As part of UBC’s Research Week (March 2-9) the Postdoctoral Association is organizing a science outreach event on Thursday March 8th at Science World, Vancouver’s science center.  The event will take the form of a poster fair, but with a twist: Science World’s audience isn’t other researchers and academics, but children on school trips, most of whom are 7-12 years old!

This will be an excellent opportunity to spark the imaginations of the next generation of researchers, as well as honing your skills at communicating research to the public.  We’re looking for volunteers to design posters (3’x4′) for this event, and to be present at Science world from 11am-2pm on Thursday March 8th to answer questions about them.  We will take care of getting the posters printed, mounting boards, etc, and will provide guidance on how to design posters appropriate for a 7-12 year-old audience.  There are only a limited number of spaces available for participants, so let us know if you want to take part as soon as possible.

-Chris Parker, VP Social

parkerca@ieee.org

Read the latest PDA_newsletter!  It features articles on proposed changes to Policy 61, the new travel awards for postdocs, monthly postdoc seminars, and changes to health benefits, as well as other tidbits about the new PDA executive committee, socials, and professional development.

The winter 2012 semester of PDA yoga will start on Tuesday 31st January and run for 10 weeks until April 3rd. Classes are held from 5:15-7:00 in room 460 of the LSK building (333 Agricultural Road) and are taught by Andrea MacDonald, a registered yoga teacher since 2003 (please see her website www.drelika.com for more information about her training and teaching philosophy).

The cost for for participants who sign up for the full session of classes will be $86.25 (the class will only run if we have 8 or more participants, but if there is significantly more than 8 participants we will reduce the price!).Drop-in participants are also welcome at a price of $12/class.

The class currently has participants with a wide range of skill levels and new participants are always welcome. Andrea offers modifications of each pose so you can work at your own skill level, and she is able to accommodate any physical restrictions and to make sure you avoid any past injuries.

Please note that you will have to supply your own yoga mat although we do have 1 or 2 that can be lent out if you forget yours/want to give the class a try before buying your own. Mats can be bought from most department stores (e.g., London Drugs), specialty yoga stores (Halfmoon Yoga and Lululemon) or from the UBC gym.

As an added bonus, the class is a great way to meet other postdocs and RAs at UBC, and we schedule regular “extra-relaxation” sessions after class outings at our favourite eating/drinking establishments.

Please don’t hesitate to e-mail me with any questions. If you are interested then send me a quick e-mail to let me know if you plan on joining the full-session or just dropping in.

Hope to see you all on January 31st!

Amy Saunders

amy.saunders15@googlemail.com

PDA Yoga club organizer

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 12-1

Life Sciences Centre, Rm 1510

Please join us for the first postdoc seminar of the year!

Speaker:  Alisdair Wallis

Title: “Ultracold molecules – doing physics and chemistry in the cold”

Dept: Chemistry

Please consider getting involved in running the PDA!   We need your help in planning the next Research Day, postdoc seminars, and social events.  Descriptions of each position are below and an election will be held in late Jan or early Feb.

If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else, or have questions, please email ubc.postdoc@gmail.com.  Nominations will close on Jan 20th.

President
leads all UBC-PDA Executive Committee and Annual General Meetings
organizes and delegates duties to facilitate the operations of the UBC-PDA
acts as liaison to the PDFO
attends 2 meetings a month / 5-10 hours a month

Vice-President Operations
schedules UBC-PDA meetings once a month
assists in organizing professional development and “non-social” UBC-PDA events
attends 1-2 meetings a month / 5-8 hours a month

Vice-President External
acts as public relations officer
liaison to the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars
attends 1-2 meetings a month, plus 1-2 teleconferences a year / 2-5 hours a month

Vice-President Finance
preparation of the yearly budget
reimbursement of expenses, paying invoices
assists with planning PDA events
** must work in the Life Sciences Centre
attends 1-2 meetings a month / 2-5 hours a month

Vice-President Communications
maintains the postdoc-cafe email list, our website, and social media
responsible for the UBC-PDA newsletter, the UBC-PDA homepage
attends 1-2 meetings a month / 2-5 hours a month

Vice-President Social
planning, executing and advertising social events
attends 1-2 meetings a month / 2-7 hours a month

Executive Committee Members
These volunteers are non-elected and serve as helpers.

Date:  Wed, Nov 30, 2011

Where:  Life Sciences Center, West Atrium

Time: Starts at 5:30 pm   (please come before 6, when doors will be locked)

Join us for a pre-holiday social!  We’ll be having a potluck dinner and our annual general meeting.  This is your chance to give us feedback on how the PDA is doing, and what you’d like to see for next year.  What needs of the postdoc community are not being met?  This is also a great opportunity to get involved!  We will be opening nominations for the exec board positions with an election to be scheduled early next year.  

Please sign up for the potluck here:

http://ubcpdaevents.pbworks.com/w/page/48009903/November%2030%20Potluck%20Dinner

Click on the “request access” button on the right side.

The National Postdoc Association of the US puts out a quarterly newsletter.  You can find it here

This issue of the NPA’s quarterly newsletter features an article on National Postdoc Appreciation Week; profiles of new leadership within the NPA member committees and the Board of Directors; and a spotlight on Shirley Malcolm, head of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She was instrumental in the founding of the NPA.  “Must read” articles on advocacy for scientists and helpful tips for talking to your supervisor about parental leave are also featured.