Date/ Time:  Wed. April 17, 2013 — 11 am – 3:30 pm

Location:  Robson Square Plaza, 800 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 3B7

A head-to-head hovercraft design competition is taking place between 20 teams of second-year UBC Mechanical Engineering students. The teams have spent the past two weeks designing, building, and testing their own hovercraft vehicles.

The briefcase-sized vehicles are remotely controlled and are designed to be fast, nimble, and able to transport cargo.  Following a display of the different designs, the teams will take part in five rounds of fast-paced competition testing speed, carrying capacity, and manoeuvrability.

The vehicles will be on display from 11 am – 12 pm, and then compete until about 3:30 pm.

“This project challenges teams to work together in limited time to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems,” says course coordinator, Peter Ostafichuk.

The event is open to the public.

Media, please contact Wendy McHardy at 604.827.4762, wendy.mchardy@ubc.ca

POLITICS

Max Cameron
UBC Dept. of Political Science
Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions
Tel: 604.738.1915
Email: Max.Cameron@ubc.ca

• Democratic issues, political dynamics, negative ads

Richard Johnston
UBC Dept. of Political Science
Canada Research Chair in Public Opinion, Elections, and Representation
Cell: 778.387.3425
Tel: 604.822.5456
Email: rjohnston@politics.ubc.ca

• Public opinion, elections, general political issues
• Find your political match with B.C.’s first provincial Vote Compass 

Kathryn Harrison
UBC Dept. of Political Science
Cell: 778.968.4923
Email: harrison@politics.ubc.ca

• Carbon tax, environmental issues 

Andrew Owen
UBC Dept. of Political Science
Cell: 778.938.2468
Email: andrew.owen@ubc.ca

• How citizens choose candidates
• Impact of economy, debates and advertising on voters 

Gerald Baier
UBC Dept. of Political Science
Tel: 604.827.5560
Email: gerald.baier@ubc.ca

BUSINESS AND THE ECONOMY

Werner Antweiler (unavailable April 16-28)
UBC Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8484
Email: werner.antweiler@sauder.ubc.ca

• Leading B.C. election prediction market

Tsur Somerville
UBC Sauder School of BusinessEmail: tsur.somerville@sauder.ubc.ca

• Independent assessment of the economic track record of B.C.’s top political parties

James Brander
UBC Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8483
Email: brander@sauder.ubc.ca

• Business, trade and the economy

Kevin Milligan
UBC’s Vancouver School of Economics
Email: Kevin.milligan@ubc.ca (email to arrange interviews)
Twitter: @kevinmilligan

• Economic policy, taxes, pensions 

Craig Riddell
UBC’s Vancouver School of Economics
Tel: 604.822.2106
Email: riddell@econ.ubc.ca

• Labour policy, including jobs, immigration, education, training, unemployment

Paul Kershaw
UBC Human Early Learning Partnership
Cell: 604.761.4583
Email: paul.kershaw@ubc.ca

• B.C. families and the economy

HEALTH

Kimberlyn McGrail
Centre for Health Services and Policy Research (CHSPR)
UBC School of Population and Public Health
Cell: 778.998.3821
Email: kmcgrail@chspr.ubc.ca

• Health care policy; aging and health care services usage, health care financing

Michael Law
Centre for Health Services and Policy Research (CHSPR)
UBC School of Population and Public Health
Tel: 604.822.3534
Email: mlaw@chspr.ubc.ca

• Pharmaceutical policy

PIPELINES

George Hoberg
UBC Dept. of Forest Resources Management
Tel: 604.822.3728
Email: george.hoberg@ubc.ca
Twitter: @ghoberg

EDUCATION

Michelle StackFaculty of Education
Tel: 604 822-9101
Email: michelle.stack@ubc.ca

Charles Ungerleider
Faculty of Education
Email: charles.ungerleider@ubc.ca

For regular updates on B.C. Election-themed experts and events, visit www.ubc.ca/news and follow @UBCnews.

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Date/Time: Tuesday, March 19, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Location: University Hill Secondary School parking lot, south-side
3228 Ross Drive, Vancouver BC

Map: www.maps.ubc.ca/?590

Editors/reporters: Please confirm attendance at media demonstration. Contact Connor Schellenberg-Beaver at 778.987.0440 or info@supermileage.ca

The UBC Supermileage Team has developed two vehicles, the Odysseus and the Mark VIII, to send to the annual Shell Eco-Marathon Americas competition for ultra energy-efficient vehicles on April 4 in Houston, Texas.

