THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA VOLUME 49 | · PDF filewould resemble a dragonfly in size and shape, ... nicate with such a machine. ... same way they might talk about

T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A V O L U M E 4 9 | N U M B E R 9 | S E P T E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 3

UBC REPORTS2 UBC in the News 4 Community Bus Pass 6 A Garden for Surrey 8 Promoting Teachers 1 1 Seriously Sick?

For all those who’ve ever wantedto be a fly on the wall, scientistsJohn Madden and Joseph Yan areworking to build low-cost,insect-like robots capable of flying on their own to do theeavesdropping for you.

The electrical and computerengineering professors paired upearlier this year for a pilot project to study the feasibility ofusing electroactive polymers –high-tech plastics that can mimichuman muscle – in designingrobots.

The robosect they envisionwould resemble a dragonfly insize and shape, sport two sets ofwings, weigh less than a dimeand cost about $1 in materials tomake. Equipped with its ownonboard power source and amicroconductor for a brain, itcould dart into areas devastatedby earthquake to search for survivors, glide behind enemylines to do surveillance work, orconduct power line and otherurban inspections. Or it couldsimply buzz around the backyardentertaining the kids.

If it all sounds too sci-fi,Madden and Yan say many of thetechnological tools and materialsneeded to build robosects alreadyexist. Advanced battery andmicrotransmitter technologies,for example, can provide themeans to power up and commu-nicate with such a machine.Researchers in California havegotten a larger-scale, bird-likerobot aloft and, in his previouswork at the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, Yan proved

Robo-FlyB Y M I C H E L L E C O O K

The future of robots is positively buggy.

The relationship between teaching and research in modernCanadian universities is a complicated one.

While some analysts claim that the two successfully reinforce each other for the benefit of students, others arguethat, in fact, research and teaching compete for prestige andresources.

Over the last decades, Canadian universities have investedever-larger amounts of financial and human resources in thedevelopment of a strong research base. Currently, universityresearch in Canada represents direct investments estimated at$6.8 billion annually and involves more than 100,000 faculty, technicians, and students. Through its various funding bodies, the federal government invests over $1.3 billion annually in university research.

Meanwhile, funding for teaching and basic infrastructurehas been cut back by provincial governments. Issues such asclass sizes and the tenured faculty/student ratio are constant-ly plaguing universities, and full-time enrolment is expectedto increase 20 to 30 per cent by 2011.

UBC Reports invited two senior UBC academics to discussthe relationship between research and teaching.

University Teaching, University Research: Conflict and Co-operation

Two senior UBC academics look for balance. B Y C R I S T I N A C A L B O R E A N U

Donald Brooks (top left) is a professor of pathology andlaboratory medicine and chemistry. An alumnus who joinedUBC in 1974, he was appointed Associate Vice-President,Research in July 2001. He plays a leading role in building UBC’s research capacity and competitiveness byassisting faculty to take full advantage of new funding initiatives and by promoting and co-ordinating interdisciplinary research.

Allan Tupper (top right) a is a professor of political sci-ence. He was appointed Associate Vice-President,Government Relations in February 2002. His research interests are in the areas of Canadian politics, public man-agement and public policy, as well as North American higher education, the Supreme Court of Canada andCanadian provincial politics. He is the author, with TomPocklington, of No Place to Learn: Why Universities Aren’tWorking (published by UBC Press), a poignant critique of thestructure and functioning of modern Canadian universities.

Teaching vs. research: what do you think is a university’s primary function?

Don Brooks> I think it depends on what kind of univer-sity you’re talking about: are you talking about UBC, or areyou talking about a university? Universities are of varioussorts, there are some universities that are clearly focused onundergraduate teaching, that don’t have a significant graduate program; then you come to a place like UBC,research-intensive in all of the faculties, across all the disciplines. We choose to do research, we attract good faculty but we want people who have a good research background as well as the potential for strong teaching, so Idon’t think UBC has one primary function. I think we havethe functions of teaching and doing research, and I don’tthink they are very different.

Allan Tupper> I think universities are unique becausethey are society’s principal institutions for the analysis ofideas. No other institution in modern society is exclusively

continued on page 11

Is it a bird? A plane? Electrical and computer engineeringprofessors Joseph Yan (left) and John Madden are designing a dragonfly-like robot capable of autonomous flight.

continued on page 7

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2 | ubc reports | september 4, 2003

Highlights of UBC Media Coverage in August 2003. C O M P I L E D B Y B R I A N L I N

UBC Reports is published monthly by the UBC Public Affairs Office310 – 6251 Cecil Green Park RoadVancouver BC Canada V6T 1Z1

UBC Reports welcomes submissions. For upcoming UBC Reportssubmission guidelines, please see www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/ubcre-ports/about. Opinions and advertising published in UBC Reports donot necessarily reflect official university policy. Material may bereprinted in whole or in part with appropriate credit to UBCReports.

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IN THE NEWS

UBC REPORTS

Tuition Keeps RisingA recently released StatisticsCanada report shows undergradu-ate students will pay on average7.4 per cent more in tuition fees,the biggest increase in four years.This year, the cost of tuition in B.C.will rise 30 per cent on the heels ofa similar increase last year.

UBC Vice-President BrianSullivan told The Globe and Mailthat schools in the province havejust been playing a game of catch-up to the rest of the country inorder to provide increased capacityand quality education to its stu-dents.

While acknowledging that pay-ing these extra fees has been chal-lenging for students, Sullivan saidthe university has made availablemore financial assistance and triedto expand employment opportuni-ties on campus.

FreezeUBC law and sociology professorRichard Ericson told the SanFrancisco Chronicle that many ofthe new security guards are beinghired to do “what public policeused to do, public-order policingon the street itself.

“Although they’re only makingcitizen’s arrests, they are indeedmaking the arrests. They may givepeople their rights in turning themover to police, and because theymade the observation, they actually write out reports for pros-ecutors. The public police onlycome in after the fact to detain orrelease the people officially andthen process them further fromthere.”

Last year, California licensed15,450 new security officers, for atotal of 185,000. Of that number,an estimated 14,000 are licensed tocarry guns.

Caution on New DrugCommenting on Seasonale, a newdrug designed to reduce the num-ber of menstrual cycles a womanundergoes from 13 a year to four,UBC endocrinology researcherChristine Hitchcock told TheEconomist that there isn’t enoughresearch to show the long-termeffects of the extended use of oralcontraceptives on the breast.

Hitchcock is alarmed that somepeople talk about Seasonale in thesame way they might talk abouttaking a daily vitamin pill.

Animal Welfare LeapUBC animal behaviour and welfareprofessor David Fraser told USA

Today that the period from 1999 to2002 was a “watershed” in animalwelfare worldwide.

Over the past five years, the pushfor more humane care is comingfrom companies with the economicclout to make producers sit up andtake notice – supermarkets and fastfood restaurants, including theworld’s most famous purveyor ofbeef, McDonald’s.

“It was as if a crucial mass hadbeen reached and animal welfareand assurance programs becamethe thing to do,” Fraser said.

