UBC chroThe University of British Columbia Alumni Magazinne Volum e 52 • Number 2 • Summer, 1998 T*3 Killam Prize winners: engineer Martha Sajjcjudean anAjigMJ^aaxs^ UBC Goes Digital Information Technology is set . to tra ns.|prmi;the. ca rrjpjjs.:;•;. x -^> --*'-^.--;A , ?-,•• -«• -. /X1/T7;; "'rC'^" ™* 1 i^^S -';^;a^^W" ' ?f« -1 Lt^J^ $> . *S?K .. r -^v) *•? ./.i-i *•ifc. «!Js5&£B*i'' *'~'-•>', -• '•'-J-3*/-"- -•.* >2r^=s. j :.••'•• .C^o. •ml.^jiS • f. • >• i- *j»l MAIL^POSTE ChronicleFe^Sures Ct/uda Post Corpor.itron/5oci&€ canadrenne del posted Research news, Alumni news, profiles, reviews, class acts and much more ... You've mac. _ the grades. Now it's payback time. Exhilaration, amazement, relief. You've graduated. GRAD Congratulations! Ford wants to recognize your achievement by RECOGNITION making it easier for you to purchase or lease a new vehicle. REBATE To help you get your future into gear right now, you can choose: MERCURY Who Qualifies? LINCOLN { <GB» J • Graduates from a two year minimum college diploma program, a recognized military and police academy, a university degree program, a fuli-time university post-graduate program, or a three-year CEGEP D.E.C. program. SEE YOUR FORD OR • Graduates must be Canadian residents with proof of graduation between mm LINCOLN MERCURY DEALER May 1, 1995 and December 31, 1998. FOR FULL DETAILS • Delivery of your new vehicle must be taken by December 31, 1998. • Employees of the Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited and their relatives are not eligible for the 'Ford Grad Recognition' Rebate. Offer expires December 31, 1998. [ www.ford.ca/grad] MORE? Call 1-800-387-5535. We'll send you a free GRAD RECOGNITION REBATE kit. AFFORDABLE VISITOR UBC 4th Annual ACCOMMODATION AT THE F"yi Alumni Recognition UBC CONFERENCE CENTRE V^/ and Sports ^jsaaGB^ Hall of Fame Dinner Thursday, October 8 Hyatt Regency Hotel • Spectacular location close to campus amenities A One-stop shopping for all your conference arrangements with our in support of student scholarships meeting professionals Tickets The University of British Columbia $1,000 table of 8 5961 Student Union Boulevard $1 25 individual Vancouver, B.C. V6T 2C9 GST included Tel: 604-822-1010 Fax: 604-822-1001 Email: [email protected] Tax receipts will be issued UBC Alumni Association, Visit our web site at http://wwvo.conferences.ubc.ca Tel: (604) 822-33 I 3 On The Cover Great teachers, great researchers and a great location. Along with everything else, UBC has the most beautiful university campus in the known universe. Can you pick out your favourite haunts? Waite Air Photos. Features ^ H Information Engineering professor Martha Technology is set to Salcudean makes computer models of transform teaching, learning industrial processes. She does it so and research. UBC is ready. well, she has won this year's Killam Creative Writing professor Prize for Engineering The graduation ceremony is one George McWhirter is a poet of those rites of passage that who moves words, images 14 mark our lives. Here's what it's 10 and students. like at the new Chan Centre. 24 chroniclThe University of British Columbia Alumnei Association Editor Chris Petty, MFA'86 Assistant Editor Shari Ackerman Contributors Deanna McLeod, Don Wells Advertising Katie Stradwick 9 Board of Directors President Haig Farris, BA'60, LLD'97 9 4 13 20 Senior VP Linda Thorstad, BSc'77, MSc'84 Past President Tricia Smith, BA'80, LLB'85 Research News Athletics Awards Treasurer Thomas Hasker, BA'86 A digest of news from UBC Varsity year in review. 1997-98 We're honouring these UBC grads Members at Large '98-'00 Gregory Clark, BCom'86, LLB'89 Reports and elsewhere: was a banner year for UBC teams and athletes at this year's Alumni Jean Forrest, BPE'83 neurotoxins in white bread to and athletes. More awards and Recognition and Sports Hall of Thomas Hobley, MBA'83 3 Members at Large '97-'99 Humanities 101 more championships. Fame Dinner. Peter Ladner, BA'70 Don Wells, BA'89 Lome Whitehead, BSc'77, MSc'80, PhD'89 Executive Director 27 32 34 Agnes Papke, BSc(Agr)'66 Editorial Committee Class Acts Student Profiles Books Don Wells, BA'89, Chair What's going on with those Meet two of tomorrow's movers UBC alumni write books. We try Ron Burke, BA'82 Paula Martin people who sat beside you in and shakers: both smart, active to show you some of them. It's Sue Watts, MF'75, PhD'81 English 101? Here's the place to and willing to pitch in to help hopeless: too many writers, too Design Consultation Chris Dahl Design Communications find out. the community. much talent. Printed in Canada by Mitchell Press ISSN 0824-1279 Visit our website: www.alumni.ubc.ca chronicle news Women's Student Scholars Centre Turns 25 Score Awards t's been 25 years of success ourteen students have been named for UBC's downtown Wo­ Wesbrook Scholars, an honorary Imen's Resources Centre Fdesignation for undergraduates (WRC). From women's lib to who have distinguished