March 28, 2014
Statistical research at UBC that could help pinpoint the genetic origins of disease and illuminate the mysteries of genetic diversity has received a boost in federal funding from the Canada Research Chairs program.
Jiahua Chen, CRC in Statistical Inference, was among eight Chairs appointed or renewed today at UBC, with the researchers receiving a total of $8.5 million in funding. The UBC contingent is among 102 new and renewed chairs announced Friday by Ed Holder, Minister of State for Science and Technology, at the University of Alberta.
March 21, 2014
World TB Day -- March 24 -- marks Robert Koch's discovery of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacillus in 1882. Today, TB remains one of the world's most serious health threats, killing millions annually in the developing world, and striking at communities in Canada. UBC researcher Charles Thompson and colleagues at UBC's Centre for Tuberculosis Research are investigating new approaches to combating TB. Next week, they're also
holding public talks to increase awareness of this surprisingly stubborn disease.
March 13, 2014
March 14 (3/14) is Pi Day, a day for number lovers like UBC’s Lior Silberman to celebrate the world’s most famous irrational number
Pi Day is an unofficial day to revel in the mystery of the infinitely long mathematical constant that is approximately equal to 3.14. First started in the late ’80s, Pi Day is used by many schools to teach students about the number. MIT sends acceptance letters to prospective students on this day, as well.
Lior Silberman, a professor in UBC’s Dept. of Mathematics, explains the allure of pi.
When did you first hear about Pi Day?
March 12, 2014
Dr. Arvind Gupta, a renowned expert in research and innovation policy and a professor with UBC's Department of Computer Science, has been appointed the 13th president and vice chancellor of the University of British Columbia.
March 12, 2014
A vibrant microscopic closeup of a fruit fly’s neuromuscular junction captured by UBC researchers is one of three winners of GE Healthcare Life Sciences’ 2013 world-wide Cell Imaging Competition. The photo, stained in blues, greens and reds, will be displayed in New York’s Times Square this April.
“Science can be very beautiful,” says UBC zoologist Vanessa Auld, whose lab submitted the winning image to the competition’s microscopy category. “I’m fortunate to get to explore how the nervous system develops, and to see beautiful images like this generated by the lab almost every day.”
March 10, 2014
Climate change may even test lizards’ famous ability to tolerate and escape the heat -- making habitat protection increasingly vital -- according to a new study by UBC and international biodiversity experts.
March 5, 2014
UBC has entered into a ten-year innovation partnership with global wireless device semiconductor company Qualcomm. The partnership, spearheaded by UBC professor Panos Nasiopoulos, lays out pre-defined terms under which Qualcomm can sponsor multiple research projects at UBC.
"We’re delighted to have signed this agreement with UBC and have them as a portfolio partner in our intellectual property investment program," says Qualcomm’s VP of Business IP Strategy Jan Lezny.
March 3, 2014
Globalization has helped increase local supplies of energy-dense food crops, but at a significant cost to global food security and human health, according to a new study by the University of British Columbia, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, and the Global Crop Diversity Trust.
The comprehensive study of global food supplies thoroughly documents for the first time what experts have long suspected—over the last five decades, human diets around the world have grown increasingly similar by an average of 36 percent.
February 19, 2014
Erich W Vogt, the Canadian nuclear physicist and UBC professor who helped found Canada's national nuclear and particle physics lab and Science World BC, has passed away.
He was the recipient of the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
"As one of the pioneering founders of the lab, Erich was a huge part of the TRIUMF family as well as that of UBC and the broader physics community around the world," said Jim Hanlon, head of TRIUMF’s Business and Administration Division, in a statement.
February 19, 2014
UBC and international software developer SAP Canada have joined forces to deliver technology workshops for Grade 7 girls at the company’s Vancouver offices.
The GIRLsmarts program, organized by UBC’s Computer Science department, has been active for a decade, but this is the first year it has partnered with industry to hold workshops outside of UBC’s Vancouver campus. The move allows participants to experience a real world technology environment.
