Daily Bulletin

Red drops: Science student Adrienne Swart was among blood donors when a clinic was held in the Student Life Centre in February. The folks from Canadian Blood Services are back this week -- the clinic runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Friday in the SLC. A sign-up sheet is available at the turnkey desk.

Information about part-time study

Tonight's session will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m., says continuing education manager Maureen Jones.

According to the part-time studies web site, "At UW, you may pursue degree studies on a part-time basis in a variety of disciplines and, because of the semester system, study throughout the calendar year. (Part-time is defined as a course load of one or two courses per term.) The University makes many of its credit programs accessible to you through day-time and evening courses on campus, and through extensive Distance Education offerings. Undergraduate degrees from the Faculties of Arts, Environmental Studies, Mathematics and Science can be fulfilled through part-time study. You can also choose to pursue a certificate or diploma from UW."

Jones's invitation for tonight: "Get help defining your educational goals, finding out where and how to start at UW, or deciding on courses and programs. Counsellors will be on hand to discuss admission to the University, selection of courses and programs, and opportunities for you at UW. Returning students will find this session a convenient time to pre-register for fall and winter courses. For more information call Part-Time Studies at 888-4002."

By September, the part-time studies office (as well as the UW archives) will be moved out of 156 Columbia, to a destination still unknown. The university has been renting the building (at the corner of Phillip Street) since it was constructed in 1964, but it was sold earlier this year and UW was given notice that the lease wouldn't be renewed when it expires August 31.

And last week -- surprise! -- the building was sold again, this time to Research In Motion, which had previously bought five nearby buildings in the Phillip Street "business park" area.

A commercial real estate agent told the K-W Record last week that office space in west Waterloo is so tight that "the university may have to settle for something as far away as the Northfield Industrial Park, well beyond walking distance to the main campus" for the new home of part-time studies.

Physics prof named to NSERC -- by Avvey Peters

The body to which she has been named is the council itself, the top-level advisory committee of NSERC. It does not disburse research grants itself; rather, Harris says her duties as part of the 20-some member group will be to provide policy advice to its president, and to the organization as a whole. "This is a body designed to sit back and take a long look," says Harris. "This is a committed group of people who have the big picture in mind as well as expertise in their own disciplines." Harris is an astronomer -- the first to have served on the council in many years.

Harris (left) says she's "excited by the opportunity" to join other academic, business and industry leaders on the council. She has extensive experience in the policy realm, having served as a committee chair on one of NSERC's granting councils, and worked closely with the National Research Council of Canada.

Some of the issues she and her fellow council members may be asked to consider will be things like how NSERC can gain broader community attention toward science, and developing partnerships with industry.

In part, Harris credits her appointment to having the "right level of 'orneriness' . . . I ask questions that keep the discussion focussed," she says, "I don't like passive committee members."

The council gathers three times a year for two-day meetings. Members are chosen to represent all regions of Canada and a cross-section of scientific disciplines. Normally, the terms of office are three years for each council member.

NSERC disburses roughly half a billion dollars each year in research funding, based on proposals submitted by individual researchers. As Canada's national body for investing in science and technology, it supports both basic university research and other projects through partnership arrangements between universities and industry. NSERC reports to Parliament through the minister of industry.

Crisis in eye care is predicted -- from a UW news release

With an aging population (eye disease is most prevalent after age 60), there will be a huge increase in the numbers of people who need vision care, he says. Meeting this challenge will require increased funding for eye-care services research and delivery, enlargement of optometry programs to prepare more practitioners (there are only two optometry schools in Canada) and on-going public education. Vision impairment must move up the list on both provincial and federal health-care agendas, Strong says.

