UBC This Week | May 18, 2006

UBC This Week is a weekly summary of UBC people in the news, recent media releases and upcoming event hightlights. UBC This Week past issues are also available on-line.

Sign up for UBC This Week and other UBC Public Affairs e-mail services at www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/eservices.

Recent UBC Media Releases

• May 16: Hong Kong philanthropist pledges $4M for new UBC residence, cultural centre

Upcoming Event Highlights

• May 18-20: UBC Baseball v. Concordia at Nat Bailey
• May 24: Fear and Love in the City
• May 24: School of Music's Baccalaureate Concert
• May 25: Rhythms of Urbanity: Mapping the Public Sphere Through Socio-Political Forces

Find out what else is happening at UBC this week. For sports events, visit the UBC Athletics site at www.gothunderbirds.ca/schedule.asp.

UBC People

• UBC Waste Management receives 2006 Effective and Innovative Practices award
• UBC Sustainability Director appointed to board for Sustainability in Higher Education
• MFA student wins Leo Award
• UBC mining professor wins distinguished lecturer award
• Nursing professor named Heart and Stroke Foundation Chair
• Proposals requested for Science Exhibition 2009

UBC People

UBC Waste Management receives 2006 Effective and Innovative Practices award

Awarded by the American Physical Plant Association, UBC Waste Management has received accolades for its In-Vessel Composting Facility, an innovative composting method that has already diverted more than 97.5 tonnes of campus waste from local landfills. A first for Canadian universities, the facility promotes an on-site, closed loop system that processes food and landscape waste into a rich compost material, already dereasing the bark mulch used in campus gardens by 57 per cent.

At peak capacity, the facility can process five tonnes of food waste daily and produce compost in two weeks. This system exceeds the capabilities of traditional composting, as it can process pre- and post-consumer food wastes including meat, grain and dairy as well as paper towels, cups and plates currently collected through Waste Management’s campus Organics Collection Program.

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UBC Sustainability Director appointed to board for Sustainability in Higher Education

UBC’s Director of Sustainability and founder of Canada's first campus sustainability office, Freda Pagani, was elected to the board of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Under Pagani’s leadership, UBC is reaching Kyoto targets ahead of schedule, while achieving substantial savings in energy, water, CO2 emissions and materials. As a registered architect, she was also responsible for initiating the concept of UBC's first award-winning green building in 1996, the C. K. Choi Institute for Asian Research.

The AASHE promotes sustainability in all sectors of higher education - from governance and operations to curriculum and outreach - through education, communication, research and professional development. AASHE partners include businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies that support campus sustainability efforts. www.sustain.ubc.ca

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MFA student wins Leo Award

Master of Fine arts student, Sarah Dodd, was awarded a Leo Award For Best Screenwriting in a Youth or Children's Program or Series for her work: ”Zixx: Level II - Pet Project.” A combination of animation, comedy, sci-fi and family entertainment, this sequel to Zixx: Level I explores aliens living on Earth, disguised as humans and trying to save their planet from an evil dark lord of darkness.

The Leo Awards recognize the best of BC’s film and television industry. For more information: www.leoawards.com or www.zixx.ca.

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UBC mining professor wins distinguished lecturer award

UBC mining prof. Ward Wilson received the Distinguished Lecturers Award from the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) during its 2006 Mining Conference and Exhibition held in Vancouver.

As holder of the Research Chair in Mining and the Environment, Wilson was recognized for his innovative research and technological advances in mine waste management and his involvement at mine sites in North, Central and South America, Australia and Asia.

For more information: www.cim.org.

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Nursing professor named Heart and Stroke Foundation Chair

School of Nursing Associate Prof. Carol Jillings was appointed Chair of the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSF). A longstanding leader and advocate in cardiovascular health promotion, Jillings has served as Chair of the Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses, as well as President of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC and Yukon.

The HSF is a national, voluntary, non-profit organization committed to improving the health of Canadians by preventing and reducing disability and death from heart disease and stroke through research, health promotion and advocacy. Structured as a foundation of 10 independent provincial foundations and one national office, it is supported by more than 130,000 volunteers and funds $85 million in research and health promotion programs each year.

For more information: www.school.nursing.ubc.ca.

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Proposals requested for Science Exhibition 2009

The Musee de la Civilisation in Quebec, jointly with the Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex systems Inc. (MITACS), and the Universite Laval is seeking submissions on novel, innovative and interactive science proposals for the 2009 Science Exhibition. The focus “Science and the Future” will include a range of disciplines, including (but not limited to) the life sciences, physical sciences, mathematical and computational sciences, engineering, the health sciences, and the social sciences.

The goal is to show the connections between science and its applications, to inspire students to pursue scientific education and careers. MITACS is a Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) for the Mathematical Sciences.

Please email proposals by June 30, 2006 to Olga at ostachova@mitacs.ca. For more information: www.mitacs.ca.

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