Women Run Business Like Men

UBC organizational behaviour professor Nancy Langton told theNational Post that there is no evidence women run businessesany differently than men do.

Since 1995, Langton and her col-leagues have tracked the owners of229 small businesses in Vancouver,141 of which were owned by menand 88 owned by women.

“Women are saying they’reusing a more collaborative style,”said Langton. “They make it seemlike it’s run in a more female way,

but men and women are doing itthe same way.”

Langton said the results shouldreassure banks that might be hesitant to lend money to women,or companies that might waver inchoosing a woman for a top managerial role.

Forest Fire DissectedUBC forest sciences professorMichael Feller told the VancouverSun that a forest fire, at its ferocious worst, can reach temper-atures as high as 800 degreesCelsius and feed voraciously onfuel, oxygen and heat.

A forest fire needs heat, windand an unstable atmosphere to getgoing, exactly the conditions currently present in much of southern B.C., said Feller.

Despite the terror they cause inpeople, fires are not only natural toB.C.’s forest, they’re essential forthe survival of many of its species.“Whenever there’s a fire close tohouses and cities, there’s a lot ofhype and media coverage. Butwhen you look at the figures andcompare them to historical figures,we haven’t had a particularly heavyfire season.” ■■

UBC VP Students, Brian Sullivan, says more financial assistance is availableto help students cope with increased tuition.

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The university has approved$137,500 in funding for theBike Co-op to set up a full-service facility in theStudent Union Building (SUB)for UBC’s two-wheeled commuters.

The funds, matched by theAlma Mater Society, will beused to renovate an undevel-oped space in the SUB base-ment adjacent to the Co-op’sretail outlet, the Bike Kitchen.The new Bike Hub will allowthe Co-op to consolidate itsprograms and activities in onelocation for the first time sincethe club was formed in 1998.

“There are 3,000 bike tripsmade daily to campus,” saysGeoff Atkins, associate vice-president of Land andBuilding Services. “We wantedto ensure that since we’re leading North American cam-puses in sustainability, and ininitiatives like U-Pass and theTREK Program, that we keepthe momentum going for allthe great things the Bike Co-ophas been doing.”

He adds that the Bike Co-opis an integral part of the university’s strategy to movepeople out of single occupantvehicles.

The university will fund theHub renovations through theUBC TREK Program, which promotes sustainable trans-portation alternatives on cam-pus, and the new SustainabilityCo-ordinator DisbursementFund (see sidebar).

Bike Co-op presidentMelissa Niemeyer says theamount of money the university is providing isunprecedented for a bike project, and has helped theclub realize its long-term goalof finding a prominent loca-tion on campus.

“The SUB is really the bestplace we could be in the longrun,” Niemeyer said. “We’vebeen featured three times in the Maclean’s [magazine]university rankings issue andwe get calls from around theworld asking for advice on setting up a bike co-op, but thefeeling is that we’re still notwell known on campus.

“I’m excited that now morepeople will see us and becomeinterested in getting involved.”

In addition to repairing andselling bikes and selling new

Bike Hub Re-born in SUBBike Kitchen cooking with consolidated programs. B Y M I C H E L L E C O O K

and used parts at the BikeKitchen, the Co-op operates abuild-a-bike program and thecampus fleet of purple andyellow loaner bikes. It hasbeen looking for new spacefor the Bike Hub since learn-ing, last January, that Landand Building Services needed

to demolish the shed it hadbeen using behind theMacMillan Building to makeroom for additional campusparking.

When it opens in January2004, the 234-square-metrefacility is expected to offer arange of end-of-trip services

for bike commuters. Until renovations are complete, theCo-op will operate out of theBike Kitchen, a temporaryoffice in the SUB and a fenced-off area near Gage Towers.Some existing programs will beput on hold until the new spaceis ready. ■■

Hydro Savings Power ProgramsThey turned off lights and encouraged their colleagues touse less paper in the photocopier and the efforts of UBC’s125 Sustainability Co-ordinators (SCs) saved the university $75,000 worth of electricity reductions in 2001.

This year, the Sustainability Office recycled those savings into the Sustainability Co-ordinator DisbursementFund to increase sustainability in departments with SCsand invited coordinators and their colleagues to submitproposals for new projects. The SCs were then asked tovote on which projects to fund.

In addition to putting $25,000 toward the Bike Co-op’snew Hub in the SUB, other projects funded this yearinclude: a program to encourage labs to exchange theirhighly toxic mercury thermometers for non-mercury ones;a hazardous waste minimization project and initiatives to install a wood-fired heat/hot water system atthe Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, and introducing“floating” SCs to serve several departments. ■■

Bike Co-op past president JesseJackson (left) and current presidentMelissa Niemeyer say the SUB is the best place for the new Bike Hub.

T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A | V A N C O U V E R

Annual General Meeting

Tuesday, October 28 12:15 – 1 p.m.

The 2003 AGM will be held at UBC at Robson Square, celebrating UBC’s accomplishments of the past year.

Alexandre (Sacha) Trudeau, documentary filmmaker and member of the board of directors for the

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, will be the guest speaker.

The entire proceedings will be Webcast – all students, faculty and staff are invited to view and participate in the event.

There will be an opportunity to submit questions to the speakers and university administration via the Webcast.

Link to the Webcast from 12 noon onward onOctober 28 at www.ubc.ca

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University Boulevard Draft Neighbourhood Plan & UBC Campus Transit PlanFollowing the June 2003 Open Houses and a Campus and Community Public Meeting, consultation will continueSeptember 2–15, 2003 regarding the University Boulevard Draft Neighbourhood Plan and the preferred transitservice concept.

PLEASE JOIN USAttend the following Open Houses (Sep 2–10) and Campus and Community Public Meeting (Sep 15) and give us your feedback.

OPEN HOUSESCome see us in our TENT in the SUB PLAZA beside the Goddess of Democracy (located south of the Student Union Building at 6138 Student Union Boulevard).

Tuesday September 2: 10 am to 3 pmThursday September 4: 2 pm to 7 pmMonday September 8: 2 pm to 7 pmWednesday September 10: 10 am to 3 pm

SPECIAL MEETINGS (September 2–15, 2003)Your group can request a special meeting from September 2–15 by contacting the University Town inquiry line at 604.822.6400 or by emailing [email protected]

PUBLIC MEETINGMonday, September 15 @ 7:00 pm in the Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall. Parking is available in the adjacent Fraser Parkade.

DIRECTIONSFor a map showing the location of the SUB Plaza or the Asian Centre go to: www.planning.ubc.ca/wayfinding/Finding/dbase.html and enter “Student Union Building” or “Asian Centre” or call 604.822.6400 for further information.