While vision loss can happen at any age, it is primarily associated with aging. Some people begin to experience vision loss in their 40s, and the prevalence of vision disorders increases dramatically into old age. When elderly people experience vision problems, they often are dismissed by sufferers and even their doctors as "simply a natural consequence of aging," he says. But, Strong adds, "baby boomers" are likely to challenge that assumption just as they have tended to redefine the beliefs of every other life stage they have reached. "Boomers expect science and technology to offer solutions for their problems. They tend to be very assertive about getting their needs and concerns addressed by the public agenda."

He says UW researchers are rising to these challenges, and their efforts are receiving international attention. At a recent meeting of international vision experts, researchers from the UW school of optometry were involved in more than 40 presentations, among the highest participation for any research facility.

Research and development is occurring in such areas as these:

• investigation of eye safety and potential damage from ultraviolet radiation exposure;
• development of instruments for earlier and more precise diagnosis of macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and other conditions common among seniors;
• improved materials for lenses in eyeglasses and in soft contact lenses;
• studies on screening practices among preschool children;
• improved laser surgery techniques;
• studies on how common chemicals or products affect humans.

Says Strong: "Our goal is to make vision-assistive devices lighter, smaller, more capable, more user-friendly, more attractive and, ultimately, cheaper." He says the unfortunate part of the story is that Waterloo's optometry school enjoys tremendous international respect, "we are in the same league as the largest U.S. facilities, but we have only a fraction of the resources and support available to us. We do the very best that we can, but we could do so much more if we were on an even footing with our rehabilitation colleagues around the world."

The time has come, the walrus said (Lewis Carroll)

In 1900 David Hilbert gave an address at the International Congress of Mathematicians in which he presented about twenty then-unsolved mathematical problems. Solution of these problems, he felt, would greatly advance our understanding of mathematics.

Now that the millennium is coming to an end, similar lists are being proposed by other mathematicians. Steven Smale, for example, gave a list in a recent issue of the Mathematical Intelligencer. These lists typically contain problems that have defeated the best minds for many years, such as whether P = NP.

In this talk, my goal will be much more modest. I will present about ten problems drawn from number theory, algebra, and theoretical computer science that have defeated me in my twenty-five year career as a researcher. Most of these problems are easy to state and do not require much technical background to understand. Most have not received much serious investigation and may therefore succumb to a single bright idea. To increase interest, I will offer a small financial reward to anyone who solves any of the ten problems.

In the Davis Centre, the Symposium on the Role of Erosion and Sediment Transport in Nutrient and Contaminant Transfer is continuing; many of the delegates are staying in the UW conference centre in Ron Eydt Village. Also in the Village today and for the next two weeks are some 14 participants in an exchange between UW's school of planning and the equivalent school at England's Oxford Brookes University.

Starting today, UW food services outlets are running something called the Campbell's Souper Sweepstakes. The offer: "Fill out a ballot with any soup purchase for the chance to win a Campbell's sports bag." The promotion runs through July 28.

Reminder: the staff association office is closed through July 17. Says a memo from office manager Barb Yantha: "To purchase discount tickets during that time, please contact either Teri McCartney, ext. 2600, or Kelly Wilker-Draves, ext. 2796. For other staff association business, Edward Chrzanowski, ext. 6487, will be available."

Jason MacIntyre in retail services sends word about a 50 per cent off sale at the Computer Store: "To make way for new product arrivals, the Computer Store is having a clear-out sale. Various PC's (Aptiva, HP Brio, Academy, Packard-Bell), monitors, scanners, software, and printers are being sold off as is, all sales final. This promotion will last until the discounted inventory is gone, which we expect won't be long."

And here's a note from the psychology department: "The University of Waterloo's Centre for Child Studies is looking for parents of children between the ages of 18 to 29 months willing to fill out a questionnaire about their child's language development to help us learn more about how children use language in everyday situations. All parents will receive a small gift for their child in thanks for their participation. The questionnaire will be mailed to you and can be returned by mail. For more information, please contact the Centre at ext. 5416 or Daniela O'Neill at ext. 2545 or by email at doneill@watarts."

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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