Waterloo has a spring in its step for 2015

Campus has been a busy, bustling place this month. There’s almost been too many events and initiatives to mention, but I want to capture some of them here.

On March 12, I stopped by the Student Life Centre to see the final structures constructed by some of our CanBuild participants. This is the second year of our campus-wide food drive, which is a partnership with the FEDS Student Food Bank and The Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

This year 16 teams participated, about 200 people, and collected over 4,500 cans. This is the equivalent of about 6,583 meals. Well done to all who participated and made CanBuild a success!

This month I spoke at the Co-op Student of the Year Awards. What remarkable students. Six students (one from each faculty) were recognized for their exceptional contributions to their employers, in their own entrepreneurial ventures, and in transformative research. Read more about them online.

On March 5, Edmund S. Phelps , a Novel Prize-winning economist, visited campus to deliver a special President’s Lecture. Dr. Phelps’ latest publication, Mass Flourishing: How Grassroots Innovation Created Jobs, Challenge, and Change, has received wide-spread global recognition. It was truly an honour to have Dr. Phelps speak on campus.

On March 17, we welcomed Minister Ed Holder and Kitchener-Waterloo MP Peter Braid to campus to announce more than $15 million in funding for UWaterloo research from The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

Almost as if to underline that kind of high-impact research that Waterloo is known for, on March 19 I joined with local leaders and dignitaries in announcing a new research partnership between Waterloo and Grand River Hospital.

March was also a month to celebrate inclusivity and diversity. In honour of International Women’s Day, the University hosted its annual International Women’s Day Dinner on March 6, at the University Club. Over 120 people registered to attend the celebration this year: a 33 per cent increase in numbers from 2013. Jo Atlee, Professor, School of Computer Science delivered an excellent keynote presentation titled: “Gender Diversity in Computing.”

On March 18, I was delighted to help bestow the 2015 Senate Status of Women and Equity Committee (SWEC) Inclusivity Award to Jeremy Steffler. Jeremy’s work toward inclusivity and diversity both on campus and in the community is an inspiration.

And on March 26, I delivered a keynote address to the Immigration Partnership Community forum. You can read my speech online. This was an excellent opportunity to underline the importance of diversity both here on campus and in the broader Waterloo region community.

March also saw several appointments, and a few farewells. I was happy to announce the appointment of new deans for the Faculties of Environment and Applied Health Science. Jean Andrey and James Rush have already gotten off to a terrific start. I’m delighted to be working with them both, and you can read more about their appointments in the official announcement.  

This month we bade farewell to two extremely valued members of our team. Bud Walker will be officially retiring from the University on March 31, 2015. Rounding out a long-serving career that traces back to 1971, Bud has recently been heavily involved in strengthening the University’s efforts in entrepreneurship. In his honour, the Velocity residence’s Great Hall has been renamed Bud Walker Commons. Bud, you’ll be missed.

We also saluted outgoing chancellor Prem Watsa with a small reception in his honour this Wednesday. As ceremonial head of our University, Prem has been an immense contributor to our success and prestige both in Canada and around the world.

Thank you, Prem, for all you’ve done.

And thanks to each of you for a great March!

All the best,

Feridun

Pictured above: President Hamdullahpur presents outgoing chancellor Prem Watsa with a Key to the University of Waterloo in recognition of Mr. Watsa's distinguished service. The small farewell event took place in Toronto on Tuesday, March 24, 2015.

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Environment celebrates with ENVigorate

Today, the Faculty of Environment is hosting ENVigorate, a year-end festival that celebrates the talents and achievements of its community members. The event includes a number of guest speakers, live music events and interactive workshops.

This grassroots event is a celebration of community and student achievement, and most importantly, it is an all day set of fun and engaging activities that are free and open to everyone.

Among the goings-on at the festival:

• Live music and rousing speeches at the festival kick-off in the EV1 Courtyard at 11:30 a.m.;
• Drop-in to learn about bicycle repair and make some bike jewelry in EV2 2002 from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.;
• A discussion on women in politics featuring former MP Judy Wasylcia-Leis in EV2 2006 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.; and
• An evening of live music and community in the EV1 Courtyard at 6:00 p.m.

Other events include a poster competition, soap making, community table displays, and yoga sessions.

Go to the ENVigorate website to find out more about the event.

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Velocity Fund winners named

Vitameter, a company that created a hand-held device that measures your vitamin levels to help ensure proper dosage, was the biggest winner at the Velocity Fund Finals held yesterday.

The company's founders are current students in environment and business, nanotechnology engineering and electrical and computer engineering at Waterloo.

Today's win gives them $25,000 plus the additional $10,000 awarded to one hardware or life-sciences company to help cover additional startup costs. They currently work in the Velocity Science space, and will move into the Velocity Foundry next month.

"Our product is essential for people at high-risk for vitamin deficiencies, such as people with anemia, those undergoing chemotherapy, pregnant women and the elderly," said James MacLean, co-founder of Vitameter. "This is a huge opportunity to get our device to market and to the people who need it."

During the Velocity Fund Finals, 10 companies pitched their businesses to a panel of judges representing the investment, startup and business communities. Judges weighed innovation, market potential, market viability and overall pitch.

Vitameter is one of two life-sciences companies to win the one of the prizes worth $25,000. For the first time, the other grand-prize winners all have female co-founders.

