Accomplished computer science professor. Co-founder and board member of one of UBC’s most successful spin-off companies. Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Experienced administrator. Meet Dr. Gail Murphy, UBC’s new Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) effective August 14, 2017.
Dr. Murphy’s abundant energy and deep experience will help drive the development and implementation of UBC’s new research and innovation strategy, and shape the broader activities of the VPRI portfolio. Her appointment marks the repositioning of the VP, Research role to VP, Research and Innovation, underscoring a commitment to innovation as a key strategic priority.
Prior to her appointment, Dr. Murphy served as the Associate Vice-President, Research pro tem at UBC. She was involved in the strategy and operations of the Research Excellence Cluster initiative; strengthened UBC’s involvement with Microsoft; helped found the Cascadia Urban Analytics Consortium (a joint initiative with the University of Washington); and improved research infrastructure in the areas of Advanced Research Computing and Sequencing and Bioinformatics.
Dr. Murphy, a professor in UBC’s Department of Computer Science, is a recognized leader in software engineering research. One of her research group’s most successful projects was the basis for the UBC spin-off, Tasktop Technologies Incorporated. She also served as the Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Science from 2014-2016, and has held several other administrative roles at UBC since 2001.
Dr. Murphy will be supported by Dr. Helen Burt, who steps down from the role of Vice-President, Research pro tem to return to her previous role as Associate Vice-President.
About VP Research & Innovation
This VPRI portfolio is comprised of 15 distinct units that support the activities of UBC researchers to attract and manage funding, establish research partnerships, meet with compliance obligations, and access advanced computing and sequencing resources. It is also at the heart of Innovation UBC—a diverse, campus-wide network that fosters entrepreneurial learning and partnerships with industry and the broader community to transform research into new products, policies and practices that improve lives around the world.
About Tasktop Technologies
Tasktop Technologies was co-founded by Dr. Murphy and her former PhD student, Mik Kersten in 2007. Dr. Murphy served as Chief Scientist at Tasktop until assuming the position of Vice-President, Research & Innovation at UBC. Tasktop provides fully automated, enterprise-grade integration of software development tools and has grown to 120 employees, with headquarters in Vancouver and subsidiaries in the U.S. and U.K. https://www.tasktop.com/