April 2012
The Digital Doctor is in … your phone
Vancouver Sun
Sat Apr 28 2012
Page: F2
By: Gillian Shaw
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The digital health sector is growing and there are more and more wellness apps. It’s a sector that’s bringing together game makers and medical experts, engineers and researchers.
Mark Ansermino [with ECE Prof Guy Dumont] has led a team that created a phone oximeter, a low-cost device that combines a smartphone with a FDA approved pulse oximeter sensor to measure oxygen levels in blood. The phone oximeter could be used for monitoring in remote areas where patients can’t drop by a local hospital or clinic to get tested.
Daniel Schwartz, a clinical assistant professor at UBC’s medical school, is the co-founder of QxMD, a company that makes mobile software for health care professionals. QxMD has six different products ranging from the diagnostic tool Calculate to a soon-to-be released newsreader app for tablet computers that delivers a customized package of research and journal publications.
UBC’s eHealth Strategy Office focuses on developments both at the university and in partnership with outside companies that use technology to enable and enhance health and wellness.
MECH prof interviewed for new helmet technology
CBC
Thu Apr 26 2012
Peter Cripton, an associate professor from UBC mechanical engineering, co-invented a helmet that could help prevent injury in a number of sports. The result of research supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), this helmet contains a patent-pending device to provide protection from spinal cord injuries.
In a common type of motorcycle accident, “if you were wearing an approved helmet, you might have a concussion or a sore head,” said Peter Cripton, “And if you were wearing a beanie helmet, you might have a skull fracture and bleeding in the brain. So it could be that kind of difference.”
UBC engineer recognized for research excellence
UBC This Week
Thu Apr 26 2012
UBC Okanagan Engineering Asst. Prof. Cigdem Eskicioglu has received the 2012 Early in Career Award from Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA BC) for her work on processing organic waste into renewable energy and organic fertilizer.
For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/I7o4uf.
Materials engineering professor to become CIM Fellow
UBC This Week
Thu Apr 26 2012
Akram Alfantazi, professor in the Dept. of Materials Engineering and associate dean, Research and Graduate Studies of the Faculty of Applied Science, has been selected to be a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) in recognition of his contribution to the metallurgical industry, through his work on corrosion and electrometallurgy. He joins previous CIM Fellows from the department: Keith Brimacombe (1988), Indira Samarasekera (1999) and David Dreisinger (2009).
For more information, visit http://bit.ly/HYbZVi.
\UBC engineer honoured for excellence in water research
UBC This Week
Thu Apr 26 2012
UBC Chemical and Biological Engineering Prof. Madjid Mohseni is this year’s recipient of Excellence in the Water and Waste Community – Individual Award from the B.C. Water and Waste Association (BCWWA) for his contributions in safeguarding public health and the environment by advancing excellence in the water and waste community.
For more information, visit http://bit.ly/K6Y25F.
UBC Killam Teaching Prize awarded to engineering prof
UBC This Week
Thu Apr 26 2012
Electrical and Computer Engineering Prof. Leo Stocco has been recognized for outstanding achievement in teaching with the UBC Killam Teaching Prize. Faculty members are nominated by students, colleagues, and alumni for this award.
For more information, visit http://www.ece.ubc.ca/news/201204/dr-stocco-wins-ubc-killam-teaching-prize.
UBC engineering students recognized
UBC This Week
Thu Apr 26 2012
Electrical and Computer Engineering student Harshul Srivastava has received the Larry K. Wilson Regional Student Activities Award in recognition of his exemplary service to the UBC IEEE Student Branch. For more information, visit http://www.ece.ubc.ca/
Chemical and Biological Engineering student James Butler has received the 2011/12 UBC Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award which recognizes UBC graduate students for their outstanding contribution to teaching and learning.
Chemical and Biological Engineering graduate students James Butler and Nagu Daraboina were awarded the John R. Grace Graduate Scholarships for demonstrating academic excellence and performing research on energy, the environment, and/or multi-phase systems.
Mining Engineering students were awarded Canadian Mineral Industry Education Fund (CMIEF) Scholarships. Kyle Buckoll, Brad St. Pierre and Mike Myers received the Futter award traditionally given to one student with the most potential from across Canada. UBC Mining received 21 CMIEF scholarships, the highest number of scholarships awarded across Canada.