Resembling a Smartcar, the 200-lbs Odysseus is a single-passenger, four-wheeled vehicle and is a significant improvement over last year’s entry in the urban concept category, the 288-mile per gallon Argo.

“This year we focused on building a new body to reduce air drag,” says UBC Supermileage Team Captain Connor Schellenberg-Beaver, a fourth-year engineering student. “We also optimized the weight of the vehicle and will be relying on efficient driving habits such as eliminating unnecessary acceleration and braking.”

The futuristic bullet-shaped Mark VIII is entered in the prototype category. It is a remake of the team’s award-winning 2006 vehicle that achieved 3,145 miles per gallon.

UBC will compete against 100 teams from North and South America including California Polytechnic State University, Purdue University and the University of California at Berkeley.

Learn more about the Shell Eco Marathon America competition at: http://www.shell.us/home/content/usa/environment_society/eco_marathon/

Location: UBC Hugh Dempster Pavillion and X-Wing
ICICS/Computer Science Building
6245 Agronomy Road

Map/Parking: http://www.maps.ubc.ca/?164

Fifty UBC Computer Science student volunteers partner with local non-profits this weekend to prototype software solutions at UBC’s inaugural Community Hackathon.

Non-profits will pitch their projects to students on the evening of March 15. Students will then select the projects they want to work on, and spend the weekend developing tailor-made software solutions, honing their skills and working in teams over an intense two-day coding marathon.

The event is organized by the UBC Department of Computer Science in partnership with UBC Community Learning Initiative. Non-profits involved include: the BC Cancer Agency, the Association of Neighbourhood Houses BC, and the Delta Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Date:               Friday, March 15, 2013

Time:              10-11 a.m.

Location:        Sherbrooke Lounge, Sherbrooke Centre, Royal Columbian Hospital Campus, 260 Sherbrooke Street, New Westminster, B.C.

Map:               http://goo.gl/maps/3P5Hy

Parking:         Parking is available in lot next to Sherbrooke Centre (see attached map), in lot between Keary and Allen streets, and on surrounding streets.

Media are invited to attend an announcement on a development project to cure thousands of children of a debilitating condition that contributes to the cycle of stigma and poverty.

A UBC clinician, as well as the parent of a patient who has benefited from the treatment, will be available for interviews.

Video and photographs illustrating the project will be made available at the announcement.

Date:  Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Time: 5:15-7:15 p.m. speaking program followed by reception

Location:  Main floor, Cecil Green Park House
6251 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC Vancouver campus

Map:   http://www.maps.ubc.ca?420

Media are invited to attend the official launch of the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS), a $30-million partnership among three Canadian universities and 11 leading institutions and state and industry partners in India to tackle urgent issues in both countries.

The Canadian launch event will be attended by presidents of UBC and the University of Alberta, Associate Vice President, Research of the University of Toronto, the High Commissioner of India and the Consul General of India in Vancouver.

Prof. Nemkumar Banthia, UBC civil engineering professor and CEO of IC-IMPACTS, will provide an overview of the team’s plan to improve water safety, disease prevention and treatment and the development of safe and sustainable civil infrastructure.

Through the development, deployment and commercialization of new technologies, and the training and exchange of students and researchers, IC-IMPACTS is expected to generate economic benefits for both nations while building research capacity and solving issues of importance to both countries. It will also support new technology spinoffs and the training of more than 700 students and researchers.

IC-IMPACTS is supported by a $13.8-million grant from the Canadian government’s Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Program. The Canadian universities will invest $3.75 million and the Indian institutions will invest nearly $4 million. In-kind contributions include $3 million from the Indian State of Gujarat, $1 million from the Public Health Foundation of India and $1 million from the Butibori Manufacturer’s Association.

For more information, visit www.ic-impacts.com.

Date/Time: Semi-final: Tuesday, March 12, 1 – 4:30 p.m.
Final: Thursday, March 14, 12 (noon) – 1:30 p.m.

Location: Graduate Student Centre Ballroom
6371 Crescent Road
For a map, visit: http://www.maps.ubc.ca/?408

Details: Twenty-two students will compete in the semi-final event on Tuesday. Eight finalists will be selected for Thursday’s final, moderated by CBC radio journalist and UBC adjunct professor Kathryn Gretsinger.

