More than 20 student researchers were honoured May 30 at the annual Undergraduate Research Excellence Awards, held at the Clarion Inn. JJ Janzen (Psychology) and Gurneesh Purba (Kinesiology) addressed the audience on behalf of students. Congratulations to all the recipients.   Award Recipients  Community Service Research   Carter Johannes & Saba Berenjforooshazar  -- School of Land…

This is what research looks like at UFV: pairing children with the elderly as dance partners, exploring cellular agriculture and indoor farming, collecting and preserving South Asian settlers' stories, and an innovative hub that fuels out-of-the-box thinking about health and social issues. Research here is different. It is impactful. It is curious and creative. It…

For Dr. James Bedard, the 2022 winner of the Research Excellence award at UFV, a faculty posting in the biology department turned out to be the perfect fit. His mentor during his undergraduate and graduate years studying microbiology in Manitoba had told him that he’d make a good teaching-focused professor with a minor focus on…

Two mentors guided Matt Douma from rebel living in a car to ER nursing career Matt Douma wasn’t a typical nursing student. He chafed against convention and questioned the rules. He had passions outside of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program, despite being warned by his professors that he wouldn’t have time for…

If you could go back in time, what would you do? Food expert Lenore Newman would travel to ancient Rome and try silphium. It’s an herb that was “loved to death” by the Romans, and it’s not the only vanished victual featured in Lost Feast, Newman’s new book about extinct animals and plants that were…

Providing undergraduate students with research opportunities is one of UFV’s defining strengths. That strength was celebrated on May 24 as top student researchers were honoured at the annual Undergraduate Research Excellence awards. A total of 41 students were recognized at the event, receiving more than $25,000 worth of research awards, the most in the 14-year…

Lenore Newman, UFV's Canada Research chair in food security and environment, has lengthy experience studying the Agricultural Land Commission and Agricultural Land Reserve and the impact of their 43-year history in BC. Now she will have a chance to weigh in on its future as a member of a goverment-appointed independent commission that will review…

Three scientists at the University of the Fraser Valley have received federal funding to continue their research. Dr. Lucy Lee, Dr. Derek Harnett, and Dr. Olav Lian received a combined total of $345,000 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. The three grants each cover a five-year period, until 2022. The funding received by…

At age 16, Darryl Wilson was preparing to live on his own. Now 26, he’s one of UFV’s top students. Imagine what’s next. A decade ago Wilson found himself on a Youth Agreement, a provincial government program for kids that otherwise don’t make it into foster care and live on their own while regularly meeting…

Dr. Lenore Newman has eaten her way across Canada. She and her appetite have traveled more than 40,000 km on a five-year quest to explore Canadian cuisine. And in her new book, Speaking in Cod Tongues, Newman asserts that what makes Canadian food culture unique is our love of wild food like salmon and berries,…

Derek Harnett’s research explores things we can’t see and that might not exist. And it’s vital. A world-recognized expert in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) sum-rule methods, Harnett’s work isn’t easily understood by the layperson, but it’s heralded within the physics community. His research — fuelled by insatiable curiosity and funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering…

For Dr. Olav Lian and his team of student researchers it’s all about the details. Teeny, tiny, miniscule details — grains of sand in this case — that lead to big discoveries. Lian is an earth scientist in UFV’s Geography and the Environment department, and he and his student researchers have helped make a giant…

Academia, applied research, and activism are all connected in the eyes of Dr. Lenore Newman. When she accepted the role of Canada Research Chair in Food Security in the Environment at the University of the Fraser Valley, she knew she’d be focusing on research that is extremely relevant to the UFV region, and on topics…

2014 UFV Research Excellence award winner Healthy bodies make for healthy minds and healthy communities. There are many opportunities in Fraser Valley communities to do scientific research focused on keeping the population healthy, raising healthier kids, and helping the elderly stay healthy longer through well-planned physical activity. That’s what Dr. Michael Gaetz of Chilliwack has…

Research brings great joy to UFV chemist Noham Weinberg. “For, me, it is like drinking clean water fresh from the source! And having students working with you, seeing them grow into independent researchers, is an even greater joy. It is what drives me. Their enthusiasm is contagious! “I like teaching in a classroom setting but…