UBC Reports
November 14, 1996


News

Provincial and municipal dignitaries joined members of the university community in marking the newly completed expansion of the Faculty of Education's Neville Scarfe Building with a plaque unveiling Nov. 12.

Guests included Joan Smallwood representing the provincial government, which funded the renovations project, and Vancouver City Councillor Lynne Kennedy, a graduate of the faculty.

Initiated in 1988, the project was designed to consolidate the faculty from 18 locations across campus. Construction began in 1993.

Improvements include construction of the Library Block which provides new facilities for the Education Library, an addition to the Teacher Education Office and a complete seismic upgrade of the original building.

Vancouver-based Hotson Bakker Architects carried the project to completion.


The Coast Club UBC Tennis Centre opens Nov. 15. The centre has a total of 14 courts, including four indoor courts and will be available for public use, as well as for UBC students, faculty and staff.

The centre offers a full range of instructional programs including Weekend Whip Ups, and month-long Match Point clinics. Booking fees are charged to all members, including students, and are less than $10 per hour.

Centre administrator Lisa Archer said the Rooster Riser membership, which allows court use from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., should be of particular interest to faculty and staff who want to play tennis before work. Brian Hall is the head pro, and student coaches will assist with lesson programs. For information on the centre, call 822-2505.


Post doctoral fellows and graduate students are invited to apply for partial funding to work with the Crisis Points Group at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. Successful applicants will work on pure and applied projects related to models of non-linear dynamic systems.

The competition is open to scholars in all fields and departments, including interdisciplinary students, providing that a clear relationship can be shown between the applicant's qualifications and research interests and those of the Crisis Points Group.

The focus of the applicant's work could be concepts from a specific discipline to the understanding of crisis points and how models of such systems can be used to guide practical decision-making, or interdisciplinary development of crisis point concepts and models themselves.

Applications, due by Dec. 15., should include a curriculum vitae, a statement of the applicant's research interests and a statement of sponsorship from a UBC faculty member containing an indication of the source of the remainder of the applicant's funding.

For more information see the group's Web page at http://bee.econ.ubc.ca/crisis.html or call 822-4782.


Prof. Emeritus Dr. Harold Copp will be honoured by the Osteoporosis Society of B.C. with a gala dinner at the Waterfront Centre Hotel on Nov. 21.

Copp is being honoured for his discovery of calcitonin, a calcium-regulating hormone which inhibits bone loss. It is one of the most widely used therapeutic agents for the treatment of osteoporosis, with annual sales in excess of $1 billion.

Osteoporosis--now recognized as a major health hazard--is the third leading cause of death in seniors, after heart disease and cancer. One in four women over 60 years and one in two over 70 are at risk.

Copp was the first professor of physiology at UBC and one of the founders of the medical school. His life-long interest in bone and calcium metabolism led to his discovery of calcitonin in 1961.

Although approved for use in the United States in 1984, calcitonin is not yet approved for the treatment of osteoporosis in Canada, although it is available by prescription for other uses. It is also a powerful pain killer.

Copp is a Companion of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Societies of Canada and London and was one of the first inductees into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame when it was established in 1994.

The gala dinner is the society's major event for November, which is Osteoporosis Awareness Month. All proceeds of the $100-a-plate dinner will go toward educational programs and other aims of the society.

Call 731-4997 for tickets or more information.