Math Professor Wins Steacie Fellowship
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^plCb«tecHltesS^d mmi I Math professor wins Steacie fellowship By GAVIN WILSON Perkins is internationally credited distribution of ideal individuals (or with other major researchers in the sity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign BC Mathematics Profes with opening up the new field of gene types) undergoing random re field and his work is the object of to earn his Ph.D. in 1979. sor Edwin Perkins is one superprocesses or measured-value production (or mutations) and migra study at major probability centres He was a visiting lecturer and of four outstanding scien diffusions, with ideas and techniques tion. world-wide. He credits his colleague NSERC university research fellow at U tists to win a 1992 E.W.R. that have been characterized as pre One ofthe central ideas in his work and fellow probablist in the UBC math UBC before taking a post here as an Steacie Memo cise, delicate, deeply insightful and is the mathematical formulation ofthe department, John Walsh, with being a assistant professor in 1982. He be rial Fellowship extremely powerful. main theme on evolutionary behavior major influence on his work. came a full professor in 1989. from the Natu His work describes the behavior of in Stephen Jay Gould's book on the Perkins was born in Toronto and Perkins was an associate professor ral Sciences and these processes, which originate in Burgess Shale, It's a Wonderful Life. obtained his B.Sc. at the University of at the Universite Louis Pasteur in Stras Engineering population genetics and describe the Perkins is a frequent collaborator Toronto in 1975, going to the Univer- bourg, France, in 1984 and a SERC Research Coun research fellow at Cambridge Univer cil. sity in 1986-87. The Steacies Steacie Fellowship funding will are Canada's enable him to pursue collaborative most prestigious work at Cambridge, Carleton and awards for Perkins Cornell universities and in Marseille. young research The other fellows for 1992 are ers in science and engineering. Gilles Brassard, a computer scientist Perkins, 38, is one of Canada's top at the University of Montreal, Nor mathematicians. He is considered the man Dovichi, a chemist at the Univer most remarkable probablist of his gen sity of Alberta, and David Layzell, a eration and one of the leading math biologist at Queen's University. The ematicians ia the field of probability awards were presented at a ceremony in the world today. Jan. 14 in Ottawa. Probability is the mathematical The winners were selected from study of random phenomena. It is a submissions made by universities central tool in mathematical physics, across Canada. Final selection is made theoretical computer science and pure by NSERC in consultation with the mathematics, and provides a theoreti Canadian and international research cal basis for the field of statistics. community. UBC professors have won 11 The fellowships are awarded in Steacies since the award's inception memory of Edgar William Richard in 1964, more than any other Cana Steacie, former president of the Na dian university except the University tional Research Council. of Toronto, which has won 13. NSERC is Canada's largest re The award of salary plus benefits of search granting agency, providing fers winners the opportunity to focus on more than $445 million this year to Photo by Media Services research full-time, free from teaching and support advanced research, train new administrative duties for up to two years. Kate Tully, left, a fourth-year English honors student, receives the Sherwood Lett Memorial Scholarship scientists and engineers and encour A Steacie award also assists fellows in from Evelyn Lett, wife ofthe former chancellor, at a luncheon hosted by UBC President David Strangway. age collaboration between the aca securing additional research funding. Four other undergraduate students were also presented with major scholarships. See story, page 2. demic and industrial sectors. New research centre Governors appointed studies entrepreneurship to Order of Canada By CONNIE FILLETTI By ABE HEFTER approval earlier this month by the UBC lem is the hesitation of venture capital Two members of UBC's Board of Governors were among the appoint Why do some business ventures Board of Governors. firms to make seed-stage investments ments to the Order of Canada made by Governor-General Ramon Hnatyshyn succeed and others fail? "Social science research provides in new technology and service-ori on Jan. 6. It's one ofthe questions that will be us with few insights into the essence ented enterprises. Arthur Hara, chairman of Mitsubishi Canada Ltd., and Asa Johal, founder addressed by the newly created UBC of entrepreneurship, the environments "The lack of start-up financing has of Terminal Sawmills, were both named Officers ofthe Order of Canada. Entrepreneurship