![[University of Waterloo]](/images/logobars/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Spread wide under the tree]](/images/2005/1221presents.jpg)
The gifts
stretched across the Tatham Centre lobby -- with student seating
shoved out of the way to make room -- and are now on their way to
184 children in needy families. It was the 18th consecutive year for
the Christmas toy drive in the co-op education and career services
department. Olaf Naese reports from Tatham: "Weekly dress-down days
in CECS throughout the year attract donations, and a special drive
takes place to collect wrapping paper so that none of it needs to be
purchased from collected funds. Major shopping trips take place to
ensure all the children on the list have enough presents." At least
nine other departments contributed to the cause this year, he says.
"Staff members Janet Metz, Carol Ann Olheiser, and Karalee Clerk
coordinated the efforts, with assistance from a host of others. A team
spent the last few weekends wrapping the gifts." Waterloo Region social
workers picked up the load yesterday to deliver things where they're needed.
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The TRRA was formed this year to lobby for a greater government research presence in Toronto and the surrounding area, including Kitchener-Waterloo. Its directors include UW president David Johnston, Open Text president Tom Jenkins, and Kitchener mayor Carl Zehr.
Yesterday's letter -- which became front-page news -- was directed to the leaders of the parties that are contesting next month's federal election. "Each of the federal political parties," it said, "has recognized in its platform that innovation is at the heart of any truly 21st century plan to boost Canadian competitiveness and economic growth. We strongly endorse this and also believe that regional economies are a critical component of any national innovation strategy. . . .
"The broader Toronto region (embracing Hamilton, Guelph, the Waterloo region and the Greater Toronto Area) is an important economic engine for Canadian jobs and economic growth. Accounting for over 35 per cent of the R&D carried out in Canada, the region has both a dynamic research community producing innovative ideas and strong industry receptor clusters ready to pick these ideas up and run with them.
"However, there are also significant challenges that require federal leadership. . . . The fact that the National Research Council has established facilities everywhere in the country except this region is an oversight that must be addressed. Compelling proposals for federal innovation investment in this region have been advanced by the University of Toronto, a Town of Markham-York University consortium, and the University of Waterloo. All of them involve transformational research initiatives that will dramatically strengthen Canada's competitive advantage on the world stage.
"A proposal for a National Centre for Biomedical Innovation (NCBI) has been developed to focus on developing biomedical discoveries into healthcare applications. Spearheaded by the University of Toronto in collaboration with MaRS and Battelle, a world-renowned non-profit research organization, the proposal is supported by leading research hospitals such as the Hospital for Sick Children, Mount Sinai, University Health Network, St. Michael's, and Sunnybrook and Women's. NCBI would work with a spectrum of partners to develop products and processes that will add value to biomedical discoveries while attracting new R&D investment and capital.
"A proposal led by York University and the Town of Markham, in partnership with the University of Waterloo, IBM and Sanofi Pasteur, has been developed on behalf of a strong consortium of industry and community hospital participants. The National Institute for Convergent Technologies, co-locating researchers and industry developers, will serve as a unique catalyst for convergence in research and commercial applications between the IT/software and the biomedical technologies sectors.
"A proposal also comes from the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI) and the University of Waterloo Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC). A sustaining federal investment in these world-leading institutes will bring incalculable future benefits to Canada. Theorists at PI and experimental researchers at IQC are working to translate foundational ideas in physics and quantum computing into commercialized applications that will touch virtually every aspect of our lives.
"These are high-impact initiatives. Each project will attract and retain world-class researchers, graduate highly qualified talent, attract international investment, and create new companies with high quality jobs. The support of these emerging world-class clusters will benefit all Canadians and defend our future prosperity. . . .
"We ask that during this election you clearly articulate how you plan to address the innovation challenges and opportunities facing Canada and the broader Toronto region. Canada's future depends on it."
| POSITIONS AVAILABLE |
|
On this week's list from the human resources department:
Longer descriptions are available on the HR web site. |
Mike Hudson of the physics department has a six-month sabbatical leave: "I am finishing two long-term projects in the area of observational cosmology. I will visit Professor David Koo at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to continue our collaboration on the gravitational lensing by galaxies using data from the Hubble Space Telescope. In Victoria, I will work on a related gravitational lensing project with collaborator Professor Henk Hoekstra, this time using data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Legacy survey."
