Daily Bulletin, Wednesday, May 18, 1994

SOFTWARE PROJECT:  The federal government has officially announced 
$4.5 million in funding for a four-year research project that includes UW
and eight software companies.  Altogether the project, which has been 
going for the past year, is worth an estimated $12 million.  The money 
will support "pre-competitive research" into the integration of text-intensive 
databases.

UW and the eight companies, including UW spinoff Open Text Corp., form
the new Canadian Strategic Software Consortium (CSSC), which and is to "build 
on Canadian world leadership" in database technology.  Open Text is the
company that develops and markets the software originally created for the
New Oxford English Dictionary Project at UW.  A rapidly growing firm, it is
moving into new offices on Columbia Street next month.

The funding was announced Monday by industry minister John Manley in a keynote 
address to the "Racing Towards Millennium" conference in Ottawa.  Manley said 
the consortium draws together some of Canada's most innovative software 
companies and UW to collaborate on the development of leading technologies 
for document and text-intensive applications -- "key elements of the emerging 
information highway".

"This is another good example of how the University of Waterloo is
involved in linking with private industry, government and the local community
through its research endeavors," says Barry Scott of UW's research office.
UW's share of the project involves research estimated to cost $675,000,
with half the money coming from Ottawa and half from the eight companies.

MATERNITY FUNDING:  A brief memo to departments chairs and heads went out
yesterday from the provost, Jim Kalbfleisch:

     As announced at the meeting of department chairs and heads on May
     4, 1994, funding for the difference between 95% of normal salary
     and Unemployment Insurance benefits for those employees on maternity/
     adoption leave will no longer be provided centrally.  Effective
     May 1, 1994, this supplemental payment will be funded by departmental
     budgets.  There will not be any change to the benefit provided to
     the individual on leave.

In other words: pregnant staff and faculty members, and those on leave for
adopting a child, will receive the same benefits from UW as in the past, but
the money now comes from departmental budgets, not from a central pot.  It's
a bookkeeping move, but puts a little extra pressure on the budgets of
individual departments.

EXPERIENCE SCIENCE:  Girls in grade 9 at local schools are on campus today 
through Friday for Experience Science '94, a camp organized by the UW science 
faculty. "The girls are introduced to three days of exciting lab activities 
in the areas of physics, chemistry, earth sciences, optometry, and biology," 
writes assistant coordinator Diana Moriarity.  They'll be staying at
Notre Dame College, touring the campus, seeing a presentation of the always
popular Science Spectacular show Thursday night, and getting a half-day
in each of the science departments.

TORIES MEET:  The UW Progressive Conservative Campus Association meets at
4:30 today in Matthews Hall room 1040, to select delegates for a coming
provincial conference, and to hear a guest speaker: John Reimer, former
member of Parliament for Kitchener.  His topic:  "Why I Am a Progressive
Conservative".

ELEGANCE SYMPOSIUM:  It's a slightly unusual way to honour a retiring
member of faculty -- a half-day symposium on "elegance", a topic suggested
by the man himself, George Atkinson of chemistry.  The Atkinson Elegance
Symposium takes place tomorrow, starting with lunch and continuing with
presentations in Davis Centre room 1304.  A 4:30 reception in the University
Club is open to all Atkinson's friends and admirers.

"Not all details have been finalized," says the flyer -- dated a couple of
weeks back -- "but the first hour will include talks on Elegance and its
relationship to Engineering, Mathematics and Photography.  The second hour
will have contributions on Elegance in Economics, Education and Science.
George himself will provide the closing remarks."

Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
888-4567 ext. 3004      credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca