ASciNA Chapter Pacific North
British Columbia (Canada), Washington State, Oregon, and Alaska
updated: May 6, 2009
Wir trauern um Johannes Muellegger
- Hannes Muellegger, ASCINA Semaphore Hike, August 2006
Liebe Freunde und KollegInnen,
Die ASCINA community in Vancouver hat einen grossen Verlust zu Beklagen. Unser Freund und Kollege Hannes Muellegger ist am 23. April in den Bergen British Columbias toedlich verunglueckt. Er war mit 2 Freunden auf einer mehrtaegigen Skitour, bei der er in eine Gletscherspalte gestuerzt ist. Hannes war einer der wichtigsten Grundpfeiler unseres ASCINA Chapters Pacific North. Er kam nach Vancouver in 2002 fuer einen post doc an der University of British Columbia. Seit mehreren Jahren nun arbeitete Hannes als senior portein engineer fuer Zymeworks, hier in Vancouver.
Wir alle in Vancouver sind schwer schockiert ueber diesen grossen Verlust und wir sind in tiefer Trauer.
Es hat dann am Samstag dem 2. Mai eine schoene "celebration of hannes' life" in einem Nature Camp in Squamish (zwischen Vancouver und Whistler) gegeben, mit Blick auf die vergletscherte Berge, die er so geliebt hatte.
Das North Shore Rescue team, die Bergrettung fuer die er volunteered hatte, hat ein Einsatzfahrzeug nach ihm benannt, das "'Mule' legger", da er am Berg wie ein 'Mule' war, keine Last zu viel, kein Berg zu hoch, kein Rucksack zu gross....
Wer mit ihm Touren unternommen hat, wird sich dessen sicher erinnern.
3 links zu dem unfall:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/04/24/bc-north-shore-rescue-glacier-death.html
http://www.northshorerescue.com/blog/2009/04/tragic-loss-of-nsr-team-member-johannes.html
http://www.orf.at/?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orf.at%2Fticker%2F325714.html
In tiefer Trauer,
Die gesamte Ascina - Pacicfic North community
The 'MULE' LEGGER
Contact
(please replace the [at] with @ in the email address if you get an error (so much SPAM!!!)
World Cup Skispringen in Whistler
ASciNA Vancouver gratuliert Gregor Schlierenzauer zum World Cup Skisprungsieg in Whistler on Jan 25, 2009
- A group of 20 Austrian, German and Swiss researchers from Vancouver travelled to Whistler to cheer on the Austrian (an other nations') Eagles in the new Olympic Nordic Centre - the Whistler Olympic Park. Gregor Schlierenzauer became first and double olympic champion Thomas Morgenstern became second. What an awesome day! We were able to meet with them and had pictures taken. (picture taken by Claudia Benz)
Summary of ASCINA Chapter Pacific North
Welcome to the ASCINA Pacific North Chapter. I was appointed to head this Chapter at the ASCINA board meeting at October 2nd, 2005.
To give you a brief introduction to the chapter itself and to the current state of the chapter's activity:
We have a small but active group of scientists here in Vancouver who initially met very informally to have some beers, talk about science, skiing (Whistler), beach volleyball (Kits Beach) and other important activities. We have since evolved into a more serious bunch and are now holding more formal meetings with short presentations of a member's research project(s). We usually also tour the facilities where the research is done, followed by a social event. My personal goal is, as I know many of the Austrian scientists in BC, to extend our reach to Washington State and Oregon and maybe also Alaska. A yearly chapter-wide meeting somewhere in the middle between Oregon and Vancouver should be a goal for 2008/2009. I want to encourage ASCINA members, who are both in BC or in the US-part of the chapter to get in contact with me, so we can get in contact and exchange ideas about a meeting.
ASCINA members here in Vancouver are primarily working at the University of British Columbia (UBC), the BC Cancer Agency, the Simon Fraser University (SFU), and (maybe also) at the University of Victoria (UVIC).
For further information please do not hesitate to contact me at: pacific.north[@]ascina[.]at
Best regards,
Julius Halaschek-Wiener
Chapter-Meeting Info
The Chapter Pacific North has a fluctuating number of about 10-15 members.
