Let the games begin: Canada in Sydney

Daily Bulletin

Kids' book about wetlands The Wetlands Research Centre has just released a new children's book on wetlands entitled Blackflies to Blueberries, aimed at children ages 6 through 12. Wally Worm, Deanna Waterdroplet and Wesley Dragon go on a camping trip to the Boreal forest of northern Canada to learn about wetlands. They discover the diversity of life in wetlands, how water is cycled through wetlands, and that wetlands contain a record of their history in the fossils preserved in their soils. As Wesley enjoys feasting on blueberries and swatting blackflies, he learns that blackflies work hard to pollinate blueberry flowers that eventually become berries. The book was written by Leanne Gelsthorpe of the Waterloo office of CRESTech and Peter Russell of the earth sciences department. The watercolour drawings that illustrate the book were done by Roger Fernandes, a fourth-year student in fine arts. Copies of the book are available from the Wetlands Research Centre (phone ext. 3607), at a cost of $9.95 (including GST and postage).

Distance students visit tomorrow -- from the UW news bureau

The annual distance education open house from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Davis Centre attracts current distance ed students who want to meet their faculty members face-to-face as well as those curious about the program.

"The day is dedicated to University of Waterloo distance education students," said Don Kasta, director of distance and continuing education. "It will give them an opportunity to feel part of their campus."

The students and other visitors can listen to a keynote address by UW president David Johnston, entitled "Education.com: The Impact of Technology on Learning". The speech begins at 9 a.m. in Davis Centre room 1302.

Other events include departmental displays and a course fair in the Davis Centre foyer, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and a reading and writing skills seminar led by instructor Jacqueline Howse, from 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., also in Davis 1302.

At 1 p.m., Bob Kerton, dean of arts, will give a luncheon speech, entitled "Going the Distance." It is to take place in South Campus Hall's Festival Room.

One of UW's most famous graduates who studied through the distance program was Don Boudria, minister of state and leader of the government in the House of Commons. The Liberal MP, who represents Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, earned a bachelor of arts degree in history over 11 years by studying from his home. Boudria received his degree in June 1999.

UW is home to one of the largest distance education programs in Canada. In this form of independent learning, students can earn a university degree entirely by distance study. The distance education program offers more than 250 degree credit courses covering 48 subjects areas. An increasing number of those courses are offered on the Internet. Many courses are delivered using printed notes and audio tapes, supported by a number of visuals, including videos, microscope slides, photo prints and slides.

Four more 'excellence' winners

At UW yesterday, Wilson also announced funding ($5 million over five years) for Youth Science and Technology, or YS 'n' T, "a program to increase young people's awareness of science, technology and innovation".

"The Premier's Research Excellence Awards recognize and pay tribute to our best and brightest young researchers," Wilson said. "I'm pleased that these awards will help to attract and keep Ontario's world class researchers -- the Nobel Prize winners of the future -- here in Ontario."

The latest PREA winners and their fields of work:

• Timothy M. Chan, computer science, investigation of algorithmic techniques in computational geometry;
• Brendon J. Frey, computer science, inventing new inference algorithms and applying them to practical problems in computer vision, signal processing and digital communications;
• Richard Hornsey, electrical and computer engineering, research into the technology and applications of highly integrated electronic imaging systems;
• Stefan H. J. Idziak, research on the structure of complex fluids under confinement.

The Premier's Research Excellence Awards were created in 1998 "to help Ontario's world-class researchers attract talented people to their research teams and to encourage innovation among the province's brightest young thinkers at universities, colleges, hospitals and research institutes". To date, the government says, 196 researchers have received awards worth a total of $19.5 million from the province for research projects on everything from the human genome and new drugs to high-speed computing and communications systems to developing new materials for industry.

Among the people involved in adding new locations to the library's Trellis system is Lois Clifford, who started work this summer as librarian at Renison College.

Three small libraries go on-line

The result is that web users -- across campus or on the other side of the world -- can find items in those three relatively small library collections just as easily as they could turn up titles from the Dana Porter Library or Guelph's McLaughlin Library.

"Having our resources show up on a Trellis search has brought us more clientele," says Jayne Hayden, manager of the career resource centre in Needles Hall, which joined Trellis last spring. About 1,000 items have been listed from its collection of material about employers, study-abroad programs and post-secondary education.

"The ease with which we can charge and discharge resources is also a great plus," says Hayden, referring to the electronic bar code equipment that her centre and TRACE and Renison had to adopt. "In addition, students now seem to be returning the books on time, as they are automatically fined if they don't!"

Renison's library -- with strengths in the subjects taught at the college, such as social work and East Asian studies -- added about 5,000 items to the Trellis database last February.

And the TRACE library had 2,650 books at last count, although some of the older ones are being discarded as the collection is added to the Trellis catalogue. TRACE materials, about teaching techniques and similar subjects, should be visible on Trellis later this fall.

