![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Thursday, August 26, 2004
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Townhouses, muddy pipes]](/images/2004/0826westmount.gif)
Pavement
above ground and pipes below: that's the future state of Westmount Road,
which
will soon
run across the north campus just to the east of the
Columbia Lake Townhouse complex. Work is under way not only on
the long stretch of four-lane road, but at the existing intersection of
Westmount and Columbia, which has to be realigned, and at Bearinger
Road, where the project includes a new route for Laurel Creek on a
sliver of UW-owned land. Waterloo Region expects to have the road
open for traffic in October. Photo by Chris Hughes, UW Graphics.
|
Midnight Sun VII is on a 40-day tour of North America, and last night was in southern California heading for the Arizona border. Late in yesterday's run, the team surpassed the world record distance of 7,043.5 kilometres, says Greg Thompson, a spokesman for the team. That record was set by Queen's University in July 2000.
Said Thompson: "The Midnight Sun team is now setting their sights on the unofficial World Record of 13,054 km held by Aurora from Melbourne, Australia, for their circumnavigation of Australia in 2002. The record, which is subject to ratification by the International Solar Federation, and Guinness World Records, will be for the longest distance in a single journey by a solar-powered car.
"The Midnight Sun team has been driving the newest generation solar car every day since August 7, across Canada and the United States. The completed journey will cover approximately 19,000 km over 40 days of driving and take the team through all 10 provinces and 25 states. Throughout the tour, the solar car will serve as an example of alternative energy application and energy conservation."
Since 1989, Thompson noted, UW has carried on a solar car project to promote renewable energy resources in transportation. "Combining the university's academic excellence and innovative spirit, the Midnight Sun project has helped in testing existing ideas while introducing improvements and new concepts in the hopes of bringing solar energy into everyday use."
Midnight Sun VII is a low, sleek three-wheeled car, with solar cells covering much of the upper body. This car has followed an evolutionary design process with improvements in aerodynamics, electrical, and mechanical systems.
Daily reports and photos from the tour are being posted on the Midnight Sun web site.
![[River, spire, trees]](/images/2004/0823archview.gif)
View from the Cambridge architecture building (photo taken by Chris Hughes, UW Graphics, during the May 29 open house) |
The architecture site is in the old downtown of Galt, one of the three communities that merged in 1972 to make the city of Cambridge, southeast of Kitchener-Waterloo. Specifically, it's on Melville Street, on the west bank of the Grand River and just south of the Main Street bridge.
The directions on the architecture school's web site start from highway 401 and recommend taking the highway 24 exit -- advice that's clearly aimed at people coming from Toronto. So how do you get there from the UW main campus?
The new UW map doesn't specifically give directions, but shows only one road that connects K-W with Cambridge: highway 8, which leads into Coronation Boulevard and Dundas Street through the Preston and Galt districts of Cambridge. Getting to highway 8 from the Waterloo campus probably involves University Avenue and the Conestoga Parkway (highway 85).
The online Mapquest service, asked for directions from "200 University Avenue West" to the Melville Street site, oddly starts off with a U-turn on University Avenue, then goes with the Conestoga Parkway, highway 8, highway 24 (Hespeler Road) and Main Street. Total distance: 18.65 miles (30.0 kilometres) and a rather optimistic estimated time of 31 minutes.
Eric Haldenby, director of the architecture school, has probably made the Waterloo-to-Cambridge trip more times than anybody else. "I always go down Westmount to Fischer-Hallman to Roseville," he writes, "and turn left and go in Roseville Road into Galt. This takes about 33 minutes and is very dependable (no traffic jams) and a pleasant drive through the country."
My own recommendation matches what was posted to the newsgroup uw.general by Doug Payne of the information systems and technology department, who frequently goes to Galt for other reasons. "I timed my trip from Westmount and University to Galt," he wrote. "28 minutes, driving with the traffic (i.e. not speeding excessively), traffic moderate. Westmount to Bleams Road to Homer Watson to Blair Road to George Street and thence one block left to Grand Avenue. Never exceeded 85 km/h, saw some pleasant countryside along the way.
"Of course, during rush hour it probably takes 28 minutes just to get to Erb and Westmount."
There's a mistake in the current year's undergraduate calendar, says a memo from the registrar's office this week. It has to do with administrative dates -- specifically, the date during the fall when students can choose their winter term courses through online appointments on Quest. The calendar says appointments start September 29; in fact it's not until October 4, says Carmen Roecker, manager of records and examinations support. Appointments run through October 30 and are followed, as usual, by "open enrolment" starting November 1. Appointments will be listed on Quest starting September 7. The correct information now appears in the online schedule.
A report from the courts: "It's that time of year, to sign up for the 11th Downey Tennisfest," writes Linda Howe of communications and public affairs. Any tennis player -- both novice and experienced -- are encouraged to join the fun on Sunday, September 26. The format for the tennis games is round robin with tennis balls provided. Your partner and a 12:30 or 2:45 p.m. start time will be assigned. Even if you don't want to play, people can come at 6 p.m for dinner and entertainment. As well there's a silent auction to raise money to send disadvantaged children to tennis camp. Sometimes the competition at the auction table is even fiercer than the competition on the court. To register contact Shirley Fenton, ext. 4074."
A sign outside the Physical Activities Complex has been reminding passers-by that Dana Ellis, a 2002 kinesiology graduate who starred for the track and field Warriors, is competing at the Olympics in Athens. Here's the outcome: Ellis finished sixth in her event, the pole vault, on Tuesday. She and a teammate -- the first two Canadian women ever to attempt the Olympic pole vault -- cleared 4.40 metres, but Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva took the gold with a world record 4.91 metres. Ellis is proud of her achievement: ""After I was finished and I looked up at the results," she told a reporter, "I thought, My gosh, I just competed in an Olympic final and did pretty well."
Aboriginal Student Services welcomes everyone to a seasonal drum social tonight from 6 to 10 p.m. at St. Paul's United College. The event -- with "singing and dancing and good eats, too" -- is being conducted by Healing of the Seven Generations, a Kitchener agency that offers support programs for native people "suffering from the effects of the legacy of residential schools." The event includes a fund-raising raffle.
Here's a reminder of the electrical power shutdown that will affect the campus this Sunday, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The library will close (most other things were scheduled to be closed already) and people with essential equipment have been scrambling to make backup arrangements. An updated announcement from information systems and technology, which was already planning a major shutdown of computer networks this weekend for other reasons, now says that while "core services" will be available Saturday, pretty much everything will be out of commission during the Sunday shutdown. The only exceptions: the telephone switchboard, and the portion of the ORION computer network that UW maintains for several other campuses. I'll give a further report tomorrow on plans for the Sunday blackout.
CAR
