LFS Today Feb 2, 2021

Welcome JT Cornelis!

We’d like to welcome Dr. Jean-Thomas Cornelis, new Assistant Professor in the Applied Biology Program, who started with us on February 1, 2021.  Dr. Cornelis comes from the University of Liège (Belgium), where he was appointed as an Assistant Professor in Soil Science.  He received a PhD from the Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) in 2010.  Dr. Cornelis is a pedologist and biogeochemist who will fill a key gap in fundamental soil science, with a research focus on soil biological, physical and chemical processes that drive the biogeochemical cycling of elements in terrestrial ecosystems.  JT’s office will be located in McML 225.

Hybrid Teaching Pilot Grant for Summer 2021

The Provost’s office has committed to fund five projects to pilot and evaluate experimentations with hybrid teaching and learning models in a limited number of courses in Summer 2021.  Funding is available up to a total of $18,500 for each project, plus central support for evaluation of the pilots. This funding is intended to support both the development and teaching of these pilots.

The deadline for applications is February 19^th and applicants will be notified of the results in the first week of March.

Here are the announcement and application form. (saved on the LFS Intranet under New to LFS-Teaching-COVID-19 Teaching Updates.)

Teaching Theory Tuesday

Practice testing and retrieval practice improves student learning.   
“Providing low/no-stakes testing offers students an opportunity
to truly assess their knowledge”
– Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan & Willingham, 2013,
Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques

Brought to you from the Learning Centre.

LFS TA Re-Orientation for New and Returning TAs (via Zoom)

All LFS TAs are invited to attend Re-Orientation on Friday, February 5th from 11 AM to 12 PM for an introduction (or review) of relevant TA resources. Attendees will learn about the TA application system, the union collective agreement, and professional development opportunities, and meet key LFS staff, CUPE 2278 union representatives, and fellow TAs.

Instructors currently supervising first-time TAs may want to encourage these students to attend the event.

If interested, please register here: http://bit.ly/LFSTA_reorientation

Soil 500 Graduate Seminar Series – Friday, Feb. 5

Speaker: Chitra Chopra, MSc graduate student, Atmospheric Science (supervisor Andy Black)
Topic: Quantification and mapping of methane emissions using eddy covariance in a synthetic natural gas injection experiment
Date: Friday, February 5
Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Online via Zoom
For more info:  bit.ly/soil500

To join our listserve and receive seminar info, contact sandra.brown@ubc.ca.