This year’s Celebrate Research Week at UBC Okanagan Mar. 8 to 15, is designed to get people talking. Eight free public events will spark discussion on topics as diverse as marijuana use among B.C. teenagers, how to take action on sustainability, and issues surrounding the genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and organ donation.
“We have outstanding researchers, and we want our community to know more about the exciting and important things we are working on,” says Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, Provost and Vice-Principal. “Through research, UBC Okanagan is able to have a wide-ranging and important impact on the world, affecting everything from cultural and social understanding to the prevention and treatment of disease.”
Underscoring this year’s theme of “What’s on your mind?” all eight public events planned for the week are interactive, providing opportunities to talk to the researchers and experts.
“This is about sharing ideas and knowledge,” says Bonnie Bates Gibbs, Director of Alumni and University Relations. “It’s a chance for the campus community and the public to discuss with researchers the fascinating work they’re doing in engineering, human kinetics, psychology, cultural studies, and many other disciplines.”
Public events include:
Monday, March 8
Walking the talk on sustainability: social responses to a climate changed planet
7 p.m., Kelowna Community Theatre, 1375 Water St.
This free public panel discussion will feature a keynote talk by Ujjayant Chakravorty, Canada Research Chair in natural resource economics at the University of Alberta, and a panel of regional experts discussing how we all can ‘walk the talk’ on sustainability.
Moderated by Kenneth Carlaw, associate professor of economics at UBC Okanagan, panelists include Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd, Okanagan Sustainability Institute director Bernard Bauer, UBC Okanagan Workplace Health and Sustainability manager Leanne Bilodeau, and geography student Raja Wariach.
Tuesday, March 9
Café Scientifique: Let’s Talk about Marijuana and Teens
5 to 7 p.m., Bohemian Café, 524 Bernard Ave., Kelowna
Why do more youth in British Columbia use marijuana than anywhere else in Canada? What are the health and social effects of frequent use?
A panel of UBC Okanagan researchers and other local experts will discuss these questions and more at this a Café Scientifique free public forum funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Marion Barschel, host of CBC Radio’s Daybreak South program, will moderate the discussion.
There is no charge for this event and it is open to the public, however seating is limited. Please RSVP to stephanie.coen@nursing.ubc.ca to confirm a spot.
Thursday, March 11
Film screening: 65_RedRoses
7 p.m., UBC Okanagan Fipke Centre lecture theatre, FIP204
In the documentary 65_RedRoses, 23-year-old Canadian Eva Markvoort (whose online pseudonym is “65_redroses”), waits for a double lung transplant. Battling the fatal genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis (CF), she has been told that she will not live more than two years unless she receives new lungs. Eva turns to the internet where she forms strong connections with two American girls in different stages of CF and they quickly become lifelines for one another.
Following a screening of the acclaimed documentary, directors Philip Lyall and UBC alumna Nimisha Mukerji will join a panel of UBC Okanagan experts to provide insight and analysis about the documentary.
Daily lunchtime talks
In addition to evening presentations, Celebrate Research Week includes five lunchtime feature presentations on campus, each from noon to 1 p.m. in the University Centre ballroom, UNC200.
- Monday, March 8 — A near real-time device for the detection of pathogens in water, with Deborah Roberts, Associate Director of Graduate Studies and Research, School of Engineering.
- Tuesday, March 9 — Thinking and acting globally: benevolence and the desire to make a difference, with David Jefferess, Assistant Professor of English, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies.
- Wednesday, March 10 — New directions in genocide research, with Adam Jones, Associate Professor of Political Science, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences.
- Thursday, March 11 — Muscle activity: a new age method to old age questions, with Jennifer Jakobi, Assistant Professor of Human Kinetics in the Faculty of Health and Social Development.
- Friday, March 12 — Faces of crime, integrity and respect, with Paul Davies, Assistant Professor of Psychology with the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences.
There is no charge for any of these events, and all are open to the public and campus community. To find out more visit www.ubc.ca/okanagan/celebrateresearch.
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