January 2012
Light-bulb moment gets consultant out of a rut
Vancouver Sun
Tue Jan 31 2012
By: Jenny Lee
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When Maninder Dhaliwal first arrived in Vancouver from India’s Punjab province at age 22 on a UBC scholarship for graduate studies in electrical engineering, she had less-than-fluent language skills.
“It was the biggest adventure of my life,” recalls Dhaliwal. “I had taken TOEFL [Test of English as a Foreign Language], [but] I couldn’t understand a word.”
Today, however, Dhaliwal is using her academic and professional abilities to launch a second business. Her company will aggregate residential data such as property assessments, building code changes and renovation histories to assess a building’s actual value taking into account potential major repairs.
UBC Gains Investment to Advance Canadian Composites Industry
Net Compost
Tue Jan 31 2012
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The University of British Columbia (UBC) say that businesses in western Canada’s manufacturing sector will receive a federal investment of $9.8 million and Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, unveiled the pan-western Composites Research Network (CRN) which aims to provide businesses the necessary skills and knowledge in a rapidly expanding and evolving industry.
“This investment in the Composites Research Network advances important collaborations between researchers and businesses,” said John Hepburn, VP Research & International at UBC. “These partnerships drive innovation by developing and implementing manufacturing solutions faster and more efficiently than would otherwise be possible.”
The CRN will be led by UBC Materials Engineering Prof. Anoush Poursartip, who UBC say is a composites expert who has received global recognition for his work on process design software and the aerospace industry.
“The Composites Research Network will focus on bridging the strengths of academia with the needs of business,” said Poursartip. “CRN will strengthen existing western Canadian businesses and attract international collaboration and involvement.”
SPAN squeaks onto SLFS Board
The Ubyssey
Mon Jan 30 2012
Page: 6
By: RJ Reid
For the first time in recent history, the Student Legal Fund Society will have members of two slates on their board. Students for Responsible Leadership won five of the six seats, with the Students for Progressive Action Network (SPAN) taking one seat. SRL candidate Maria Cirstea received the most votes in the race with 1226 votes. She was followed by four SRL slate members, including incumbent Jordan Stewart (1081), incumbent Aaron Sihota (990), incumbent JJ Maclean (959) and Sandy Buchanan (third-year ECE) (947).
Vancouver’s Cities Summit Targets a Greener Future
The Vancouver Sun
Sun Jan 29 2012
By: Jeff Lee
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For environmental tech company Ostara, the upcoming Cities Summit brings rich potential for opportunity.
Ostara is looking to expand its technology, developed at UBC (Civil Engineering, Prof Don Mavinic) to medium and large municipalities around the world. It is already producing high-value, high-quality phosphorus fertilizer at six waste water treatment plants in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. The product, Crystal Green, is sold to nurseries and specialty plant growers. One of the first multi-tonne contracts was to B.C.’s Environment Ministry, which uses the slow-release phosphorus in oxygen-deficient streams to help spur the growth of fish fry.
Is tap water killing your soil?
The Vancouver Sun
Sat Jan 28 2012
By: Randy Shore
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UBC soil scientist Sietan Chieng (CIVL) says it’s nearly impossible to determine the effect of chlorinated water on soil microfauna given the many variables of temperature, soil condition, concentration of chlorine and other physical and biological properties of the water and soil.
Chieng judges the effect of tap water irrigation of house and garden plants to be “neutral in the short term and negative for long-term use.”
“Use rainwater (or natural ground-water) as much as possible and use tap water as a supplement as needs arise,” said Chieng, who is also a home gardener.
AMS election and referendum results announced
The Ubyssey
Fri Jan 27 2012
By: Kalyeena Makortoff
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The AMS elections have come to a close and the results are in.
5789 students voted in the elections this year, amounting to 11.6 per cent turnout—a 0.6 per cent increase from the 2011 elections.
Matt Parson beat out Ben Cappellacci and Alyssa Koehn for AMS president this year.
