![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Thagard]](/images/2003/0916thagard.gif)
The rules allow for as many as four annual awards, which carry
a $1,500 grant.
A selection committee met in July, says vice-president Paul Guild.
"The committee may decide not to make the full number of Awards in any
year, depending on the quality and/or number of nominations
received. . . . Following deliberations, one nominated
faculty member was selected to receive the Award."
He is Paul Thagard (left) of the philosophy department, a specialist in the booming field of cognitive science.
Says a summary presented to the senate yesterday: "Paul Thagard was appointed a UW Professor of Philosophy in 1992, with cross appointments to Psychology and Computer Science. Since 1995, he has been Director of the Cognitive Science program.
"Prior to coming to UW, Paul Thagard's appointments included: Adjunct Professor of Decision Science, University of Pennsylvania (1990-91); Senior Research Cognitive Scientist, Princeton University (1989-92); Research Psychologist, Princeton University (1986-89). He is an outstanding researcher who has been a pioneer in demonstrating an emotional role in explanation, and is known worldwide for his work on best explanation. He has made a uniquely important contribution to the literature of the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science, and, above all, to the philosophy of science. His books are published with the very best international presses and are being translated into many languages.
"A quote from a referee states, 'The very impossibility of categorizing Paul's work in traditional terms reflects its importance and its innovation. His research has shown that the deep problems of interest concerning science do not belong to philosophy any more than they belong to psychology or artificial intelligence. By exemplifying such broad interdisciplinary expertise combined with deep scholarship, Paul's work is unquestionably among those having foremost importance today and, above all, provides a model and a standard for research into the future.'
"He has been awarded major grants from both SSHRC and NSERC, held a Killam Research Fellowship (1997-99), and was elected to the Royal Society of Canada (1999)."
The research award is presented each year at fall convocation, and the winners have a special role in the spring as they're invited to make brief public presentations about their research as keynote speakers during the annual Graduate Student Research Conference.
About teaching: Barbara Bulman-Fleming, director of teaching resources, in the fall issue of her office's newsletter, Teaching Matters:
When two UW students meet, they don't hug. They give handshakes. Two guys, handshake. Guy and girl, handshake (or the side hug which doesn't count). Two girls . . . well, maybe a semi-hug, but still a weak and short one.
But that's the difference. WLU: huggers. UW: handshakers.
You can credit this phenomenon to many reasons, the most obvious being that they are a smaller school with less people (although with more than 3,500 frosh accepted this year, only 1,500 or so less than us, this might be losing validity). Sure, they see many of the same faces everyday and that could warrant a more "huggy" community. But even at UW's smaller circles, hugs are few and far between. Putting the initial "I haven't seen you in four months" mandatory hug aside, you'll rarely hug someone on campus from mid-September until December, unless your mom comes to visit. At Laurier, hugs are almost a daily occurrence.
Student Evaluations of Instruction are often the only means the Department Chair (or the Promotion and Tenure Committee of your Department) has to decide how good a teacher you are, and there is a lot of research showing that, no matter how well designed they are, there are potential problem areas with these evaluations. Probably the best they can do is indicate very crudely whether you're dreadful, OK, or brilliant at teaching.About nerds: Jay Liu in a column in the August 29 issue of the engineering student newspaper, Iron Warrior:What can you do to mitigate the effects of less-than-brilliant evaluations? Use several evaluation methods. Consider adding specific questions to the standard form -- questions that will highlight your particular teaching strategies and objectives for the course.
Also, don't wait until the end of the course to administer an evaluation. Students are more motivated (quite understandably) to help you improve the present offering of the course than to fill out a form that will only benefit future students. A good idea is to give them 2 or 3 open-ended questions about 3 weeks into the term. Take their responses seriously, discuss them with the class, and make whatever changes seem reasonable. They appreciate your efforts.