INTERNETBackground and information: www.universitytown.ubc.ca

HOW CAMPUS & COMMUNITY FEEDBACK WILL BE USEDFeedback gathered through this consultation will be reported to the UBC Board of Governors in October 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Linda MooreAssociate Director, External Affairs (University Town)Tel: 604.822.6400Fax: 604.822.8102or [email protected] UNIVERS ITY TOWN

NEWS TV | RADIO

UBC Public Affairs has opened both a radio and TV studio on campuswhere you can do live interviews with local, national and internationalmedia outlets.To learn more about being a UBC expert, call us at 604.822.2064 andvisit our web site at www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/experts/signup

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Our Discovery Centre is now open for you to learn all you

want to know about Chancellor House - a limited collection of terraced,

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Open to learning more?

Stop by our Discovery Centre at 1715 Theology Mall facing

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For the first time in Canada,researchers will study if a com-munity transportation pass willreduce traffic congestion andgreenhouse gas emissions.

Led by UBC’s TREK ProgramCentre and funded in part by a$100,000 research grant fromthe Federation of CanadianMunicipalities, the current phaseof the pilot project will give 14families in the UBC neighbour-hood a free community transportation pass for twomonths this fall.

The ComPASS will be mod-elled after the student U-Pass,approved by a student referen-dum with the largest voter turn-out in UBC’s history.Starting this month, U-Pass givesstudents access to transit acrossthree zones and costs $20 permonth, less than one-third of aone-zone bus pass.

The families’ experiences willbe documented by video and anin-depth study will determinewhether access to low transitfares, car-sharing, bicycle programs and a guaranteedemergency ride home willincrease transit use, says TREKDirector Gord Lovegrove.

A preliminary study last fallsurveyed 250 families in theVancouver West Side. Half thefamilies then received a free buspass and researchers recordedchanges in their transportationuse.

“We chose this neighbourhoodbecause we know it is alreadywell-served by public transit,”explains Lovegrove. “A maincomponent of any communitytransportation pass program is

First ComPASS Study BeginsB Y B R I A N L I N

reliable transit service.”Later this year, a random sur-

vey of 1,000 families in theGVRD will help determine theoverall response to such a pro-gram.

“TransLink and the City ofVancouver are both partners inthis project,” says Lovegrove.“The results of all three phasesof this project will be used infuture discussions withTransLink and other communitypartners, such as Co-operativeAuto Network, about the possi-bility of providing communitytransportation passes to theentire GVRD area.” ■■

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University Marshal Ceremonies Office

The Office of the Vice-President External and Legal Affairs invites applicationsfor the position of University Marshal, within the Ceremonies Office.

This newly structured position will continue to be a prestigious position withinthe university community. The University Marshal will take the lead role at the graduation ceremonies; selecting and directing marshals and mace-bearers, directing the Chancellors procession, and other related graduation responsibilities. The appointee will also act as MC at university events such asbuilding openings, recognition events and the UBC AGM, and interact oftenwith the President, Chancellor and the senior administration of the University.

Reporting to the Director of Ceremonies, the appointee will be a full-timemember of the UBC faculty, preferably with broad interests across campus andgood public-speaking skills. The term of appointment is five years (commencing January 1, 2004) and the faculty member’s department would bereimbursed an agreed percentage of the faculty member’s salary per year tocompensate the department for the secondment (approx. 20% time).

Deadline for applications: September 30, 2003. Interested applicants should submit a resume and covering letter c/o UBC Ceremonies Office, 2nd floor,2029 West Mall, Campus Zone 2. A committee, chaired by Dennis Pavlich, Vice-President, External and Legal Affairs, will review applications.

For more information on this unique opportunity, please contact Eilis Courtney,Associate Director, Ceremonies Office: phone 604-822-6192 or e-mail: [email protected].

UBC EXTERNAL AND LEGAL AFFAIRS

East Campus Draft Neighbourhood PlanConsultation on the East Campus Draft Neighbourhood Plan begins September 2, 2003.

The East Campus area is located between Agronomy Road to the north, the Public Safety Building (RCMP andFire Stations) to the south, Osoyoos Crescent and Fairview Avenue to the east and Wesbrook Mall to the west.

PLEASE JOIN USAttend the following Open Houses (Sep 2–10) and the Campus and Community Public Meeting (Sep 17) andgive us your feedback.

OPEN HOUSESCome see us in our TENT in the SUB PLAZA beside the Goddess of Democracy (located south of the Student Union Building at 6138 Student Union Boulevard).

Tuesday September 2: 10 am to 3 pmThursday September 4: 2 pm to 7 pmMonday September 8: 2 pm to 7 pmWednesday September 10: 10 am to 3 pm

SPECIAL MEETINGS (September 2–17, 2003)Your group can request a special meeting from September 2–17 by contacting the University Town inquiry line at 604.822.6400 or by emailing [email protected]

PUBLIC MEETINGWednesday, September 17 @ 7:00 pm in the Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall. Parking is available in the adjacent Fraser Parkade.

DIRECTIONSFor a map showing the location of the SUB Plaza or the Asian Centre go to: www.planning.ubc.ca/wayfinding/Finding/dbase.html and enter “Student Union Building” or “Asian Centre” or call 604.822.6400 for further information.

INTERNETBackground and information: www.universitytown.ubc.ca

HOW CAMPUS & COMMUNITY FEEDBACK WILL BE USEDFeedback gathered through this consultation will be reported to the UBC Board of Governors in October 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Linda MooreAssociate Director, External Affairs (University Town)Tel: 604.822.6400Fax: 604.822.8102or [email protected] UNIVERS ITY TOWN

Concert for September 11A time to Reflect

There will be a free concert: Thursday, September 11, 2003Noon to 12:45 p.m. Royal Bank Cinema, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts

Music provided by the Infinitis String Quartet, with readings by students from the UBC Faculty of Arts.

Seating is limited, so please arrive earlyFurther info: UBC Ceremonies Office 604-822-2484

The 2003 UBC United WayCampaign kicks off with a BBQSept. 24 from 11:30 a.m. to 1p.m. at the Student Union Plaza.

BBQ fare is a burger and popfor $5, with proceeds going tothe United Way of the LowerMainland, an umbrella bodythat funds many social servicesorganizations.

Even before the kickoff, UBCstudents Monty Raisinghani andSunny Aujla organized Kickstart2003, a 10 km run around thecampus on Aug. 17. Close to150 people registered and theevent raised $2,500 for UnitedWay.

Last year’s campaign raisedmore than $460,000 on campus.“We hope to reach $500,000this year and with the generosity

UBC United Way CampaignFires up the BarbieThis year’s goal: $500,000

Nobody remembers exactly how“Stumpy” got to UBC, but themassive slice of western redcedar has been a mainstay of theBiological Sciences building formore than half a century.

Stumpy, so nicknamed byadmiring graduate students, isthought to be one of the lastremaining cross-sections of itskind. It was probably felled inthe 1950s in the old-growthrainforests of coastal BritishColumbia when it was 775 yearsold, and brought to campus to serve as a giant teach-ing aid. What is certain is thatthe magnificent specimen lan-guished somewhat in recentyears in a dusty display case out-side the building’s main lecture hall. It was only whenplanned renovations to the spacethreatened to turn the tree sliceinto a pile of firewood that thegood folks in the Biological

Saving StumpyB Y M I C H E L L E C O O K

Chainsaw trim preserves ancient cedar.

