WINNIPEG, MB – Three University of Winnipeg professors, Alan Wiebe, Donna Young and Jeff Martin, will be honoured with faculty awards for their outstanding contributions to the University and the broader community at UWinnipeg’s upcoming Convocation ceremonies on June 10 and June 11, 2010.
Alan Wiebe, Faculty of Education, will receive the Clarence Atchison Award for Excellence in Community Service for his work in developing innovative mentoring programs for at-risk and gifted youth. Wiebe has been instrumental in building UWinnipeg as the only place in Manitoba that recognizes mentoring and provides credit for it as skill within the teaching degree program.
“Mentoring is about developing a non-judgmental relationship,” said Wiebe.“We go on a journey together with students and they set their own goals.Achieving those goals is success.For students who are at risk of disengaging, mentoring is an approach that works.”
Dr. Jeff Martin, Department of Physics, is one of Canada’s leading young nuclear and particle physicist who received the largest research grant ever awarded to a Manitoba academic, for creating the world’s highest-density source of ultracold neutrons. He is also a team leader in researching a potential Manitoba solution to the shortage of medical isotopes, currently in development. He will receive the Erica and Arnold Rogers Award for Excellence in Research.
Dr. Donna Young, Department of Biology, has created several popular courses and is celebrated for delivering an education that meets high academic standards, with an enthusiastic teaching style that is friendly and engaging. She will receive the Clifford J. Robson Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching, which is earned by gaining the respect, support and admiration of students.
Here are details about UWinnipeg’s June Convocation.
DETAILED BACKGROUND ON THE AWARD WINNERS
Alan Wiebe – BA, B.Ed, M.Ed
Clarence Atchison Award for Excellence in Community Service – June 11 at 9:30 am
Alan Wiebe joined the Faculty of Education in 2004 and took up the challenge of providing mentorship opportunities through outreach to the community. In his unique role as Mentorship Program Coordinator, Professor Alan Wiebe has devoted his talent and energies to creating projects that reach specific “at-risk” youth, including Aboriginal teens, war-affected youth, economically disadvantaged young people, talented but troubled students and youth in the criminal justice system.
Wiebe’s community outreach initiatives include working with recent immigrant children in partnership with the Spence Neighbourhood Association; mentoring newcomers at Daniel MacIntyre Collegiate and at UWinnipeg’s Global Welcome Centre; helping at-risk street youth on Selkirk Avenue and at Sisler High School. Currently in development, the mentorship program will be adapted to assist incarcerated youth at the Manitoba Youth Centre.
In July 2008, the book Mentoring in a Canadian Context was released by four UWinnipeg professors (Alan Wiebe, Ken McCluskey, Philip Baker and Kevin Lamoureux) outlining the belief that all children deserve to be engaged, challenged and supported, and teachers can play a vital role in preventing youth from falling between the cracks.
Internationally, Wiebe has presented at The World Council for Gifted and Talented Conferences in Vancouver (2009) and Nairobi, Kenya (2010). He also presented at the International Centre for Excellence in Education in Ulm, Germany (2009).
Donna Young, BPE, MHK, PhD
Clifford J. Robson Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching – June 10 at 2:30 pm
Donna Young, associate professor of biology at The University of Winnipeg, ensures her students understand the material while developing a relationship that permits her to counsel and advise them, which she describes as a privilege. She has created and designed two courses that students constantly seek out and are continuously waitlisted.
Her students describe her as “always positive, creative and fair.” Her classes are always lively and inclusive, and are among the most popular in Biology.
Young is a consummate researcher who shares her knowledge. She has trained and mentored numerous undergraduate students, giving them valuable hands-on research experience. Young serves as an excellent role model for her students and her colleagues.
The Clifford J. Robson Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching is earned by gaining the respect, support, admiration and recognition of students. Young has earned this acknowledgment, a testament to her commitment, care and dedication to her students and her field of study.
Jeff Martin, BSc, MSc, PhD
The Erica and Arnold Rogers Award for Excellence in Research – June 10 at 2:30 pm
Jeff Martin is an outstanding young nuclear and particle physicist who has already made a major impact in his field of study. Martin’s research in experimental nuclear physics is oriented towards searching for fundamental physics discoveries beyond the so-called “Standard Model” of particle physics. Since joining The University of Winnipeg, Martin has been responsible for five significant projects:
- The development of a new ultracold neutrons (UCN) source in Canada
- The first measurement of neutron beta-asymmetry using UCN
- Research and development towards the measurement of the proton’s weak charge
- The development of an accurate electron beam polarimetry for the Q-weak experiment
- A determination of the contribution of strange quark-antiquark pairs to the electromagnetic form factors as part of the G0 experiment
Martin is also part of the Prairie Isotope Production Enterprise (PIPE), which is a not-for-profit corporation based in Manitoba with the goal to develop a reliable supply of the medical isotope Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) for Canadian patients.
In June 2009, Martin was successful in a project grant competition that gave him $4.225-million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s New Initiatives Fund, the largest research grant of ever awarded to a Manitoba academic, for creating the world’s highest-density source of ultracold neutrons. This ground-breaking project will enable a class of precision experiments on the fundamental interactions of the neutron to be conducted with higher precision than ever before.
Martin is not only a researcher of prominent importance; he has served as mentor to several post-doctoral, PhD, Masters and Honors students. He has also provided guidance to summer research students.
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