Two slates ran in this year’s Student Legal Fund Society race for six seats. The Students for Responsible Leadership slate took five seats, electing Maria Cirstea, Jordan Stewart, Aaron Sihota, Jordan MacLean and Sandy Buchanan (third-year ECE). One candidate from the Student Progressive Action Network, Greg Williams, was elected.
The UBC Sailing Club: Trying to catch a breeze
The Ubyssey
Thu Jan 26 2012
Page: 6
By: Geoff Lister
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It is a brisk, wet early October morning on Lake Washington in Seattle. People dressed in heavy rain jackets walk from their cars to the dock at Sail Sand Point in Magnuson Park, a former naval base that is now a sprawling sports complex.
Inside the open doors of an old warehouse is the dry storage for the UBC collegiate sailing team. A sail lies on the floor. Neil Roberts (MECH) and Karl Jensen (MECH), both engineering students, are debating about which number to apply to the new sail.
A crisp number eight is stamped onto the sail as the team rushes down the dock to get out on the water. The fresh sails fly into the air as other members scramble to set the rudder and tiller together. The team is ready to set out into the drizzling bay for a day of racing at the University of Washington’s Cascadia Cup.
“Sailing’s a sport you can get into no matter your level of fitness or general health, but in order to get to the top you’ve got to be on top of your game just like any other sport,” says Roberts. “If you look at top sailors, they’ll all be training on the water four or five days a week and in the gym six days a week.”
The racing ends in the early afternoon and presentations are made. Sailing teams rarely stay for trophies, as getting back home at a reasonable hour takes precedent over waiting for hardware. UBC places 11th and 12th out of 23 boats.
As for UBC’s sailing team, it’s growing despite undesirable winter conditions.
Mechanical engineering student recognized with three scholarships
UBC This Week
Thu Jan 26
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The Dept. of Mechanical Engineering congratulates Connor Schellenberg-Beaver for receiving the Wesbrook Scholarship, the Harry Logan Memorial Scholarship and the Harold B & Nellie Boyes Memorial Scholarship. The Wesbrook Scholarship, one of UBC’s most prestigious designations, is given to a maximum of 20 senior students who exhibit outstanding academic performance, leadership, and involvement in student and community activities.
Schellenberg-Beaver was the engine and electronics lead in the UBC Supermileage Team in the first half of his third year and continued his commitment to the team throughout his co-op term. In the second half of his third year, he maintained an exceptionally high average. He is now Team Captain for the UBC Supermileage Team.
Materials engineering professor leads $9.8 million federal investment
Compost Today
Wed Jan 25 2012
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Businesses in western Canada’s manufacturing sector will be able to increase their competitive edge thanks to a federal investment of $9.8 million announced today at the University of British Columbia.
At UBC’s Vancouver campus, Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, unveiled the pan-western Composites Research Network (CRN) which aims to provide businesses the necessary skills and knowledge in a rapidly expanding and evolving industry.
Composite materials, reinforced with carbon and glass fibre, are undergoing significant innovations that impact sectors including aerospace, shipbuilding, sports equipment and industrial products.
The CRN will be led by UBC Materials Engineering Prof. Anoush Poursartip, a composites expert who has received global recognition for his work on process design software and the aerospace industry.
Social License: Connecting With Communities
The Vancouver Sun
Tue Jan 24 2012
Page: B2
By: Andrew Seale
Mining companies and governing bodies alike are paving new ground and offering up frameworks for strong decision making between mining companies and the surrounding communities. Social license – an unwritten agreement between all stakeholders – takes front and centre in the conversation.
“We’re moved from a situation where there was very little connection at all to one now whereby in an early stage when the company is in its early exploration it needs to connect and engage and talk about what might happen if an exploration proves to show real promise,” says Malcolm Scoble, professor and chair of Mining Engineering at University of British Columbia. “That has to happen very early to avoid any prospects for unclear expectations.”
He points to increased efforts by mining organizations across Canada to educate their membership on the values of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the ultimate business benefits of those practices. “The industry has been cognisant of this growing need to work together in developing a strategy and developing a strategy for sustainable mining,” says Scoble. “Nowadays there’s a natural expectation by most people that there will be that form of approach – it really is impossible to put your head in the sand even if you want to.”