Engineering schools tend to be very closed environments. This is due to the rigid structures that our predecessors have created for us. The structures exist to be followed in order for us to be of competent service to the common man upon graduation. . . .The mistake is to believe that we are in any way better than differently trained creatures on campus and elsewhere. There really is nothing holding you back from the temptation of feeling rather good about yourself right now. However, the coming five years, if done correctly, should be a definite eye-opener for most undergraduates. During these formative years, it is important that you truly embrace yourself to the other side of the world. Diversify your field of study. Dive into the subjects of liberal arts and social sciences without hesitation.
An engineer who is well-informed and one who understands the importance of the world serves the society much more competently than someone who is narrow-minded and, to use a highly sensitive technical term, "nerdy".
![[Actor and actress]](/images/2003/0916tuesdays.gif)
Lakeside
in Kitchener's Victoria Park are Nate Bender and Natalie Mathieson,
starring in the drama department's production of "Tuesdays and
Sundays". The pay-what-you-can show runs tonight through Sunday at
7 p.m. on the island in the park.
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Co-op students who are planning to go on co-op jobs in the winter term should plan to pick up the "master copy co-op record" today, as the first step in the paperwork and interview process. Documents will be available in the Tatham Centre starting at 10 a.m.
Registration for campus recreation instructional programs starts this morning. Details are on the campus rec web site. Briefly, the idea is to pick up a ticket any time after 8:15, at the "Red North" entrance to the Physical Activities Complex, then return at the time it specifies, to sign up for specific classes and courses. Registration for staff and faculty fitness courses is at noon hour today, also at the PAC.
The beginning-of-term Imaginus poster sale continues through Friday in the Student Life Centre: "fine art, fantasy, photography, Japanimation, wildlife, foil prints, . . ."
A Weight Watchers group on campus will get going with a noon-hour meeting today, as long as there are enough people. Organizer Melissa Latour, of St. Jerome's University, says she needs 20. "The meetings will be held at St. Jerome's room 2009 on Tuesdays from 12:00 to 12:50," Latour writes. And she adds that although it's officially "WW at Work", the sessions are open to any students, staff and community members who are interested. For more information she can be reached by e-mail: mmlatour@uwaterloo.ca.
Several events in the next few days will offer information about graduate scholarships from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and other granting agencies. NSERC representatives will be available today (in Needles Hall room 3001) to talk about postgraduate scholarship (9:00 to 10:30) and postdoctoral fellowships (10:30 to 11:30). Then through the week, there will be general information sessions on applying for funding that includes the Ontario Graduate Scholarships and the new Trudeau Scholars program. Here's the schedule:
The student branch of the IEEE -- that's the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers -- will hold a general meeting tonight at 5:00 in Davis Centre room 1302. There will be introductions to IEEE itself, a planned BlackBerry programming contest and involvement in the solar car project, "as well as a resumé critique, networking session and prize draw", says organizer Kevin Yang Ma. "Although IEEE is a technical association, UW IEEE prides itself on its multidisciplinary structure, and encourages students from all faculties to enjoy the opportunities provided by IEEE. Over the recent years, our branch has built successful relationships with both Microsoft and Research In Motion and we continuously strive to expand our industry partnerships."
"Gob" plays Federation Hall tonight, and tickets are $17 for Feds (undergraduate students), $19 for others. The opening band is Kazzer -- looks like a preview of the MTV Campus Invasion tour. "The concert is open to all UW students, regardless of age," says Dave McDougall in the Federation of Students office, where tickets are on sale.
Advance note: the Centre for Learning and Teaching Through Technology, or LT3, will hold an information session for new faculty on Thursday at 10 a.m. "Would you like to know," says the event listing, "how UW faculty are using the University of Waterloo Online Environment for Learning (UWone) to help students prepare for class and labs; assist students with learning difficult concepts; provide feedback to large classes; create online groups for guided discussions; provide new options for use of class time and homework time; and much more?" Anyone interested in the 90-minute session (to be held in the Flex Lab in the Dana Porter Library) should e-mail trace@watserv1 to register.
CAR