UBC This Week – 09-Apr-2015

UBC wrapped up its 2014 United Way campaign last week, thanking the staff, faculty and emeriti who together raised $572,218 in Vancouver and the Okanagan.

More than 680 community members donated to the campaign via payroll and through 50 fundraising events.

The Vancouver donations will go to United Way Lower Mainland, supporting its work with 150 community partners, 450 programs for children, young adults and seniors, and advocacy for social change. Funds raised at the Okanagan campus will support the United Way of the Central and South Okanagan/Similkameen.

For more information, click here.

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Associate professor of economics Matilde Bombardini has won the 2015 Bank of Canada Governor’s Award.

Bombardini’s current research explores the impact of international free trade on the efficient matching of workers to firms, and investigates the relationship between Canadian importing firms and their foreign suppliers for implications on productivity.

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Patrick Mooney, an associate professor at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), has been elected to the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture Academy of Fellows for his lifetime achievements in the field of landscape architecture education.

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Andrea Palmer, a mechanical engineering student in her final year at UBC, has won the Canadian Global Impact Competition. She qualified in the finals with “Reveal,” a wearable device to track anxiety in real-time for children with autism.

For more information, click here.

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More B.C. kids looking to jumpstart their engineering or science careers will have a chance to participate in Geering Up, UBC Engineering’s summer camp that provides hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programming for children and youth.

Geering Up recently received a $29,800 grant from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, which will fund class workshops and summer camps in Prince George, Kelowna and inner-city Vancouver.

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Amit Chakma, president of Western University and Indira Samarasekera, president of the University of Alberta are among the recipients of this year’s Engineering Excellence Awards from the Faculty of Applied Science.

The awards celebrate outstanding UBC engineering alumni, future alumni and faculty emeriti.

Chakma and Samarasekera will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Other award recipients are:

• Dan Bowditch (BASc’71, Elec) – Community Service Award
• Colin O’Neill (BASc’10) – Outstanding Young Alumnus Award
• Andrea Palmer – Outstanding Future Alumnus Award
• Hafizur Rahman – Outstanding Future Alumnus Award
• Professor Richard Kerekes – Outstanding Emeriti Faculty

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The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences has launched pharmsci.ubc.ca, a new website providing information about educational opportunities, research, and work in the community. The site features “A New Way of Thinking,” a video developed to celebrate the launch.

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The Education Library is undergoing renovations which will significantly increase seating capacity, enhance Wi-Fi, and install six new public computers.

The library entrance has been temporarily moved to make way for the renovations, which are expected to complete by June 29.

For updates, visit the library website.

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To accommodate students and their study schedules during exam week, the Learning Centre will be open 24 hours a day from Sunday, April 12 to Tuesday, April 28. For more information, visit the library website.

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Pacific Spirit Place at the SUB is closing after 46 years of service to the campus and is thanking its many patrons in the community.

The last day of business is Friday, April 10. UBC Food Services will continue to provide service at Subway and Starbucks at their current locations. For more information, contact food.services@ubc.ca.

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