UBC Reports | Vol. 51 | No. 2 | Feb. 3, 2005

BLACK, SOMERSET, Biely, McDowell, and Killam Awards Announced

UBC faculty have been recognized with five prestigious awards.

UBC chemistry professor Stephen Withers has been awarded the Jacob Biely Faculty Research Prize, and math and zoology professor Michael Doebeli has received the Charles A. McDowell Award for Excellence in Research.

The Sam Black Award goes to Professor George McWhirter from the department of theatre, film and creative writing and Scott Watson, a professor in the department of art history, visual art and theory, is the recipient of this year’s Dorothy Somerset Award.

Winners of the 2004 Killam Research Prizes of $5,000 are (in alphabetical order):

• Dale Griffin, Sauder School of Business;
• David Metzer, Music;
• Dianne Newell, History;
• Peter Paré, Faculty of Medicine;
• Catherine Rankin, Psychology;
• Lynn Raymond, Psychiatry and Neurology;
• Gordon Slade, Math;
• Mark Vessey, English;
• Yu Tian Wang, Faculty of Medicine; Brain Research Centre;
• Rhodri Windsor-Liscombe, Art History, Visual Art and Theory

The Biely and McDowell awards are named for former UBC researchers. Professor Emeritus Charles McDowell headed UBC’s Chemistry department for 26 years. Biely, an international poultry scientist, was a UBC faculty member from 1935-68. He died in 1981.

The Somerset and Black awards pay tribute to two legendary figures in fine arts at UBC.

Sam Black’s 41-year association with the university began in 1958 as a professor of fine arts and art education. He was a founder of the International Society for Education Through Art.

Dorothy Somerset became director of the UBC Players’ Club in 1934. She served as first artistic administrative head of the Fredric Wood Theatre until her retirement in 1965.