and Venture Capi that foster the most successful entre reached a critical stage in B.C.," said Hara joined UBC's Board ofGovernors in 1988. He has had a distin tal Research Centre, which was given preneurial activities, and what role Amit. "Job opportunities will be lost guished career in business and maintained a lifelong interest in education and government should play," said Com if this province fails to develop a wide cultural affairs. Past chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade, Hara is president merce and Business Administration range of knowledge-based compa ofthe Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, and was a director ofthe Council Professor Raphael Amit, the centre's nies." on Canadian Unity. director. Amit said that the need to move He was presented with an honorary degree at UBC' s spring Congregation Inside Venture capital firms — compa quickly in this area will require the ceremonies in 1990. LEGAL LIBRARY TO GO:All nies that provide expertise and fund swift dissemination of knowledge on Johal, a prominent member of the Indo-Canadian community, has you need is a laptop compu ing for new business operations — the part of the centre, which will be devoted much of his life to the development of ethnic culture and ter to utilize a new legal da base their investment and deal-pricing housed in the Faculty of Commerce education. President of Terminal Sawmills and Terminal Planner Mills, tabase developed at UBC. decisions largely on rules of thumb and Business Administration. as well as president of the International Punjab Society of B.C., he has Page 2 with little or no theoretical justifica Research done by UBC faculty made numerous contributions to UBC, providing fellowships in Asian tion, he explained. members, in collaboration with uni Studies and Forestry, and a graduate teaching assistantship in Punjabi and ARTONCAMPUS: Art galler "These firms are in need of a body versities around the world, will be Sikh Studies. He is a member of numerous associations, including the ies at UBC are featured in of knowledge on which to base their made available through undergradu Council of Forest Industries in B.C. and the North American Lumber this issue's Around* About. decisions," he said. ate and MBA entrepreneurship Wholesalers Association. Page 3 Amit said that the unprecedented courses, continuing education and UBC music graduate and one of Canada's leading opera singers, Judith growth in the formation of new ven training, graduate study programs, Forst, was also appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. BLAST OFF: UBC Experi tures over the past decade has been the workshops, seminars and symposia. Forst has performed with many opera companies and symphonies in North ments bead into outer space source of the vast majority of newly Amit said the strong policy focus America and abroad, including the New York Metropolitan Opera, L' Orchestra on tbe space shuttle Discov created jobs in this country. Unfortu of the centre should also be of great de la Radio France, and the San Francisco Opera. She was named Canadian ery. Page 8 nately, he added, the failure rate of assistance to government policy mak Woman of the Year in 1978. Forst received an honorary degree at UBC's new businesses is high. ers as they grapple with entrepreneurial recent fall Congregation ceremonies. What has compounded the prob See CLUB on Page 2 2 UBC REPORTS January 23.1992 Program puts legal library at fingertips By CHARLES KER isn't practical for lawyers come up with a "case pro nebulous rules of law so they can then At home, in the office or in court. to hunt through texts them file." Using a mouse and be directly related to the cold, hard Lawyers may soon have instant selves. However, he added menu, a search can be fur facts of a case. access to every case in Canada through the legal profession is still ther narrowed using the "By breaking it down into a hun a computer program being developed stuck in a paper world. program's thesaurus and dred little rules, you can turn a fuzzy at UBC. Law firms have tradi synonym dictionaries. legal rule into a factual one," said The FLEXICON (Fast Legal Ex tionally subscribed to a Next, the program Smith. "That's what makes this form pert Information Consultant) receives numberof services that pro comes up with a "search of analysis so effective." cases on hard disc from the courts, vide printed volumes ofthe profile" ranking pertinent On the basis of factual information instantly produces a summary of each latest cases and judgments. cases which can then be supplied by the user, these expert sys and highlights relevant areas of law. And while there are on-line called up individually on tems determine possible causes of ac All this can then be copied onto com computer systems which the screen in full, or, sum tion, assess the likelihood of success pact disc.