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Award-winning neuroscientist, Dr. Brian Christie (Island Medical Program, Division of Medical Science, IMP) has been awarded a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Career Investigator Award to pursue research on the mechanisms by which exercise can benefit the brain. Christie joined IMP on July 1 and his research laboratory is now being established at the Medical Sciences Building. Christie received an MSc from the University of Calgary and a PhD from the University of Otago in New Zealand. Postdoctoral work followed with Dr. Daniel Johnston at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and later with Dr. Terrence Sejnowski at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego. Before moving to UVic, Christie spent six years at the University of British Columbia as associate professor of neuroscience. The IMP is a UBC Faculty of Medicine program delivered in collaboration with UVic and the University of Northern British Columbia.
Lorna Crozier, chair of writing, was awarded an honorary doctor of letters in June from the University of Saskatchewan. She has authored 14 books of poetry, including The Garden Going on Without Us; Angels of Flesh, Angels of Silence; Inventing the Hawk (winner of the 1992 Governor-General’s Award); Everything Arrives at the Light; Apocrypha of Light; What the Living Won’t Let Go; and most recently, Whetstone.
Dr. Robert Gifford (psychology and environmental studies) is the winner of the Environmental Design Research Association’s 2007 Career Award. Gifford, who has specialized in environmental psychology for 37 years, is among the most recognized and respected experts in the field. His textbook, Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice, is praised for its scope and detail. Gifford is the author of more than 60 peer-reviewed articles, and since 2002 has edited the well-respected Journal of Environmental Psychology.
Dr. Robin Hicks (chemistry) was recently named a Visionary Under 40 by the Victoria Times Colonist. More than three dozen young artists, entrepreneurs, health care professionals, athletes and educators were named to the 2007 edition of the list, which recognizes personal achievement and societal contributions. Hicks, who designs new magnetic materials, attracted international attention earlier this year when he and his research team announced the discovery of a new class of lightweight magnets. The magnets could be used in making everything from extra-thin magnetic computer memory to ultra-light spacecraft parts. Also on the Times Colonist list were Dale Gann, vice-president of UVic’s Vancouver Island Technology Park, and Jonathan Kerr, a UVic alumnus and co-founder of GenoLogics Life Sciences Software Inc., a UVic spin-off company.
Dr. Terry Prowse (geography) has received an honorary doctorate of environmental studies from the University of Waterloo. Prowse is an internationally recognized physical geographer and leading expert on the impact of climate variability and change on hydrology, water resources and freshwater ecosystems in northern environments. He leads the Water Climate Impacts Research Centre, which is jointly sponsored by the University of Victoria and Environment Canada.
Canada Basketball has named former Vikes basketball coach Ken Shields winner of the 2007 James Naismith Award. The award, named for the inventor of the game, is presented to honour significant lifelong contribution to basketball in Canada. One of the most successful university basketball coaches in the country, Shields led Vikes men’s teams to seven consecutive national titles from 1980–86 and coached the senior men’s national team from 1988–94.
UVic was well represented at the podium when the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS) held its annual awards banquet in late May. Dr. Andrew Weaver (earth and ocean sciences) won the President’s Prize for his pioneering work in Earth system climate modelling. A second President’s Award went to Dr. Howard Freeland, an adjunct professor in earth and ocean sciences and a researcher with the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney. One of Weaver’s graduate students, Dr. Jeff Lewis, won one of three 2007 Graduate Student Prizes for his contributions to the physics of sea ice modelling. Lewis graduated this June and is now a research associate with the climate modelling group. And Weaver was named a CMOS Fellow for his leadership in the field of global climate research and for his “outreach on behalf of climate research to the wider community.” CMOS is the the national organization for Canadian meteorologists, climatologists, oceanographers, limnologists, hydrologists and cryospheric scientists.
The newly renamed School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education is flexing its academic muscles. A faculty member and grad student are recipients of recent awards. Dr. Ryan Rhodes received a distinguished scholar award in June from the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity for early outstanding achievements in his scientific career. Rhodes’s research program is focused on motivation and physical activity, and one of his current projects is addressing the health behaviours of couples who have become new parents. His research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Diabetes Society and the Human Early Learning Partnership. Rachel Dean, a doctoral student in the school, has won an award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for her research and an article on aging. Dean’s study addresses why older adults choose to engage in weight training and explores the factors that influence strength training participation in individuals 55 years and older. Dean’s article is expected to be published in the CIHR Institute of Aging e-bulletin.
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