Sciences building rallied to giveStumpy a new lease on life.

Associate Prof. Gary Bradfieldof the botany department spear-headed the drive to save thecedar – no easy task when thecause in question weighed 585kilograms and measured anunwieldy two metres in diameter.

After some discussion, thedecision was made to thinStumpy down. Enter Les Jozsa,one of UBC’s celebrated Sopronforesters and chief carver of theForestry faculty’s anniversarygate. Now retired, Jozsa arrivedon campus one radiant day inearly August with a chain saw1.4 metres long and sized up thejob at hand. With a small crowdof loyal supporters looking on,volunteers used a sturdy trolleyto wheel Stumpy from the lecture hall into the summer sun.

Steadily wielding the giant

chain saw, Jozsa carved thecross-section into smaller pieces.As the first slice slid free in agentle flurry of sawdust, thosewatching raised a cheer to cele-brate this rare gift from nature.You see, Stumpy, despite havingspent the first 200 years of its lifeovershadowed by larger treesnearby, is as close to perfect as acedar can be. No rot. No decay.Not even any evidence of pest orfire damage.

A newly svelte Stumpy willmake its debut this fall in a place of honour outside therevamped Biological Sciences lecture hall where future genera-tions of students and researcherscan benefit from it. ■■

Re-shaping history. With some help from Botany Dept. workshop technician John Gourlay (left), retired foresterLes Jozsa uses his chain saw to give 775-year-old "Stumpy" a new look.

of the campus community, weare confident we can do it,” saysEilis Courtney, who co-chairsthe campaign this year withDeborah Austin, last year’s cam-paign chair.

“We are always looking forvolunteers,” says Austin. “Thisis a great opportunity for staff,faculty and students to buildtheir leadership, public speaking and event planningskills.”

For more information on thecampaign, the kick-off event orhow to get involved, contact LizKing, UBC United WayCampaign Co-ordinator, at 604-822-8929 (UBC-UWAY), e-mail [email protected] orcheck out our web site atwww.unitedway.ubc.ca. ■■

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Give a woman and her childpotatoes and you feed them fora day. Teach them how to growpotatoes and they can feed themselves for a lifetime.

It’s an old lesson gaining newmomentum at a Surrey transi-tion house program for womenand children who have left abusive relationships, thanks inpart to UBC Arts Co-op studentAllison Hawkey.

During her Co-op work termthis summer, the fourth-yeargeography major has worked

with external agencies, community partners, programstaff and residents to develop acommunity garden that will oneday supply fresh fruit and vegetables for the program’scommunity kitchen. Hawkeystarted with no existing land,supplies or substantial budget –but countered with a solidknowledge of gardening andecology, loads of creativity andthe determination to make a difference.

“Gardening is a very reliable

and affordable source of food,”says Hawkey, 25. “Fruits andvegetables are more expensive in Surrey. We don’t have a lot of produce markets here likeyou see in places like Vancouver.

“When I came here, I knewthere were great socio-economicdifferences between Vancouverand Surrey, but didn’t reallyunderstand how the politics,income assistance and legal system affected real lives,” shecontinues. “We’ve been taughtin geography that the wealthier

A Garden Grows in SurreyArts Co-op student helps transition house harvest hope. B Y E R I C A S M I S H E K

areas like Vancouver get moreprograms and that the poorerones miss out.

“But I lived in a Vancouverbubble. It’s been a real eye-opener.”

Located in central Surrey, theKoomseh Second StageTransition House Program supports women and childrenwho have left abusive relationships and have significant barriers to affordablehousing. They include women ofcolour and aboriginal ancestry,immigrant women who speaklittle or no English, young moth-ers with little or no education orjob skills, women needing to fleea geographical area or needingextensive advocacy for courtproceedings, and women copingwith alcohol and drug abuseissues.

Koomseh, a First Nationsword, means wholeness andwell-being. Its umbrella organi-zation, Atira Women’s ResourceSociety, takes its name fromAtira, a First Nations femaledeity symbolizing a bountifulharvest, strength and powerwithout being warlike.

The 12 women and 23 children currently in theKoomseh program live in aunique complex of 11 town-houses and can access variouson-site support programs,including the communitykitchen.

Program co-ordinator LindaDjadidi explains that most of

the residents have a lower socio-economic status and strugglefinancially, with little money forfood by month’s end.

“When I started here it wasduring the bus strike (2001),”says Djadidi. “I saw that thewomen had no way to get to theFood Bank. We started to provide rides and child care. Wefinally arranged a bi-weeklyfood pick-up at the Food Bank.

“The sad reality is that what’sgiven to families by the FoodBank is through donation andmuch of the food is not verynutritious and rarely includesfresh produce.”

Women meet weekly to prepare meals together. Theyexchange favourite recipes fromtheir cultures, cooking tips, lessons and stories as they chopvegetables and stir the steamingpots.

“The issue was poverty,”Djadidi says. “It was also a wayto bring people together with agroup activity. Cooking is areally good way to build community while providingnutritious and economic meals.They cook together and sharethe food and have some tofreeze for future meals.”

Djadidi imagined a communi-ty garden as a way to supply thekitchen and “try to become asself-sufficient as we can.” Aposition was posted for aCommunity Garden Co-ordinator with UBC Arts Co-op,which had supplied students previously to Atira.

The energetic, articulateHawkey, whose family lives on afarm and who has spent manyan hour building her own patio garden, got the job and wassoon contacting area businessesfor donations of plants and gardening supplies and encour-aging residents to tackle planting in their backyard garden areas.

Hardware/home improvementretailer RONA has been a bigsupporter, donating fertilizer,

soil, rakes, shovels, hoes, children’s gardening tools andseeding trays for next year.Local nurseries and farms gener-ously donated plants.

“I write good letters,”Hawkey explains. “My strategywas to ask lots of businesses forsmaller donations. Everyone hasbeen very generous. EverywhereI stopped they said, ‘Here, takea flat of plants.’”

Hawkey contacted the City ofSurrey Parks and Recreationdepartment, which is exploringdeveloping a municipal commu-nity garden managed by localparticipants, and was quicklyrecruited to its community garden committee. The City andAtira are now looking to combine their needs into a community garden that servesboth.

Hawkey has attended Citymeetings and been activelyinvolved in site selection, assessing locations for proximi-ty to high-density housing, visibility, accessibility to water,public transportation and parking, and soil suitability, andshe is now recruiting volunteersto help organize an open houseto unearth potential gardeners.

As a small scale back-up planin case this municipal gardendoes not see fruition, Hawkeyalso applied for and receivedpermission from the housingsociety where Koomseh is located to develop a small garden at a site selected using

aerial photos obtained throughthe City of Surrey.

“Gardening is very rewarding.Especially for people who willbe here at the end of the harvest,it’s a great feeling when you canpick your own tomato to eat,”says Hawkey. “But even peoplewho are not here from the plant-ing to the harvest can still par-ticipate. It gives people theopportunity to get together. It’stherapeutic and fun and social.”

