2008 Institutional Report

Reporting Institution

UBC Okanagan

Representative

Dr. John Greenough

Staffing Changes

 We are planning to advertise for a Research Chair to oversee the LAM ICP MS lab being built in the basement of Fipke.

There should also be an advertisement for the LAM ICP MS technician position coming out soon.

Jeff Curtis has been ill this winter but we expect him back in the saddle soon. He may take over as Unit Head (Chemistry and Earth and Environmental Sciences) this summer or could begin his sabbatical.

John Greenough will be on sabbatical from Sept. 2008 to Sept. 2009. John took over as Editor of the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences in January of 2008.

Robert Young is organizing the Western GSA Meeting to be held at UBC Okanagan in the Spring/Summer of 2009.

 

Grants/Etc.

We ordered nearly $1,000,000.00 of equipment for ther LAM ICP MS lab in January (an EXCIMER Laser, a quad and a sector ICP MS, and an ICP OES.

Fipke donated another $1,000,000.00 in December to build the lab in the basement of the Fipke Centre for Innovative Research.We do not have a good estimate for when the lab will be completed but some time in the fall of 2008 seems likely.

In February, John and Jeff received a $350,000.00 Western Economic Diversification Grant to help build the LAM ICP MS lab.

There is some possibility John will receive a CFI grant to build a project lab (Project Total ~$250,000.00).

The above is not comprehensive. It is what I (John) knew about off the top of my head.

Courses and Programs

The Freshwater Science Degree Program underwent a major overhaul this year. It now provides the opportunity for an Honors project and students can do FWSc without doing a major project.

We anticipate a major overhaul to the Earth and Environmental Sciences Program this fall. Changes will include a merging of Mineralogy and Optical Mineralogy. Plans are to make an extremely flexible degree program.

We added Environmental Sciences (EESc 101) to the calendar this year. It will be first offered this (2008) fall.

Students

We seem to have somewhere around 10 to 15 students in each of year 3 and year 4. The “Course Union” is very active and is planning a trip, perhaps to Hawaii for this coming winter.