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University of Waterloo -- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Wednesday, June 18, 1997

Technology association is launched

More than 250 people from local high-tech businesses, educational institutions and government are expected at Federation Hall this evening as "Communitech" celebrates its beginning.

Previously announced as the Waterloo and Area Technology Association, before the "Communitech" name came up, it's described as a "community technology association" for "Canada's Technology Triangle". That's the name used by Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph to point out the concentration of technology in this area of southern Ontario. Similar technology associations are already in operation in Toronto and Ottawa.

Communitech has more than 40 founding companies and organizations, says its president, Vince Schiralli (e-mail vinces@sentex.net), who has worked for three small high-tech companies since taking early retirement from IBM four years ago. Firms involved range from tiny UW spinoffs to some big players on the local business scene, such as NCR, Raytheon and Com Dev. Each pays $5,000 to join.

"The goals of our association," a news release says, "are to help strengthen the current CTT technology companies; attract new technology companies to the CTT; provide a business climate conducive to technology start-ups; foster an environment to attract and keep employees in the CTT."

And so Communitech will encourage networking, training programs, an on-line directory and "career opportunity" web site, and so on. Schirelli says it will be pushing for development of UW's north campus technology park, and for installation of high-speed data communication lines to neighbourhoods where companies have their offices.

Today's event involves drinks at 5:00 and "presentations" at 6:00.

Staff member is mourned

Elizabeth (Liz) Edwards, a UW staff member since 1987, died on Saturday, June 14. She was 43. Edwards had been ill since last fall.

An administrative secretary in earth sciences, who had previously worked in chemistry and computer science, she completed an honours BA in fine arts at UW in 1992, and a BEd at the University of Western Ontario in 1993. For the past nine years, she was active in the K-W Youth Basketball League.

She is survived by her husband, earth sciences professor Tom Edwards, and their sons Chris, a UW physics student, and Steve, a student at Kitchener Collegiate Institute.

Visitation at the Ratz-Bechtel funeral home will be held tomorrow, Thursday, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. A memorial service will be held in the Theatre of the Arts on Saturday, June 21 at 3:30 p.m.

Donations in her memory may be made to the Elizabeth Edwards Fine Arts Bursary at UW, Home Care of Waterloo Region, or the Canadian Cancer Society.

Funding for repair projects

UW will have $2,715,947 from the new Canada-Ontario Infrastructure Works Program "to fund rehabilitation and repair projects", the Ontario government has advised. A list of projects to be done at UW wasn't final yet at the last word from Dennis Huber, associate provost (general services and finance), but should be in the education ministry's hands by now.

Across Ontario, the two governments are spending $459 million to "create up to 10,000 jobs" and "address strategic infrastructure needs and priorities in four basic areas: transportation, health care, postsecondary education and water and sewage facilities". I think UW fits under the third category rather than the fourth.

"Investment in university infrastructure pays immediate dividends," says UW president James Downey, "by providing jobs in the community and ensuring long-term returns through the renewal of the deteriorating infrastructures that characterize our institutions." It's always been a source of pride at UW that there is no "deferred maintenance" -- work that needed to be done in previous years but had to be postponed -- but it does take money occasionally to keep it that way, not to mention making improvements for accessibility and meeting changing needs.

The COIW projects have to be finished by next March 31, when the federal government's fiscal year ends.

Speaking, and not speaking

As the NMR ("magnetic resonance") summer school continues, two prominent figures in the field will be giving public lectures at UW. Today at 9:45, the speaker is Robert Richardson of Cornell, one of last year's Nobel prize winners, on "Superfluidity". Tomorrow at 9:45, it's Charles Slichter of the University of Illinois, on "High Temperature Superconductivity". Both talks will be given in Davis Centre room 1302, and all are welcome.

Carolyn Hansson, UW's vice-president (university research), was to be giving a talk tomorrow, sponsored by the Women in Mathematics Committee, entitled "Concrete Doesn't Have to Be Dull, Drab and Dreary". "We have had to postpone this event until the fall," says Wendy Zehr in the math faculty. Date and time will be announced.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead

But everybody who's seen "Hamlet" knows that by the time they die, nobody cares any more:

The ears are senseless that should give us hearing,
To tell him his commandment is fulfill'd
That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead:
Where should we have our thanks?

Absurdist playwright Tom Stoppard fixed that, making them the centre of his drama and Prince Hamlet a mere supporting player. The 1967 play is now something of a classic.

And it's being staged at UW tonight through Saturday, by a new theatre company calling itself Plaid Apple Productions -- "not run by but supported by the university . . . to provide another outlet for the abundant supply of acting, technical and creative talent boasted by the university".

"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" is being performed each evening at 8:00 in Studio 180, the studio theatre in the Humanities building. Tickets are $10 (students and seniors $8) at the Humanities box office, 888-4908.

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY June 18, 1960: At UW's first convocation ceremony, held in Seagram Gymnasium, Dana Porter is installed as the university's first chancellor, and eight master's degrees are presented.

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca -- (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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