Residents concur.One woman, whose identity

cannot be revealed, kept a garden in her former home andworried she would miss it afterleaving her abusive partner.When she arrived at Koomseh,she was thrilled to pull up thehuge weeds in her backyard andplant some vegetables and flowers.

“It has made it very cozy,made it my own space,” shesays. “I find gardening verypeaceful. It makes me relax, it’stranquil – and it’s a great hobby,something I can share with mydaughter.”

Another resident, who hasvolunteered to serve on Surrey’scommunity garden committee,says gardening “is a healthything to do. It’s a good socialthing and it helps us communi-cate with the community andwith each other.”

Hawkey has developed a formal plan for next year’sgrowing season, mapping outwhen vegetables need to beseeded and when and wherethey can be planted outdoors.She says the itinerary shouldmake next year’s garden bounti-ful and allow the communitykitchen to plan meals aroundthe harvest seasons.

Though she returns to UBCthis month, she will remain parttime at Koomseh as the commu-nity kitchen co-ordinator.

“I’m glad I’m staying on. Istarted something and I feel likeI want to see it through.”

Spoken like a true gardener. ■■

“The sad reality is that what’s given to families by theFood Bank is through donation and much of the food isnot very nutritious and rarely includes fresh produce.”

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Arts Co-op student Allison Hawkey in one of the backyard gardens planted by a resident of the transition house.

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contact Dene Matilda at Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, V6T 1Z1;[email protected]

University Teaching, University Research continued from page 1

dedicated to the analysis of ideas,and that, to me, is the essence of theuniversity – less so its functions.Many other institutions can under-take functions, but none has thatmore general obligation and dutyand characteristic of being a com-munity of people dedicated to thelarger ideas that shape their society,generating them, in the sense of cer-tain forms of research, analyzingthem, in the sense of reflectiveinquiry, criticizing them. Everyoneessentially argues there are threeprincipal roles of a university:teaching, research, and public serv-ice, in all their dimensions. Ofthese, teaching is the pre-eminentduty of the university – it is notpossible or desirable to try to gen-erate a strong research base eithernationally or within a universitywithout basing that upon thestrongest possible undergraduateteaching, which is foundational toall forms of research.

How do you see the relationshipbetween research and teaching?

Don Brooks> I find them inex-tricably linked in many ways. Iwent through Honours Physicsmyself here at UBC, and I canremember physicists that taught usenlivening the lecture by talkingabout the person they did theirPhDs with, or famous people theyworked with, or famous stories inthe physics world. I wouldn’t neces-sarily describe them all as greatteachers, some of them were reallyquite boring and we would haveliked to send them to a little teach-ing school. But they got me excitedabout physics, and at the end of theday, I don’t remember particularlywhat the lectures were about, but Icertainly took away that kind ofexcitement, and that wouldn’t havebeen there if those folks hadn’tdone research themselves. I knowthat some of our biggest courses aretaught by some of our best researchpeople, and they get fantasticreviews, because they can bringthat background to the classroom.Certainly we would like to have thebest research people be the bestteachers; that would be an ideal sit-uation. I do think there are issues –and they are recognized around thecommunity – around deliveringquality undergraduate education tonon-Honours students. You’regoing to ask me how to solve this –I don’t have the answer; however Idon’t think the answer is don’t doresearch, that’s not acceptablesocially or to the government, or tomost of the faculty.

Allan Tupper> It all depends onwhat you mean by research: if youdefine research in the classical senseof what we call reflective inquiry –deep, disciplined thinking aboutyour subject and about how yoursubject relates to other subjects andabout the major questions in thosefields, what we know and don’tknow – that form of research fun-damentally strengthens the teach-ing activities of the university,because the earlier years of univer-sity must establish the foundationsand the major dimensions. If youmean teaching the particular spe-cialized research activities of mod-ern university professors as part ofyour curriculum, that’s where wepart company with a lot of people,because it might be interesting inthe short term, but it doesn’t estab-lish the broader foundations oflearning. So in other words, theteaching and research relationshipis very multifaceted: it can be verypowerfully reinforcing, if you havea very expansive view of research.It can be quite narrow and stale ifyou have a narrow definition of

research. Under certain circum-stances it just becomes an assertionin a big university that teaching andresearch reinforce each other bene-ficially, when, in fact, there’s sub-stantial evidence by the very prac-tices of the university that theydon’t reinforce each other, that theyactually conflict.

While Ottawa’s investment in uni-versity research has grown by 54per cent since 1998, funding forteaching and basic infrastructurehas been cut back by provincialgovernments. Canadian universitiesface a projected 20 to 30 per centincrease in enrolment over the next10 years. How will these growingpressures affect the overall qualityof teaching in Canadian universi-ties?

Don Brooks> Provincial gov-ernments want us to train more stu-dents, and they’re not telling ushow to do that; they are willing tolet us be creative. But they’re notgiving us a lot more resources, sowe’re not increasing the numbersvery much. I think there’s a fairlywell understood balance there. ButI think there’s room for us, as weget more resources, to increase thenumber of students and increasethe quality of the education they’regiven. We just have to pay moreattention to it, and get more peopleto pay more attention to it. If weare to increase enrolment, we’regoing to have to have more teachersand more facilities; in that sense, itshouldn’t make a difference. But ifwe have to increase enrolmentwithout receiving the necessaryresources, then that’s going to posea bigger challenge.

Allan Tupper> My sense is thatthe federal government is increas-ingly cognisant of the fact that uni-versities are very unique institu-tions with a highly developed set ofinterdependent functions, and thatthe tremendous strengthening ofthe research capacity, which nowexceeds that of most other coun-tries, will be followed, over the nextdecade, by a much larger federalpresence in most of the other activ-ities of the universities. The provin-cial governments have pursuedquite vigorous cost-containmentstrategies in their educational,health, and social assistance sys-tems for more than a decade. I

think that will begin to change –the question is only how far havedifferent institutions, jurisdictions,fallen behind. Higher education iscentral to an advanced society, andthe provincial governments havegreat roles in that – I think in thenext 10 to 15 years either they willaspire to a much larger role inrebuilding the institutions in part-nership with the federal govern-ment, or else the federal govern-ment will, as I said earlier, do itthemselves. And there will be somevery substantial pressures onprovincial governments that willlead them to act. So I’m not partic-ularly pessimistic on that front,actually. That said, we will have to

do things on our own – it’s notexclusively a public policy ques-tion, there are certain things thatuniversities will have to do to dealwith greater numbers of students inmore creative ways. You want touse these pressures to be creative,not to simply rely on what you’vedone before and say, we’ll just keepdoing what we’ve done before withmore people. We’ll have to makesome structural adjustments.Universities are very creative,they’re very adaptable, and I thinkthe next decade and beyond willreally put that adaptability and cre-ativity to the test.

[for Don Brooks] Canadian

universities perform a third of thecountry’s research and develop-ment. What makes a university, as opposed to a specialized institute, an appropriate environ-ment for research activities?

