UBC News Digest

The UBC News Digest is a weekly summary of news stories about UBC people, research, learning, community, and internationalization initiatives. News Digest past issues are also available on-line.

May 23, 2002

• New NSERC Chair in Design Engineering announced
• Festival promotes options for commuting
• Staff, faculty and students invited to e-Strategy sessions

New NSERC Chair in Design Engineering announced

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) today announced a new NSERC Chair in Design Engineering at UBC. NSERC is providing $1 million over five years, with UBC contributing a further $550,000. Locally-based high tech firms are also contributing $150,000.

Dr. Peter Lawrence, an electrical engineer who has developed robotic systems for the remote control of large, complex hardware such as the handling devices used by the logging industry, is the new chairholder. The associate chairholder is Dr. Helmut Prion, a civil engineer.

The Chair will integrate the teaching of design principles into different portions of the engineering curriculum. This change will include design projects in which teams of final-year students act as entrepreneurs readying products for market. These teams could consist of engineering, business and even arts students, depending on the nature of the project. Dr. Lawrence also intends to create a series of design awards for students, and a Designer-in-Residence program that will allow students to interact with some of the leading engineers in the field of design.

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Festival promotes options for commuting

Car-pooling, transit, cycling, telecommuting and alternative fuel vehicles will be showcased in the annual Transportation Festival at UBC on Wednesday, June 5,
noon-2 pm.

Hosted by the UBC Trek Program Centre, the Festival celebrates Canada's Clean Air Day and coincides with the national Commuter Challenge (June 2-8) in which UBC is competing with other major employers in the region to get people out of their single occupant vehicles. The Festival aims to raise awareness about the problems of traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, and to improve individual and community health.

Held on Main Mall at University Boulevard, the event includes a free barbecue lunch with veggie burgers and veggie hotdogs, prize giveaways including a bicycle and BikeCart, a display of electric vehicles, an introduction to TREK's new Natural Gas vans, and a transportation quiz and games. The UBC community and the general public are welcome to attend.

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Staff, faculty and students invited to e-Strategy sessions

UBC students, staff and faculty will gather on Wednesday, June 12, to learn how UBC's e-Strategy can make a difference in their departments.

A full-day town hall meeting sponsored by the e-Strategy Steering Committee will update the campus community on the past year's progress towards developing a coordinated approach to information technology.

UBC's e-Strategy One Year On: From Vision to Practice will focus on the practical ways the e-Strategy can support work, learning and research on campus. The meeting has been designed with both technical and non-technical audiences in mind, and speakers will give concrete examples of how the e-Strategy vision will be put into practice.

Morning sessions will address broad issues of technological and administrative change at UBC and beyond In the afternoon, campus experts and guest speakers will lead interactive breakout sessions focusing on specific parts of UBC's e-Strategy with
hands-on workshops and demonstrations of new online tools and e-learning technology. This free town hall meeting is open to all members of the university community.

For online registration and a detailed town hall program visit www.e-strategy.ubc.ca.

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