Mother Nature, heal thyself
Globe and Mail
Fri Apr 20 2012
Page: E11
By: Marjo Johne
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Sumas Environmental Services works in bioremediation – using microorganisms to bring polluted soil or water back to its original state.
“There are many plants and microbes that can do different things,” says Susan Baldwin, an associate professor at UBC’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. “Understanding how they work and then using that knowledge to clean the environment is what bioremediation is all about.”
At UBC, Baldwin and her team are using gene sequencing technology to analyze microorganisms in soil to find out how they might interact with particular toxic chemicals.
First Nations band partners to create engineering company
Business in Vancouver
Thu April 19 2012
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Further evidence that First Nations groups are open for business came April 18 when news broke that the Lax Kw’alaams Band will partner with established engineering firm Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd. (KWL, employers include civil engineering alum President Michael Currie, VP Mike Dickens, VP Chris Johnston and VP Anton Benes) to create Embark Engineering.
The Lax Kw’alaams Band will own a majority stake in Embark, which will work with KWL and other partners to provide infrastructure planning, design and construction, project administration and resource management to government, industry and First Nations. Embark will also introduce an academic program and scholarships to help create careers for aboriginal people.
New profiles posted for Applied Science’s Class of 2012 Rising Stars
UBC This Week
Thu Apr 19 2012
Graduating students of Applied Science’s Class of 2012 are featured on http://www.apsc.ubc.ca/stars/congregation12/index.php
New profiles include:
• Jacob Bayless, Engineering Physics
• Saba Farmand, Masters in Landscape Architecture
• Emily Landry, School of Engineering
• Jared Whitehead, School of Engineering
People on the Move
University Affairs
Wed Apr 18 2012
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This year’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships have been announced. The fellowships are awarded to enhance the career development of outstanding and highly promising university faculty who are earning a strong international reputation for original research.
This year’s six winners are: Alisdair B. Boraston (biochemistry and microbiology, University of Victoria), Sheelagh Carpendale (computer science, University of Calgary), Mark MacLachlan (chemistry, University of British Columbia), Randall V. Martin (physics, atmospheric science and chemistry, Dalhousie University), Robert Schober (electrical and computer engineering, University of British Columbia), and Robert Seiringer (mathematics and statistics, McGill University). Each of the six winners receives a research grant of up to $250,000 over two years. The host university also receives up to $90,000 a year to fund a replacement for the fellow’s teaching and administrative duties during the course of the fellowship.
Iron ring ceremony honours hard work and obligates UBC engineering students
Okanagan Exchange
Wed Apr 18 2012
Engineering students proudly show their rings. For the first time, the iron ring ceremony was held at the Okanagan campus under their own camp.
It is a lot more than just ornamental jewellery. It is an honour and a tradition that dates back decades, and for new engineers the iron ring represents the culmination of many years of work.
The rings symbolize an accomplishment and acknowledgement not many have reached and for the first time the iron ring ceremony for engineers was held at UBC's Okanagan campus under a newly formed B.C. Interior camp.
Mining players pursue the elusive ideal at CMIC signature event
CIM | March April 2012
Wed Apr 18 2012
By: Virginia Heffernan
This timing could not have been better: just as Prime Minister Stephen Harper lamented the sorry state of research and development in Canada and pledged to make innovation a key element of the upcoming budget, the mining community gathered to hammer out solutions to this age-old Canadian problem.
At the end of January, representatives from industry, government and academia met in Toronto to discuss the need for innovations that could solve the nagging challenges of water shortages, deeply buried deposits, and energy availability and conservation. At the event, CMIC President Engin Ozberk presented a medal to former director Malcolm Scoble, a professor from the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering at UBC.
Our Campus: Sean Heisler, UBC’s most powerful student
The Ubyssey
Mon Apr 16 2012
Page: 2
By: Jonny Wakefield
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Sean Heisler doesn’t hesitate when he describes his first meeting with the most powerful people at UBC.
“Oh it’s terrifying. It’s so terrifying,” he said of his first time at the Board of Governors (BoG). “There are all CEOs of different companies, people who sit on four different boards: their life is being a board member. Then there’s me.”