themselves corporate downsizing, the center | academically and socially. They are: has kept up with women's needs S" Christopher Bennett, Law; Jeff over the years. i Beselt, Education; Victoria Colvin, Law; Director Ruth Sigal says activ­ | Mandeep Dhaliwal, Arts; Fahreen ities at the centre reflect changes Women's Centre Director Ruth Sigal, (I) discusses a programDossa , Science; Kelly Harrison, Medi­ in women's lives since it opened with WRC volunteers. cine; Kibben Jackson, Law; Adam Lund, in 1973. Then, the focus was helping decades. Many are UBC alumni, from Medicine; Gregory Mackie, Arts; Feisal women discover their own identity and faculties ranging from social work to Mohamdeali, Science; Ian Mortimer, strengths when they were just entering commerce. Science; Andrew Scholes, Law; Shaila the workforce. Shifts in Vancouver demographics Seshia, Arts; Andrea Thompson, Educa­ The centre started with eight volun­ are reflected in the WRC's programming, tion. teers and saw about 1,000 women notably its cross-cultural peer counselling Winners of the following awards annually. Now, there are 60 volunteers to programs which teach basic counselling automatically receive the designation: handle 25,000 clients annually. skills and an understanding of Andrew Lim, Science (Sherwood Lett The centre, located at 1144 Robson multicultural issues. Memorial Scholarship), Brian Murphy, Street (near Burrard), sees clients from all The WRC is a community service of Applied Science (Harry Logan Memorial ages and all levels of society. About 20 per UBC Continuing Studies. It offers per­ Scholarship), Kimberly Eldred, Law cent of the clients are men. sonal and career planning for women and (Amy E. Sauder/Jean Craig Smith Scholar­ Sigal is especially proud of the men. Programs are run by professional ships), Sarah Cherry, Commerce (John H. dedication of the centre's volunteers. A counsellors and instructors. Free drop-in Mitchell Memorial Scholarship), and Kim third of them have been with the centre counselling is offered and pre-registration Hendess, Arts (C.K. Choi Scholarship). for more than eight years, some for two is required for all programs. • The Wesbrook Scholar award hon­ ours 20 students annually who have completed one winter session at UBC, are Summer Jobs for Pharmacy Students in their final year of undergraduate studies or in the Doctor of Medicine or harmacy students won't be waiting helping to fulfill Martha Piper's vision of Dental Medicine programs, stand in the tables and pulling weeds this using research to enrich the undergradu­ top 10 per cent of their faculty, and Psummer. Instead, two dozen of ate education at UBC," says Pharmaceuti­ demonstrate the ability to serve, work them will work in pharmacy research cal Sciences Dean Frank Abbott. with and lead others. It is sponsored by labs, thanks to the Summer Student Between 1994-1997, about 40% of the Wesbrook Society, an organization of Research Program. students in the summer program have the university's major benefactors, and is "We want to give undergrads a taste gone on to graduate studies. The program named after Frank Fairchild Wesbrook, of what it's like to be a research scientist," also gives additional job skills, such as UBC's first president. • says assistant professor Kishor Wasan. training in operating drug analysis "We want them to see what they can do equipment. with a pharmacy degree." The projects are The program recently received a two- designed to give first, second and third year grant from the Medical Research WriK year students lots of science and commu­ Council of Canada and new funding from nity pharmacy education experience. the American Society of Pharmacology About K "By getting students involved early, we're and Experimental Therapeutics. • UBC RESEARCH Chronicle Gallery to Provide Student Exposure he UBC Architecture Gallery and ground floor of a historic building located Studio is now open. across from Victory Square on the edge of T"Our goal is to raise public Gastown. Thanks to a fundraising effort awareness of architecture in Vancouver led by the Friends of the School of while providing our students with greater Architecture, the gallery space opened exposure to urban issues in architecture," recently with an exhibition titled Architec­ says Sandy Hirshen, director of the tural Photographers: Vancouver in Black and school. White. Hirshen wants to explore ways to The space will be used next fall as a work with activist groups, such as the planned joint studio project that will Downtown Eastside Residents' Associa­ examine the southeast False Creek area. It tion, to produce a more livable and involves UBC students from Architecture dynamic city. and Landscape Architecture. "We want to create relationships with The gallery will also sell exhibition these groups and determine how we can photographs as well as books, mono­ balance our educational requirements graphs and student-designed furniture.