UBC Reports | Vol. 46 | No. 16 | Oct. 19, 2000

Arriving minds

Six new faculty members choose UBC for both its intellectual and natural environment

UBC's reputation as a world-class teaching and research university coupled with Vancouver's breathtaking vistas continues to attract academic talent from around the world. Seventy new faculty members have joined UBC since the start of the year, boosting the number of full-time faculty members to 1,822. The following are six of the new researchers and teachers on campus. Another six will be profiled in the Nov. 2 issue of UBC Reports.

Adlai Fisher

Assistant professor, Finance, Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Background: PhD, Economics, Yale

Courses taught: Financial Management -- short-term financial planning, valuation, and mergers and acquisitions

Teaching objective: A significant part of my course focuses on broadening the set of financial tools available to our students, but the larger goal is to help the class learn to apply techniques they already know in new situations. This will be important as they adapt to business decision-making in a changing environment.

Research objective: Right now I am working on developing new techniques for forecasting volatility and modelling extreme fluctuations in financial markets.

Why attracted to UBC: The Finance division has a very strong research record, as well as a reputation for collegiality and supporting junior faculty. My wife and I were also impressed with the campus and the lifestyle in Vancouver.

Izabella Laba

Associate professor, Mathematics Dept., Faculty of Science

Background: PhD, Mathematics, University of Toronto

Courses taught: Real Analysis and Measure Theory and Integration, a basic graduate course in measure and integration theory

Teaching objective: I just give my students an opportunity to learn some mathematics: the concepts, the problem-solving skills, the study techniques. It's up to them to choose what else they will learn in the process.

Research objective: I am currently working on several problems which are mostly combinatorial, geometrical, or algebraic in nature, but which are also connected to many deep open questions in harmonic analysis. Why attracted to UBC: It's a wonderful place to live and to work.

Joseph Lucyshyn

Assistant professor, Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education Dept., Faculty of Education Background: PhD, University of Oregon

Courses taught: Graduate seminar in behavioural disorders; Functional Assessment and Positive Behaviour Support.

Teaching objective: I would most like students to gain a thorough and deep contextual understanding about why children develop problem behaviours. Based on this understanding, I would like students to know how to work with parents and educators to build positive, effective, and do-able plans of support that lead to meaningful and long-lasting change for all concerned.

Research objective: My research is with families of young children with developmental disabilities (e.g., autism, mental retardation) and problem behaviour. I am completing an assessment study aimed at understanding how problem behaviours develop in the midst of typical and valued routines of everyday family life.

Why attracted to UBC: UBC and the Faculty of Education share my strong interest in creating an academic career that brings together teaching, research, and practice.

Christopher Peck

Assistant professor, Oral Biological and Medical Sciences Dept., Faculty of Dentistry Background: PhD, Oral Biology, UBC

Courses taught: Orofacial Pain and Temporomandibular Disorders; Occlusion

Teaching objective: To help students understand the relationship between dental and non-dental structures in the head and neck region

Research objective: To better understand the relationship between human jaw structure and function using dynamic 3-D computer modelling. This information will provide insight into the mechanisms underlying jaw joint and muscle disorders.

Why attracted to UBC: The opportunity to work collabora-tively with renowned researchers and clinicians

Sunera Thobani

Assistant professor, Centre for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations and Women's Studies Undergraduate Program Background: PhD, Sociology, Simon Fraser University

Courses taught: Race, Class and Gender Relations; Bordering Women (nation-building, migration, and citizenship); Violence against Women; Women and Colonization

Teaching objective: To work with students to develop strong critical, thinking skills and to study our society within the larger global context

Research objective: To study the impact of globalization on the social relations of race, class and gender

Why attracted to UBC: The Centre for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations has a commitment to teaching women's studies within the larger global context and is actively developing links in other parts of the world. The potential for developing a genuinely global focus foregrounds the interconnections in women's lived experiences and offers exciting possibilities.

Cheryl Wellington

Assistant professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Dept., Faculty of Medicine Background: PhD, Microbiology, UBC

Courses taught: Tutor for first- and second-year medical and dental students

Teaching objective: To instil a lifelong curiosity about the complexities and wonders of biological systems and to develop the intellectual skills to explore questions of interest through research

Research objective: My research is focused on disease-causing genetic mutations with an emphasis on pathways leading to cell death in a variety of diseases.

Why attracted to UBC: UBC is committed to excellence and Canada is home. I join the faculty of UBC at a very exciting time filled with opportunity to make significant contributions to health research and to the education of the next generation of leaders.