The following three companies were also grand-prize winners of $25,000 and space at the Velocity Garage and Velocity Foundry:

• Fotofox: FotoFox is an online marketplace that connects customers with photographers for high-quality, professional photos. It curates a personalized list of photographers that best fits the client’s needs, budget, and style.
• Pout: Pout is a place to show and tell, inspire, discover, and explore the beauty and fashion industry. The community targets beauty and fashion enthusiasts/professionals to share photos and videos that show their unique looks, process, and techniques.
• Suncayr: Suncayr is developing UV-responsive marker ink that tells you exactly when to reapply sunscreen. This can be drawn directly on the skin before applying sunscreen, and when the sunscreen is no longer blocking UV rays, the ink changes colour. Suncayr is making sun safety personal, fun, and simple.

“I am always so impressed by the outstanding quality of the companies that make up the University of Waterloo’s vibrant startup community,” said President Feridun Hamdullahpur. “Today’s competitors embody the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of this institution and our role as the intellectual engine of one of North America's richest innovation ecosystems. Sincere congratulations to all of the winners of these Velocity Fund Finals.”

During the VFF event, an additional 10 teams of University of Waterloo students competed for three prizes of $5,000 and access to Velocity workspaces.

The winners of the Velocity $5K are:

• Best Pitch: CareChair – The first standalone system that can function both as a bed and a wheelchair.
• Most Innovative: Kue – Developing a timed-release capsule that will open after a specific amount of time. This caffeine product gives consumers a burst of energy before they wake.
• People's Choice: Node – A platform for beautifully designed, high-quality, custom-fit compression garments designed by users and artists for individuals with lymphedema.

"This pitch competition is really a microcosm of the startup industry in general," said Mike Kirkup, director of Velocity. "As this event has grown, more and more hardware and science startups have joined the software companies that pitch, and the Velocity Fund allows us to help all of the winners invest in their future through grants."

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Grad students win Microsoft fellowships

this is an excerpt of a piece published on the Cheriton School of Computer Science news site.

PhD candidates Xu Chu (Ihab Ilyas, Database Research) and Laura Inozemtseva (Reid Holmes, Software Architecture), have been invited to join the prestigious Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship Program. 

The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship is a two-year fellowship program for outstanding PhD students nominated by their universities. Of the twelve candidates granted a position, Chu and Inozemtseva are the only two Canadians.

"The presence of two of our graduate students among a cohort of extraordinary researchers speaks to the opportunities our students are exposed to," explained Associate Dean, Research, and Cheriton School of Computer Science professor Tamer Özsu. "Both Laura and Xu have repeatedly proven themselves worthy of such an accolade through quality of research, awards, and presentations at prestigious conferences. Since its inception in 2008, only three Canadians have been given this award and it is encouraging to see that two of those three have come from the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science."

Microsoft aims to collaborate with top academic researchers and institutions in hopes of developing technologies that encourage data-intensive scientific research which helps solve urgent global challenges. The details of the award include the opportunity to complete one salaried internship at the company during the year following the award.

Both Chu and Inozemtseva are both honoured to have received the award and the opportunity. 

"I'm very excited about receiving this award and look forward to my internship at Microsoft Research, where I will have the opportunity to work with an excellent team of empirical software engineering researchers," said Inozemtseva. 

Chu echoed her thoughts. "I am very excited about receiving such prestigious award. It feels great that my work is recognized by Microsoft Research."

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Friday's notes

"The recent UW - GRH collaborative research partnership will build on the work that has been happening since the Neurological Patient Database (NPD) was initiated in 2007 by Dr. James Danckert," writes Nadine Quehl of the Psychology Department. "The NPD facilitates ongoing research exploring the neural bases of behavior, which will eventually be used to refine methods of rehabilitation, and possibly aid in discovering new and innovative rehabilitation techniques. In particular, patients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or a stroke are invited to register in the NPD, and many participants have already been involved in studies in both the Psychology and Kinesiology departments at the University of Waterloo."

Patients from Grand River Hospital (Kitchener-Waterloo and Freeport sites), have the option of getting involved in Stroke Recovery KW, which provides important support services for survivors of stroke, such as opportunities to share stories of hope, meet other stroke survivors and caregivers, and reconnect to the community. UW has developed a collaborative relationship with Stroke Recovery KW, as a number of their members have been involved in studies through the NPD. 

NPD Project Coordinator Nadine Quehl, will be taking part in this year's Walk 'n' Roll, to help raise funds for stroke recovery locally. To join the Stroke Recovery KW team, or make a tax-deductible donation, go to the March of Dimes website.

One correction to note: On Tuesday, March 24 the Distinguished Teacher Award citation for Professor Jeff West incorrectly noted his start date as January 2008, when in fact he started working at the University in July 2002.

Here's today's Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" supplied by Health Services Dietician Sandra Ace:

Myth: Eating eggs increases your risk of heart disease.

Fact: Recent research indicates that the eating up to one whole egg per day is not associated with an increased risk of heart disease except in people with diabetes or existing cardiovascular illness. People with these diagnoses should limit egg yolk consumption to 2 per week or as advised by their healthcare provider.

Despite this promising news, this does not give a green light to eating a three-egg omelet every day. Enjoy scrambled or poached eggs with 100% whole grain toast, tomato slices and fresh fruit and save the bacon, sausage and home fries for occasional accompaniments. It’s also important to be aware of other diet and lifestyle habits that influence heart disease risk.

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