Heisler is the outgoing student representative on BoG—UBC’s final decision making body on big picture issues like finance and land use. He found his way there haphazardly, deciding to run in election the night before applications were due. He managed to win the seat, and walked into the first meeting with little more than a coffee date with the two outgoing UBC-Vancouver students for guidance.
Out of those early sink or swim moments, Heisler has grown into an experienced navigator of UBC’s top-level bureaucracy. He helped make decisions with millions of dollars. He held a coveted All-Access BoG parking pass. And he had lunches with the university president.
Year in Review: Peeked interest photo creeping
The Ubyssey
Mon Apr 16 2012
Page: 3
It is almost impossible to guess what will captivate the attention of students on any given day, but an anonymous photo-sharing site did the job earlier this year. Peeked Interest, a website that allows you to upload a photo of an attractive stranger in the hope that they will see it and respond, was launched by UBC student Frans Kouwenhoven (software engineering) and former University of Victoria student Darryl McIvor.
The Ubyssey’s story about Peeked Interest quickly went viral after being posted in March, racking up nearly 5000 page views since then. The website has now been taken offline to work on improvements over the summer, but it reports that 450 photos were uploaded over a six-week trial period and 45 people reached out to a submitter after recognizing themselves in the photo.
Search for new Applied Science dean continues, but no clear end in sight
The Ubyssey
Sun Apr 15 2012
By: Oliver Longman
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Although the dean of Applied Science, Tyseer Abounasr, resigned from her position in December, the search committee has yet to find a replacement.
Tagg Jefferson, an integrated engineering student on the search committee, said the process will take between 18 months to two years, with a new dean optimally assuming the position by 2014.
He said the timeline is intended to provide adequate time for the incoming dean “who, say, in what would be a high level role in another institution…[needs] to transfer out of that particular role effectively and then come into this role.”
In the meantime, the interim dean is the previous associate dean, Eric Hall. “From my perspective, it has been lots of fun […] thinking about new issues and new problems, and meeting new people, and in addition to that I’d say it has been a real acceleration in the level of activity of my day,” he said.
As for the time it will take, Hall said it’s normal to take a long time to find a new dean. “I wouldn’t say it’s an emergency, and normally these dean search processes take a considerable amount of time… What is important is that there be a dean in place all the time.”
Block Party Bash
The Ubyssey
Thu Apr 12 2012
Page: 8
By: Jonny Wakefield
Link to full text
Everything seemed to come together for the fifth annual AMS Block Party. More than 5500 students attended the sold-out concert – which benefited from beautiful weather and big name bands like MSTRKRFT and Mother Mother.
This celebration of the last day of class hasn’t sold out since its second year, when The Roots headlined. Only 2900 students attended in 2010 to see the Barenaked Ladies, and the AMS lost $103,000 on the concert that year.
EUS President Ian Campbell (third-year, Electrical and Computer Engineering), who sits on the Student Life Committee (SLC), said the AMS made a bigger push on promotion for Block Party this year. The SLC is in charge of coordinating inter-constituency events.
“Every time I talked to somebody in the lead up to Block Party, they were excited about it,” said Campbell. “Because there were two headliners, it brought out a bigger cross section of campus. It was nice to see more of a diversity of artists.”
Graduate student receives second IEEE Best Paper Award
UBC This Week
Thu Apr 12 2012
UBC graduate student Derrick Wing Kwan Ng received the best paper award at the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference in Paris. This is Kwan’s second best paper award in four months– the first was received at IEEE Globecom 2011. Kwan, along with his colleagues and Ph.D. supervisor Robert Schober, research innovative designs to ensure wireless security.
For more, visit http://www.ece.ubc.ca/news/201204/best-paper-award-wcnc-2012-derrick-wing-kwan-ng
Engineering Co-op students, faculty and employers recognized
UBC This Week
Thu Apr 12 2012
The Engineering Co-op program recently held awards ceremonies for outstanding graduating students, faculty and industry partners at both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.
