ReachOut: Fall 2023

ReachOut is published twice a year by the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at UBC.

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Highlights in this issue

A Fast Read on Plastics in Our Food and Water

tianxi plastic water test

A new portable tool can give you a precise reading on how much plastic could be seeping from your plastic coffee cup and into your body.

Dean’s Message

Dean Rickey Yada

From the stories in this issue, one thing that stands out to Dean Yada is how the faculty is moving towards transdisciplinary research.

Building Common Languages to Support Healthier Communities

wildlife welfare

Alumna Madeleine Daepp has developed an array of tools to address some of our most critical issues, which she uses in her unique role as a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research in Seattle, WA.

Building a Sustainable Winery on Vancouver Island

unsworth vineyards

Unsworth Vineyards is located in the heart of the Cowichan Valley and takes a sustainable approach in the management of their 25 hectares of vineyard.

How Artificial Lights at Night Impact Insects and Bats

matt mitchell weather wildlife

Researchers at UBC Farm may not conduct their research under the cover of darkness, but they are certainly getting a sense of what insects are up to during the night.

Parmjit Bains: UBC Alumni Award of Distinction

Parm Bains

To build a successful business from the ground up takes fortitude to face challenges and a sharp instinct to see an opportunity on the horizon and act on it – something Parm Bains (BSc Agr 1979) has done for the last 34 years in the Fraser Valley.

Developing Economic Policy at the University of Indonesia

indonesia food and resource economcis

Chang Che is a fifth-year Food and Resource Economics (FRE) student whose goal has always been working in public policy. Earlier this year, he travelled to Indonesia with a small cohort of UBC students to take part in Go Global’s LFS 303: International Field Studies in Policy Analysis for Agriculture and Natural Resources.

New Faculty Profile: Joséphine Gantois

josephine gantois

Dr. Joséphine Gantois combines economics and ecology with tools like machine learning and interviews to study the impact of human actions on biodiversity.

New Faculty Profile: Jonathan Proctor

jonathan proctor

With a childhood spent foraging for blueberries and cooking with family in Pennsylvania, it was important for Dr. Jonathan Proctor to design a career that centred around food. Combining his interests in agriculture and economics has led him to study the intersection of our global food and climate systems.

New Faculty Profile: Vassilis Kontogiorgos

vassilis kontogiorgos

Dr. Kontogiorgos’ research focuses on the physical chemistry of carbohydrates and their specific ability to provide texture and stability to food products.

New Faculty Profile: Karen Taylor

karen taylor

Karen Taylor is on a mission to empower students with essential financial literacy skills. She’s teaching business and economics in five different LFS classes, reaching those in first-year all the way to master’s-level professional programs.

Milestones and News & Notes

milestones banner

Read about the recipients of the NSERC Discovery research grants, CFI funding, and new members of the 25 and 40 year clubs.

Comments? Questions?

Contact us at reachout@landfood.ubc.ca.

Archives

Past issues of ReachOut are available to view here.

ReachOut is published by the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia

Editor: Karen Lee
Contributors (current issue): Melanie Kuxdorf, Pia Lim, Shannon Wong
Principal Photography (current issue): Martin Dee
Design & Layout (Print Version): Dee Creative Inc.
Website: Karen Lee, Pia Lim
Advisory Committee (current issue): Edmund Seow, Gail Hammond, Lesley Dampier, Niki Glenning, Zoë Campbell