Alumnus Donates $350,000 to Support Forestry Students
“You need to be resourceful when living on a farm,” says Henry David Currey, a UBC alumnus who graduated with a BASC (Agricultural Engineering) in 1950. “When things break down, you have to fix them, and that’s how it was with me.”
This combined background in engineering and agriculture allowed Henry, better known as Dave, to flourish as an entrepreneur.
An Enduring Legacy Supports Forestry Students
A decision made 50 years ago, to honour someone born over 100 years ago, continues to make an enormous difference in the lives of Forestry students today. The Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation (KSSF) has supported 87 students through scholarships, and Emily Dorey and Victoria Diederichs are two of the happy recipients.
New Kuka Robot Takes Free-Form Timber Designs from Drawing Board to Production
A new robot milling cell with the capability of machining wood panels up to seven metres long, working in eight axes of motion, is helping the Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP) research and develop complex free-form wood structures that previously existed only in virtual environments. The robot comes from Kuka Roboter GmbH, one of the world’s largest robot manufacturers, and is the first of its kind in Canada.
2017 Donor Recognition Evening
On Thursday, March 9, 2017, the UBC Faculty of Forestry was delighted to host a ‘Donor Recognition Evening’ to honour and thank our generous donors and celebrate the 2016 student award recipients. Guests mingled in the Atrium of the Forest Sciences Centre for a cocktail reception, with speeches from Dean John Innes; and two award recipients representing the graduate and undergraduate students.
Belief in Equity Behind Longstanding Scholarship
Back in the early 1990s, Clark Binkley was Dean of the Faculty of Forestry at UBC. As such, he was frequently invited to give talks throughout Canada and the US; talks for which he was offered speaking fees. “I just felt awkward accepting the fees,” he says, “so I decided to have them go back to UBC in some way, and what better way than to support students?” Clark established a scholarship in 1996 and has added to the endowment since then. The scholarship has supported the education of over 20 Forestry students to date.
Donor Award Has Lasting Impact
A decades-old decision to support Forestry students continues to make a difference today. In 1989 Ralph Cochran and his wife Elizabeth endowed a scholarship for graduate students, and today Shaghayegh Akhatari is using those funds to pursue her research in wood science.
Shaghayegh’s work focuses on how to use sawmill and logging residues to generate energy in a way that maximizes social benefits and minimizes the environmental footprint.
Alumnus Bruce Blackwell is Fired Up about Student Scholarships
Bruce has been involved with fire for his entire career, and is passionate about fire science. So passionate, in fact, that he has established the B.A. Blackwell and Associates Scholarship in Fire Science. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a graduate student studying fire science, beginning in 2015-16.
Donor Support Strengthens Student Recruitment
“I tell the students that it’s more than trees,” laughs Andrea Lyall, the Faculty’s Aboriginal Initiatives Coordinator. Thanks to a generous gift from Sue Johnson, Andrea’s ability to open Aboriginal high school students’ eyes to the possibilities of a UBC Forestry education have improved dramatically.
Resource Economist Peter Pearse Creates Award for Aboriginal Students
Hoping to give other students the same opportunity he had to attend UBC, resource economist and Professor Emeritus Peter Pearse has committed $500,000 to awards for Aboriginal students in the Faculty of Forestry. The first awards will be made in the 2015-16 academic year.
Dean Emeritus Creates Award for Masters Students
Like many young people, Bob Kennedy graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and a need to hit the road. Growing up in Syracuse, New York, he attended the New York State College of Forestry on the campus of Syracuse University. “I knew I wanted to do graduate work, and the Pacific Northwest seemed interesting,” he says. Thousands of kilometres of pavement, 170 miles of gravel road and three flat tires later, Bob arrived at UBC in 1953.