![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Sculpture holds big ring aloft]](/images/2004/0217ring.gif)
Joy indeed! The sculpture "Joy" outside South Campus Hall was celebrating Iron Ring season last night. Mechanical engineering student Eric Stephens took the photo. |
The ring, worn on "the little finger of the working hand", is a uniquely Canadian symbol, a token by which to recognize an engineer who has deliberately taken an "obligation" to his or her new profession. The first Iron Ring ceremony at UW was held in the spring of 1963.
As in the past, there will be three Iron Ring ceremonies at UW today, all held in the Theatre of the Arts. It'll be crowded, with a record number of new engineers expected, says John Westlake of the co-op and career services department -- himself an engineer, and one of the "Wardens" responsible for Iron Ring matters at Waterloo.
By tradition, today's solemnities will be preceded by a day of not-so-solemn celebration. In an article in the Iron Warrior this time last year, Dave Clegg compared the annual Iron Ring hijinks to a rowdy wedding party: "Though the primary goal of the day is to receive the ring in a solemn ceremony, this is also a monumental achievement for engineers who have worked to get there for the last five years, and they celebrate, in their own way, this achievement in their life. . . .
"The school visitation can also involve interrupting engineering classes and tutorials in session. This is part of the celebration that grads go through in order to mark the achievement of their day, and in most cases this disruption is tolerated. This is analogous to the way that newlyweds, their wedding party and their guests stream from the church to the location of the photos, honking horns and stopping traffic as they go."
And after the ceremonies tonight comes the Iron Ring Stag, being held at a Kitchener night club. Amid the partying, there will come the Tool, mascot of UW engineers -- and the newly ringed ones will be permitted to touch its metal for the first time ever.
![[Brochure cover]](/images/2004/0128humanities.gif)
Such research "contributes to the development of imagination, critical thinking and informed ethical judgment important to Canadian society," says the cover of the brochure, pictured at right. "Innovation in the natural sciences, engineering and medicine can be explained by research into cultural antecedents and behavioural analysis."
The brochure pictures Robert Park of UW's anthropology department, showing off the jawbone of a bowhead whale hunted by the Thule people of Canada's high Arctic some 700 years ago.
Inside, the brochure describes a range of research projects going on in UW's arts faculty (plus a nod to kinesiology, geography and management sciences in other faculties). For example:
"Dr. Wendy Mitchinson published Childbirth in Canada, 1900-1950 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press 2002), a book that was awarded the Jason A. Hannah Medal of the Royal Society of Canada. One of the interests of historians has been the way in which childbirth has become medicalized and taken away from women. Her research includes midwifery issues, prenatal care, obstetrical intervention and postnatal care. Dr. Mitchinson has also written about 'Agency, Diversity, Constraints: Women and Their Physicians, Canada 1850-1950' and 'It's Not Society That's the Problem, It's Women's Bodies: A Historical View of Medical Treatment of Women.' She is working on a collection of essays on the non-reproductive health of women in Canada. . . .
"The Centre for Accounting Ethics is a leading research area of UW's School of Accountancy. The centre helps prepare future accountants and auditors to exercise professional judgment within an ethical framework and to promote high standards. . . .
"Dr. Mariela A. Gutierrez has become a world-renowned expert on Cuban author Lydia Cabrera. . . . A Sorbonne-educated ethnologist-anthropologist, Lydia Cabrera wrote about Afro-Cuban culture in some 100 books and her research is vital in understanding race relations in Cuba and Latin American women writers."
Says the brochure: "Waterloo fosters organization and technical innovation as well as core competencies acquired through arts and sciences research. This core includes communication, problem solving, international knowledge, cross-cultural awareness and adaptability."
It also touches on research in child development, cults, Jewish lore, the United Nations, criminal justice, mediation, health policy -- and the topic that it seems people most often think of as being the focus of work in arts: Shakespeare.
![[Ian Wright poster]](http://www.feds.ca/posters/ianwright.jpg)
Speaking of spring, and spring term jobs: The co-op and career services department advises co-op students that today brings the "last update of Student Access before computer job match. Students with "No Info" ranks should check to see if any of these have been resolved and re-rank jobs if appropriate. Ranking forms must be received by 4:00 p.m. at the Information Centre." Job match results will be posed Monday afternoon.
The Engineering Graduation Committee has finished sales of its first annual "Women of Engineering" calendar. Mechanical engineering student Eric Duiker tells more: "The calendar, which sold for $15 each, contains pictures of 75 different girls enrolled in nearly every engineering discipline at UW. All of the girls in the calendar appeared on a volunteer basis, and were given complete freedom to select their clothing, poses, and background. The thirteen month calendar shows the fine ladies of UW engineering posing with various student team project vehicles such as the Midnight Sun Solar Car and the Formula SAE race car, as well as with other creations such as snow(wo)men and custom decorated Christmas trees. Clothing attire ranges from themes of interview clothes, to Canadian flags, to car tires. If you missed a chance to see the calendar before it sold out, many of the calendar pictures will be popping up in various engineering recruitment publications in an effort to show potential female students how much fun being a girl in UW engineering can be."
UW alumni in Markham, north of Toronto, have an event after work today, the alumni affairs office reports. UW president David Johnston is the keynote speaker at a reception (6 to 8 p.m.) at the Hilton Suites and Conference Centre on Warden Avenue.
A noontime session on "Personal Tax Strategies", sponsored by the UW branch of the Waterloo County Education Credit Union, is happening tomorrow, not today, I'm informed. The cards that went out advertising the event had an ambiguous date. Speaker tomorrow is chartered accountant Alan Wintrip; the talk starts at 12:15 in Davis Centre room 1302. Pauline Cotrell at the credit union, phone ext. 3574, is taking RSVPs.
![[Fonn]](/images/2004/0217fonn.gif)
The continuing education office is offering a day-long course on Friday
under the title "Thinking Out of the Box". Says a flyer: "This course,
designed for managers and staff, will highlight a step-by-step approach
that organizations can use to achieve a truly innovative culture." The
instructor is Patsy Marshall, who heads her own training and development
company. Fee for the day is $275 plus tax, with a 50 per cent discount
available for UW staff. The continuing ed office at 888-4002 can provide
more information.
And . . . Anita Fonn (left), secretary for the thermal and fluids
group in UW's mechanical engineering department, will be leaving at
the end of this month. "We will be hosting a wine and cheese party for
her on Thursday, February 26," writes colleague Ethel Spike. The event
is set for 3 to 5 p.m. that day in Engineering II room 4404; RSVPs and
gift contributions go to Spike at ext. 6740.
CAR