One reason that we do researchin universities is to trainresearchers: almost all the placeswhere research is done that aren’tuniversities train no graduate stu-dents. Besides, in a corporate envi-ronment, and even in governmentinstitutes, it’s quite different, theyjust don’t have the same mix andthe kind of excitement; 5 o’clock,most people go home. You come to

Assoc. VP, Research Donald Brooks (l) and Assoc. VP, Government Relations Allan Tupper discuss the multi-faceted relationship between teachingand research in modern Canadian universities.

continued on page 8

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PLEASE CLIP FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

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Fall Program 2003September 27

Professor William McKibben

Department of Environmental Studies

Middlebury College

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ENOUGH: STAYING HUMAN

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October 4

Professor Errol Durbach

Theatre and English, UBC

THE THEATRE EXPERIENCE:

OR, WHY DO WE ENJOY WATCHING REAL PEOPLE

COUNTERFEITING FICTIONAL PEOPLE?

October 11 - THANKSGIVING - NO LECTURE

October 18

Professor John Eakin

Department of English

Indiana University

WHAT ARE WE READING WHEN

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October 25

Dr. Gavin Stuart

New Dean of Medicine, UBC

LESSONS LEARNED FROM CANCER CONTROL

FOR THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

November 1

Dr. Marco Marra

Director, Genome Sciences Centre

BC Cancer Research Centre

GENOMIC RESEARCH IN BC

November 8

Dr. Maria Tippett

Faculty of History

Cambridge University

BILL REID: THE MAKING OF A REPUTATION

November 15

Dr. Carl Wieman

Nobel Laureate in Physics

Boulder, Colorado

BOSE-EINSTIEN CONDENSATION:

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UBC on the weekends, and you findall kinds of labs full of faculty and stu-dents, so I think there’s a very strongargument on the research training sidefor universities doing research, as wellas other centres.

[for Allan Tupper] In your recentbook [No Place to Learn], you arguethat “Teaching and research are gen-erally in conflict with each other. Themutual enrichment thesis is an imped-iment to necessary university reform.”How and why do university teachingand research come into conflict?

I make no presumptions that universi-ty professors wilfully place research infront of teaching. But research is verytime consuming and leads to an orien-tation towards one’s professional col-leagues, and not directly towardsone’s students – not in every instance,but in a general sense. One other issueis the transformation of the professorfrom a thinker to an expert, and it’s abig difference. An expert knows a lotabout something small, a thinkerknows or tries to know a lot about alot of things, and how they intercon-nect. We have to re-establish thateverybody’s duty around a universityis to be a thinker, not simply anexpert, and that’s really where theteaching and research come into con-flict again, the question of the breadthand depth of all of us in a modern uni-versity. Are we increasingly experts atthe expense of what people generallyused to aspire to be, a thinker? Thatbalance needs to be re-struck.

[for Don Brooks] In the October2002 issue of the University ReportCard, UBC was rated 19 (among 29universities) in quality of education.One UBC student was quoted as say-ing “Many of the faculty fail to putany effort into teaching, which I feel iswhat university is all about. Learningahead of research, teach the studentswell and we will come.” How doesthe strong focus on research affect theamount of time and effort universityprofessors put into teaching?

I think it’s terrible to hear a quote likethat, I really don’t like to hear it at all.What do we do about it? I don’t havethe answer, but I think we do have toundergo a process to look at the prob-lem in a balanced manner, particular-ly with respect to undergraduate stu-dents. I think the graduate training ismuch different, people like to do itbecause graduate students are close tothem, being in the labs and that kindof thing. If you ask most graduate stu-dents to comment on the quality oftheir graduate education, they’re real-ly positive. And I think they arebecause we do have a good researchcommunity, we do have good facilitiesand it’s an exciting place in theresearch world. I think we do a goodjob there and I think there are lots ofexamples where that excitement getsrubbed off on the undergraduates, butit’s got to be the undergraduate him-self who is excited, or excitable.

[for Allan Tupper] A 1998 reportcommissioned by the Association ofUniversities and Colleges of Canadaconcluded that “university research issociety’s most fertile environment fortraining people and generating newideas”: universities produce knowl-edge and also equip individuals withthe skills necessary to put this knowl-edge to work. Why do you considerthis model flawed?

We fully understand that research isessential to a health society, and notonly to a healthy society, to a verystrong and vigorous economy. Again,the question is what we mean byresearch, where it should be done andin what capacity. Universities are dis-tinguished from other research institu-

University Teaching, University Research continued from page 7

tions by the fact that they also mustteach. Eighty to 90 per cent of our stu-dents are undergraduate students; wedo not doubt for a second the funda-mental importance of research, butwe should not forget the fundamentalimportance of our instructional rolesin the deepest sense as institutions.Universities are evolutionary, anddevelopmental in a classic sense: theychange all the time, they move intonew areas, and so on; we have to beconstantly looking at the balance andthe way they’re adjusting. I think it’stime to re-examine where the institu-tions are going.

UBC’s Strategic Research Plan statesthat “UBC’s goal is to excel interna-tionally in research and teaching, andto be a leader in discovery and schol-arship that is the wellspring of scien-tific, technological, social, cultural,and organizational innovation in thenation and the world. ” What meas-ures should the university take toachieve excellence in both researchand teaching?

Don Brooks> I have only beenassociated with executive activitieshere for three years, but even overthat period, I now hear a lot moreabout the quality of teaching and theconcerns about the diluted classes andsenior people not teaching enough.There are some creative activitiesongoing and we could do more toenhance that side without it costing usmore. We are making a tremendouspush to enhance our research success,to hire strong research people. It’s get-ting a lot of attention and we’re hav-ing a lot of success – we’re rankednumber two nationally in NSERCand SSHRC funding, number three inCIHR in the last competition, andwe’re number one in CFI in terms ofdollars raised, it really is working. Weare hiring people from all over theworld. We don’t yet have the interna-tional reputation we deserve, but we’llget it, slowly. The research side isactually going pretty well. I don’tthink we have yet brought the sameenergy to bear on the teaching side – Ithink that’s something we need to dis-cuss more as a community. We can goout competitively and hire more peo-ple if we are more successful atresearch because research activitiescan fund your salary for five years ormore if you get a personal award. Bythis means we can build up our totalfaculty numbers somewhat, and thosepeople are still supposed to teach, sothat would help.

Allan Tupper> There’s two orthree that I think really are required tomove this forward. First of all, thevery great pressures for physical spacein universities that allows people tointeract. We’ve all witnessed, in all ofour institutions over time, a steadywhittling away of common spacewhere people actually interact togeth-er and can do so in a reasonable way.You really know you’ve got a goodcourse if students are doing a lot ofwork on it outside of the classroom.To do that, though, you have to havesome capacity – and I’m not talkingabout luxurious surroundings, butyou have to have good physical space.It’s a very important thing, and onethat has come back onto the agenda,if you just look at a number of thingswe’re doing here. The BarberLearning Centre for example, is atremendous kind of thing. And I thinkanother thing we have to do is to talka lot more openly and freely aboutthese sorts of questions – there’s beena tendency to regard some of thequestions about how we conduct ouractivity as non-debatable, con-tentious, or wrong, and so on. And Ithink we need to have throughout ourinstitutions a very wide range ofdebate about our internal priorities –it’s not just what governments do, andwhat society expects, it’s our capacityto respond. We are autonomous, wehave our own capacity to shape ourdestinies, and we can’t forget that. ■■

A common theme in most Canadian univer-sities is that teaching and research rankequally and reinforce each other. But, asAssoc. VP, Research Don Brooks explains,“it’s a lot easier to assess somebody, whenthey’re being promoted or given tenure, ontheir research side than their teaching side.Most universities haven’t really evolved away to encourage the faculty to expendmore effort on their teaching.”

