December 2010
Flustered first-year university students get a helping hand from their peers
Canadian Press
Fri Dec 17 2010
By: Diana Mehta
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As Ramin Asgari, a civil engineering student at UBC, approached the end of his first semester, he knew he was struggling. He considered giving up but a peer academic support group turned things around for him.
The free drop-in sessions are similar to others run at universities across the country. The peer-run programs in particular provide a starting point for students struggling with the academic demands of university.
“They helped a lot,” says the 19-year-old. “I’m not feeling like I’m the only person on campus.”
Okanagan student Rachael L'Orsa named UBC's Outstanding Future Alumnus
Okanagan Exchange
Wed Dec 15 2010
An engineering and arts student leader at UBC's Okanagan campus has been chosen as this year's Outstanding Future Alumnus by UBC.
Rachael L'Orsa, who graduated last June with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree and is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts degree, received the award at UBC's Blue and Gold Review, a gala ceremony for the annual Alumni Achievement Awards at the Chan Centre at UBC's Vancouver campus.
"This award recognizes someone whose commitment to academic excellence and significant involvement in university affairs inspires others and improves the campus community," says Brenda Tournier, Senior Manager of Alumni and Community Relations.
National Science Council inks partnership with UBC
Taiwan Today
Fri Dec 10 2010
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The National Science Council signed a research cooperation agreement with UBC under which research teams from Taiwan will be sent to the Canadian university to engage in research.
“UBC is a global leader in academic research, and we hope this partnership will help broaden the horizon of our own research talents,” said NSC Minister Lee Lou-chuang, who signed the agreement with James Kronstad, director of UBC’s Michael Smith Laboratories, and David Wilkinson, director of the school’s Clean Energy Research Centre.
Lee explained that as the government has prioritized the development of biotechnology and clean energy technology, cooperation with UBC should help Taiwan gain valuable experience.
UBCO, city work on biosolid energy
Daily Courier
Fri Dec 10 2010
Page: A4
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A multidisciplinary research team led by Cigdem Eskicioglu [SoE], a professor at UBC’s Okanagan campus, is working with the City of Kelowna to study how biosolid waste from the Waste Water Treatment Facility can be converted into a reusable energy source.
Eskicioglu’s team will compare the city’s process with an alternative method that uses anaerobic digestion. They were recently awarded a $454,540 grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council to complete the project.
“Biosolids from the Kelowna Wastewater Treatment Facility are currently trucked to a composting facility and then turned into Ogogrow, a natural fertilizer sold commercially,” says Eskicioglu, an environmental engineer.
UBC materials engineering prof to receive TMS award
UBC This Week
Thu Dec 09 2010
Asst. Prof. Edouard Asselin in the Dept. of Materials Engineering has been chosen to receive a 2011 Young Leader Professional Development Award by The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). The Young Leader program aims to foster the development of future leaders in the society. Winners become more involved in the organization’s activities, benefiting from networking and mentoring opportunities and taking a role in meetings and committees.
TMS is headquartered in the United States but is international in both its membership and activities. It encompasses the entire range of materials and engineering, from minerals processing and primary metals production to basic research and the advanced applications of materials.
For more information, visit http://www.mtrl.ubc.ca
UBC engineering researchers win international best paper award
UBC This Week
Thu Dec 09 2010
UBC electrical and computer engineering former postdoc Jan Mietzner and professors Lutz Lampe and Robert Schober have received the 2010 Best Paper Award by the German Technology Society (ITG) for their paper “Distributed Transmit Power Allocation for Multihop Cognitive-Systems” published in the IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications in 2009.
The award is given annually for outstanding scientific publications in information technology and comes with an honorarium of $3,000 Euros.
UBC engineering alumnus to be inducted as business laureate
UBC This Week
Thu Dec 09 2010
UBC engineering alumnus Ken Spencer will be inducted as a business laureate of the British Columbia Hall of Fame in May 2011. Spencer graduated from UBC in 1967 with a BASc degree in electrical engineering and a PhD in 1972.
The business laureate recognition recognizes Spencer’s business acumen and social responsibility. A retired CEO and co-founder of Creo Products, he has served on several not-for-profit boards, including UBC’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Committee and the advisory board to the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science.
The Business Hall of Fame was created in 2006 to honour the outstanding contributions of BC business leaders to free enterprise and their society in the province and in Canada
For more information visit: www.businesslaureatesbc.org/ken_spencer.html
Ceremony to honour engineering alumnus Thomas Bennett (1983-2010)
UBC This Week
Thu Dec 09 2010
A plaque unveiling ceremony and reception will be held this Friday in memory of UBC alumnus Thomas Edward James (TJ) Bennett (BASc ’07). He died on Mount Shasta in Northern California on April 1, 2010 at age 26.
Bennett’s family, friends and colleagues have established the Thomas Bennett Student Enrichment Memorial Fund in Chemical and Biological Engineering at UBC in his honour. The fund will enable an undergraduate student or group of students within the Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science to receive $1,000 in support of student enrichment activities. Preference will be given to students who demonstrate high academic achievement, leadership, and social and environmental concern.
Date: Dec. 10
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Place: Chemical and Biological Engineering Building, 2360 East Mall
Info: Informal gathering at Mahoney & Sons Irish Pub to follow.
www.engineering.ubc.ca/news/2010/dec8.html
Fund will help others reach their peak
London Free Press
Tue Dec 07 2010
Page: A7
By: Randy Richmond
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A ceremony will be held Dec. 10 at UBC where a scholarship for engineering students focusing on sustainability will be launched, and a plaque raised in honour of Tom Bennett, who died climbing Mount Shasta in California in April.