Our next regular meeting will be in February 2009. The speaker, time and location has yet to be confirmed. Please come back to check for details.
I hope you had a great start into the new year.
Servus, Julius
NEWSFLASH
Ski Jumping Whistler Olympic Park, Jan 25, 2009
A group of 20 Austrian, German and Swiss researchers from Vancouver travelled to Whistler to cheer on the Austrian (an other nations') Eagles in the new Olympic Nordic Centre - the Whistler Olympic Park. Gregor Schlierenzauer became first and double olympic champion Thomas Morgenstern became second. What an awesome day! We were able to meet them and had pictures taken with them. (pictures: Claudia Benz)
ASCINA award 08 to Dr. Stefan Dollinger
Congratulations to Dr. Stefan Dollinger, one of two ASCINA Young Researchers' Awardees for 2008.
Stefan works at the University of British Columbia, were he directs the Canadian English Laboratory.
Stefan was awrded the ASCINA Young Investigator Award 2008 for his work: New-Dialect Formation in Canada: Evidence from the English Modal Auxiliaries (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2008)
The book explains the formation of a new variety of English in Canada concerning the modal auxiliaries, by considering features of the input varieties and linguistic change. Based on language contact scenarios, the study aims to answer the question what a new variety, a koiné, will look like when speakers of different dialects settle in a new place: when American, English, Scottish and Irish dialect speakers settle a new area - at different times and in different numbers -, which features will the new variety take over and which not? The modal auxiliary verbs provide the material for the analysis.
The ASCINA Young Researchers' Award (EUR 20,000, shared by two researchers) is sponsored by the Austrian Ministry of Research and adjudicated by the International Committee of FWF, the Austrian equivalent of the tricouncil bodies. All eligible members of ASCINA were encouraged to enter the competition for the two publications showing best "extraordinary academic excellence" while dealing with "questions of significant theoretical import".
NEWS:
Stefan was recently appointed as assistant professor for English language in the Department of English at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Dollinger, who received the ASciNA Young Investigator Award for 2008, will start his new position in July 2009.
- Eva Schernhammer, Stefan Dollinger (mitte), Johannes Hahn
Elisabeth Maurer-Spurej
Elisabeth Maurer-Spurej
set up her own early-stage medical device company in November 2008 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. LightIntra Technology Inc.'s core technology is the ThromboLUX, invented by Maurer-Spurej in 2006 (Phys Med Biol.2006;51:3747-3758). ThromboLUX is a dynamic light-scattering device to test the quality and function of platelets for transfusion, and will significantly improve patient care.
Maurer-Spurej, a scientist with Canadian Blood Services, also works as a clinical associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia.
For further information on Elisabeth Maurer-Spurej please visit:
http://www.pathology.ubc.ca/html/ClinicalAssocProfessor/Maurer.html and
http://www.bloodservices.ca/CentreApps/Internet/
UW_V502_MainEngine.nsf/page/RDbioMaurer?OpenDocument
Welcome Nikolaus Gantner
Nikolaus Gantner
joined Environment Canada's Water & Climate Impacts Research Centre (W-CIRC) housed at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, as a postdoctoral fellow in January 2009. The focus of his current research is to determine the effects of climate change on the lakes and their food webs in the Canadian Arctic.
Welcom Nikolaus to BC!!!! Please join us often at our events.
Gantner recently finished his doctoral research on mercury contamination in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) at the Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Ontario. A graduate of the University of Innsbruck, Austria, Gantner started his career in Canada in 2002 by participating in an Austrian-Canadian research project for his M.Sc. work, through the University of Innsbruck and the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. After completing his M.Sc. in Innsbruck, he moved to Canada in 2004 to start his Ph.D. studies at Guelph.
For further information, please visit:
http://w-circ.uvic.ca/english/index.php
http://web.uvic.ca/~wcirc/english/staff/index.php
Stefan Dollinger
as also seen in The spring 2008 issue (volumn 17) of "bridges" - the OST's magazine on science and technology policy
Dr. Dollinger, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, is director of the Canadian English Laboratory at UBC and has recently published a ground-breaking contribution on Canadian English.
