![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Pink suit; Pounce watching]](/images/2004/1110chambers.jpg)
'You have
every reason to feel proud," said Mary Anne Chambers, Ontario minister
of training, colleges and universities, who was on campus yesterday to
meet with UW officials, and was invited to say a few words at the
celebration of UW's "best overall" ranking from Maclean's
magazine. "I'm not supposed to show favouritism," the minister joked, but
told the Davis Centre audience that she's well aware of Waterloo's achievements.
"Thank you," she told staff and faculty, "for the standards you have
maintained even when there have been challenges to deal with."
Chambers also dropped by the Student Life Centre during her visit, and got her
flu shot from a health services nurse.
![[Pizza]](/images/pizza.gif){kind=small}
Another chance
to celebrate the Maclean's triumph and eat some pizza will be offered
next week, says Martin Van Nierop, UW's director of communications and public
affairs. He said yesterday's
crowd was so big that not everybody got the pizza they were expecting,
so "round 2" of the pizza party is being planned. But there will be
a slight delay: the event put a big hole in the inventory of local
pizza-makers, and it will take time to get more supplies.
Date and place will be announced shortly. Running out of food
yesterday "was not Food Services' fault," Van Nierop stressed, saying "they
did a great job" but organizers underestimated how many people would come
and how much they would eat.
|
A memo gives some background: "The Registrar's Office strives to improve levels of service, responsiveness and efficiency that is provided to students, faculty, and staff. These are our guiding principles as we consider process change throughout the office.
"One important area is the production of hard copy forms. We have been phasing in a new protocol related to the management of forms over this term that capitalizes on the convenience and flexibility of PDF forms. Effective immediately, we intend to rely on web based fill-in PDF forms when our current supply of hard copy forms is depleted."
Forms cover everything from admission for part-time studies through "Petition for Exception to Academic Regulations" all the way to the intention-to-graduate document.
Says the memo: "Web forms are available and have been improved to make the forms more appealing to use and therefore encourage more wide-spread use, and enable users to fill in the forms on-line and print for submission to the Registrar's Office or department for approval and/or handling.
"Direct submission on-line is not possible at this time. . . . We will continue our efforts to develop true interactive on-line forms."
The registrar's web site has a how-to page for the new PDF forms, which can be printed from the web anywhere -- including right in the customer service area on the second floor of Needles Hall, where a copier is available.
Lavigne says it's "too soon to gauge" how the new arrangement is working.
| POSITIONS AVAILABLE |
|
On this week's list from the human resources department:
Longer descriptions are available on the HR web site. |
![[Win a trip to New York at the Bombshelter or Federation Hall]](http://www.feds.ca/graphics/NYC-TRAVEL-WEB-PREVIEW.jpg)
Yeow's research interests include the design, fabrication and
integration of micro/nanosystems for biomedical
applications. His award was for his research into
the "Micromachine-based Optical Coherence
Tomographic Imaging System."
Yeow has designed a new generation of very small (micromachined) scanners less than two millimetres across. He has described how they could someday be inserted into a human body to produce high-quality images of internal organs. Previous small-scale scanners were incapable of producing clear images, while larger scanners caused unwanted damage to body tissues.
Yeow earned his PhD in mechanical and industrial engineering at the University of Toronto and designed new micromachined scanners, capable of three-dimensional scanning in internal biomedical imaging.
Conventional surgery requires doctors to create large incisions to expose the anatomy they are working on. This can result in trauma, large scars and post-operative complications. More frequently, surgeons are turning to endoscopy -- a minimally invasive procedure that allows them to examine the inside of a body or organ using a lighted, flexible instrument that requires only a small incision. This trend means there is a growing need in health research and in medicine for small, fast optical scanning systems to use in endoscopies.
Previous micromachined scanners were too small to allow doctors a clear view of the tissues they were examining or had voltage problems. Yeow's design produces clear, three-dimensional images and stands up well to repeated use. In the near future, his scanner will reduce the stress and discomfort patients experience when undergoing endoscopic examinations of the colon or the esophagus.