Ramesh C. Kumar of economics also has a six-month leave: "I will use my sabbatical to write a book on multilateral institutions of international trade and finance (e.g. the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank and the BIS)."
Maria Anna Polak of civil engineering is taking a year-long sabbatical: "Research will be continued in the areas of reinforced concrete mechanics, mechanics of polymeric structures and materials, nonlinear finite element analysis, and non-destructive evaluation of structural members. In particular, the focus of my work during this sabbatical will be on the development of a mechanics based model for punching shear in flat reinforced concrete slabs, and studies on bond modelling for the application in finite element analysis of reinforced concrete structures."
Kenneth R. Davidson of pure mathematics is splitting a twelve-month sabbatical into two sections, January to June 2006 and the same months in 2007. "I will pursue research in operator theory and operator algebras. I will spend January 1, 2006, to April 2006 at the University of Nebraska, where I have three co-authors."
Judie Cukier of environmental studies is taking a six-month sabbatical: "I will spend most of my time completing articles/book chapters in progress. I intend to apply for tenure and promotion in 2006 and require this time to ensure that I can complete the articles I have started. I will also continue work on my study 'Sustaining Livelihoods: Handicrafts and Tourism in Cuba'."
Daniel Berry of computer science will take a year-long leave: "I will participate in actual engineering efforts at the company or institute at which I arrange the sabbatical. The hope is to get 'lessons learned' to report in publications."
Shoufa Lin of earth sciences has a six-month sabbatical. "I will spend 3 months at UW doing research and preparing scientific manuscripts, 2 months in China doing collaborative research with Chinese geologists, and 1 month in the field in Manitoba and Ontario."
![[Paetkau]](/images/2005/1220paetkau.jpg)
As I noted yesterday, UW's first-year students this fall had a median high school mark of 84.8, compared to 84.3 in 2004, according to a report from the director of admissions. "Only in 2002 and 2003 was the median average higher," writes the director, Peter Burroughs. "There are minor variations by faculty," with most parts of the university showing an increase in the average from last year to this year. The high school marks of this fall's new students (counting only the ones who came directly from Ontario high schools) were 80.5 in applied health sciences, 81.7 in arts, 88.2 in engineering, 81.8 in environmental studies, 87.3 in mathematics, 83.2 in science, and 89.8 in software engineering. Burroughs also announced that 75.2 per cent of those first-year students are Ontario Scholars (with a mark of 80 or higher) -- the Ontario-wide figure for 2005 isn't known yet but is usually around 60. Figures in UW's faculties ranged from 54.2 in arts to 96.8 in software engineering.
Systems design engineering student Curtis Saunders, who's active in the local Engineers Without Borders chapter, has a last-minute stocking stuffer to suggest: "EWB's 2005 Calendar, featuring overseas volunteers, full-color images, and a great cause, may be just the right thing." He says calendars are for sale at $20 at the turnkey desk in the Student Life Centre.
Published earlier this year -- but not yet mentioned in the Daily Bulletin -- was a second edition of a key book by Paul Thagard of UW's philosophy department: Mind: Introduction to Cognitive Science. The $30 paperback comes from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. "This little gem of a book has three major virtues," says one instructor quoted in MIT's publicity. "First, it is easy to read and easy to understand. Second, it clearly states the central thesis of cognitive science and precisely lays out the explanatory patterns underlying various theories of cognition. Third, the book is unique in its presentation of the material, arranging it along various types of knowledge representation such as rules, concepts, and images."
The Federation of Students office will close at noon today and not reopen until the winter term begins in January. . . . The office of research will close for the staff Christmas lunch between 11:30 and 2:00. . . . The key control office in plant operations will also be closed at noontime, from 11:45 to 2:30. . . .
And . . . any students still living in Ron Eydt Village, at least its north and west quads, may be unclean tomorrow, as hot and cold water will be turned off from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to repair a leak.
CAR