The book, titled New-Dialect Formation in Canada, details the development of eleven modal auxiliaries in late 18th- and 19th-century Canadian English in a framework of new-dialect formation. It offers a socio-historical perspective on a still understudied variety of North American English by combining language-internal features with settlement history in this first monograph-length, diachronic treatment of Canadian English.
For further information on Stefan Dollinger please visit
http://homepage.univie.ac.at/stefan.dollinger/cv.htm. More details about New-Dialect Formation in Canada can be found at http://www.benjamins.com/cgi-bin/t_bookview.cgi?bookid=SLCS%2097
Dr. Dieter Fink
Grundlagenforschung am anderen Ende der Welt
„Ich war immer schon vom Unbekannten fasziniert.“ Seine Faszination für das Unbekannte hat ihn gleich im doppelten Sinn Neuland betreten lassen: Obwohl Dr. Dieter Fink nicht Medizin studiert hat, arbeitet er heute in der Krebsforschung. Und wenn er nicht im Labor sitzt, erkundet er seine neue Wahlheimat am anderen Ende der Welt: Vancouver und die kanadische Westküste. „Was mich wirklich an Kanada fasziniert ist die unendliche Weite. Wann immer es möglich ist, gehe ich mit Freunden auf Exkursion, um die Regenwälder und die Berge der Küstenkette zu erkunden.“ Aufgewachsen ist Dieter Fink in einer Gegend, die gegensätzlicher nicht sein könnte: auf einem Bauernhof im burgenländischen Seewinkel.
Meeting June 2008
The ASciNA Pacific North Chapter, based mainly in Vancouver, BC has now a more or less stable, yet fluctuating, community of about 10 to 15 scientists. One of our regular meetings was held in mid June at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Dr. Joerg Schachner presented his work on Metallo-organic chemistry, specifically about Ferrocene polymere chemistry and the Holy Grail of Haber-Bosch nitrogen fixation chemistry. Although we are a mixed group with diverse scientific training, Joerg did an outstanding Job in describing his sophisticated world of synthetic inorganic chemistry. We also got a tour through the newly renovated UBC Chemistry building, got to view sophisticated equipment and gadgetry and learned about the patient life of a synthetic chemist. Afterwards we went for dinner and beers and closed both the Koerner's Pub and Mahoney's. Again, a very interesting and fun evening among friends and fellow scientists. The Austrian scientific community in Vancouver is getting stronger as a network overall. People who are at UBC organize a regular "Stammtisch" on Tuesdays and we go together on hikes and (backcountry) skiing trips. Hannes Muellegger will again organize an overnight hiking trip on the mountains around Vancouver in late July or early August. Our next regular scientific meeting will be after the summer in September.
- UBC Chemistry - Glove Box
- UBC newly renovated Chemistry Building
ASCINA PACIFIC NORTH UPDTAE - FEBRUARY 5, 2008
- July 2007, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver
- ASciNA Hike, August 2007, near Whistler, BC
- ASciNA Hike, August 2007, near Whistler, BC
- ASciNA @ the Austrian Vancouver Club, Vancouver, October 2007
The ASciNA chapter Pacific North is gaining speed and size! We have grown now to an outstanding group of people who are very engaged, eagerly attend our the scientific meetings, organize their own “Stammtisch” at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and go for regular downhill and back-country skiing trips together at the local Vancouver mountains. Below is a summary of our recent events from later half of 2007.
The ASciNA Chapter Pacific North met in mid July 2007 at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver. Dieter Fink informed us in a seminar about his interesting work with transgenic and knock out mice. He is designing and cloning sophisticated vectors to enhance target specificity, multi-gene-insertions and screening of genetically modified mice. As always, the evening closed with drinks in a local bar. The highlight of the summer was the second annual ASciNA Vancouver Hiking and overnight camping trip, organized again by Hannes Muellegger. Seven adults and Clara, a 6 months old baby, hiked up to the Helm Creek campground in Garibaldi Provincial Park, just south of Whistler, BC. Some of us also climbed up two peaks, Black Tusk and Helm Peak. We had everything from warm, sunny periods to snowstorms - a real BC adventure!
