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.

Jan. 16, 2004

• UBC Board adds Finning CEO, pathologist and retired businessman
• Planet discovery among Scientific American's top stories of the year
• American Meteorological Society honours UBC prof
• Electric and Computer Engineering honours
• U21 fellowship program opens doors for staff
• Throat singers to perform at Chan February 7

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UBC Board adds Finning CEO, pathologist and retired businessman

University of British Columbia Board of Governors chair John Reid welcomes three new appointees to the university board.

Doug Whitehead, the president and CEO of Finning International Inc.; Dr. Arun K. Garg, a clinical professor of pathology in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC; and James Eccott, a retired businessman formerly with Kelowna-based Dia Met Minerals Ltd. have all been appointed by the provincial government for a three-year term.

"Our board looks forward to working with our new appointees during such a dynamic period in the life of UBC," said Reid. "We welcome their commitment to helping us further the Trek 2000 goal to make UBC the leading university in Canada."

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Planet discovery among Scientific American's top stories of the year

Last July a team of researchers, co-led by UBC astronomy professor Harvey Richer, discovered the oldest planet ever sighted. The find has been included on several lists of top science stories for 2003. Discover magazine named it the 11th biggest story of last year, while Scientific American included the discovery in its annual "top 25" list of science news stories. The story was also included in the Oregonian newspaper's round up of significant science advances in the last 12 months.

The team estimated that the gaseous planet, dubbed Methuselah, is about 2.5 times the size of Jupiter and formed 12.7 billion years ago. Its location at the center of the globular cluster M4 indicates that planets might be more abundant than thought. The research team, which used the Hubble Space Telescope and a radio telescope to discover the planet, also included UBC assistant professor Ingrid Stairs.

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American Meteorological Society honours UBC prof

Andrew Black, UBC professor of agricultural sciences, has won the 2004 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Biometeorology from the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the nation's leading professional society for scientists in the atmospheric and related sciences.

Black is being honored for his exceptional contributions to teaching and research in the area of forest biometeorology. He has been actively involved in research into the energy, water and carbon balances of forest and agricultural crops for nearly 30 years. He first joined the University of British Columbia in 1974, where his group was among the first to use new balance techniques to measure heat fluxes above forests.

AMS has a membership of more than 11,000 professionals, professors, students, and weather enthusiasts. The Society (www.ametsoc.org) publishes nine atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic journals -- in print and on-line -- sponsors multiple conferences annually, and offers numerous programs and services

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Electric and Computer Engineering honours

Robert Donaldson, professor emeritus, has been elected a fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), a distinction granted to a very small proportion of its members. Professor Donaldson will receive the Fellowship at the EIC Annual Awards Banquet to be held on Saturday, 6 March 2004 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Founded in 1887, EIC is a federation of societies; members of IEEE Canada are also members of EIC.
 
Graduate student Christopher Snow has been awarded a Canadian Wireless Communications Association (CWTA) graduate scholarship for 2003. Mr. Snow is doing his research under the supervision of professors Lutz Lampe and Robert Schober, and is investigating ultra wideband radio. The scholarship is administered by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and is valued at $10,000.

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U21 fellowship program opens doors for staff

UBC has established a new fellowship program to provide financial support to faculty and staff for travel to universities that are part of Universitas 21, a network of international research-intensive institutions. Through the fellowship, staff will be able to study administrative practices including policy, systems and procedures in a comparable university.

The goals of the fellowship are to provide high-quality development opportunities for UBC staff members, and strengthen links between UBC and the other Universitas 21 members. Applications are due by Friday, February 6. To learn more, contact Bill French at 604.822.5706 or wfrench@interchange.ubc.ca, or Patricia Stevens at 604.827.5358 or patricia.stevens@ubc.ca.

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Throat singers to perform at Chan February 7

Throat singing group Huun-Huur-Tu will return to Vancouver on February 7 for a performance at The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. A veteran of concert and festival performances in nearly every country of Europe and North America, Huun Huur Tu has emerged as the foremost international representative of Tuva's remarkable musical culture. They will be joined by one of Canada's top shakuhachi (Japanese flute) players, Alcvin Ramos, for a truly unique experience. The concert is sponsored by the Chan Centre, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Georgia Straight, and Listel Hotel. Contact Robert Benaroya at604. 813.7907, by e-mail at caravan@telus.net, or visit www.huunhuurtu.com.