At the ceremony, the family and UBC will announce details of the Thomas Bennett memorial fund in chemical and biological engineering. They hope to raise $30,000 for an endowment fund to provide undergraduates, especially those demonstrating environmental concern and leadership, $1,000 a year for studies.
Geek Speak: Winnie Lai, cofounder of Clinicbook
The Georgia Straight
Fri Dec 03 2010
By: Stephen Hui
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Winnie Lai’s goal is to make healthcare more accessible to the public through the Internet. To this end, the 23-year-old, Hong Kong-born Burnaby resident is building Clinicbook, an online directory of health-care providers. In June, she graduated from UBC with a bachelor of applied science in engineering physics.
Lai Founded Clinicbook with Tobin McFee and Joel Matsumoto, whom she met at the Vancouver Student Entrepreneurship Association at University of British Columbia. Their company has obtained $85,000 in funding from angel investors. They are now developing an online booking system for dentists in Vancouver.
TheGeorgia Straightreached Lai by phone at Clinicbook’s office in Gastown.
L’Orsa lauded with UBC award
Daily Courier
Mon Dec 06 2010
Page: A4
A student at UBC’s Okanagan campus has been chosen as this year’s outstanding future alumnus by UBC. She was recognized at the Alumni Achievement Awards in Vancouver.
L’Orsa, who graduated last June with a Bachelor of Applied Science is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts degree. Outside of school, L’Orsa is a paramedic, a wildland firefighter and has completed an Ironman four times. L’Orsa is also involved in the university community.
“This award recognizes someone whose commitment to academic excellence and significant involvement in university affairs inspires others and improves the campus community,” said Brenda Tournier, manager of alumni and community relations at UBC’s Okanagan campus.
Delta firm lands federal loan, contract for new military aircraft
Vancouver Sun
Sat Dec 04 2010
Page: F1
By: James Kwantes
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Asco Aerospace Canada Ltd., a Delta company has secured a $7.7-million federal loan to develop new manufacturing technologies for the construction of complex aircraft components, including those used to build the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets.
The company is partnering with UBC’s Manufacturing Automation Laboratory on the project. “The manufacturing of those parts is extremely challenging and they’re very expensive parts,” said Kevin Russell, vice-president of Asco Aerospace Canada.
Engineering prof receives UBC mentoring award
UBC This Week
Thu Dec 02 2010
Prof. Akram Alfantazi of the Dept. of Materials Engineering has been selected as the UBC recipient of the Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring (mid-career category) for 2010. The award recognizes the mentoring of graduate students.
Alfantazi joined the Dept. of Materials Engineering in 2001 and is now an associate professor. He has mentored 10 MASc students and three PhD students who have graduated from the program and is currently supervising 16 graduate students. He is highly regarded as a teacher and mentor by former and current students, graduate and undergraduate. His success as a mentor can be seen in the achievements of his former graduate students who have gone on to academic and senior leadership positions in the industry.
For more information, www.engineering.ubc.ca/news/2010/nov23.html
UBC engineer inducted Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
UBC This Week
Thu Dec 02 2010
UBC mechanical engineering professor Yusuf Altintas was inducted Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) in Ottawa on Nov. 27, 2010. Election to the RSC is the highest honour a scholar can achieve in the arts, humanities and sciences in Canada.
Altintas holds a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)-Pratt & Whitney Canada Industrial Research Chair in Virtual High-performance Machining and is the leading scientific authority in machining and machine tool control engineering worldwide. In addition to having highest citation record in his field, his algorithms are used by over 130 companies worldwide in improving the quality and productivity of machining operations.
For more information, visit http://blogs.apsc.ubc.ca/engineeringnews/2010/11/29/ubc-engineer-inducted-fellow-of-the-royal-society-of-canada/
Mavinic Receives Manning Foundation Award
Innovation November/December
Page: 6
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Wastewater treatment expert Dr Donald Mavinic [CIVL Prof] PEng has received the $25,000 Dave Mitchell Award of Distinction from the Ernest C Manning Foundation for developing a phosphorous recovery system to turn wastewater into a valuable fertilizer, Crystal Green. This unique innovation turns pipe-clogging and polluting phosphorus compounds in wastewater into environmentally friendly fertilizer.
APEGBC Members Gather at 2010 Annual Conference and AGM
Innovation November/December
Page: 34
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Whistler, British Columbia was host to the Association’s Annual Conference and 91st AGM from October 21-23, 2010. This evening, nearly 300 conference delegates gathered at the Westin Whistler to celebrate the achievements of their peers at the 2010 President’s Awards Gala, where eight outstanding APEGBC members were recognized by the Association. Honours were awarded in the categories of Young Professional Award (CIVL Alum Kevin Riederer), Teaching Excellence (BMEG Director Antony Hodgson), Community Service Award (CIVL Alum Nadine King), D C Lamber Professional Service (Claudio Arato) and Meritorious Achievement Award (CHBE Prof John Grace and GEOE Prof Oldrich Hungr).
Success by Design
Innovation November/December
Page: 36
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Ten years ago, Dr Carlos Ventura and John Pao created the Certificate in Structural Engineering Program. At that time, there was a growing concern that university graduates were not adequately prepared with sufficient practical knowledge for working in structural design offices.
It was evident that many firms had limited resources to proved on-the-job training to new recruits. Furthermore, continuing education offering were also limited, noted Dr Ventura, professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at UBC.
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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