The specialized collections at all three little libraries mean a wider range of material available to library users everywhere, says Linda Teather, systems manager in the UW library. At the same time, users of the library at Renison, TRACE, or the CRC can quickly expand a search to include all the libraries at UW, Guelph and WLU, not just the material available where they happen to be.

Trellis also allows Renison users to request delivery of items from faraway library locations, Teather pointed out, and to place a "hold" on a book that someone else has borrowed.

And, she said, the new arrangement makes the staff at Renison, CRC and TRACE part of "the larger Tri-Universities Group library community", with opportunities for training and advice -- as well as "obligations" to live up to standards of service.

Keystone Fund totes make their mark

The three co-chairs of the Keystone Fund -- Bev Marshman, Doug Morton and Don Brodie -- say the item was the brainchild of the Keystone Advisory Committee, made up of 25 representatives from the campus community. Originally suggested by the late Reg Friesen, the book bag is seen as a way of recognizing "outstanding supporters" of the campus community appeal.

More than 400 of the bags have already been distributed, says Bonnie Oberle in UW's development office.

She explains: "The committee felt that this decorative, environmentally friendly item would also be a good way to promote awareness of the Keystone Fund and its importance for Waterloo’s programs and students. However, the co-chairs want recipients to know that the value of the recognition item is not deducted from dollars raised for the fund. 100% of contributions still go toward the projects chosen by donors."

Oberle says that as a non-profit organization with a charitable registration number, the university is prohibited by government regulations from providing donors with any "significant" return for a contribution. "These inexpensive book bags fall well within the guidelines for tokens of appreciation. Funding for the book bags was provided by the Keystone Fund operating budget."

There are still bags available for new donors, she adds -- they go to staff, faculty and retirees whose Keystone Fund contribution is $10 per month or a total of $120 or more. ("If for any reason you would prefer not to receive this or any further recognition items for supporting UW, or if you want your gift to remain anonymous, simply note your wishes when you return your pledge form.") For more information, Oberle can be reached at ext. 5422.

What's not happening, and what is

Another thing that isn't happening, apparently, is undergraduate students picking up their class schedules and fee receipts in Needles Hall. "We still have quite a few up here," says Carmen Roecker of the registrar's office, "like about eight tubs full!" If you have documents coming to you, please come and get them, she says.

At noontime today there's a meeting for graduate students interested in the Certificate in University Teaching program. Over three to six terms, grads signed up for the teaching certificate will meet its requirements by attending teaching workshops, writing response papers, doing a research study and presenting a synopsis, developing a teaching dossier, and completing a teaching practicum. Today's information meeting is at 12 noon in Needles Hall room 3001.

At 12:30, in Doug Wright Engineering room 2517, Charles Haynes of the University of British Columbia will speak. Title of his talk: "Size Exclusion Chromatography Does Not Require Pores".

Runs and walks An "East Indian Community Walkathon" to be held on campus Sunday morning is just one of several hit-the-road events in the community in the next little while. Sunday's event (starting at 10 a.m. at the Student Life Centre) is a fund-raiser in support of the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre at K-W Hospital. "Over the last two years, we have raised $25,000," says Chandrika Anjaria of UW's information systems and technology department, co-chair of the walkathon this year. "We ask you to share in our excitement and our efforts to support this worthy cause." Also planned: The Terry Fox Run to support cancer research, Sunday afternoon at 1:00 in Waterloo's Bechtel Park. The Superwalk for Parkinson's, Saturday, September 23, at 10:30 a.m. in Victoria Park, Kitchener. The CIBC Run for the Cure, in support of cancer research, Sunday, October 1, at 10 a.m. at Conestoga College's Doon campus in Kitchener.

Welcome-back activities for graduate students continue, and TGIF. Starting at 4:00 today, it's "The Big Schmooze: Take your supervisor out to the Grad House and show your appreciation." Later, at 9:00, the rock and roll starts with the house band, The Panty Daddys.

Just off campus, there's something rather special tomorrow, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.: the Royal Medieval Faire in Waterloo Park West. Promised are "knights in battle, wizards and magic, jesters, minstrels", and a faire amount more, including "splendid costumes" and food. Admission is $5 per person.

Yes, the UW libraries are open this weekend, though with reduced hours -- 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in both Dana Porter and the Davis Centre.

Sports this weekend: The men's rugby team hosts York at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon (Columbia Field), and the soccer teams host Ryerson: men at 1:00 and women at 3:00. Other teams have away games, including the football Warriors, playing tomorrow at Toronto.

Monday at noontime there will be an information meeting about the Weight Watchers at Work program. It starts at 12 noon on Monday in Math and Computer room 5158A, says the new on-campus organizer for WW, Jacqueline Macpherson in the anthropology office (jmac@watarts).

Finally, I'd better make a correction to yesterday's Bulletin. The Pascal Lectures will be given October 18 and 19, and not, as I managed to say yesterday, October 18 and 29. ("Also, 'asymptotics' is spelled wrong," says a note from the mathematician who drew the date mistake to my attention.)

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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