UBC continues to attract its share of outstanding professors. Forty-eight new tenure-track and tenured faculty members have been appointed this term in 10 faculties, bringing the number of full-time UBC faculty members to 1,797.
More than 45 per cent of the university's faculty are due to retire by the year 2005.
The following are a few of the new faces on campus this fall.
Professor,
Forest Renewal B.C. Chair in Silviculture, Forest Sciences, Faculty of Forestry
Background: PhD, University of California-Berkeley
Courses taught: Silviculture
Teaching objective: "An appreciation of past silvicultural achievements and an ability to build from them, effective approaches to deal with tomorrow's needs."
Research objective: "The linkages between silvicultural activities and the long-term responses that occur in the forest."
Why attracted to UBC: "My alma mater, my children's alma mater, my home town, a great university with a world class forestry faculty. Where better for me to work towards helping provide solutions for the needs of the province's most important resources -- its people and its forests."
Director,
UBC Centre for Disease Control; medical director, B.C. Centre for Disease Control
Society; professor, Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
Background: MD, UBC
Research objective: "To understand the molecular and genetic interactions that cause microbial diseases that can lead to infertility. The goal is to develop improved treatments for these diseases and to create a vaccine to prevent transmission of the infection."
Why attracted to UBC: "The remarkable development of the Centre for Disease Control has created the unique opportunity to develop world-class programs in research on the population biology of infectious diseases and innovative public health programs for the control of communicable diseases."
Professor,
Computer Science, Faculty of Science
Background: PhD, University of Washington
Courses taught: Design and analysis of computer algorithms and data structures, computational complexity theory
Teaching objective: "I try to give all students an appreciation for the beautiful theory of computation and the art of problem solving and its relevance to computing applications in many fields."
Research objective: "My work in computational complexity theory seeks to understand what can be computed with various probabilistic computing models. The goal of my work in DNA computing is to learn how to compute with DNA strands that are immobilized on a surface."
Why attracted to UBC: "I moved here because of the outstanding quality of research and teaching and the friendly environment in the department, the support for interdisciplinary work on this campus, and of course because I think Vancouver is a beautiful city."
Assistant
professor, School of Architecture, Faculty of Applied Science
Background: MSc, Columbia University; Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; Dipl.-Ing. Arch. TU, Berlin
Courses taught: Vertical Design Studios, Architecture Theory and Digital Media
Teaching objective: "Capacity to think in the most inclusive way through a complex set of issues and to raise relevant questions. Transposition of operative ideas into the creation of built environments."
Research objective: "Emerging potentials in architectural design, digital media and interdisciplinary collaboration. Professional practice as research."
Why attracted to UBC: "Interface between Eastern and Western culture on the Pacific Rim and the opportunity to participate in the formulation of a leading school in architectural design."
Assistant
professor, Psychology, Faculty of Arts
Background: PhD, University of Manchester
Courses taught: Cognitive Neuroscience
Teaching objective: "I want to share the joy of discovery."
Research objective: "To have fun exploring the mystery of how the human brain enables the mind, e.g., thinking, feeling, perceiving and attending."
Why attracted to UBC: "I wanted to contribute to the best Psychology Dept. and university in the country."
Assistant
professor, Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources, Faculty of Commerce
and Business Administration
Background: PhD, University of Sheffield
Courses taught: organizational behaviour, organizational psychology, personnel psychology, management development executive programs
Teaching objective: "I want students to understand the practical implications of organizational behaviour theory and to appreciate its relevance to their daily lives."
Research objective: "In my recent work, I have identified different types of leader-stakeholder relationships within the arts sector and examined the strategies used by CEOs to influence their boards. I intend to continue to study these issues, and to extend my research to small- to medium-sized enterprises in the private sector."
Why attracted to UBC: "I am delighted to be in a leading research and teaching institution, located in such a fantastically beautiful place."
Assistant
professor, Oral Biological and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry; associate
member, Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine.
Background: BA, MA, Cambridge; PhD, Brunel
Courses taught: Problem-based learning courses in new medical/dental undergraduate curriculum, basic science components of Introductory Clinical Dentistry and extracellular matrix biochemistry/cell biology
Teaching objective: "This is a time of amazing increases in scientific knowledge; I hope students will develop a lifelong interest in and appreciation for science."
Research objective: "Our objective is to understand the mechanics of how cells change the tissue around them in diseases and the impact of those changes in illnesses such as inflammatory lung diseases, atherosclerosis and cancer."
Why attracted to UBC: "The opportunity to do interesting science in a stimulating environment."
Assistant
professor, Resource Economics and Food Marketing, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
Background: PhD, University of California-Davis.
Courses taught: Economics of the environment
Teaching objective: "To provide insights and knowledge in a mutually beneficial learning environment."
Research objective: "To discover and understand how economics affects people's behaviour, with particular focus on the earth's environment and natural resources."
Why attracted to UBC: "The opportunity to work with elite researchers and educators in an ideal setting."
Assistant
professor, Language Education, Faculty of Education
Background: PhD, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
Courses taught: Research in second language education; Introduction to teaching English as a second language
Teaching objective: "I would like my students to experience the fact that both learning and teaching can be enjoyable."
Research objective: "The main area of my research is how students learn and teachers teach second language writing. I am focusing on the relationship between speaking and writing activities, the effect of teacher feedback to student writing, and the differences in the evaluation criteria of native and non-native teachers in rating student essays."
Why attracted to UBC: "The beautiful campus and faculty members at the university who have made great contributions to language education teaching and research."