News
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Tropical Birds Needed Panama Land Bridge to Colonize North America
December 14, 2009
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 University of British Columbia study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition. 
… read more
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New Rhodes Scholars Out of UBC Science to Focus on Organic Chemistry, Health Care
December 4, 2009
Two UBC Science students--one studying honours chemistry, the other a former physiology student currently studying medicine--have been awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. The $150,000 scholarships will enable Kayli Johnson and Jaspreet Khangura to focus their studies on the synthesis of… read more
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UBC to Host National New Media and Animation Research Network
December 1, 2009
A new $23.2 million Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) designed to advance Canada’s position as a global leader in new media, animation and games is to be hosted by the University of British Columbia. The Graphics, Animation and New Media (GRAND) network will be headquartered at the… read more
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UBC Mathematician Wins CRM Rising Star Prize
November 27, 2009
Assistant Professor Omer Angel has been awarded the 2010 André-Aisenstadt Prize, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a young Canadian mathematician in pure or applied mathematics. Angel was cited for his research in probability theory, on percolation, random walks and random… read more
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Making the Grade: UBC Statisticians Receive Funding to Improve Monitoring of Wood Product Quality
November 24, 2009
Researchers from the Department of Statistics at UBC are leading a $500,000 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada-funded project to develop improved statistical methodologies for the wood products industry. The grant, awarded under NSERC’s Forest Sector Research and… read more
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UBC Microbiologists to Investigate Bacterial-Powered Cleanup of Military Test Sites
November 17, 2009
UBC microbiologist Lindsay Eltis is leading a new $3.45 million Genome BC-funded project which will explore using bacteria to degrade toxic residue left by military munitions. Nitramines--specifically a compound called RDX--have been used in military munitions for decades, often to propel tank… read more
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UBC Students Reclaim Regional Title at International Programming Competition, Prepare for Worlds
November 7, 2009
Students from the University of British Columbia have won the 2009 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest Pacific Northwest Regionals, beating out teams from Stanford and Berkeley for a chance to compete at the world finals this February. Teams of UBC Computer Science students took… read more
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UBC Researchers Map Genome of Key Microbial Indicator of Ocean Health
October 22, 2009
Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute have mapped the genome of a microbe that is silently shaping the ecology of the planet's expanding ocean dead zones. "Microbes specialize in metabolic innovation and many can use alternatives… read more
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UBC Scientists to Help Evaluate Canada's Biodiversity Research Capacity
October 13, 2009
Two UBC scientists have been appointed to a national panel tasked with reviewing the state of biodiversity research in Canada. Professors Wayne Maddison and Sarah Otto will join 13 other biodiversity experts on a Council of Canadian Academies panel which will consider the supply of taxonomic… read more
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UBC Microbiologists Identify Gatekeeper Cells' Role in Immune Response to Listeria
October 5, 2009
UBC microbiologists have identified a key defence mechanism used by the immune system against Listeria, a finding with important implications for the development of vaccines. Listeria is the bacteria that causes listeriosis, the food-borne infection that caused 22 deaths in Canada in an August… read more