The University of British Columbia

 A U R O R A

 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND OCEAN SCIENCES, UBC

 

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AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

Congratulations go out to Annie Seagram!

 

Annie Seagram , who completed the Environmental Sciences Program, (Starting ATSC MSc in September 2012) won a "EURSAP Young Researcher Award" for her paper: "Modelling recirculation of pollutants during ozone episodes in the Lower Fraser Valley, BC",presented at the 32nd International Technical Meeting on Air Pollution Modelling and its Application in Utrecht, The Netherlands May 7 - 11, 2012.

 

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CONFERENCES

 

14TH INTERNATIONAL SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPY

CONFERENCE WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE FROM JUNE 15-18, 2012 IN TORONTO, ONTARIO.

 

This meeting is a continuing series of international meetings featuring research on scanning probe microscopy (SPM), sensors, and nanostructures for use in physics, biology, materials science and engineering. The ISPM conference is also a strong magnet for researchers working in academia, government, and industry.

 

What is special about this year's conference is that there will be a one-day tutorial on June 15th for not only academic and industry researchers, but students as well! All interested parties will be able to learn about atomic force microscopy (AFM) from scratch. After this tutorial will be a 3-day program of discussions and lectures, accompanied by ongoing exhibits from leading AFM suppliers.

 

I have attached a poster in PDF format for your distribution to these parties. It is an excellent opportunity for students to meet leading researchers in this field and for academia and researchers to keep up-to-date on latest developments and studies.

 

Best regards,

Brenda

 

BRENDA LEE

Nanoscale Biophysics Group

www.leonenkoresearch.uwaterloo.ca

Department of Physics & Astronomy,

Department of Biology

University of Waterloo

200 University Avenue West

Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1

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RESEARCH

 

THE CANADIAN LIGHT SOURCE (CLS), CANADA’S ONLY SYNCHROTRON

 

The Canadian Light Source (CLS), Canada’s only synchrotron, hosts a national summer school to assist scientists interested in adding

synchrotron techniques to their research skill set.  This year our theme is focussing on materials science and is intended for

researchers in solid state chemistry and physics. A key feature of the Canadian Synchrotron Summer School (CS3) is our practical

sessions that involve hands-on activities collecting data on seven beamlines, data analysis in eight experimental techniques and the

full spectrum of synchrotron light from infrared to hard x-rays. No prior experience with synchrotron techniques is assumed or

required. Further information about the school and syllabus details can be found at www.lightsource.ca/education/summerschool

             

 

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PROGRAMS & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

 

BANTING FELLOWSHIP

Please help SPARC to increase awareness of this prestigious fellowship and its application criteria by posting the flyer on relevant

bulletin boards and circulating it to your faculty.  Note the award is rarely given to candidates who are applying to the

institution from where they completed their PhD.  Rather, the focus is to mobilize top-tier postdoctoral trainees to an institution

where they will make the greatest impact.  Institutional fit, otherwise referred to as institutional synergy, is a large focus of

this fellowship. We encourage all UBC faculty to keep this fellowship in mind when you are meeting talented individuals at upcoming

national and international conferences. 

 

UBC will establish a quota for the number of institutional nominees.  Therefore, potential candidates must participate in an

Internal Selection process (details TBA; targeted deadline for internal submission process is early September). 

 

General question about the competition can be directed to SPARC (var a,b,c,e;a='';a+= 'lto:';b+= '@';e = '';b+='ubc.ca';document.write(a+b+c);MailMe">MailMe) who is managing the internal selection process and

application support.  

 

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THESES DEFENCE

 

 

Monday, May 14 at 12:30 PM

EOS-Main 330A

Yasha Podeswa of UBC

Title:  Active carbon transport and feeding ecology of pelagic decapods in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

 

Thursday, May 17 at 3:30 PM

EOS-Main 330A

Lisa Erven of UBC

Title:  An observational study of slope air and free air temperatures in Whistler Valley, British Columbia, Canada

 

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POSITIONS AVAILABLE 

 

THE INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (ICTA) AT THE UNIVERSITAT AUTÒNOMA DE BARCELONA (UAB) invites applications -

Fellowship in Marine Palaeoclimatology of up to 16 months for an Experienced Researcher (ER) at the post-doctoral level.  Please see

attached PDF for more details.