VP Academic & University Affairs: Bhador Moosavi – MASc-candidate Mining Engineering
The Ubyssey
Mon Jan 23 2012
Page: 15
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1. How will you promote a balance between UBC’s plans for campus development (Gage South, etc) and the demand for student housing?
UBC has a target of housing 50 per cent of the student population on campus. However, UBC has been pushing to designate Gage South, which is the heart of student activity on campus, as “non-academic.” Students have strongly opposed this and the proposed plan for market housing in this area, and would like to see it designated as “academic.” This does not contradict UBC’s development plans by any means, as student housing is still allowed in academic lands and staff and faculty housing can be moved elsewhere by transferring density of other areas, such as Wesbrook Place.
2. What do you think of UBC’s restructuring of the summer term? Does more work need to be done on developing the summer term system at UBC? Why or why not?
The summer term definitely needs more development. One of the main reasons UBC is encouraging more market housing on campus is to support the existing businesses on campus all year, especially over the summer when there [aren't] many students around. Also, there’s a trend towards 12-month contracts for student housing. With this, it would be absolutely beneficial to students and UBC if the summer term was developed to its full potential. The current work of the VP Academic’s office in this regard should continue.
Board of Governors: Tagg Jefferson – Fourth-year Integrated Engineering
The Ubyssey
Mon Jan 23 2012
Page: 11
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1. What do you think is the most important issue on campus and how do you plan to address it?
Student representation on building projects. For future development projects in Gage South and general student spaces, it is important to include student and alumni voices in groups that have actual decision-making power, not just poorly conducted consultation sessions. Spaces like the new SUB, the Alumni Centre, and the Engineering Student Centre have included students and alumni in all aspects of the projects and have resulted in flexible space designs the users are very happy with. I will work to leverage these precedents and my strong working relationship with administration to make sure that student and alumni input is not just heard, but acted upon.
2. As one of only three student representatives on the Board of Governors, how will you ensure that the student perspective is heard?
If elected, I will promptly schedule time to sit down with clubs from across campus to reach as many students as possible. I can’t promise baked goods and weekly barbeques, but I will commit myself to reaching out beyond the standard meeting requirements to undergraduate societies, the AMS executive, student senators, student interest groups, Greeks and any other group with a particular concern.
VP Academic candidates want to revisit, revise summer term
The Ubyssey
Mon Jan 23 2012
Page: 7
By: Natayla Kautz
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Though the VP Academic & University Affairs portfolio is wide reaching, the topic that most divides the candidates this year is their stance on developing the summer semester.
The current proposal for the summer semester looks to standardize course starting dates and lengths, meaning that more intensive three-week courses would generally no longer be offered. The candidates reacted differently to the loss of the three-week courses.
Bhador Moosavi (MASc candidate, MINE) came out in support of the removal of short courses. Moosavi argued that the creation of more six-week courses would guarantee that “the summer term is sustainable in faculties like engineering, where there are no three-week courses and the courses that are offered are very limited.”
A lively summer term is dependent on the expansion of year-round student housing on campus, argued Moosavi, “because it guarantees the traffic that’s needed to support those [campus] businesses over the summer.” He said that expanding the course offering during the summer term will “make the AMS stronger in terms of lobbying the university, especially in housing.”
Governance: time to take a stand?
The Ubyssey
Mon Jan 23 2012
Page: 5
By: Will McDonald
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Governance at UBC is currently in a state of limbo. The provincial government passed Bill 20 in 2010 as an interim solution and took over jurisdiction of UBC from Metro Vancouver. Almost two years later, little progress has been made to determine a new structure for municipal governance on UBC lands.
As the highest governing body at UBC, the Board of Governors effectively has the final say in any new developments to the governance structure on campus. Eleven of the 21-member board are appointed by the provincial government, and UBC is both land owner and developer, leaving little room for oversight.