“As you’re moving through the system asa professor,” says Brooks, “there’s a wholebunch of pressures, and we need to findsome way to not make teaching seem likethe least important one to respond to, as itseems to be in some cases.”

According to Brooks, who is a professorof pathology and chemistry, “we [in theFaculty of Medicine] have promoted orgiven tenure to people predominantly on thebasis of their teaching performance. Theywere innovative, and brought together somenew elements or started new courses.They’ve been promoted and are movingthrough the ranks quite happily withoutdoing very much research at all.”

Assoc. VP, Academic Programs NeilGuppy agrees that the Faculty of Medicinehas led the way in this area, but adds that“at UBC you can receive tenure or promo-tion based on teaching in any faculty. ” Hepoints to the new Guide to Promotion andTenure Procedures at UBC (http://www.fac-ultyrelations.ubc.ca/forms/guideword.rtf),which states that “creative or professionalwork of distinction” (which includes thescholarship of teaching) ranks equally withscholarly research. Among the criteria forevaluating the scholarship of teaching areoriginality or innovation, demonstrableimpact in a particular field or discipline,and substantial and sustained use by others.

Gary Poole, the director of the UBCCentre for Teaching and Academic Growth(TAG), agrees that “the challenge neverends in a place this size where research isimportant – and so it should be.” But, headds, “it would be really wrong to give the

impression that there was complacency onthe part of the university.”

A wide range of resources are available toteachers through TAG – including supportfor new faculty, peer coaching for facultyand teaching assistants, seminars and insti-tutes, and an annual two-day learning con-ference on the scholarship of teaching. Witha budget of $600,000 a year and the equiv-alent of eight full-time positions, TAG is“one of the largest and most active instruc-tional development centres in the country,”says Poole, who is also the President of theSociety for Teaching and Learning in HigherEducation (Canada’s national organizationdedicated to the enhancement of post-sec-ondary teaching). According to Poole, theFaculty Certificate Program on Teachingand Learning in Higher Education is themost comprehensive program of its kind inCanada.

TAG is also actively promoting problem-based learning (PBL), through the PBLNetwork, and inquiry-driven learning,which allow the students to take responsi-bility for their own learning and help bridgethe gap between teaching and research. “Wemust rise to the challenge to make it clear toour students that attending a research-inten-sive university like UBC is a great advan-tage,” says Poole.

As part of these efforts, TAG is organizingthe second Undergraduate MultidisciplinaryResearch Conference in March 2004. At theinaugural conference in September 2002,nearly 70 undergraduate students from alldisciplines presented their research work.

“In a research university, where the stu-dents are surrounded by faculty who learnedby curiosity-based inquiry,” says Poole,“wouldn’t it be nice if that became conta-gious and if what they learned from facultymembers wasn’t just the knowledge of thesubject area, but knowledge about researchprocesses – how you go about learningabout something, without having to rely onsitting in a classroom and waiting for some-one to tell you?” ■■

Promoting Teaching, Promoting Teachers B Y C R I S T I N A C A L B O R E A N U

ubcr4909_28aug0203 9/02/03 3:40 PM Page 9


UBC ALUMNI

AIDS Researcher Wins AlumniAward > Martin T. Schechter

MA’75, PhD, MD, MSc

A well-recognized figure in the internationalresearch community, Martin Schechter is a pioneer in the field of HIV and AIDS researchand attracts a high level of grant funding forUBC and its teaching hospitals.

Schechter began research into AIDS beforethe first cases came to light in Canada, andbefore its viral nature was established. He isnow a Canada Research Chair in HIV/AIDS andUrban Population Health, studying the mechanisms of disease susceptibility amongmarginalized Canadians living in inner cities.His research has increased understanding ofHIV transmission, leading to improved strategies for prevention.

Schechter began teaching at UBC in 1983 andnow heads the department of Health Care andEpidemiology. Since 1993 he has been nationaldirector of the Canada HIV Trials Network. Itlinks researchers, people living with HIV/AIDS,primary caregivers, pharmaceutical manufactur-ers and regulatory agencies, facilitating partnerships for clinical trials of promising newtherapies. He is also director of the Centre forHealth Evaluation and Outcome Sciences,

which pools the expertise of research scientistsfrom various fields to examine current therapiesand practices.

Co-chair of the international Conference onAIDS, held in Vancouver in 1996, Schechter isfrequently interviewed by news media about thedisease and his ongoing research.

Schechter was co-founder of the B.C. Centrefor Excellence in HIV/AIDS, established in1991, and was elected founding president of theCanadian Association for HIV Research in1990. He has served on many panels and committees including the National AdvisoryCommittee on AIDS, and the ManagementCommittee of the Krever Commission of Inquiryon the Blood System in Canada. He held aCanadian Institutes of Health Research SeniorScientist Award until 2001 and was elected into the Canadian Institute of AcademicMedicine in 1998.

He is the 2002 recipient of the ScienceCouncil of B.C. Award for Excellence inResearch and in the same year received theQueen’s Jubilee Gold Medal. He was named tothe Order of British Columbia in 1994.

The UBC Alumni Association will honour accomplished members of the UBC community at its NinthAnnual Alumni Achievement Awards Dinner on Nov. 20, 2003, at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. Formore information and to purchase tickets, please call the Association at 604-822-3313 or visit the web-site at www.alumni.ubc.ca.

Board of Governors approves UBC Visual Identity Policy

In May 2003, UBC's Board of Governors approved a VisualIdentity policy, meant to guide UBC units in their use of theuniversity’s name, typeface, initials, specified colours andlogo (at left), as well as their relationship to other visualfeatures in printed and electronic materials.

The appropriate use of these elements enhances theUniversity’s reputation, leverages quick recognition, reduces

design costs and inefficiencies, and demonstrates organizational purposeand accountability to diverse University stakeholders.

The policy applies to:

(a) campus signage;(b)University print advertising;(c) University Web sites and other forms of electronic promotion/

communication;(d) livery for University vehicles;(e) University business cards, letterhead, and other stationery; and(f) University brochures and other publications.

An electronic version of the full Policy and Guidelines is available at:www.universitycounsel.ubc.ca/policies/policy94.html

ubcr4909_28aug0203 9/02/03 3:40 PM Page 10


In the early 1970s, UBC students had a bizarre outlet to express their frustrations. A wave of streakers swept

over the campus in the early part of the decade but the movement really came to a climax in 1974 when about

150 men, mostly engineering students, ran through and around the Student Union Building wearing nothing

more than ski masks. Not amused, the Ubyssey editorialized: “Streaking just plays right into the purposes of

those wanting students to forget the real issues.”

