March 18, 1999 For Immediate Release

University of Northern British Columbia students and faculty will be presenting a conference at the end of March that will demonstrate the relevance of science to the lives and livelihoods of people in northern BC. The conference is open to the public and will be held at UNBC on March 26th and 27th.

Called Science Serves the North, the conference will showcase the research being done by UNBC students, faculty, and community collaborators. It will provide an opportunity for the public to get information about UNBC research and the impact of community partnerships.

The conference themes are:

Understanding Our Northern Environment
People and Their Relationships to Natural Resources and the Environment
Knowledge and Technology in Action

On March 26th, there will be a public panel discussion on the changing role of science in the North. Speakers will include Alistair McVey, the Dean of Science and Technology at CNC, and Dan Lousier, UNBC's University-Industry Liaison. It will begin at 7:30pm in the Canfor Theatre.

The conference will continue Saturday morning and wrap up at 3:30pm with a public forum on business and research linkages, featuring Education Minister Paul Ramsey, Northern Commissioner John Backhouse, and Max Blouw, UNBC's Associate Vice-President of Research and Dean of Graduate Studies. The forum will be held in the Canfor Theatre.

There will also be presentations of UNBC faculty and student research and displays of high school science fair projects. The entire conference schedule is available by calling 960-6333 or visiting the conference web site at www.unbc.ca/northconf - .

Science degrees are very popular at UNBC. Close to half of all students are registered in science programs - about double the national average.