The seven candidates competing for the two UBC-Vancouver student representative seats on the Board will have a direct voice on the future of UBC’s governance.
BoG candidate Tagg Jefferson (fourth-year, IGEN) originally declined to comment on governance. “I don’t know enough about the topic to be able to make a good statement on that, but I think that’s something obviously that I need to learn.”
In a subsequent interview, Jefferson said he would work to encourage extensive consultations on governance.
UBC electrical engineers elected Fellows
UBC This Week
Thu Jan 19 2012
André Ivanov, head of the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will be inducted a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) for his contributions to engineering in Canada. Ivanov is an expert and innovator in the field of the design and testing of very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits. His achievements have led to numerous new and advanced technologies that have greatly impacted the shape of VLSI test technology processes worldwide affecting the entire semiconductor industry.
Prof. Robert Schober of Electrical and Computer Engineering was elected Fellow for his contributions to the field of wireless communication. In particular, he has made several pioneering contributions to the theory, design and application of signal detection in fast fading channels, space-time coding, widely-linear processing and ultra-wideband signaling.
Established in 1887, the EIC is Canada’s federation of engineering societies committed to engineering for a prosperous, safe and renewable Canada.
For more, visit: http://www.ece.ubc.ca/news/201201/dr-ivanov-and-dr-schober-elected-eic-fellows
MTRL’s own “Best Picture” winners 2011
UBC This Week
Thu Jan 19 2012
Students in the fourth-year class of Dept. of Materials Engineering (MTRL) 451, Microstructural Analysis Lab, have been applying techniques using the department’s electron microscope lab. A class competition produced excellent images and two winners. First place was awarded to ″Black and white” by Team Rocket; second place went to “Frozen” by Group B2.
To view the winning images, visit: http://blogs.apsc.ubc.ca/mtrlnews/2012/01/05/mtrl%E2%80%99s-own-best-picture-winners-2011/
Grants to fund vineyard research, bursaries at four UBC schools
Okanagan Exchange
Wed Jan 18 2012
UBC's Okanagan campus has received three grants totalling $275,000 from the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust (SIDIT).
The awards include $150,000 for a three-year research project led by Susan Murch, Canada Research Chair in Natural Products Chemistry, to develop water efficiencies in Okanagan vineyards; $80,000 in bursaries for undergraduate medical students in the Southern Medical Program; and $45,000 towards bursaries in Engineering, Nursing and Computer Science.
Notably, the $80,000 award to the Southern Medical Program will be matched by an anonymous donor.
A green light for Sustainability 101 – Class teaches “greatest hits” of sustainability
The Ubyssey
Mon Jan 16 2012
Page: 4
By: Evan Brow
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UBC is now offering a multidisciplinary course intended to give students from all faculties a chance to focus on sustainability. Sustainability 101 is offered by the Faculties of Arts, Applied Science, Forestry, Land and Food Systems and Science.
Only 35 students are admitted into the course, and while there are no prerequisites, undergrads had the choice to fill out an application that asks what attracts them to Sustainability 101, what they might contribute, and what they would like to take away from the course.
Let the AMS elections race begin… - 36 students announce candidacy
The Ubyssey
Mon Jan 16 2012
Page: 3
By: Kalyeena Makortoff
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The nominations are in, and 36 students are vying for 18 spots in this year’s student government elections.
Three candidates—Alyssa “AJ” Koehn, Ben Cappellacci and Matt Parson—are running for AMS president.
Caroline Wong and Elaine Kuo will be running against each other in the VP Administration race and [four] candidates will compete for the VP Academic seat: Bahador Moosavi (BASc’09, ENPH/MASc candidate MINE), Carven Li, Iqbal Kassam, and Kiran Mahal.
Seven students are running for the two student positions on the Board of Governors: Matt Parson, Erik MacKinnon, Justin Yang, Mike Silley, Tagg Jefferson (fourth-year, IGEN), Sean Cregten and incumbent Sumedha Sharma.