• Employers of the year: Klohn Crippen Berger (Vancouver) and Stantec (Okanagan)
• Faculty of the year: Prof. John Howie (Civil Engineering, Vancouver) and Prof. Andre Phillion (School of Engineering, Okanagan)
• Students of the year: Madeleine Schaefer (Electrical Engineering, Vancouver), Matt Sauer (Civil Engineering, Okanagan) and Alexander Winardi (Mechanical Engineering, Vancouver)
To read about the award winners, visit http://www.coop.apsc.ubc.ca/
Faculty of Applied Science’s Class of 2012 rising stars
UBC This Week
Thu Apr 12 2012
Over the next few months, Faculty of Applied Science’s Class of 2012 will be featured on their homepage—their experiences at UBC, their plans for the future and how they will make a difference in the world.
Read more on the graduates at http://www.apsc.ubc.ca/
The NGO trying to make biking cool in Beijing
The Atlantic
Mon Apr 9 2012
By: Adam Martin
Link to full text
In Beijing, some people have no interest in riding a bike if they can possibly afford a car. So the solution for bicycle and clean air advocates is to try to make biking cool in Beijing.
Research by Jinhua Zhao (CIVL) of UBC found that “bicycle use in Beijing has dropped from about 60 percent in 1986 to 17 percent in 2010. At the same time, car use has grown 15 percent a year for the last ten years.” Some people love their cars because the cars symbolize arrival in the middle class, Jinhua said.
2012 ACEC-BC Awards
Vancouver Sun
Wed Apr 4 2012
Each year, the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies-BC presents the Awards for Engineering Excellence.
UBC alumnus Mike Homenuke (BASc ’03, CIVL/ENVE), of Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd., is the winner of the 2012 ACEC British Columbia Young Consulting Engineer Award. The award is given to a young professional who demonstrates excellence in their field while increasing the awareness of the value of young professionals in the BC consulting engineering industry.
Among the winners of the awards for Engineering Excellence was the UBC Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability. The overall goals for CIRS are to be a net-positive energy producer and a net-zero carbon building.
The UBC Biological Sciences Complex received an award of merit in the buildings category. The South and West blocks of the aged UBC Biosciences complex, both over 40 years old, were most recently refitted in the UBC Renew program, a program to modernize, rather than replace, outdated and obsolete buildings. An environmental impact study showed the Renew approach saved 49 per cent in construction energy used, 85 per cent in material use, and reduced emissions by 60 per cent.
Student transportation engineering presentations organized
Okanagan campus Exchange
Wed April 4 2012
Engineering students will be presenting new sustainable and safe transportation research on April 13 as part of Gordon Lovegrove (School of Engineering)'s Transportation Engineering course this semester.
Three third-year students -- selected as the best from Lovegrove's ENGR335 course -- will be presenting in front of a panel of judges from UBC and the greater community. The presentation topics will be:
• Okanagan campus Staff/Faculty U-Pass: survey results, analysis and recommendations
• Okanagan campus traffic calming: hot-spot analyses and recommendations for improving pedestrian safety
• Kelowna road user equity: are pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, transit riders, car poolers getting treated equitably?
The event begins at 2 p.m. on April 13 in the Engineering Management Education building (room EME4218). This event is sponsored by the Interior Chapter of the Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Engineering ingenuity gets workout in design competitions
Okanagan campus Exchange
Wed April 4 2012
UBC Okanagan Campus School of Engineering students Rebekah Wirch, from Kelowna, and Ben Weishaupt, from Saskatoon, take a close look at their team hovercraft The Pirate Ship Tuesday during the annual hovercraft competition.
First and second-year engineering students were tasked with designing and operating a hovercraft using only a set list of materials. The hovercrafts must also carry a certain payload along a short course.
Engineering One design competition
Okanagan campus Exchange
Wed April 4 2012
Call it the invasion of the machines.
First-year engineering students will showcase some of their innovations tomorrow in the second leg of the annual School of Engineering Design Competition.
There will be 45 teams of first-year Engineering students demonstrating different concepts in mechanics -- and different ways to crush beverage cans. Teams of five students can spend up to $150 for materials to build their crushing machines.
Date: Thursday, Apr. 5
Time: 1 to 3:30 p.m.
Location: Engineering Management Education building
To find out more contact the School of Engineering at 250-807-8723.
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For complete stories please contact:
ErinRose Handy
Communications Manager
UBC Faculty of Applied Science
Tel: 604.822.1524
E-mail: erinrose.handy@ubc.ca
