Join Us for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relay this February and March

The Olympic Torch Relay winds through the UBC Point Grey Campus as it makes the final leg of its journey towards the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Games. Everyone is invited to join in on the celebration. There will be entertainment and activities for the whole family. Come be a part of the Olympic experience!
» February 11, 2010--Olympic
» March 11, 2010--Paralympic

The Journey of the Blue Whale
Andrew Trites gives us an inside look at the journey of the blue whale as it makes its way home to the Beaty Biodiversity Museum.
» March 6, 2010

The Official UBC Science Guide to Celebrate Research
Award winning research, theatrical productions, and hands-on activities. We point you to the best of the week, including Quirks and Quarks with CBC's Bob McDonald.
» March 5 to 13, 2010

Truly Intelligent Machines?
Numenta founder Jeff Hawkins discusses the role of the neocortex in creating a solution to machine learning problems.
» March 18, 2010

Google Founding Investor Gives $2M Toward Science Education Transformations at UBC

A UBC Science alumnus widely credited with helping establish the Internet search giant Google is supporting undergraduate education transformations with a $2-million gift to the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative (CWSEI).

David Cheriton, a computer science professor at Stanford University, announced the gift with Simon Peacock, UBC Dean of Science, Carl Wieman, Nobel laureate and director of the CWSEI, and David Farrar, UBC Provost and Vice President Academic.

The gift will support the transformation of core, required courses in the departments of Computer Science and Mathematics over the next five years with the help of the CWSEI, positively impacting thousands of students a year.

"The CWSEI provides enormous support and guidance to UBC science faculty in making the classroom experience more rewarding for both teachers and students," said Simon Peacock, UBC Dean of Science. "By improving student learning and helping us graduate engaged, scientifically literate citizens, Prof. Cheriton's gift will have a lasting impact far beyond our math and computer science classrooms at UBC and partner institutions."

Share Your Science Experience at Beyond the BSc

Testing Positive: Zebrafish Behavior Screens Could Hold Potential for Drug Discovery

Researchers from UBC and Harvard University have co-developed a system that captures on video and barcodes the behavioral responses of zebrafish to chemical compounds on a large scale. The approach could dramatically speed up the discovery of new psychiatric drugs.

Current drug discovery approaches are typically target based, meaning they attempt to identify compounds that modify the activity of a specific protein target. These approaches benefit from being systematic and high throughput, but ussually lack the ability to discover drugs that modify nervous system function in new ways.

"The capacity of this approach is quite distinctive," says Jennifer Bryan, an associate professor in the Department of Statistics and the Michael Smith Laboratories. "Most pharmacological studies of behaviour have been relatively small scale, involving a few small molecules at most."

In the Company of Crows and Ravens

EOS Professor 'Metals' in Mineralogy

An unassuming mineral hidden away in rock samples collected almost 30 years ago has been named after a professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Groatite, a new species of phosphate mineral, was named after Lee Groat, a professor of mineralogy at the university.

Details of the discovery and properties of the mineral were outlined in the most recent issue of The Canadian Mineralogist by a team led by researchers from the University of Manitoba.

Frank Hawthorne, the principal investigator on the paper, named the mineral after Groat for his extensive contributions to pegmatite mineralogy.

"I was surprised and honoured," says Groat. "I did my PhD under Frank at the University of Manitoba. When he approached me at the 2008 Geological Association of Canada meeting in Quebec City to ask my permission to name a mineral after me, I was stunned."

UBC Astronomers Unveil Detailed View of New Galaxies

A UBC Science astronomer has produced the most detailed images of deep space from 12 billion years ago, revealing tens of thousands of newly discovered galaxies at the early stages of formation.

Recently presented at the first International Herschel Science Meeting in Spain, the images by UBC post-doctoral fellow Gaelen Marsden use data from the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory.

The striking images paint a picture of the Universe just one billion years after the Big Bang, when the Universe was a thriving nursery of newly-formed stars.

"These images allow us to see 10 times more galaxies than ever before and with stunning clarity," says Marsden, who has spent the past few years working on similar but lower-resolution images from previously collected data.

