News
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Canada's 'Humble' Space Telescope Celebrates 5 Years in Orbit
July 4, 2008
It cost a modest $10 million and was only designed to be used for one year, but Canada's MOST telescope celebrates its fifth year of steady work this summer. The suitcase-sized space telescope--launched into orbit on June 20, 2003--is a Canadian Space Agency mission led by Physics and Astronomy's… read more
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'Chameleon' Nanomaterial Can Transform from Spring to Shock Absorber, Back Again
July 2, 2008
Researchers with the UBC Department of Chemistry have designed a 'chameleon' elastomeric protein which can be transformed from a coiled elastic spring to a stable shock absorber, and back again. The new type of smart nanomaterial effectively combines the two extreme forms of elastic mechanical… read more
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An 'Impossible' Advance in the Study of Superconductors
June 23, 2008
Researchers with UBC Physics and Astronomy have overcome a 20-year scientific impossibility, discovering a way to control the number of electrons on the surface of high-temperature superconductors. The new technique has the potential to drive advances in fuel cells, lossless power lines, quantum… read more
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Michael Smith Career Investigator Awards: Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Zoology
June 11, 2008
Three researchers with UBC Science have received 2008 Career Investigator Awards from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. The researchers are investigating how to develop improved antibiotics, the growth and proper functioning of T cells, and how viruses deliver their genome to the… read more
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Computer Science Researcher Awarded One of UBC's Most Prestigious Prizes
June 4, 2008
Karon MacClean, Associate Professor with the Department of Computer Science, has been awarded one of UBC's most prestigious research prizes, the Charles A McDowell Award. MacClean is working to study and improve how humans interact and communicate physically with computers. That includes… read more
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UBC and McGill researchers stir up a supervolcano
May 29, 2008
Using Plexiglas models filled with corn syrup, researchers from UBC have simulated the collapse of a volcano’s magma chamber—a catastrophic occurrence that can turn ordinary eruptions into so-called supervolcanoes. "There’s currently no way to predict a supervolcano eruption,"… read more
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UK's Royal Society Honours Physics and Chemistry Professor
May 20, 2008
UBC physicist and chemist George Sawatzky has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, joining the ranks of eminent scientists such as Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton. Sawatzky has made major contributions to the understanding of the important transition metal… read more
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Unearthing a Giant in PEI
May 14, 2008
A blue whale skeleton preserved under the soil of Prince Edward Island for 20 years begins a cross-Canada journey this weekend, when a team of UBC scientists exhumes its remains. The massive 25-metre skeleton, once unearthed and properly prepared, will become the centrepiece exhibit of UBC&rsquo… read more
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Computer Science Graduate Students Receive Google Diversity Scholarship
May 8, 2008
Two computer science students from UBC are among 17 inaugural Canadian Anita Borg scholars and finalists. The memorial scholarships, awarded by the Internet search giant Google, honour Dr. Anita Borg, a computer scientist who worked to increase the participation of women and under-represented… read more
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BC's Next Generation of Scientists Descends on UBC Campus
April 9, 2008
UBC Science plays host to more than 300 high school students from across the Lower Mainland this weekend at the annual Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair. Entries will explore biotechnology, environmental science, computers, and the health and life sciences, and students will compete for fun,… read more