             

The fellowship is sponsored by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Community as part of the Marie Curie Initial Training

Network “GATEWAYS”.  . For further information about the GATEWAYS project visit www.gateways-itn.eu

 

The fellowship is directed towards reconstructing the Late Pleistocene ocean circulation of the Agulhas Current regime off southern

Africa and its relation to the climate variability in the Southwest Indian Ocean and beyond. We seek a candidate with experience in

stable isotope and trace element palaeoceanography. For further information about the GATEWAYS project visit www.gateways-itn.eu

Applications are accepted immediately until the 15th of June 2012

 

 

ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY - TWO POSITIONS

 

The University has identified two areas of emphasis related to studies in the upper and lower Athabasca River Basin and the Chair of

each will bridge interests in environmental sustainability and aquatic and terrestrial modeling and help create a coordinated

approach to the study of the Athabasca River system

 

CHAIR, COMPUTATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYTICS

The Chair, Computational Sustainability and Environmental Analytics will identify and manipulate diverse data on ecological,

environmental and climatic issues, analyze their impacts on the Athabasca River and its landforms and link the outcomes within a

decision framework.  Working with other senior researchers at the University in semantic technologies, modeling algorithms for

environmental applications and dynamic mathematical modeling, this position will provide analytical evidence to support

interpretation of data in establishing meaningful models and recommendations for policy and land-use decisions of the land and

water.  It is expected that the Chair will bridge communication across disciplines and facilitate conversion of results and outcomes

that will assist in informing future decisions.

 

THE CHAIR, HYDROECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

The Chair, Hydroecology and Environmental Health will advance understanding of ecological impacts and risks of the upper and lower

Athabasca regions, with particular focus on the effects of environmental contaminants in communities and national environment of the

outlying regions of Athabasca and the Athabasca River.  As the senior researcher in Hydroecology and Environmental Health, the Chair

will build an integrated research team that will strengthen the academic and research priorities in specific areas such as

ecotoxicology, health effects and nutrition, environmental and atmospheric chemistry and applied ecology. Working in collaboration

with other institutional partners in related fields, the Chair will complement existing work in biology and organismal ecology of

Athabasca land and aquatic environments.  The Chair is integral in conducting research that will help inform northern Alberta

communities, especially those pertaining to Indigenous Nations to mitigate risks of the regions and waterways as determined by study

of ecotoxicological and nutritional analyses and to develop strategies and vision that interface with communities, industry and

government.  The successful candidate will have a strong research and academic record in one or more areas of hydroecology,

ecotoxicology, environmental and hydroecologic modeling strategies.

 

Athabasca University's commitment to the greater Athabasca region recently culminated in the formation of the Athabasca River Basin

Research Institute (ARBRI) http://arbri.athabascau.ca/.  The Research Institute provides a strategic framework for ensuring an

integrated approach to contributing to environmental and ecological sustainability of its northern communities.  To this end,

Athabasca University is committed to engaging its researchers and the community-at-large in promotion the economic and environmental

well-being of the land and water of northern communities and providing Basin-based knowledge that will contribute to improved

decision-making and community stewardship.  The communication of results across fields and disciplines to the community is of

particular importance.

 

The appointments will be made at the Assistant, Associate or Full Professor level, depending upon the qualifications of the

successful candidates  Athabasca University develops and maintains an environment that supports equitable working conditions for

individuals traditionally unrepresented in universities and is committed to employment equity, encouraging applications from women,

indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply;

however Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.

 

Should you want to learn more please call Alex Verdecchia or Maureen Geldart at (604) 926-0005 or forward your CV, a letter of

introduction and the names of three referees, in confidence, to var a,b,c,e;a='';a+= 'lto:';b+= '@';e = '';b+='thegeldartgroup.com';document.write(a+b+c);MailMe">MailMe

 

 

OTHER JOB POSTINGS see http://www.eos.ubc.ca/public/employ

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ABOUT AURORA

Full details about positions and other items in AURORA are available in EOS-MAIN.  General editorial deadline is Friday noon.  Where

feasible, please submit items electronically to var a,b,c,e;a='';a+= 'lto:';b+= '@';e = '';b+='eos.ubc.ca';document.write(a+b+c);MailMe">MailMe