2016 at UVic was another great year of memorable moments and compelling news about people, projects, ideas, creativity and research. A world-first discovery about Stone Age tools, vital hints for the future of coral reefs in warming oceans and a dwarf planet that transfixed media across our globe are just some of the many captivating UVic stories over the past 12 months.
At Legacy Art Galleries, Academic and Community Programmer Gillian Booth works on development and facilitation of programs related to gallery exhibitions and the UVic art collection and she also helps grow and enhance links with community. She's "always been a maker and a writer" — with an eye on art.
Adult learners are a "missing generation" in Indigenous language revitalization. The majority of fluent speakers are 70 years of age or older and although young children in immersion are speaking their languages in increasing numbers, many Indigenous adults aged 18 to 60 do not. Onowa McIvor (Indigenous education) and Peter Jacobs (linguistics) just wrapped up the first study of the Mentor-Apprentice Program for Indigenous adult language learners in BC.
Renovations in McKinnon are now almost complete and the building is now the teaching and research hub for the School of Exercise Science, Physical & Health Education.
An alarming decline of the ring-tailed lemur in Madagascar has researchers calling for quick action before this iconic primate goes extinct. UVic anthropologist and primatologist Lisa Gould co-authored the new study and estimates no more than 2,000 to 2,400 ring-tailed lemurs remain in the wild.
Linguist Alexandra D’Arcy plans to address one of the most perplexing challenges in linguistics in a new study exploring how kids talk. She is looking for 30 more candidates for the Kids Talk project, focusing on the same cohort of children first as preschoolers, then in the playground.
A project co-led by UVic biochemist Christoph Borchers will use more than $3.8 million in new funding from Genome Canada to make mouse models more powerful and meaningful to the study of health and disease. Also funded is UVic chemist Fraser Hof, who receives $238,800 to investigate “methylation”—the smallest form of biochemical control switch.
UVic is entering into an agreement with Ricoh Canada to provide new multifunction (copy / print / scan / fax) devices, printers and fleet management services to campus. Ricoh will begin site visits in January to assess how document handling—by photocopy, printing and scanning—works in different campus offices. Information from the initial phase of the project will guide equipment replacement as well as future enhancements to UVic’s print and document management infrastructure.
Thanks to a collaboration between UVic Libraries and Les Enluminures, UVic students and researchers have access to 21 manuscripts from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, on loan to UVic till May. A public viewing, along with treasures from the library’s collections, also takes place Dec. 16.
UVic's plan to sell the former Dunsmuir Lodge and lands to Homewood Health and the Pauquachin First Nation is a step closer to completion with re-zoning and subdivision approval from the District of North Saanich. Following a lengthy public hearing Dec. 7, North Saanich council voted 6-1 in favour of UVic's application for rezoning and subdivision of the 100-acre property on the slopes of Mount Newton.
With the forecast indicating the possibility of heavy snow tomorrow, we wanted to provide this guidance to leaders who may be receiving questions from staff and faculty.
On Dec. 5, the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), Pembina Institute and Clean Energy Canada released the first independent assessment of BC’s Climate Leadership Plan in combination with the federal government’s recently announced carbon price schedule.
The search for new anti-cancer drugs, a deeper understanding of the economics of climate change, and fresh insights into the complex mathematics behind constantly changing systems and processes in our lives--these will continue to preoccupy the minds of three UVic researchers in the next several years thanks to recent renewals of their Canada Research Chairs.
A new report from the UVic-led Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions provides answers on how to motivate change-friendly behaviour, based on a review of environmental psychology research.
A new paper by three UVic environmental economics researchers, published Nov. 30 in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, finds that wind power alone cannot fill in the electricity gap for Alberta once coal is phased out by 2030.
As digital technology becomes increasingly integrated and more advanced, so too does the threat to cyber-security. UVic’s Information Security and Object Technology research lab has been addressing this threat since 1999. Coordinator and research engineer Issa Traoré admits it’s a constant battle to keep ahead of hacker expertise and adaptability.
