Daily Bulletin

Bookstore staff member Lisa Quinn helps second-year biochemistry student Adrianna Wilson select texts for her courses yesterday and avoid next week's rush for books.

Making sense of biological data

"Still in its infancy," according to Bruce Greenberg, UW biology professor and chair of the bioinformatics committee, the discipline is a response to the explosion of biological data available, especially on the Internet, from sources such as international genome and protein structure projects.

This "computer-intensive information" allows researchers to map and sequence genetic codes, leading to the development of new therapies for disease control, crops that are engineered to repel insects, and other solutions to biological problems.

With Waterloo's strengths in biology, and its internationally-recognized computer science program, the university already has the foundation for a bioinformatics program, Greenberg said. UW has used that foundation to build the new program, adding five additional courses to current offerings in computer science, biology, chemistry, math and statistics.

Four new faculty positions have been created -- two each in biology and computer science -- "to give us critical mass," he added. Plus, the biology department will be adding a geneticist and immunologist to its faculty within the next year. "By next year, 10 to 15 faculty will be performing bioinformatics research at UW."

All students in bioinformatics will be in the co-op program, getting hands-on experience in bioinformatics to meet the increasing demand from both industry and academia.

Students enrolled in first-year biology or computer science can transfer into the bioinformatics program this fall, providing they meet the "cream of the crop" criteria for admission.

"The program is very intense, really a double major," said Greenberg, and new students must be able to meet the admissions requirements for both computer science and biology. Up to 50 students will be admitted each year, with those enrolled in the program not adding to current numbers for math or science, but forming a "subset of the normal complement" of students in the two faculties.

Graduates will have a strong background in both molecular biology and in computer science, enabling them to perform high level programming in bioinformatics.

The collaboration by the computer science department, "which tends to create the tools", and the biology department, "which tends to use the tools", illustrates "one of the reasons we're rated high for our ability to be innovative," said Greenberg. "The administrative structure is set up so that barriers between faculties can be bridged." As a result, "we were able to rapidly institute an innovative, cutting-edge program in an exciting new field."

Planning will begin this fall for the development of a graduate program in bioinformatics to be launched in September 2000, to "reinforce the successful bioinformatics research and graduate studies on-going at Waterloo and provide the undergraduate programs with knowledgeable teaching assistants".

The paperwork Fee receipts, WatCard validation stickers and class schedules should be available this week for most students -- fees were due by August 31, remember? Receipts, stickers and schedules can be picked up in the registrar's office on the second floor of Needles Hall. Documents for students who paid their fees after August 25 may not be available until next week, the registrar's office says. Ontario Student Assistance Program loan documents, for those who need them, can be picked up this week in room 3001 of Needles Hall (the floor above the registrar's office). Students registered at Renison College or St. Jerome's University should get their documents at their college, not at Needles Hall.

The week of the Big Banana

Yes, orientation week is about to begin, the loud and happy launch of the fall term. New students will be moving into residences on Monday, Labour Day, and by midafternoon the shifting of stereos and teddy bears will give way to "icebreaker" events, concerts, campfires and "mixer games". Monday evening, Village residents will see hypnotist Mike Mandell performing on the Village green, while off-campus students are invited to a show at the Bomber or movie night at the Princess Theatre downtown. Residents of the four church colleges have their own social events Monday evening.

And the week goes on -- by the time faculty and staff come to work on Tuesday, those who weren't here for Monday's settling-in, the campus will be bright with five thousand new T-shirts and lively with five thousand new voices. As always, orientation at UW is organized jointly by student leaders and administrators, and it's not all fun and games. Academic information sessions are a vital part of the week, and various groups of students are also scheduled for such activities as laboratory safety training, performances of "Single and Sexy", church college convocations, and (on Friday) the English Language Proficiency Exam.

In a new feature of orientation, Thursday afternoon or sometime Friday, all first-year students will be taken on "a physical introduction" to half a dozen places on campus -- one of the libraries, the Physical Activities Complex, health services, and several key services in Needles Hall. Says Catharine Scott, associate provost (human resources and student services): "We know is that first year students often don't discover these services until well on in their first year. This tour will put a place and a warm and welcoming face to each area. The expected 2,500 to 3,000 students will move very quickly through the areas, but there is no doubt there will be a crowd in Needles Hall on those two days."

On Thursday and Saturday mornings, a "Campus Wide Sleep In" is scheduled, a few hours without orientation activities.

Tidings from across campus

A bit late -- since the posting date is Wednesday -- here's a note of staff positions available at UW this week:

• Customer service assistant, distance and continuing education, grade USG 4.
• Facilities assistant, athletics and recreational services, grade USG 4.
• Admissions/records assistant, distance and continuing education, grade USG 4.
• Management trainee, food services, grade USG 4/5.

Renison College advises that Anglican worship services in St. Bede's Chapel will resume this Sunday with the 10:30 a.m. service, "with refreshments following".

A Weight Watchers "at work program" is planned on campus this term, starting September 13. An information and registration meeting will be held Tuesday (September 7) from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in Math and Computer room 5136. More information is available from Brenda Sokolowski at ext. 2433.

Over the Labour Day weekend

The Computing Help and Information Place will be closed all weekend, from tonight at 5 until Tuesday morning at 8. (And when the CHIP does reopen next week, it'll be for new fall term hours: 8:00 to 5:30, Monday through Friday.)

Over the weekend, says the usual memo from information systems and technology,

If you notice an outage of the campus computer network or any major IST-maintained computing facility during this period, you can report it by telephoning the IST HelpDesk at 888-4357. If the outage has a severe impact on the University computing environment and the appropriate facility-support personnel can be contacted, the problem will be addressed; otherwise, it will be pursued Tuesday morning.

Some key services continue as always:

• UW police: on duty 24 hours as always, 888-4911.
• Student Life Centre: open 24 hours, turnkey desk 888-4434.
• Maintenance emergencies: phone ext. 3793, 24 hours a day.

Just waiting for the thousands of bicycles that will populate them as the fall term gets under way. . . .

CAR

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