A professor at the University of Northern British Columbia has been elected President of the Canadian Botanical Association (CBA). Dr. Hugues Massicotte, a forest biologist and professor in the Ecosystem Science and Management (ESM) Program, commenced his two-year term at the head of the Association in June. Botany is a branch of biology that concentrates on all aspects of living plants. “I’m very proud to have been elected president of the Association,” says Dr. Massicotte, who has been at UNBC since the opening of the Prince George campus in 1994. “UNBC offers many courses with strong botanical connections, such as plant systematics and dendrology, plant ecology and physiology, ethnobotany, mycology and lichenology as well as a variety of forestry courses. This is part of the reason we are increasingly known as Canada’s Green University.” Dr. Massicotte joins two other UNBC professors on the board of the Association. Ecosystem Science and Management Professor Jane Young serves as CBA Treasurer and ESM Professor Art Fredeen is its Western Director. “It’s exciting that both the University and northern BC are gaining this sort of recognition,” says Dr. Massicotte. “Plants are critical for sustaining life on this planet and this region is home to some of the most passionate botanists in Canada. Our involvement gives us a stronger voice nationally.” The Canadian Botanical Association was formed in 1964 and serves as the national organization for botanists in Canada, including professional botanists at universities, colleges, schools, government and industry as well as students, technicians and amateurs. The preservation of botanically significant natural areas is of special interest to the Association.

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UNBC Pine Beetle Researcher Wins National Award

A professor at the University of Northern British Columbia, who is involved in research on the DNA of the mountain pine beetle, is being honoured by the Entomological Society of Canada for his efforts and activities in the field of entomology – the scientific study of insects.
Dezene Huber will be awarded the C. Gordon Hewitt Award at the annual Entomological Society of Canada meeting in Vancouver at the end of October.
 
“Dr. Huber has already made significant contributions that have advanced entomology in Canada and in the global community,” says Dr. Peter Mason, Chair of the Society’s Achievement Awards Committee. “We are happy to present Dr. Huber with this award, based on his scientific contributions, commitment to teaching, outreach activities, and service to the Entomological Society.”
 
The C. Gordon Hewitt Award is a peer-nominated honour presented each year by the Entomological Society of Canada to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to entomology in Canada before the age of 40.
 
“This is a great honour and I would like to thank my many mentors and colleagues who have been vital to the progression of my career to this point,” says Dr. Huber, who is also Canada Research Chair in Forest Entomology and Chemical Ecology. “It is encouraging to receive this distinction while researching issues that are so important to the people and environment of northern BC and to other parts of Canada and North America.”
 
Dr. Huber’s research area includes DNA sequencing efforts to uncover the nature of the genes of the mountain pine beetle that are likely related to the insect’s ability to withstand extreme winter temperatures. “We’re now working on what turns specific genes on and off in the autumn and spring, with the hope of better understanding the climatic variables that impact insect overwintering success,” says Dr. Huber.