevin McNeilly (UBC), Renee Saklikar (SFU) and Elee Kraljii Gardiner (SFU).

Date:  April 9, 2014
Time:  5 – 6:30 p.m.
Place:  Koerner Library – third floor, near the fireplace
Info: RSVP and for more information, visit the Library’s site.

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Creative Writing celebrates 50th anniversary

On March 15th, UBC Creative Writing hosted a gala reception to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Former dean of Faculty of Arts and professor of Department of Economics Nancy Gallini won the “world’s greatest book club” live auction prize featuring Steven Galloway, Nancy Lee, and Joseph Boyden. Click here to view a slide-show of photos from the gala.

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