For the third year, UBC is holding its own Three Minute Thesis competition.

Researchers are increasingly called on to bridge the gap between the ivory tower and main street. More than 80 UBC graduate students have taken on the challenge of distilling complex thesis research into an engaging three-minute talk for a general audience. Top presenters from department and faculty heats have been selected for the semi-finals.

The Three Minute Thesis initiative started at the University of Queensland in Australia in 2008 and has spread to universities in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Fiji, the United States and more. UBC was one of the first universities in North America to hold a competition.

For more information about the Three Minute Thesis competition, visit: http://3mt.grad.ubc.ca/

Find out how one finalist from the 2012 Three Minute Thesis competition got her talked turned into an animated video by renowned cartoonist Jorge Cham: http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2013/03/06/outtakes-11/

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Werner Antweiler
UBC Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8484 (between 2-5 p.m.)
Email: werner.antweiler@sauder.ubc.ca

• Impacts on business and economy

Paul Kershaw
UBC Human Early Learning Partnership
Cell: 604.761.4583
Email: paul.kershaw@ubc.ca

• Impacts on B.C. families and the economy
• *Participating in the budget lock-up in Victoria

Kathryn Harrison
Dept. of Political Science
Cell: 778.968.4923
Email: harrison@politics.ubc.ca

• Carbon tax, environmental issues

Kimberlyn McGrail
UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
Cell: 778.998.3821
Email: kmcgrail@chspr.ubc.ca

• Impacts for health and healthcare 

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Event: “Social Media and Health: The Good, the Bad and the Possible” public forum

Date/Time:  7-9 p.m., February 4, 2013

Location: UBC Robson Square
Room C300, 800 Robson Street
Parking/directions: robsonsquare.ubc.ca/find-us/

Social media: The event will be live tweeted using the hashtag: #HCSMForum

Can Twitter help improve my health? How can I help others be healthy through Facebook?

Media are invited to attend a sold-out public forum – Social Media and Health: The Good, the bad and the Possible – organized by the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies and UBC.

The forum features three leading experts on social media and is moderated by the Vancouver Sun’s Digital Life writer Gillian Shaw (@gillianshaw).

Speakers include:

• Dr. Kendall Ho, Peter Wall Institute and eHealth Office, UBC
• Gunther Eysenbach, Centre for eHealth Global Innovation, Toronto (@eysenbach)
• Ana Lucia Ruggiero, Pan-American Health Organization World Health Organization
• Dean Giustini, UBC Biomedical Library (@giustini)

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Date/Time: Friday, February 1, 1-3 p.m.

Location:  First Nations House of Learning
Sty-Wet-Tan, the Great Hall
1985 West Mall

Map/Parking: http://www.maps.ubc.ca/?337

Live blog: http://aboriginal.ubc.ca/2013/01/24/idle-no-more-teach-in/  
Broadcast live by CiTR 101.9FM

Assignment editors: Members of the media are welcome to attend the Idle No More Teach-in or follow a live blog of the event at: http://aboriginal.ubc.ca/2013/01/24/idle-no-more-teach-in/ (hashtag #UBCteach). Some speakers are available for interviews in advance of the event.

The Idle No More Teach-in will provide a background on the movement, outline the aspects of Bills 38 and 45 that are seen as problematic, and discuss ways that classroom dialogue around this issue can be incorporated in an informed and productive way. Panelists include four UBC Aboriginal faculty members:

Gordon Christie
Director, First Nations Legal Studies

• Concerns about recent legislation and the impact on Aboriginal and treaty rights

Glen Coulthard
Assistant Professor, First Nations Studies and Political Science

• Historical context for Idle No More movement
• Read an op/ed by Coulthard at: http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2013/01/04/IdleNoMore-Historical-Context/

Shelly Johnson
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work

• Indigenous women in leadership
• Issues of racism and hatred in Canada and changing attitudes

Dory Nason
Assistant Professor, First Nations Studies and English

For more information, visit: http://aboriginal.ubc.ca/2013/01/24/idle-no-more-teach-in/

One Day @ UBC offers community members a chance to experience university in a single day. Participants learn about a subject that piques their interest from UBC’s star faculty and instructors – and they don’t have to do any homework or write an exam.

