Erin Harron MA’07 
Erin Harron (MA’07) hits the streets of Whalley to research homelessness for her thesis. While working for the Whalley Business Improvement Association she interviewed 20 current and former homeless people
along with government, social service, and business representatives. Her recommendations: low-barrier supportive housing, increased funding for social services, non-profit housing management, and pushing senior levels of government for new, affordable housing.
Promoting Surrey Business
Anita Patil Huberman (BA’96) is the new executive director of the 1,200 member Surrey Board of Trade. She began working with the chamber as a summer student in 1994.
Geographic Honours
John C. Everitt (MA’70) of Brandon University receives the Canadian Association of Geographers award for service to the profession of geography.
No More Gross Dissections
Good news for those of us who didn’t take biology because we didn’t want to dissect a frog. Grad student Nasim Vafai (BSc’02, MSc’07) has invented the first haptic (the Greek word for “touch”) frog dissection system in the world. When the programmer cuts into the picture of the frog on the computer screen, it feels as if he or she were actually cutting into a frog — minus the smell and the ick factor.
Preparing for Doomsday
Cary Fowler (BA’72) is collecting a Noah’s ark of seeds on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, halfway between the Arctic Circle and the North Pole. Seeds from as many species as possible will be protected from potential global catastrophe. Fowler is executive director of the Rome-based Global Crop Diversity Trust, an independent, international organization initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He is profiled in “Sowing for Apocalypse” in the August 27, 2007 issue of The New Yorker. Before taking on his new responsibilities, Fowler was professor and director of research at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
Cancer Researcher
As a child, Marianne Sadar (BSc’88) lost her older sister, Elisia, to leukemia. Now she is well on the way to discovering a cure for prostate cancer. She and her team at the BC Cancer Agency use a decoy molecule to halt the growth of prostate tumours in advanced stages of the disease.
Patrik Nosil PhD'06
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| Racking up the Awards Patrik Nosil (PhD’06) wins one of Canada’s top prizes for research at
the graduate student and postdoctoral levels. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) awards Nosil its $10,000 prize for producing groundbreaking research in the natural sciences. He also wins a Governor General’s Gold Medal, a national award for top grad students. |
Advancing the Agenda
Christopher Seguin (BA’00) leaves his position with SFU to become vice-president of advancement at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops. He will oversee three departments: the TRU Alumni Association, the TRU Foundation, and public relations.
Agents of Change
Shawn Smith (BBA’05) turns a bike trek into business opportunities for impoverished communities in other countries. Smith and his 22-person team, including Aaron Cawker (BBA’05), Amy Vandervelde (BBA’07), and SFU student Christina Wu, raised more than $31,000 this spring cycling from Vancouver to Tijuana, Mexico. The money will go toward micro-credit loans for entrepreneurs in developing countries. Next year’s Vancouver – Tijuana ride begins May 31, 2008, and more riders are welcome. <www.agentsofchange.ca>
Million Dollar Man
Financial planner Jim Rogers (MBA’74) is the new president of the Million Dollar Round Table, an organization for the insurance industry’s 35,000 global elite. Rogers, chairman of Vancouver’s Rogers Group Financial is only the second Canadian to head the group.
VP Queen’s
David Mitchell (BA’75, MA’76), former vice-president of external relations at SFU, is the new vice-principal of advancement at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He was most recently vice-president of university relations at the University of Ottawa.
Facing the Media
Cpl. Nycki Basra (BA’93) is the new face of the Richmond RCMP. She’ll use her communications degree in her role as the force’s spokesperson. She was previously a serious crimes investigator and also worked gruelling hours searching for evidence on Robert (Willie) Pickton’s pig farm.
Advising the President
Dino Djalal (MA’91) is a rising star in Indonesia. He is a senior advisor to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and is the official spokesman on international affairs
Protecting the Great Outdoors
Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) CEO Peter Robinson (BA’88) is taking on a new crusade as just-named head of the David Suzuki Foundation. At MEC Robinson embedded sustainability in every initiative so he sees the move to the environmental group is a natural progression. aq
Photograph of Erin Harron by Evan Seal / Staff Photographer Surrey Leader, Patrik Nosil, photo by Carol Thorbes / PAMR
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