September 13, 2006

A dozen UNBC researchers will be participating in a Fort St. Johnworkshop designed to connect the University with the research andeducation needs of businesses and industry in the Peace River region.The session will be held on Tuesday, September 19 and is beingco-presented by Sci-Tech North and UNBC. It will begin at 4:30pm in theSuper 8 Motel in Fort St. John.

The following professors from UNBC will be attending:

Orland Wilkerson is the Chair of UNBC’s operations in the Peace River –Liard region. He also conducts research in community sustainability,environmental policy, and the effects of energy development.

Kathy Lewis is Chair of the Ecosystem Science and Management program.She is a forest pathologist interested in forest health and hasrecently completed a study on the “shelf life” of trees infected by themountain pine beetle.

Ian Hartley of the Forestry program conducts research on wood qualityby using state-of-the-art equipment to analyze wood structures.

Jianbing Li is in the Environmental Science and Engineering program andconducts research on how to remediate contaminated soils in coldclimates.

Bob Ellis is Chair of the UNBC School of Business and researches leadership and management issues facing Canadian businesses.

Ken Otter conducts research on how habitat disturbance affects thebehaviour of birds. He is currently working on a project assessing theimpacts of wind energy.

Bob Tait is Dean of Graduate Studies and oversees all of theUniversity’s master’s and doctoral degree programs. His personal areasof expertise include learning, motivation, and management systems.

Eric Rapaport is Chair of the UNBC School of Environmental Planning.His research examines integrated resource management, publicparticipation in community planning, air pollution, and the planning oftransportation systems.

Moustafa Mohamed is a professor in the Physics program and has seven patents as a result of his research.

Juyei Sui is in the Environmental Science and Engineering program and studies water flow and the effects of river ice.

Kevin Keen is a statistician in the UNBC Mathematics program whoseprimary focus is on health issues. He has completed a number ofprojects with industry partners involving the application of statisticsto reduce costs and improve operating efficiencies.

“The idea of the trip is to give community members – primarily those inthe business community – a chance to talk informally with UNBCresearchers,” says UNBC President Don Cozzetto. “A number of our stafffrom Research and Co-operative Education will also be joining in thesession to provide a wide array of opportunities for how the region canconnect with the University. Strengthening research, business, andindustry partnerships is one of the key objectives for UNBC over thenext several years.”

UNBC has about 3600 students. While the main campus is in PrinceGeorge, the University has regional campuses in Fort St. John, Quesnel,and Terrace.

Sci-Tech North is a non-profit society in Fort St John that operatesthroughout the Northeast region. It aims to create a culture ofinnovation and entrepreneurial success in the region and iscoordinating the attendance at the research session.

Contact:
Orland Wilkerson, Peace River - Liard regional campus, UNBC - 250.787.6220
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC – 250.960.5622