News

EOAS professor Mark Johnson featured on CBC BC With Stage 1 water restrictions placed on Metro Vancouver this weekend, Inder Singh, the director of policy and planning for Metro Vancouver water resources, has been treated to a "wake up call." To meet the future of Vancouver's drinking water needs, EOAS professor Mark Johnson called for consideration of the Fraser River as a potential source. While tapping into the river's water supply would require significant infrastructural development, it could effective double Metro Vancouver's drinking water supply. Low extraction volumes would minimize impact, Mark notes. You can find the full story at CBC News, British Columbia.

Emeritus Professor Ron Clowes has been awarded a William Evans Visiting Fellowship at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand for a period of 3-4 weeks between September and November 2016. At the University of Otago, he will present a series of general seminars and a mini-course based on LITHOPROBE and related projects as well as collaborating with the Alpine Fault research group.

Dr. Carl Wieman and his initiatives at UBC to transform university undergraduate education were featured on National Public Radio News as part of their 50 Great Teachers Series. EOAS Professor of Teaching Dr. Sara Harris was interviewed as part of the story, where she cited specialized science educators as key to transforming faculty teaching practices. You can find the full story and radio segment at NPR. More information on CWSEI and its EOAS members can be found at CWSEI UBC and CWSEI EOAS.

Stephen Bartlett has been awarded this year's GAC-PDAC Logan Student Prize. The prize is awarded annually to one undergraduate student, in his/her graduation year, at each Earth Science department in Canada. The prize recognizes an excellent academic record as well as leadership skills and proficiency in field techniques.

The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum has announced that Jim Mortensen is to be giventhe Sproule Award in recognition of a career in research, exploration and the mentorship of students in Canada's north. The award will be presented at the CIM Convention being held in Vancouver in early May. Congratulations from all of us Jim!

Congratulations to Fabien Rabayrol, Sara Jenkins, and Craig Hart for their success at the Integra Gold Rush Challenge! PhD Candidate Fabien Rabayrol and his team Data Miners (six students from Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique and UBC) placed second in the competition, while Craig Hart (Director, MDRU), Sara Jenkins (GIS Specialist, MDRU) and their team GoldRX placed fifth. Team RX also earned the Audience Appreciation Award. Integra Gold Corp set up the crowdsourcing challenge to use their more than 6 TB of mining data from Val-d’Or Quebec to prioritize future exploration in the region. The winners were selected from over 100 team and individuals submissions (1,342 participants in total) and were announced at the formal gala associated with the challenge at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in early March. More information on the event can be found at MarketWired website.