Prof. Don Mavinic has been appointed associate dean, Awards/Doctoral Orals, in the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Mavinic, who came to UBC in 1973, has been a professor of Civil Engineering for the past 15 years and also leads the Environmental Engineering Specialty group.

Mavinic has also served as graduate adviser for the Dept. of Civil Engineering and as the Environmental Engineering graduate student adviser.

Mavinic has supervised more than 40 graduate students, including more than a dozen PhD candidates.

Physics and Astronomy Prof. Andrew Ng has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society.

Ng was elected for his pioneering use of shock waves generated with intense laser radiation to study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions of high pressure and high density. The results are relevant to the understanding of conditions on planets and stars. It can also be used to advance research into fusion, a method of producing energy.

The society, an organization of 40,000 physicists worldwide, is dedicated to the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of physics.

Barbara Drysdale, strategic communications specialist in the Public Affairs Office, has won a bronze medal from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for UBC Annual Report 97/98.

The publication was UBC's first-ever annual report, highlighting both the achievements of UBC students, faculty, staff and alumni and goals for the future.

The competition attracted more than 400 entries in the district VIII awards.

CASE awards recognize excellence in all fields of advancement services including communications, development, public affairs and alumni relations.