Ultimately, Yeow anticipates disposable scanners that will reduce the need to decontaminate equipment and which can be adapted to a variety of biomedical instruments.
| WHEN AND WHERE |
|
'Web Accessibility Demystified' seminar by Jesse Rodgers,
communications and public affairs, 9:30, Davis Centre room 1304.
Flu shot clinic 10 to 5 today through Friday, Student Life Centre. Employee safety orientation one-hour session 10 a.m., Davis Centre room 1302, information ext. 5613. Xerox "focus day" at Campus Techshop, Student Life Centre, 10 to 3. Classical and jazz piano: Elena Klyucharova and Andrey Tikhonov, 12:30, Conrad Grebel University College chapel, free. Health informatics seminar: Colin Mayfield, biology, "A Different Perspective on Health Informatics -- Its Role and Importance in Developing Countries." 3:30, Davis Centre room 1304. 'Career Decision Making' workshop 3:30, Tatham Centre room 1208. Green roofs workshop sponsored by UW Sustainability Project, which is hoping to install a green roof on campus, 4 p.m., Environmental Studies I room 132. Communitech annual general meeting and open house, 5 to 7 at 57 Erb Street West, details online. Remembrance Day observations Thursday 10:45 a.m.: Renison College chapel (speaker, Jean Becker of St. Paul's United College); Carl Pollock Hall foyer (student speakers from Engineering Society). Server technology update by Mark Scott of Dell, Thursday 1:30 to 3, Davis Centre room 1304. Exchange programs: information session about student exchanges, particularly with Braunschweig and Mannheim, Germany. Overview by German students currently at UW as well as UW students formerly in Germany. Detailed information available (but no need to sign up immediately). Thursday 4:30, Davis Centre room 1304. Arriscraft architecture lecture by Mark Burry, Melbourne, "Fabrication and Human Factors", Thursday 6;30 p.m., Architecture building. To be followed by "Fabrication" conference jointly sponsored by UW and U of Toronto. Impact conference: "Empowering Tomorrow's Leaders", one-day student-organized event Saturday, Four Points Sheraton, Kitchener, details online. 'Written in the Stars' evening fund-raiser for The New Quarterly, Saturday 7 p.m., St. Jerome's University fireside lounge, details online. Electronic Portfolio Landscapes day-long showcase of ePortfolio projects at UW and elsewhere, November 15, information and reservations e-mail tracy@lt3, deadline today. Geographic Information Systems Day events at the University Map and Design Library, November 17, including open house 1 to 4 p.m. and GIS demonstration, details online. Winterfest staff association family event, Sunday, December 12, 2 to 4 p.m., Columbia Icefield, registration forms online, deadline today. |
David Clausi of systems design engineering is on a six-month sabbatical: "I plan to spend considerable sabbatical time in support of my primary research endeavour -- the development of intelligent decision algorithms in support of tactical operations of the Canadian Ice Services through the use of radar-based remotely sensed imagery. I have numerous graduate students to support as well as other research projects to continue during this time period."
Duane Cronin of mechanical engineering is also taking six months: "This early sabbatical will allow me to devote more attention to journal publications based on recent and current research. In addition, this will allow me to focus on two large research projects currently underway."
Mieke Delfgaauw of environment and resource studies will spend her six-month sabbatical on "a pilot project to run in the Spring of 2005, consisting of: online course for large numbers; self-paced learning course delivery formats; development of intelligent agent; development of interactive learning in project based small number course; development of an evaluation format to be used for online courses taught in FES."
David E. Matthews of statistics and actuarial science has a twelve-month sabbatical under way: "I will be pursuing research opportunities at the Health Services Research Group and Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. I also plan to write the fourth edition of a book about medical statistics entitled Using and Understanding Medical Statistics."
David McKinnon of pure mathematics has a six-month leave: "I plan to use my sabbatical leave to pursue research activities related to the distribution of rational points on algebraic varieties."
And Trevor Charles of biology is taking a twelve-month leave: "I am
developing a research collaboration with Virginia Bioinformatics
Institute, in the area of functional genomics. I intend to spend a
few months there to foster this collaboration. Also, I am writing
an introductory microbiology textbook, with two co-authors, and intend
to get much of the writing of my part of the book done during this
sabbatical."
CAR