Six candidates make up the SPAN slate: Jannel Robertson (second-year, GEOE), Arran Walshe, Nai N. Louza, Alissa Westergard-Thorpe, Arielle Friedman and Gregory Williams.
SRL was previously running five candidates—Aaron Sihota, Sandy Buchanan (third-year, ECE), Maria Cirstea, Jordan Stewart and James Pettit (fourth-year, MECH). However, despite a nomination being handed in late, the Elections Committee has allowed the sixth candidate of the slate, JJ MacLean, to run in the SLFS race.
Hunger fighter among Order recipients
24 Hours Vancouver
Mon Jan 9 2012
Page: 8
A UBC professor who invented a surgical technology that is used globally and an alumnus who helped to establish one of Canada’s first food banks have been named to the Order of Canada.
David Northcott, an alumnus who received his Bachelors of Science degree from UBC in 1976, is being honoured for his commitment to fighting poverty and hunger in Canada.
James (Jim) A. McEwen, adjunct professor in UBC’s Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Applied Science, was appointed to the Order of Canada for his contributions to biomedical engineering.
Making green roofs even greener
Vancouver Sun
Mon Jan 9 2012
Page: A5
By: Gordon Hoekstra
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Researchers at UBC’s Okanagan campus School of Engineering are trying to green up an already green idea. Professor Kasun Hewage and master’s student Fabricio Bianchini, both engineers, are investigating whether they can improve the environmental footprint of green roofs.
Hewage and Bianchini found the benefits of green roofs are diminished by the pollution created during the manufacture of the plastics and rubber mats that provide drainage for the plants. The researchers’ life-cycle analysis showed it would take as much as 25 years to compensate for the environmental damage caused from making the plastic in the matting.
Once it was known that the mats diminished the benefits of the green roofs, Hewage and Bianchini decided to test the use of construction material waste as a drainage base to replace the plastic mats. They have eight test roofs under study at the UBC Okanagan campus.
Eric Hall appointed dean pro tem of Applied Science
UBC This Week
Thu Jan 5 2012
Civil engineering professor Eric Hall has been appointed dean pro tem of the UBC Faculty of Applied Science. Hall follows Dean Tyseer Aboulnasr, who stepped down as of Dec. 31, 2011.
Hall received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biochemistry at McMaster University and pursued studies in McMaster’s Water Research Group, earning a PhD in chemical engineering. In 1979, he joined Environment Canada’s Wastewater Technology Centre, working as a senior process engineer while also serving as a part-time associate professor of civil engineering at McMaster. In 1992, Hall came to the UBC Dept. of Civil Engineering as Senior NSERC/COFI Industrial Research Chair in Forest Products Waste Management. From 2003 to 2008, Hall served as Civil Engineering department head, and he most recently served as associate dean, faculty matters.
Hall was awarded the Willem Rudolfs Medal from the Water Environment Federation in 1994 and received the I.H. Weldon Award by Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada in 2000. He was elected Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2010.
For more, visit: http://bit.ly/s2eXbK
UBC student wins best paper at IEEE Conference
UBC This Week
Thu Jan 5 2012
Electrical and computer engineering student Derrick Wing Kwan Ng received the best paper award at the Wireless Communication Symposium at IEEE Globecom 2011 in Houston, Texas. His paper entitled “Resource Allocation for Secure OFDMA Networks with Imperfect CSIT” focuses on his research in communication systems.
For more information, visit: http://www.ece.ubc.ca/news/201112/derrick-wing-kwan-ng-wins-best-paper-ieee-conference
Program designed to help engineers communicate
Okanagan Exchange
Wed Jan 4 2012
One would not normally associate engineering students with designing fundraising campaigns, but that is exactly the challenge posed to the first-year engineering class last term.
The students were taken out of their comfort zone and pressed to learn new skills, all to the benefit of local non-profit agencies and to further their education.
Laura Patterson, technical and professional communication Instructor with UBC's School of Engineering, said the goal of the project is to get the students engaged in the community and learn how to communicate their ideas in verbal and written form.
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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
