Alumni office moves off-campus
The six members of the UVic alumni services office are moving this month to new digs at 3930 Shelbourne Street, near McKenzie Avenue. "Since our small unit can function independently it made sense for us to move temporarily and allow all of the development staff to be housed under one roof," explains Don Jones, director of alumni services. Specifically, this move frees up space for the Capital Campaign team, who are raising funds for our new buildings on campus, including the science building, the social science and mathematics building, and the First Peoples House. The move is just a temporary one, and the office will move back to campus once these new buildings are ready for occupancy. In the meantime, the Alumni Association will still call the Alumni House home and alumni will be able to obtain their alumni benefits cards at the Alumni House front desk. Alumni services contact information remains unchanged.

UVic helps develop hydrogen safety guidelines
Drs. Ned Djilali and Peter Oshkai (both from IESVic/mechanical engineering) are collaborating with the universities of Québec (Trois Rivières), Concordia, Toronto and Calgary on a hydrogen safety and infrastructure study for zero emission, hydrogen-powered vehicles. The UVic component of the work, to be conducted at IESVic, will focus on computational modelling and experimental measurements of compressible hydrogen jets. "Basically, we're studying how hydrogen behaves in the atmosphere if it leaks from a pipeline or a storage tank," explains Oshkai. "This will help to establish safety guidelines for fueling stations, pipelines, vehicles, etc. "The study is part of a national research initiative—entitled Auto 21 Network Centres of Excellence—formed to focus Canadian research expertise on improving the global competitiveness of the Canadian automotive industry. It's supported by the federal government and more than 120 industry, government and institutional partners. For more information visit www.auto21.ca.

Plant Sale profits bloom
The UVic Plant Sale, held on Mother's Day in the McKinnon Gym, generated a $20,000 profit for the Finnerty Gardens, exceeding last year's total by several hundred dollars. Buyers began to line up outside the gym doors about two hours before the sale started. Organizers were pleased since the sale was a week later than usual and competes with several other garden sales that have sprung up around the same date. Proceeds from the annual event support ongoing improvements to Finnerty Gardens—the free campus showcase of rhododendrons and dozens of other varieties of plants, trees and shrubs.

Criminals on tape
People opposed to the use of closed circuit TV surveillance (CCTV) in public places should look to themselves and not "big brother," says a UVic graduate student in sociology. For his master's thesis, Kevin Walby researched the rise of open-street CCTV surveillance in Canada. He found that there are now 12 operational CCTV systems in Canada, primarily in Ontario, and 18 other municipalities are planning to have CCTV or have in the past. "Thirty might not seem like a lot, but Canada doesn't have many big cities," he says. CCTV presents an ethical dilemma, he argues, because "by resisting CCTV, we're resisting ourselves, in a sense. It's often other community members who want to use this crime control tool; it's not always the state." He also feels that CCTV doesn't deal with the social forces that lead to criminal behaviour. "The technology is about locating crime and sweeping it off the streets and into jail," he says. Walby's research involved analysing more than 150 Canadian media articles about CCTV, examining privacy legislation in government documents, and sending open-ended questionnaires to municipal police services using or planning to use CCTV.

Sailing venture wins innovation competition
This year's Peter Thomas Innovation Project, where UVic business entrepreneurship students have just $5 and 10 days to design a profitable business, saw two eco-friendly sun and surf ventures take first and second place in the "most sustainable" category and two other teams win the "most profit" award. "The innovation project is a bit like The Apprentice," says business professor Brock Smith, "except we've been doing this for eight years and no one gets fired. Students just get fired-up on their new found entrepreneurial skills." With just $5 in capital, the Sail With Us team created a green business that delivered value across a triple bottom line: students sold environmentally friendly sailing trips; they offered students a significant discount rate; and they subsidized tours to the Big Brothers and Sisters organization.