When Amrit Singh sets his mind on an academic goal, he usually achieves it. So, when he zeroed in on winning the Governor General’s Silver Medal for 2024, odds were good he’d win it. It took a ton of work to achieve the highest standing in an undergraduate degree program, but Singh did what he…

Dr. Vanessa Radzimski believes the best way for students to succeed is to make mistakes and learn from them. It’s a core tenet of her teaching philosophy, along with the idea that students are the best teachers for students. Whether they enter one of Radzimski’s courses with a lot or a little mathematics experience, they…

Eryn Braley is thankful to have chosen a career in Indigenous public health that allows her to connect with her Indigenous identity. “I am so appreciative of the Indigenous mentors and peers who have guided me in my career and personal journey. Through teachings, connection, and ceremonies, I am connecting with who I am as…

UFV’s new Centre for High Pressure Research (CHPR) will open this fall thanks to $530,725 in targeted funding. The only one of its kind in Canada, the centre will be led by Dr. Jacob Spooner, a UFV assistant professor in chemistry, who recently received a $208,557 John R. Evans Leaders Fund grant through the Canada…

Dr. Michael Hitch joins UFV as the Dean of the Faculty of Science, effective Sept. 1, 2023. He will also hold a faculty appointment in the Department of Geoscience.  A senior leader with more than 38 years of academic and industry experience, Dr. Hitch brings a strong history of sound management and a combined track…

A student would have to be really outstanding to be the first-ever winner of the UFV Alumni Association’s Outstanding Student Leader award.  Manjot Benning fits the bill, and then some!  She’s graduating this June with top marks in her Bachelor of Science degree program, with sights set on medical school applications in the future. She’s…

The Fraser Valley is the heart of agriculture in British Columbia. But along with bumper crops of berries and corn come real concerns about the future of food production.  Climate change, heat domes, floods, drought, global warning, and rising prices all have an impact on local and global food security.   The University of the…

Dr. Christopher Pascoe likens life as a research scientist to that of an explorer.  “You stand on the edge of what we know and peer out into the fog of the unknown.”  Now a tenure-track assistant professor, Pascoe (BSc ’10) chose to follow his curiosity over the edge and into the field of asthma research. …

Just behind the Lá:lem te Baker student housing on UFV’s Abbotsford campus lies a new, neatly manicured garden. Lush green shrubs blend in with an assortment of flowers, herbs and plants. Some are in full bloom; others are just sprouting.  Although it is serene, the garden — which spans almost 100 feet  — serves a…

Trying to catch Heather Kelly can be a bit tricky. It seems the UFV Biology standout student and soon-to-be graduate is always on the go, spreading her knowledge and passion for scientific research with the world. Immediately after she was able to squeeze in an interview in early June, she was off to the UFV…

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…

Dr. Sandra Gillespie’s lineage explains plenty. Growing up in the Fraser Valley in a family of biologists, she developed an affinity for the outdoors and all of the species that inhabit it.  “My interest in the natural world started naturally from being around adults that encouraged observation and curiosity,” says Gillespie, an assistant biology professor…