One Day @ UBC courses run year round and subjects range from the psychology of right and wrong to issues facing indigenous groups in Canada’s North. Highlights from the winter semester include:

• Movie Love: from Chaplin to Brokeback Mountain with Bo Earle – Feb. 2
• How Dogs Think with Stanley Coren – Feb. 23
• Psychology of Creativity with Linda Scratchley – Mar. 2
• Does the World Need the United Nations? with Emily Ohler– Mar. 9
• Contemporary Issues in Canadian North with Julia Christensen – Mar. 16
• When and Why Do Canadians Say “Eh”? with Martina Wiltschko – Apr. 6

Date/Time:  January to April, Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location:  UBC Vancouver
Cost: $75 per course

For more information, visit: cstudies.ubc.ca/one-day

Event 1:  UBC MECH 2 class annual competition
Date:  Wednesday, Jan 23, 2013
Time:  12-1 p.m. Open-house/showcase of designs
1:15-4 p.m. Competition
Location:  Room 1180, Kaiser Building
2332 Main Mall, UBC Vancouver campus

See the teams’ all-terrain remotely operated vehicles (ROVER) race across several different 10-metre tracks featuring hills, crevasses, sand traps and other obstacles.

As an added challenge, teams are not allowed to directly control the speed of their vehicle’s motor and must instead rely only on braking to slow down. Scoring of the designs will be based on speed, size, cost, obstacle avoidance and the ability to navigate rough terrain.

Event 2:  UBC Engineering hosts Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race
Date:  Friday, Jan. 25, 2013
Time:  9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Location:  Mt. Seymour, North Vancouver BC

Twenty-three teams from across Canada are participating in the 2013 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR) Jan. 23-27.

The GNCTR is an annual engineering competition hosted by a Canadian university. The event brings together more than 400 students from top engineering programs across the country.

Teams must build a toboggan with a concrete running surface, load it with five teammates, and race it down a snowy hill. The competition challenges students’ technical knowledge of materials and structures, teaches them to work with concrete and develops their ability to work as a team.

Universities compete in several judged categories, such as shortest race time, best overall design, best team spirit, and the coveted best overall team.

More info and video available at: http://www.gnctr2013.com/

Media contact for both events:
Wendy McHardy, 604-353-7575, wendy.mchardy@ubc.ca

Date/Time: Wednesday, January 16, 3 – 4:30 p.m.

Location:  Vij’s Kitchen, Room 130
Food, Nutrition and Health Building
2205 East Mall

Map/Parking: http://www.maps.ubc.ca/?449

Assignment/Photo editors: Vikram Vij will lead a South Asian cooking class for 16 UBC dietetics students. They will be preparing food for a reception later that evening to celebrate the opening. Vij, students and faculty will be available for interviews.

Chef Vikram Vij donated $250,000 toward the extensive makeover of a UBC culinary lab originally built in 1982. The renovated lab, now called Vij’s Kitchen, is a teaching and learning space where students study food, nutrition and health, healthy eating and healthy communities, and multicultural cuisine. Used primarily by the UBC dietetics program, the updated facilities are important for students learning basic food theory, food preparation in a domestic setting and for multicultural culinary exchange. UBC Continuing Studies also makes use of the space for courses on regional cuisine.

For more information, visit: www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2012/11/01/vijs-kitchen-spices-up-ubc

For urgent requests on these days, please leave a message with contact information at 604.822.4636 or at public.affairs@ubc.ca.  Staff members will be checking these messages regularly.

Please make use of the following story ideas, expert list and resources over the holidays:

• UBC Experts Database: http://webservices.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/clients/pa/apps/experts/public/index.php
• UBC researchers predict game-changers that could rock our world: http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2012/12/19/the-next-big-thing-ubc-researchers-predict-game-changers-that-could-rock-our-world/
• UBC experts on all things holiday-related http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2012/12/06/ubc-experts-on-all-things-holiday-related/

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Prof. Paul Evans
UBC Institute of Asian Research
Tel: 604.822.2048
Email: paul.evans@ubc.ca

“The launch of long-range missile into space is an ominous and dangerous development,” says Prof. Evans. “It is not quite equivalent to the Soviet Union’s 1957 Sputnik launch, but it raises the alarm about North Korea’s ability to strike targets in future in every part of Asia and across the Pacific.

“If there is a silver lining to this, the rocket may boost Kim Jong-Un’s domestic credentials as a strong leader, which could help to make greater domestic and economic reform possible.”

Prof. Don Baker
UBC Centre for Korean Research
Tel. 604.822.2048
Email: don.baker@ubc.ca

“There is a big difference between putting a satellite into orbit and landing a nuclear weapon on another country, and North Korea is still a long way from the latter,” says Prof. Baker.

