Two UBC faculty members have received YWCA Women of Distinction Awards.

Psychiatry Prof. Sue Penfold was recognized in the Health and Wellness category.

An educator and psychiatrist known for her commitment to breaking the silence around sexual abuse, Penfold is the author of a book about sexual abuse by health professionals. A faculty member since 1967, Penfold spent nine years as the clinical director of the Child Psychiatry Inpatient Unit at B.C.'s Children's Hospital.

Helen Burt, a professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Angiotech Professor of Drug Delivery has been recognized in the Science, Research and Technology category.

A faculty member since 1980, Burt specializes in drug delivery systems that administer drugs in a more controlled and precise manner. Working with UBC spin-off company Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc., she designed a drug delivery system for use in vascular surgery that is now in clinical trials.

The annual program, created in 1984, celebrates women who have made outstanding contributions to the community through professional or volunteer work.

Prof. Brett Finlay of the Biotechnology Laboratory has been given a 1999 Telly Award for his lecture "2000 and Beyond: Confronting the Microbe Menace" sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

Finlay's free lecture on infectious disease was simultaneously webcast and satellite broadcast to thousands of American high school students in December as part of the institute's Holiday Lectures on Science. It won the award for educational programs for academic use.

Founded in 1980 to recognize outstanding non-network television programs and commercials, the national awards program list of winners includes A&E Network, Discovery Channel and Knowledge TV.

A faculty member since 1989 who investigates bacterial diseases such as salmonella and E. coli, Finlay is an HHMI International Research Scholar and a recipient of the E.W.R. Steacie Award, Canada's top prize for young scientists and engineers.

Economics Prof. Angela Redish has been chosen to fill the visiting economist position of special adviser in the Bank of Canada for a one-year term beginning in August.

The position was created to bring additional views on monetary policy issues from outside the bank.

Redish is a specialist in the economic history of money in Western economies. She is currently director of Graduate Studies in the Economics Dept.

The first-ever winners of the Eco-Challenge student awards have been announced.

Derek Masselink and Darren Haines received $1,400 each for outstanding environmental stewardship after a seven-month awareness campaign organized by the Campus Sustainability Office in partnership with the Waste Management Program and the UBC TREK program. Masselink, 32, a master's student in Landscape Architecture, received the award for his advocacy on the South Campus Farm which he would like to see play a vital role in UBC's community development plans.

Haines, 20, a Science undergraduate student, helps promote alternative transportation on campus through his role as the executive director of the Alma Mater Society (AMS) Bike Co-op program.

As part of the Eco-Challenge, academic and operational units competed for the honour of affixing their names to the awards by demonstrating their environmentally sustainable practices over a seven-month period. Masselink was given the award by Health, Safety and Environment which accumulated the most points in the operational units category. Haines received the award from the Linguistics Dept. which was tops in the academic units category.

The annual Eco-Challenge campaign aims to encourage the campus community to conserve energy, water, paper, reduce single-occupant car commuting, and reduce waste. For more information, visit the Web site at www.sustain.ubc.ca or call 604-822-0473.