UBC This Week 14-Nov-2013

Two teams of UBC Graduate School of Journalism students won the Canadian Online Publishing Awards (COPAs), the country’s highest award in online journalism for multimedia documentaries. The students, all fellows of the school’s International Reporting Program (IRP), traveled around the world reporting on under-covered global issues, and returned with powerful stories that have received international attention.

CUT, a year-long reporting project about the environmental and social costs of illegal logging, won the gold award for the best video or multimedia feature in the green category, beating out major news organizations like the Toronto Star, La Presse and the Canadian Press. The Pain Project, a series of stories on patients suffering without proper access to morphine, won the gold award for the best video or multimedia feature in the blue category, as well as the silver award in the best overall online-only publication website category.

The three awards represent a new record for the School of Journalism. The j-school won one award in 2012 and two in 2011. For more information, click here.

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The UBC Killam Teaching Prizes, awarded by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic, recognize teaching excellence of faculty members with at least three years of teaching at UBC. The prizes are awarded annually from the Killam Endowment Fund to faculty nominated by students, colleagues and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching. To view the full list of honourees, click here.

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UBC Master of Fine Arts candidate Katherena Vermette has received a 2013 Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry from The Canada Council for the Arts. Vermette is recognized for her work North End Love Songs, a collection of poetry about Winnipeg’s North End and the undocumented lives of its citizens. Vermette is a Métis writer of poetry and fiction. Her work has appeared in literary magazines and compilations. For more information, click here.

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Dr. Mary Ensom from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences has won the University of Kentucky 2013 Paul F. Parker Award. The annual award acknowledges sustained contributions to the profession in practice, teaching or research; a commitment to high ideals and excellence; leadership and innovation; and passion to encourage the personal and professional growth of others. To read more, click here.

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The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. has awarded Materials Engineering professor Akram Alfantazi with its Teaching Award of Excellence—the highest teaching award for engineering educators in British Columbia. For more info, click here.

Materials Engineering associate professor Edouard Asselin has won the Brimacombe Award of the Metallurgy and Materials Society of Canada, bestowed on young achievers who bring people together to collaborate on innovative research and significantly advance research in metallurgical and materials science. For more info, click here.

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Leslie Van Duzer, director of the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), has received a 2013 Architecture Advocacy Award from the RAIC / Metro Vancouver Chapter of Architecture Canada for her vision and efforts to improve the discourse about the built environment. For more info, click here.

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Integrated Engineering students Chris Borchert, Patrick Crawford and Jesse Macht, and Rob De Luca from Sauder School of Business represented UBC at the National Mining Competition and placed ahead of 12 Canadian universities, including the University of Calgary, the University of Toronto and McGill University. The UBC team placed second behind Michigan Tech. For more info, click here.

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UBC faculty, staff and students can submit nominations for the 2014 Innovative Dissemination of Research Award. This award honours faculty, staff and students who are expanding the boundaries of research through the creative use of new tools and technologies.

The recipient, to be announced in spring 2014, will receive a framed certificate and a $2,000 cash prize. Deadline for applications is Nov. 25, 2013 – they can be submitted via email, campus mail or fax. For more information, including eligibility, criteria, application forms and past recipients, visit the Scholarly Communications website.

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The Ministry of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) has approved a $5,000 grant towards the cost of the 2013 Remembrance Day at UBC. The Community Engagement Partnership Fund, administered by VAC, provides funding for non-profit organizations, educational institutions and other groups interested in planning remembrance initiatives. For more information on this funding program, visit veterans.gc.ca.

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