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Drs. Stan Dosso (earth and ocean sciences) and Bob Kowalewski (physics and astronomy) are the 2005-06 winners of the faculty of science excellence awards. Dosso, winner of the Excellence in Teaching Award, began his teaching career at UVic more than 20 years ago. He is consistently praised by students for his approachability and open-door policy. His patience with those who might be described as “math-challenged” testifies to his passion for teaching geophysics to students from all backgrounds.
Kowalewski, winner of the Excellence in Research Award, is described by his international peers as one of the top experimental particle physicists worldwide. He’s one of the leaders of the BaBAR experiment, an international effort at the Stanford Linear Accelerator in California that is probing the origins of matter dominance in the universe. He’s also the author or co-author of about 550 papers, including one published only a year after his PhD that is now listed as a “famous paper” by the SPIRES high-energy physics citation service.
English professor Michael Cullen has been awarded the Canada Post/Ma Murray Columnist of the Year 2006 Award for B.C. The award is named for a well-known figure in Canadian journalism. Cullen was also a finalist for Canadian Columnist of the Year at the Canadian Newspaper Association Awards in Quebec City this summer. Cullen writes “Rim Shots,” a regular column for the Peninsula News Review. His articles also appear in national publications such as the Globe and Mail. The subject matter in his columns range from discussions on courtly love to the history of nostalgia. Cullen already has several national awards for his plays.
Dr. Chris Barnes (earth and ocean sciences/NEPTUNE) has become the first Canadian appointed to Argentina’s National Academy of Sciences, Cordoba, for his scholarly contributions in paleontology and stratigraphy. Barnes is a geologist who specializes in studying vertebrate fossils that are hundreds of millions of years old. One area of focus has been in Argentina where the northwest part of the country was once part of North America. Last year, Barnes won the Billings Medal from the Geological Association of Canada for his long-term contributions to Canadian paleontology.
The UVic centre on aging recently acknowledged the contributions that local seniors make to the capital region by presenting three people with Valued Elder Recognition Awards. The recipients are: Oak Bay resident Betty Brown for her work over the past 10 years with the Victoria Women’s Transition House; Thelma Clark of Saanich for her work over the last 57 years with the Independent Living Housing Society of Greater Victoria; and Langford’s Doreen Spring for 18 years of volunteering at the Victoria General Hospital. The awards were presented on Oct. 2 (International Day of the Older Person).
At a special convocation held for him in Taiwan in June, Dr. Hari Srivastava, professor emeritus of mathematics and statistics, was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree by Chung Yuan Christian University. He is the first mathematician and the first Canadian to receive the honour. In its 50-year history, the university has awarded only 15 honorary degrees worldwide.
Dr. Alan McConnachie, a postdoctoral researcher working with UVic astrophysicist Julio Navarro’s research group, has been awarded a prestigious research fellowship from the UK Royal 1851 Commission to continue his work at UVic. McConnachie studies the properties of dwarf galaxies that orbit the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. The Royal Commission was established in 1850 by Queen Victoria for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Sufficient funds were left over for an educational trust fund, which dispenses the annual fellowships.
Last season’s Canada West rookie-of-the-year, Vikes soccer player Cole McFarlane, started the season off by being named Canada West male athlete-of-the-week for Sept. 22-24. While on the road with his team, McFarlane scored two goals in a tough 4-3 loss to the Calgary Dinos and followed up the next day with the game-winner in a 2-0 decision over the host University of Lethbridge, bringing his early season total to four goals in four games.
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