UBC This Week | Jul. 20, 2006

UBC This Week is a weekly summary of UBC people in the news, recent media releases and upcoming event hightlights. UBC This Week past issues are also available on-line.

Sign up for UBC This Week and other UBC Public Affairs e-mail services at www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/eservices.

Recent UBC Media Releases

• Jul. 20: Canada does better job than US to protect low-wage, immigrant workers
• Jul. 19: Tibetan culture to testing concrete: UBC gains brains with federal research funding
• Jul. 19: UBC study finds top-selling video games rife with racist Asian stereotypes
• Jul. 16: Vancouver researchers find cause of inherited form of early onset dementia

Upcoming Event Highlights

• Jul. 21-23: Music by the Sea
• Jul. 21 - Aug. 26: Bamfield summer day program
• Jul. 26: FREE Summer Noon-Hour Series

Find out what else is happening at UBC this week. For sports events, visit the UBC Athletics site at www.gothunderbirds.ca/schedule.asp.

UBC People

• UBC professor awarded Order of BC
• Royal Society of Canada elects seven UBC faculty
• UBC identified as a “sustainability star”
• 2006 Slonecker Award recipient
• UBC Master of Children's Literature student wins Canada research award

UBC People

UBC professor awarded Order of BC

Nuclear physics professor Erich Vogt received the province’s highest honour through his election to the Order of British Columbia. An internationally renowned scholar, Vogt is a founding partner of the TRIUMF project at UBC, the largest university-based scientific laboratory in Canada for particle and nuclear physics. Vogt received the Centennial Medal of Canada in 1967, fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada in 1970, the Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Medal in 1977, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1976.

Lieutenant Governor Iona Campognolo recognized the recipients as outstanding BC citizens who have contributed to strengthening the province and making exceptional contributions to the lives of their fellow citizens. Established in 1989, the recipients are chosen by an independent advisory committee. For more information: www.protocol.gov.bc.ca.

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Royal Society of Canada elects seven UBC faculty

Seven UBC faculty members were recently elected to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) for their outstanding achievements: Eva-Marie Kroller, Dept of English; Laurence Ricou, Dept. of English; Clyde Hertzman, Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research; Sarah Otto, Dept. of Zoology; William Rees, School of Community and Regional Planning; Natalie Strynadka, Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Yu-Tian Wang, UBC Brain Research Centre.

Awarded by the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada, the UBC inductees join a total of 82 new Fellows, two Foreign Fellows and one Specially Elected Fellow. Founded in 1882, the RSC is Canada’s oldest scholarly organization and election represents one of the highest honours for Canadian scholars, artists and scientists.

For more information: www.rsc.ca.

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UBC identified as a “sustainability star”

University Business identified UBC as one of ten “Sustainability Stars” for undertaking a campus-wide retrofit that worked to optimize campus infrastructure for smarter energy use. As reported, physical upgrades and retrofits led to $3M in annual savings, a 30 per cent reduction in energy use and an 11 per cent reduction in building GHG emissions. In addition to saving 58 million sheets of paper and 76.3 million kilowatt hours of energy, UBC was able to meet Kyoto Protocol targets ahead of schedule. The distinction recognizes campuses that provide leadership in respecting the environment and the communities that surround them in economically feasible ways.

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2006 Slonecker Award recipient

Created in honour of Dr. Charles E. Sloneker and his wife, Mrs. Jan. H. Slonecker, the Slonecker Award recognizes outstanding volunteer leadership and service to UBC.

The 2006 recipient is Cathy Ebbehoj, a School of Nursing alumna recognized for her volunteer commitment in developing and coordinating initiatives in support of her fellow nursing alumni. Cathy is also the recipient of the 2005 Blythe Eagles Volunteer Leadership Award, presented by the School of Nursing faculty members.

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UBC Master of Children's Literature student wins Canada research award

Master of Children's Literature student Michelle Cobban has won the 2006 Canada Frances Russell Canadian children's literature research award for her proposed research project on the translation of French-Canadian children's books (from 1900 to 2004) through the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies.

The award will enable Cobban to travel to Ottawa to examine the books in the Library and Archives Canada. The award is presented by the International Board on Books for Young People and is based on the quality of the proposal and the intent to publish completed research on the topic.

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