UNB in Fredericton Names Six Professors Emeriti in October

Six academics will join the ranks of professor emeriti at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton this fall.

Fernando Poyatos of the department of Spanish and Latin American Cultures received the honorary designation at a special ceremony on Oct. 15. His five colleagues will be honored at Convocation. They are second-language educator Dalton London, mathematician Brian Tupper, physicist Ram Verma, and Adam Chrzanowski and David Wells of the department of geodesy and geomatics engineering.

The public is welcome to attend the Convocation ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. in the Aitken University Centre.

The professor emeritus distinction is awarded only to retired faculty members. Criteria for the honorary rank include teaching performance of exceptional merit, extensive research and publication of unusually high quality, and creative contributions to the administration and development of the university. Candidates must be approved by the university's Board of Governors upon recommendation of the president.

Since 1964, Adam Chrzanowski has been instrumental in building the interna-tional reputation of the department of geodesy and geomatics engineering. A former department chair, he is recognized throughout the world as an expert on mining and engineering surveys. Dr. Chrzanowski has consulted on research and industrial projects in seven countries and held visiting professor appointments in six others. The associate editor of Geomatica, he has authored over 200 papers and coauthored several books on geodetic, engineering, urban and mining surveys. Dr. Chrzanowski is a co-founder of the International Society of Mine Surveying. In 1996, he was awarded the Knights' Cross of the Order of Merit by the president of the Polish Republic for fostering scientific exchanges between Canada and Poland.

Dalton London has distinguished himself as a person of outstanding generosity to his profession. A longtime member of the faculty of education, he has been described as "caring in his attitude toward students, demanding in his teaching, giving in his service and productive in his research." Dr. London is a specialist in second-language teaching. He co-founded the internationally recognized Second Language Education Centre and the highly successful summer immersion program at Tracadie. During the program's 19-year run, he helped hundreds of French teachers throughout the province become better second-language teachers. Dr. London also worked closely with the province to establish second-language curriculum and evaluation programs. He retired in July with 30 years of service.

Fernando Poyatos is a leading international scholar in the multidisciplinary field of non-verbal communication. The author of 10 books on the subject, he is also widely recognized for its application to Hispanic studies. In 1993 Dr. Poyatos became the first Canadian citizen to be honored with membership in the Spanish Royal Academy of Language. He chaired and organized two international symposiums in Greece and, throughout his career, has lectured extensively at universities throughout Europe. In addition to teaching in UNB's department of Spanish for 32 years, Dr. Poyatos has taught in the departments of anthropology, psychology and sociology. He also served as chairperson of the department of Spanish and Latin American Cultures from 1992 until his retirement last June.

An outstanding teacher, Brian Tupper has taught an exceptional range of courses in the department of mathematics and statistics. He is also highly respected within Canada and abroad for his research. Dr. Tupper has been invited to give presentations at more than two dozen universities worldwide and attracted continuous NSERC support for his work from 1970 until his retirement last June. In 1988, he received the doctor of science degree from the University of London in recognition of the quality and quantity of his published work on general relativity theory. A referee for eight academic journals, Dr. Tupper has organized numerous conferences. He also has an impressive record of university service, including terms as department chairperson and associate dean of graduate studies.

Ram Verma is internationally known for his research in molecular spectroscopy. Before joining UNB's department of physics in 1963, he worked and published with two Nobel Laureates. Dr. Verma has built and maintained a world-class laboratory at the forefront of spectroscopic technology, and attracted to UNB graduate students and visiting scientists from around the world. The principal founder of research and postgraduate work in the physics department, he also made significant innovations to the undergraduate program. Dr. Verma received National Research Council and NSERC support for his research throughout his career at UNB and was widely sought as a visiting professor and scientist. Following his retirement in 1994, he was appointed an honorary research professor in recognition of his contributions.

A three-time recipient of UNB's Merit Award, David Wells has been a driving force in the department of geodesy and geomatics engineering. He founded the Ocean Mapping Group and helped to establish the Geodetic Research Laboratory. Both have international reputations. The recently introduced curriculum in marine surveying, developed by Dr. Wells, has been called the "best hydrographic training program in the world" by the U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency. A prolific and award-winning author, he has published over 250 technical papers and reports on precise positioning, marine positioning and ocean mapping. Dr. Wells has supervised 27 graduate students from 12 countries, served as visiting professor or scientist in five countries, and has an impressive record of professional service.