Additionally, the ASciNA chapter Pacific North had a great social night at the Austria-Vancouver Club (AVC) in Vancouver, BC. The AVC is an organization of Austrians, who immigrated to Canada starting about 60 years ago. 22 of us had an awesome time with Wiener Schnitzel, Goesser Bier and great stories form the old folks. The New Year 2008 has already started with an exceptional scientific presentation from Stefan Woehrer, about his work with hematopoietic stem cells, he is pursuing at the Terry Fox Laboratory at the BC Cancer Agency. Attendance was high and the following social event was very well received. We have big plans for the New Year. We will continue with our regular scientific/social meetings and will additionally plan for skiing trips and of course our yearly overnight hiking trip in the summer.
Past-Past Events (May 06 Feb 07)
May 2006
The May 2006 meeting of the Pacific North - Vancouver (sub)group was held on May 16th. 5 enthusiastic ASciNA-ten met at the new Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Sandra Goritschnig, a grad student at the Department of Botany at UBC, presented an interesting seminar on "An important role for protein modification in plant innate immunity", which was was very well received and heavily discussed. Sandra toured with us the Micheal Smith Labs, which also included a stop at the greenhouse (see pictures). Thank you Sandra!
The evening ended at the Koerner's Pub on the UBC campus. Dieter Fink, post doctoral fellow at the BC Cancer Agency, offered to host our next meeting (date undetermined yet)
December 2005
The kick off meeting of the Vancouver subgroup of the ASCINA chapter Pacific North was held on December 1st, 2005. A samll but dedicated group 5 Vancouver-based scientist met at the Genome Sciences Centre (GSC) at the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA). Dr. Julius Halaschek-Wiener presented his work in a short seminar titled "Genetics of Healthy Aging Study". After a lively discussion the group toured the GSC and other facilities of the new Cancer Research Centre (BCCA CRC). The meeting ended at the Caffe Barney on Granville Street. Scientific (!?) discussions lasted until the wee hours. Pictures of the meeting an its participants are posted below.
Meeting May 06
- ASCINA researchers in the Micheal Smith Laboratories' hot house (together with Arabidopsis thaliana).
ASCINA Pacific North met in May 06 at UBC's Department of Plant and Forestry Research (Michael Smith Laboratories) where Dr. Sandra Goritschnig presented her work on plant immunity.
ASCINA Hike August 2006
- Semaphore Hike, ASCINA Pacific North, August 07
The absolute highlight of the Chapter Pacific North in 2006 was an
overnight camping/hiking trip to the beautiful
mountains north of the famous Whistler ski
resort (hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics),
which was organized by Dr. Hannes Muellegger.
7 brave ASciNAtinnen (plus 2 unborn babies!)
traveled far, carried their camping gear
up to the Semaphore Lakes, endured the abundant
mosquitoes and the chilly night. People
either ventured in the vicinity of the (base)camp
or climbed two nearby peaks (Locomotive and
Face mountains). It was a great and very fun
weekend. Everybody had a grand time with
terrific weather during the day and cloudless
skies with hundreds of shooting stars at night.
Since then, two healthy Austro-Canadian babies have been
born in Nov 06 and Feb 07; Julius Halaschek-
Wiener jr. and Clara Ludwiczek. Congratulations!!!
- At the top of Face Mountain
Meeting February 07
- ASciNAten and Elisabeth's latest invention: The platelet-quality-assessment-blackbox.01
Our last meeting, which took place in February 07 featured a presentation by Dr. Elisabeth Maurer, who presented her fascinating work about preservation and quality control of blood platelets. She presented her newly invented device for automatic blood platelet quality assessment. 7 ASinNA-ten met at the newly opened Life Sciences Institute at the University of British Columbia. A tour through the award-winning research building and a social gathering closed this fascinating evening.