Kirk Karasin sadly unexpectedly passed away March 9, 2020 at the young age of 42 from health complications. Kirk was a Senior Media Specialist at UBC Studios, overseeing the editorial and innovative technologies being developed. During this time, he was also filling in at the UBC Emerging Media Lab (EML) as a supervisor. Kirk was an integral part to the running of the studio and brought his passion and laughter wherever he went. Many of the younger staff members saw him as a mentor, and he was a colleague and friend to everyone on the team. He pushed the boundaries in innovative technologies and had ideas that no one else has thought of doing.
An innovative mind
Kirk was best known to his colleagues as a passionate innovator, coming up with new workflows and technologies that could be implemented to different projects that would improve the university as a whole. Some well known examples are his push for creating UBC’s very own Streetview Captures (now with over 4 million views) and his dedication in kickstarting photogrammetry at UBC Studios, which later received a large TLEF grant with over 100+ 3D models created for the university.
In loving memory
The main studio at UBC Studios location has been renamed to the K. Karasin Studio in honour of his dedication and work. The EML space in the Wesbrook building has also been named the K. Karasin Collaboration Space. While Kirk is no longer with us, his joy, passion and memories will always be. The flags at UBC (North of the Life Building in front of IKBLC) will be lowered on June 8th to half-mast from dawn to dusk in his honour. We invite you to visit the flagpole on this day to remember his life and the accomplishments and contributions that he has made to UBC.