“The satellite was launched more for domestic reasons than global intimidation. It wants to claim that it has met the proclaimed goal of its former leader that North Korea would become a powerful and prosperous nation by 2012. Prosperity is difficult to claim, but launching a satellite does make it look more powerful.”

Prof. Kyung-Ae Park
UBC Centre for Korean Research
E-mail: kapark@exchange.ubc.ca
Phone: 604.822.2048

“Domestically, the successful launch will be considered a major achievement for Kim Jong-Un in his inaugural year of leadership, and a major boost of moral,” says Prof. Park. “North Korea will be able to mark the anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il, December 17, with pride over its space technology, and claim victory over South Korea, which has been unable to make a similar launch.”

“It is difficult to see how the launch might influence South Korea’s election next week. People’s heightened sense of security might create more support for the ruling Saenuri party, but, at the same time, they may also accuse the current government of security incompetency.”

Visit the UBC newsroom for updates to this list: www.ubc.ca/news.

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Michael Byers
Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law
Cell: 250.526.3001
Email: michael.byers@ubc.ca
Web: http://byers.typepad.com/

• International dimensions of the pipeline issue (Canada’s relationships with China and the U.S.)
• Environmental dimensions of the pipeline issue (oil tanker traffic and the climate change impact of producing and exporting bitumen)

Gordon Christie
Faculty of Law
Cell: 778.986.2977
E-mail: christie@law.ubc.ca

• The abilities of Aboriginal communities to use Canadian law to advance their interests

David Farrell
Sauder School of Business – Transportation and Logistics
Cell: 604.312.4142
Email: david.farrell@sauder.ubc.ca

• Pipeline operations and logistics

Kathryn Harrison
Dept. of Political Science
Cell 778.968.4923
Email: harrison@politics.ubc.ca
Web: www.politics.ubc.ca/about-us/faculty-members/bfont-color-blue-full-time-facultyfontb/kathryn-harrison.html

• Climate politics and policy issues
• Federalism, federal-provincial relations
• Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipelines
• Coal and liquefied natural gas exports

Keith Head
Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604 822-8492
Email: keith.head@sauder.ubc.ca

• Diversifying export destinations
• Pipelines and what they mean for Canada’s trade relationships
• Avoiding stockpiling oil/bitumen and driving down crude oil prices

George Hoberg
Faculty of Forestry
Tel: 604.822.3728
Email: george.hoberg@ubc.ca
Twitter: @ghoberg
Blog: http://greenpolicyprof.org/wordpress/

• Comparative analysis of Keystone XL, Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipelines
• Energy and environmental policy
• Aboriginal and environmental concerns, governance
• Founder of UBCC350 – a UBC group dedicated to using political action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions especially from coal and tar sands pipelines.

Richard Johnston
Dept. of Political Science
Canada Research Chair in Public Opinion, Elections, and Representation
Tel. 604.822.5456    Cell 778.387.3425
Email: rjohnston@politics.ubc.ca 
Web: www.politics.ubc.ca/about-us/faculty-members/bfont-color-blue-full-time-facultyfontb/richard-johnston.html

• Electoral implications
• Congress-President dynamic

Jack Saddler
Faculty of Forestry
Phone: 604.822.9741
Email: jack.saddler@ubc.ca

• Global energy markets
• How the U.S. will become an exporter of natural gas in the next 20 years and energy self-sufficient by 2035
• How North America will become a major oil exporter
• International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook

James Tansey
Sauder School of Business
Cell: 604.562.4546
Tel: 604.827.4443
Email: james.tansey@sauder.ubc.ca
Web: http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Faculty/People/Faculty_Members/Tansey_James

• Environmental considerations
• Aboriginal concerns and economic impact
• Climate policy
• Carbon offsets and markets

Visit the UBC newsroom for updates to this list at: www.ubc.ca/news.