"It's incredibly rewarding to see the high sensitivity and resolution that the new Herschel data have enabled. They allow us to take a close look at the stars during early and vital stages of formation, and could change the way we study formation in the future."

Journey Too Long for Airy Athletes

Despite their ability to fly, tropical birds waited until the formation of the land bridge between North and South America to move northward, according to a UBC study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"While many North American birds simply flew across the marine barriers that once separated the continents, tropical birds, especially those in Amazon forest regions, began colonization of North America almost entirely after the completion of the land bridge," says lead author Jason Weir, who conducted the study as part of his PhD.

"This study is the most extensive evidence to date that shows the land bridge playing a key role in the interchange of bird species between North and South America and the abundant biodiversity in the tropical regions."

With Glowing Hearts

Thomas McLaughlin,
BSc '09 Honours Biophysics

What were you involved in as a student? I was always active in residence life. I lived in Place Vanier for three years, and worked as a house president and residence advisor. I loved being around so many people at such an interesting and fun time in their lives.

I also worked as Assistant Director of Sponsorship for UBC REC. The people were so energetic, and the events and leagues were unbelievable. UBC's intramurals are second to none--there's nothing quite like a bunch of teams climbing a 12-foot wall in front of hundreds of people to galvanize a campus. I can't wait to come back and participate as an alumnus!

Favourite UBC memory? The last day of classes in first year. It was an amazing year. I'd made some of the best friends of my life, passed all my courses, and made incredible memories. The entire campus was alive with events and activities, and to top it all off, Arts County Fair--10,000 students in Thunderbird Stadium. It was unreal.

How has your learning at UBC helped you get to where you are today? I largely have UBC to thank for getting me into medical school. The physics department is very well-regarded, and they provided me with a degree that demonstrated rigour and cognitive abilities. It’s a great degree for people wanting to go into medicine.

There were always programs available to involve you in community service and leadership. UBC set me up volunteering with a Downtown Eastside hospice--a very rewarding experience that pushed me towards medicine over research.

The biggest impact UBC had on me, though, was my personality. Before university, I was much shyer. UBC is a big campus with a lot of students and a lot of programs, and to me that meant a lot of opportunities! I realized that if I introduced myself to people, made friends, networked, and checked out seminars and programs, there was always something really cool going on.

Any celebrations or recent accomplishments you wish to share? I am running the Olympic torch through Squamish on February 4th! Last summer, I entered a story-writing contest with Coca-Cola about being a role-model for health in my community, with winners getting spots to carry the Olympic torch. I talked about my budding career in medicine, and about my time with UBC REC, and I actually won!

UBC Botanists Receive Funding to Map Sunflower Genome

UBC Science researchers have received $10.5 million in funding from Genome Canada and international partners to create the first reference genome of the sunflower family – work that will pinpoint agriculturally important genes and could result in a hybrid sunflower that provides both biofuel and food products.

UBC Science Alumna Wins 2010 Nestor Korchinsky Student Leadership Award
Aftab Erfan, BSc’03 Environmental Sciences, has been awarded the Nestor Korchinsky Student Leadership Award for her contribution to a more sustainable university community. Erfan volunteered with the Student Environment Centre, co-created Sprouts, and worked at the UBC Sustainability Office. Five other UBC Science students were also among this year's nominees.

UBC CS Students Go for Gold at ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest
Students from the University of British Columbia have out-coded some of the world's elite young programming talent, placing 14th at the 2010 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest held in Harbin China this Friday. Outperforming teams from Columbia University, and edging out rivals MIT and the University of Waterloo based on time, the team completed 5 of 12 problems correctly during the grueling five-hour competition.

UBC Science Alumni and Friends Reconnect at EOS Round Up
Round Up was a wonderful opportunity for Earth and Ocean Sciences alumni and friends to come together. The reception was buzzing with alumni as they reconnected with classmates, heard from the Dean of Science Simon Peacock, and learned about the new initiatives happening within EOS from Department Head Greg Dipple.

Vancouver Foundation Supports Biodiversity Outreach at Beaty Museum
Vancouver Foundation donors have contributed two years of funding to the outreach programs delivered by the UBC Beaty Biodiversity Museum. The Museum, set to open this May, will offer discovery labs, tours, workshops and educational resources to elementary school students and teachers.

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