T I M E P I E C E 1 9 7 4

UBC alumnus Rodney Graham converted a 19th century horse-drawnlandau carriage into a mobile cameraobscura in his Millennial Time Machine,housed in a glass-walled pavilion at theintersection of Main Mall and MemorialRoad.

A camera obscura produces an image that isupside down and reversed, and was an influentialprecursor to the modern multi-lens camera.

The sculpture overlooks the landscaped bowl betweenKoerner Library and Main Library, with the camera obscura focused on a young sequoiatree that will grow to maturity.

The tree and location raise issues about the university as a place where knowledge, technologies and histories are constructed, according to Naomi Sawada, PublicPrograms/Publicity Coordinator at UBC’s Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, which isadministering the project.

The Canada Council contributed $132,000 and the province gave $12,000 to fund thepavilion, with additional support from the Morris and Helen Belkin Foundation. The artwork is a gift to the university from the artist. ■■

Transported through Time

Millennial Time Machine (above) produces this upside down and reverseimage of a young sequoia tree (right) in the landscaped bowl between Koernerand Main libraries.

ubcr4909_28aug0203 9/02/03 3:40 PM Page 11


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Robot Insectscontinued from page 1

it is possible to generate enoughlift with mechanical wings to geta robot flying.

And then there are the electroactive polymers. Theserubber-like materials expandwhen a voltage is applied tothem, returning to their originalshape when the voltage is cut off.

The muscle-like properties ofthese materials make them anobvious choice for the work of imitating biological movements like a dragonfly’sflapping wings.

“They are capable of doublingtheir original length,” saysMadden of the newest generationof plastics. “A human bicep canonly contract 20 per cent.”

True, Madden and Yan don’texpect to have any artificialdragonflies flying around theirlabs by the end of this project.But nobody else in the world of robotics research has yet been able to get an insect-sizedrobot flying on its own – and thepair sees that as an open chal-lenge.

“The way we’re hoping totackle this is to combine newmaterials and new actuator technologies – that is, new methods of getting things tomove – that will give us tremendous advantages inmechanical design and in cost,”

says Madden, who came to UBClast year from MIT.

The pair’s goal isn’t to inventnew materials but to design acheap robot that could fly byitself. To do this, they must figure out a way to mimic insectflight.

“It’s one thing to get the robotoff the ground with a wireattached to it and to be able tocontrol it; it’s another thing to beable to set it free and have it do

what you want,” says Madden. His job is to assess which of

the electroactive polymers currently available could be usedin the mechanical design of therobosect. The problem is that therange of materials introducedover the last decade are at differ-ent stages of development andnot all their properties areknown. Madden is working toidentify these properties andselect the best one for the job.

Yan’s task is to design therobot’s wing mechanism tomatch the polymer’s propertiesso that it can mimic the dragonfly’s wing motions, andre-create the unsteady aerodynamics of flapping wings.

Dragonflies and many otherinsects are able to dart, hover,move back and forth and evenfreeze their wings and glide.Incredible as it may seem,researchers have only recentlybegun to understand the mechanics of insect flight.

“One of our big challenges is

trying to generate the correctmotions so that the robot will dowhat we want it to,” Yanexplains. “There have been somebreakthroughs with unsteadyaerodynamics, but we’re still atthe stage where simulationsaren’t as good as they should beso we need to copy and measurewhat the biological organism isdoing.”

So how do you measure adragonfly’s wing beats?

Yan is using high-speed videocamera footage and large-scalewing models to measure forcesacting on the wings.

By the time their pilot project,funded with $35,000 from theInstitute of Robotics andIntelligent Systems (IRIS), comesto an end in May 2004, Maddenand Yan hope to have identifiedthe most effective electroactivepolymer for getting a roboticdragonfly up in the air.

Assembling a self-propellingseven-centimetre robosect, onthe other hand, is a completelydifferent matter and one bestsaved for future research projects.

“To put it together, you needto have micrometre level resolution in the placement ofthe parts,” Madden says. “Atypical [human] hair is 100micrometres in diameter. We’dneed to be able to orient theseparts and position them onabout a hundredth of the widthof a hair.” ■■

Are the people receiving themost health-care services reallyill or are they healthy peopleoverusing the system?

A group of UBC researchersat the Centre for HealthServices and Policy Researchrecently answered this questionin the first study in B.C. to lookat how high users of health care

differ from other residents. It isthe first study in Canada in thelast several decades to look atthe issue in a comprehensiveway, rather than analyzing costsof particular types of services.

“We wanted to provide policy-makers with a betterunderstanding of high users ofphysician services,” says RobReid, assistant professor ofhealth care and epidemiologyand lead author on the study.“If we have details about theusers we should be able to draftbetter strategies to care for thisgroup and save health care dollars.”

The research team analyzeddata on nearly three millionadults registered in the B.C.Medical Services Plan (MSP) in1996/97 and ranked themaccording to dollars spent inphysician services. Theseinclude dollars paid to generalpractitioners and specialistsworking in offices and hospitals.

A group of 126,000 individu-als were classed as high users ofservices. This group saw more

than three times as many different doctors as other usersand they visited their doctors atfive times the rate of otherusers. Also, those visits weremore costly because of the complicated nature of patients’conditions.

The group accounted formore than 60 per cent of all

hospital days and almost a thirdof total payments made tophysicians by MSP.

The most striking feature ofthis user group was not age butthe complexity and extent oftheir health problems. Morethan 80 per cent of high usershad at least six different typesof illness and almost one-thirdhad 10 or more.

“A common perception hasbeen that people are overusingthe system, so cutting down onservices or charging more userfees will save money,” saysReid. “That strategy would hitthis population hard. They aregenuinely and seriously ill andrequire the attention they arereceiving. Extra charges wouldbe like a tax on illness.”

The findings indicate that thesystem is operating fairlybecause larger shares of avail-able resources are directed tothose who need them, he adds.

The study focused on B.C. butReid says he would expect similar results across Canada.

“The challenge to our health-care system is to provide

Seriously Sick or Simply Sniffling?

B Y H I L A R Y T H O M S O N

Health policy researchers target heavy service users.

co-ordinated, multidisciplinarycare, rather than treating onedisease at a time,” he says.“That way we’ll save money,but more importantly, we’ll beable to give better care to thosewho need the services most.”

Particular savings could befound by integrating care formajor psychiatric and chronic

medical conditions, he adds.The report has been issued to

provincial policy-makers. Formore information on the study,visit www.chspr.ubc.ca. ■■

“A common perception has been that people are overusing the system, so cutting down on services or charging more user fees will save money,”

The pair’s goal isn’t to invent new materials but to design a cheaprobot that could fly by itself. To do this, they must figure out a way tomimic insect flight.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA VOLUME 49 | · PDF filewould resemble a dragonfly in size and shape, ... nicate with such a machine. ... same way they might talk about