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HAPPINESS AND STRESS

Mark Holder, Psychology
Tel: 250.807.8728 (Only available until Dec. 12)
Email: mark.holder@ubc.ca

• Enhancing happiness over the holidays
• Children and happiness

Maxine Crawford, PhD student – Psychology
Tel: 778.475.1801
Email: maxcrawford@shaw.ca

• Stress during the holidays
• Exposure to nature and reducing stress during the holidays
• Human connection to nature

CHRISTMAS TREES

Steve Mitchell, Faculty of Forestry
Tel: 604.822.4591
Email: stephen.mitchell@ubc.ca

• Sustainable Christmas trees: pros and cons of different types
• Christmas tree industry in British Columbia
• UBC student-run Forestry Undergraduate Christmas Tree Farm

SHOPPING, MARKETING, AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Katherine White, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.827.3711
Email: katherine.white@sauder.ubc.ca

• Eating and the holidays: People eat more when they are offered multiple smaller portions than if they are given larger portions
• Why fashionistas steer clear of copycats
• Consumer psychology – what makes us choose certain items

JoAndrea (Joey) Hoegg, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.827.4541
Email: joey.hoegg@sauder.ubc.ca

• What triggers our senses when we’re shopping
• Impact of product design

Darren Dahl, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8346
Email: darren.dahl@sauder.ubc.ca

• Advertising, consumer behaviour, crowd sourcing
• Shoppers’ response to sales person’s flattery or similarity

Juliet Zhu, Sauder School of Business
Email: juliet.zhu@sauder.ubc.ca (Only available by email)

• Effects of shopping environment, consumer psychology
• Impact of colours on brain, receptivity to advertising

SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE HOLIDAYS

Christopher Schneider, Sociology
Tel: 250.807.8094
Email: christopher.schneider@ubc.ca (best method of contact)
Web: http://www.chrisschneider.org/

• Social media do’s and don’ts for Christmas parties
• How social media is changing social expectations around global holidays and events
• Pope Benedict XVI begins using Twitter on December 12 – what does this mean for Christmas?
  

FOOD, FEASTING, HEALTH

Gwen Chapman, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Tel:604.822.6874 (only available until Dec. 19)
Email: gwen.chapman@ubc.ca

• Food practices, social roles, meaning of festive food rituals
• Sustainable eating during the holidays

Kevin Allen, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Tel: 604.822.4427
Email: kevin.allen@ubc.ca

• How to avoid giving your dinner guests food poisoning
• Food microbiology, food safety
• E. coli contamination, foodborne illnesses

CHRISTIANITY AND CHRISTMAS

John Stackhouse Jr.
Regent College at UBC
Email: jgs@regent-college.edu
Blog: http://www.johnstackhouse.com/weblog/

• Is “Buy Nothing Christmas” a Christian idea, or an anti-Christian one?
• Should Christmas be a statutory holiday?
• What does Santa Claus have to do with Jesus?
• What is the true meaning of Christmas?
• What is the role of Jesus in Christianity?
• Why do the birth narratives in the Gospels not agree with each other?

TRAVEL

David Gillen, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604. 822.8352 (Only available until Dec. 16)
Email: david.gillen@sauder.ubc.ca

• Increased cost of flights during the holidays
• Travel trips and risk planning for holiday travel, i.e. choose flights that depart from hub airports
  

WORKPLACE DYNAMICS

Karl Aquino, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8378 or 604.786.9384
Email: karl.aquino@sauder.ubc.ca

• Awkward Christmas office parties. Dynamics with coworkers: domination, envy, isolation
• Stories about uncommon acts of goodness make good people even better
• The importance of forgiveness during the holidays

DECEMBER 2012 APOCALYPSE AND THE MAYAN CALENDAR

Marvin Cohodas,  Art history and Visual Art
Email: mcohodas@mail.ubc.ca (available after December 11)

• Ancient Maya history, arts and rituals
• Contemporary Maya ritual arts

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Mark Thompson
UBC Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.418.6275, 604.822.8375
E-mail: mrkthompson39@gmail.com

• Labour law, collective bargaining and industrial relations

James Brander
UBC Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8483
E-mail: brander@sauder.ubc.ca

• Economic impacts of NHL hockey and the lockout

Joe Weiler (Available only once a deal is announced)
UBC Faculty of Law
Tel: 604.822.4246
E-mail: weiler@law.ubc.ca

• Sports law and labour law
• Former counsel to the Vancouver Canucks

Follow www.ubc.ca/news and @UBCnews for updates.

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Werner Antweiler, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8484
Email:  werner.antweiler@sauder.ubc.ca

• Impacts of the fiscal cliff (U.S., Canada and globally)
• Optimal fiscal policy mix to fix the stalemate

“Without action, the automatic changes due to begin January 1st will impede economic growth significantly in the U.S.,” says Antweiler. “This would undoubtedly spill over into Canada because of our close links through trade.”

