![[University of Waterloo]](/images/logobars/goldbar.gif)
![[Iron Ring]](/images/2005/0222ironring.gif)
| Yesterday |
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Griffith]](/images/2005/0222griffith.jpg)
Noted for her research on how plants (and fish) survive cold weather, she was named a Killam Research Fellow in 2003. "I'm a plant biologist," she explained then. "I want to understand how plants function." More specifically: "How do plants survive the winter? Freezing and thawing is a stressful event. I want to know how they do that."
Griffith's curiosity about plants went back to her childhood in rural Massachusetts. A neighbour interested in gardening and taxonomy nurtured her interest in plants. She earned her Master's at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. "I wanted to learn how to grow trees more productively -- not chop them down," she said. "The limiting factors of plant productivity are stresses: excessive or too little moisture, high light, and freezing."
For her PhD thesis at the University of Minnesota, Griffith explored freezing tolerance in winter rye. After that she was hooked. "I've been working on it ever since. . . . People used to think that plants freeze because it's cold. What I have shown in my research is that plants control their freezing by producing ice nucleators which initiate the freezing process. That allows freezing to take place in intercellular spaces."
She was "an avid international traveller", taking opportunities to talk about her research, this week's obituary notice adds.
She is survived by her husband, Tim Thorne, and many family members.
Visitation is today (2 to 4 and 7 to 9) at the Edward R. Good Funeral Home on King Street; the funeral service will be held in the chapel of the funeral home on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Memorial donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario are suggested.
A memo from provost Amit Chakma announces the membership of the nominating committee -- some of them chosen by election -- and says he has been advised by Paul Guild, who has been vice-president (university research) since January 2001, that he is not seeking to be reappointed. Guild (left) is a faculty member in the department of management sciences.
![[Guild]](/images/2005/0222guild.jpg)
The memo from provost Amit Chakma, dated Friday, "is to inform the
community that the Committee is in place and has held its first
meeting; also, that Paul Guild has advised me that he will not seek a
second term as Vice-President, University Research. Consequently, the
Nominating Committee (identified below) is now seeking applications
and nominations -- internal and external -- for the position. . . .
"The Committee also seeks feedback and advice, in confidence, on the issues and challenges affecting UW researchers, the Office of Research, and on the desirable attributes sought in a Vice-President, University Research. You are invited to discuss such matters with any member of the Nominating Committee or to forward a written submission to Emily Barnes (c/o Secretariat, NH; via email, ebarnes@uwaterloo.ca; or fax 888-6337) not later than Friday, April 1."
Here are the members of the nominating committee:
Provost
Amit Chakma is chair of the committee, and Barnes is its secretary.
Attached to the memo are excerpts from UW's Policy 68, defining the job of VP (university research) ("provides leadership in research throughout the University and externally") and the appointment procedure.
Also attached is the ad that will be appearing to invite applications. It describes UW ("an outward-looking, research-intensive university, aware of and responsive to the needs of society . . . the national leader in the transfer of ideas and technology to the public and private sectors"), explains the job, and specifies some qualifications: "The successful candidate will have demonstrated management and communication skills, and distinguished leadership credentials in a research environment. The initial five-year appointment will begin on January 1, 2006, or as soon as possible thereafter."
| WHEN AND WHERE |
|
Co-op match results for spring term jobs available today on JobMine.
Job postings begin for remaining interview cycles.
Theatre Beyond Words:"The Potato People Survive the Great Outdoors", 10:00 and 1:15 today and Wednesday, Humanities Theatre. 'Oil on Ice', documentary about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, free showing sponsored by Waterloo Public Interest Research Group, 4:00, Student Life Centre room 3103. Interdisciplinary Coffee Talk Society: Eric Poisson, University of Guelph, "Our Strange Universe", 5 p.m., Graduate House. Engineering alumni pub evening, from 7 p.m., McGinnis Frontrow, University Avenue. High school mathematics contests: Pascal (grade 9), Cayley (grade 10), Fermat (grade 11), tomorrow, details online. Stress relaxation series: "Progressive Relaxation", Wednesday 12 noon, Math and Computer room 5158. Smarter health seminar: John Glaser, Partners Healthcare, "Areas of IT Strategic Emphasis in Healthcare Organizations", Wednesday 3:00, Davis Centre room 1302. Open stage at the Graduate House, featuring grad student Marty Lochner, tonight, no cover charge. Photojournalist Linda Panetta, "School of the Americas and the War on Terrorism", Saturday 1 p.m., Arts Lecture Hall room 113, sponsored by Waterloo Public Interest Research Group. |
As in the past, there will be three Iron Ring ceremonies in the Theatre of the Arts in late afternoon today, 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. He said about 700 final-year UW students will be taking part, along with about 20 "seniors", engineers with qualifications from somewhere else who are eligible to acquire the Iron Ring.
By tradition, today's solemnities will be preceded by a day of not-so-solemn celebration. In an article in the Iron Warrior a couple of years ago, 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.
The new look, just announced in a memo from top university officials, came about gradually starting more than a year ago from work being done primarily by Jesse Rodgers, manager of web communications in the communications and public affairs office, on the new Research and Technology Park home page. Along with Allan Kirker in LT3 and Matt Regehr in UW Graphics, he took part on hammering out a new, fresher design that still featured strong elements of the current Gold Standard. There was also a "UW-template" mail list of early adopters that help shape the final template.
"The code behind the new Common Look and Feel is a step towards more accessible web design at the University of Waterloo," says Martin Van Nierop, director of C&PA. "It is supported with a relatively simple template that will allow site creators to use the tools with which they are familiar, at the same time creating more accessible web sites that will be easier to update in the future. A key goal was to make a design that allows for easier-to-maintain web sites with a more professional look and feel, consistent with UW's external image."
As noted by the memo from provost Amit Chakma and Alan George, associate provost (information systems and technology), the new web look will effectively receive oversight from a web steering committee (chaired by George) and a web operations team led by Carol Vogt of IST.
CAR