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Olympics, space exploration
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February 3, 2010
Thai undergrad to carry Olympic torch
Thai-born SFU student Borvonan (Obi) Vattanawong will carry the Olympic torch for the university on Feb. 11 at 10:15 a.m. at SFU’s Burnaby campus, just one day before the 2010 Winter Games begin. His route will start at the SFU transportation centre and turn left onto University Drive West (north side of the West Mall complex).
Vattanawong is currently studying at both the Burnaby and Surrey campuses. He plans to donate his Olympic torch to the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT), where he is a third-year student, as a gesture of gratitude for what he has learned in the program.
Vattanawong’s video entry in SFU’s torchbearer contest was entitled “World of Opportunities” (http://at.sfu.ca/LGEkaF). It captured his university experience and explained why SFU matters to him.
Olympic gold medalist (2000) Daniel Igali, a graduate student in SFU’s School of Criminology, will be carrying the torch and lighting the cauldron at Surrey’s Holland Park on Monday, Feb. 8 (beginning 5:30 p.m.). Just back from a visit to the school his foundation built in Nigeria, he’s in town for the duration of the games and is available for interviews.
Rob Woodbury, a SIAT professor and former Olympic sailing athlete, and history professor Andre Gerolymatos, who also specializes in security issues and can comment on games-related security, are among other SFU-affiliated Olympic torchbearers. Woodbury has completed his run and Gerolymatos is slated for Feb. 12, the day the games open.
Meanwhile, SFU’s women’s softball team will wear their Olympic support on their sleeves – literally – as they begin their season. Coach Mike Renney has been to the games, heading up the national team, and can talk about the additions to the team uniforms and the role of supporting the home team. Photos available for download at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfupamr/sets/72157623344648050/. Contact Renney at 778.782.3454, mrenney@sfu.ca.
Fiona Burrows, PAMR, 778.782.3928; fiona@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.3210; marianne_meadahl@sfu.ca
NASA looks further into space
New changes to NASA’s space program will allow the U.S. to accelerate their move beyond low-earth orbit, such as missions to the moon. That’s good news, says Stephen Braham, director of SFU’s PolyLAB and an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Communication, Arts and Technology. “New funding and a new approach, using new technology development, will allow exciting exploration into the 2020s, moving even deeper into the solar system,” says Braham, an advocate for such changes. SFU researchers have been investigating science-supporting technology options for the new emerging destinations in Deep Space, such as asteroids and the moons of Mars.
Stephen Braham, 778.782.7981; warp@polylab.sfu.ca
Thai-born SFU student Borvonan (Obi) Vattanawong will carry the Olympic torch for the university on Feb. 11 at 10:15 a.m. at SFU’s Burnaby campus, just one day before the 2010 Winter Games begin. His route will start at the SFU transportation centre and turn left onto University Drive West (north side of the West Mall complex).
Vattanawong is currently studying at both the Burnaby and Surrey campuses. He plans to donate his Olympic torch to the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT), where he is a third-year student, as a gesture of gratitude for what he has learned in the program.
Vattanawong’s video entry in SFU’s torchbearer contest was entitled “World of Opportunities” (http://at.sfu.ca/LGEkaF). It captured his university experience and explained why SFU matters to him.
Olympic gold medalist (2000) Daniel Igali, a graduate student in SFU’s School of Criminology, will be carrying the torch and lighting the cauldron at Surrey’s Holland Park on Monday, Feb. 8 (beginning 5:30 p.m.). Just back from a visit to the school his foundation built in Nigeria, he’s in town for the duration of the games and is available for interviews.
Rob Woodbury, a SIAT professor and former Olympic sailing athlete, and history professor Andre Gerolymatos, who also specializes in security issues and can comment on games-related security, are among other SFU-affiliated Olympic torchbearers. Woodbury has completed his run and Gerolymatos is slated for Feb. 12, the day the games open.
Meanwhile, SFU’s women’s softball team will wear their Olympic support on their sleeves – literally – as they begin their season. Coach Mike Renney has been to the games, heading up the national team, and can talk about the additions to the team uniforms and the role of supporting the home team. Photos available for download at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfupamr/sets/72157623344648050/. Contact Renney at 778.782.3454, mrenney@sfu.ca.
Fiona Burrows, PAMR, 778.782.3928; fiona@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.3210; marianne_meadahl@sfu.ca
NASA looks further into space
New changes to NASA’s space program will allow the U.S. to accelerate their move beyond low-earth orbit, such as missions to the moon. That’s good news, says Stephen Braham, director of SFU’s PolyLAB and an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Communication, Arts and Technology. “New funding and a new approach, using new technology development, will allow exciting exploration into the 2020s, moving even deeper into the solar system,” says Braham, an advocate for such changes. SFU researchers have been investigating science-supporting technology options for the new emerging destinations in Deep Space, such as asteroids and the moons of Mars.
Stephen Braham, 778.782.7981; warp@polylab.sfu.ca