“The key is finding the balance between economic growth and reducing public debt. Curbing debt too fast can depress GDP, which may have the unintended consequence of raising the debt-to-GDP ratio, similar to what’s happening in Greece.”

Marit Rehavi, Dept. of Economics
Email: marit.rehavi@ubc.ca (email to arrange interviews)

• The U.S. economy, health care and the fiscal cliff
• Former staff of White House Council of Economic Advisers

“It’s more of a fiscal ski slope than a cliff,” says Rehavi. “The one thing that must be fixed by December 31 is the Alternative Minimum Tax, otherwise 2012 tax returns and tax refunds could be substantially delayed.”

“Dec. 31 is largely an artificial self-imposed deadline. However, if it passes with no deal in sight, it would signal the continuation of economic policy gridlock, and financial markets may react badly to that.”

Thomas Davidoff, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8325
Email:  thomas.davidoff@sauder.ubc.ca

• Consequences for the U.S. if the $6 billion in spending cuts and tax increases take effect
• Reform of tax expenditures

“Eliminating the mortgage interest deduction and modest cuts to military expenditures would go a long way towards budget balance in the short-run,” says Davidoff. “Reducing the rate of growth of medical expenditures will be critical in coming decades.”

Paul Quirk, Dept. of Political Science
Tel: 604.822.2230
Email: quirk@politics.ubc.ca

• Political barriers to solutions

Kevin Milligan, Dept. of Economics
Email: kevin.milligan@ubc.ca (email to arrange interviews)
Twitter: @kevinmilligan

• Explained the fiscal cliff in a Globe and Mail op-ed

Keith Head, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8492
Email:  keith.head@sauder.ubc.ca

• Implications for Canada-U.S. trade

Follow www.ubc.ca/news and @UBCnews for updates.

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Simon Donner
UBC Dept. of Geography
Cell: 604.561.7284
Email: simon.donner@geog.ubc.ca
Twitter: @simondonner

• National and global implications of conference ideas
• Climate and environmental science
• How to manage $100 billion in annual climate change aid

Kathryn Harrison
Dept. of Political Science
Cell: 778.968.4923
Email: harrison@politics.ubc.ca

• Environmental laws and policy (Canada, U.S., Australia)
• The politics of carbon pricing

James Tansey
UBC Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.827.4443
Email: james.tansey@sauder.ubc.ca

• Implications of conference ideas
• Carbon markets, clean technology and green business
• Food security and genetically modified food

George Hoberg
Dept. of Political Science and Faculty of Forestry
Tel.: 604.822.3728
Email: george.hoberg@ubc.ca
Twitter: @ghoberg

• U.S. and Canadian environmental policies
• UN decision-making processes and barriers to consensus
• Climate politics and challenges

Benjamin Richardson
Canada Research Chair in Environmental Law & Sustainability
UBC Faculty of Law
Tel: 604.827.4823
Email: richardson@law.ubc.ca

• Legal, business and policy issues

Andreas Christen
UBC Dept. of Geography, Atmospheric Science program
Tel: 604.822.6620
E-mail: andreas.christen@ubc.ca

• Climate change and environmental science
• Cities and sustainable development
• Greenhouse gas emission monitoring

Michael Brauer
UBC School of Population and Public Health
Tel: 604.822.9585
Email: michael.brauer@ubc.ca

• Health issues related to cities and energy (air quality, pollution, physical activity and transportation)
• Linkage between climate change and human health

Patrick Condon
UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Liveable Environments
Tel: 604.822.9291
Email: p.m.condon@gmail.com

• Relationship between cities, climate change and the environment
• Author of The Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities

Stephen Sheppard
UBC Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning
Tel: 604.822.6582
Email: Stephen.Sheppard@ubc.ca

• How visualizations and video games of climate scenarios can change behavior

Jack Saddler
Faculty of Forestry, Forest Products Biotechnology
Phone: 604.822.9741
Email: jack.saddler@ubc.ca

• Major changes in global energy markets – producers and demand:
  • U.S. to become exporter of energy (natural gas) in the next 20 years and energy self-sufficient by 2035
  • North America to become major oil exporter
• International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook
• Role of biofuels in the future

Visit the UBC newsroom for updates to this list: www.ubc.ca/news. Learn more about sustainability at UBC: www.sustain.ubc.ca.

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