February 23, 2005

Waterloo city council has approved two contracts for earth-moving and construction on UW's north campus, Tom Galloway of the plant operations department said after city council met on Monday night.

Both projects involve the SuperBuild funding that was approved by the federal and provincial governments four years ago and has helped to build the infrastructure for the UW research and technology park. The park is a partnership involving UW, the senior governments, Waterloo Region, the city, and local business.

The beginnings of the R&T park, seen in mid-October. This view, facing west, shows Wes Graham Way as a mere stub east of the main traffic circle (bottom), and Hagey Boulevard roughed in to the north (right). Now they'll be completed.

One of the contracts that got council approval on Monday is for $3.6 million worth of work to finish the main roads in the R&T park -- Hagey Boulevard running north to Bearinger Road, and Wes Graham Way running east and then north to join up with Parkside Drive. Added to Westmount Road, which was completed late last fall, that'll make three traffic routes across the north campus where a year ago there were none.

The contract also includes related landscaping and drainage, as well as the northern (Bearinger Road) entrances to the R&T park, Galloway said. "It completes the infrastructure." Work will start in April, he added, and should be completed by October.

The other contract that council approved is for $1.3 million worth of work on Columbia Lake -- the first phase of the planned environmental reserve that will run along Laurel Creek north from Columbia Street to Bearinger. "That essentially means the reconfiguration of the lake," he said, mentioning the long-planned project to make the lake (which is artificial, created by the Grand River Conservation Authority) smaller but deeper. That'll improve water flow, water quality and aquatic life in Laurel Creek through the campus and into central Waterloo.

A crew will likely get to work on dredging the lake within two weeks, Galloway said -- "they want to get in there before the major thaw takes place." Work will extend until sometime in the summer "The beginnings of the bypass channel will be included in this phase," he added, as will plantings around the lake and in the lake itself, to restore a healthier ecology.

UW's winning team in the "entrepreneurial design" category show off their project.

Winning engineers ready for Calgary

Five teams from UW are heading for the Canadian Engineering Competition in Calgary in early March after taking prizes in the Ontario Engineering Competition, held at Waterloo February 11-13.

Two of UW's entries in the Ontario competition took first place in their categories. Jeff Alfonsi placed first in "Editorial Communications", with a presentation on the advancements in gene delivery technology, including "the agricultural, environmental, economic, political and medical nightmares and dreams associated with them". His text concluded that the benefits of gene technology outweigh the consequences, and offered recommendations to ensure that this technology is crafted to benefit humanity.

Also taking home a first-place award was a team in the "Entrepreneurial Design" category: Alice Malisia, Matthew Millard, Melanie Stern and Beth Vary. Their proposed product was "ConcertPitch", a piano tuning aid with two components. "One component is a computer program that displays the degree to which the harmonics of a given note are in tune. The second component is an innovative mechanical device that can physically turn the tuning pins. Both parts of the project will be integrated so that, with minimal instruction, piano manufacturers and owners can tune their own pianos."

A UW team came third in the "Corporate Design" category, as Preet Shihn, Quoc Huy Tu Le and Erik Schmidt presented a technique for use in cancer treatment: "Research suggests that monitoring the interstitial fluid pressure within a tumor can predict the effectiveness of treatment. To assist Princess Margaret Hospital, this project aims to develop a system to monitor the interstitial fluid pressure. The proposed implantable device transmits a wireless signal indicating the pressure inside the tumor. The signal is received at a recording station where it can be monitored."

A Waterloo team consisting of Byron Anderson, John Onesi, Jamie Callender and Christopher Troup came third in "Senior Design", and Waterloo's Candra Whitesell was third in "Explanatory Communications". In addition, Jack Nowinski and Mark Nowinski received "social awareness" and "technical excellence" awards in the Entrepreneurial Design competition.

The top-ranked teams will come up against winners from other regions of Canada in the national competition March 2-6, hosted by the University of Calgary.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

On this week's list from the human resources department:

Technical secretary, statistics and actuarial science, USG 4.

Graduate studies awards records assistant, graduate studies office, USG 5.

Hardware specialist/lab instructor, electrical and computer engineering, USG 8-10.

Graduate studies awards programs assistant, graduate studies office, USG 4.

Mechanical repairperson, plant operations.

Executive assistant, dean of mathematics, USG 13-14.

Longer descriptions are available on the HR web site.

WHEN AND WHERE

High school mathematics contests: Pascal (grade 9), Cayley (grade 10), Fermat (grade 11), details online.

Theatre Beyond Words:"The Potato People Survive the Great Outdoors", 10:00 and 1:15, Humanities Theatre.

Stress relaxation series: "Progressive Relaxation", 12 noon, Math and Computer room 5158.

Marilyn Griffith, department of biology, funeral service 1 p.m., Edward R. Good Funeral Home, King Street.

UW web design "institutional overview" session 9:00, Davis Centre room 1304; "technical overview" 1:30 today and again tomorrow, registration online.

Smarter health seminar: John Glaser, Partners Healthcare, "Areas of IT Strategic Emphasis in Healthcare Organizations", 3:00, Davis Centre room 1302.

Warrior men's hockey quarterfinal game vs. Laurier, 7:30, Columbia Icefield, tickets $8 (students $6) at the door (season tickets do not apply).

'Hot Night in the City' fashion show featuring Waterloo firefighters, Thursday at Federation Hall, doors open 7 p.m., tickets $25 (call 880-8877) -- fund-raiser for Easter Seals.

Reading period for engineering and mathematics, no classes Thursday and Friday. Reading week for other faculties continues.

Notes on federal budget day

I had a merry visit from two final-year engineers around midday yesterday, apparently touring the campus as part of the usual foolishness of Iron Ring day. Along with taking a couple of digital photos (now that's really going to enhance somebody's album, an Iron Ring portrait with the editor of the Daily Bulletin!) they managed to confirm that I'd made a mistake yesterday morning: I said the Iron Ring Stag was being held at a Kitchener bar, but in fact it returned to campus this year, being held at Federation Hall after a two-year hiatus.

I reported in January that UW would be able to guarantee a $2,000 scholarship for every student who arrives this fall with a high school average of 90 or higher. It's a step towards a "scholarship grid", as recommended by last fall's task force on student financial aid. Such scholarships are now being announced on the admissions web site, as the University of Waterloo President's Scholarships. "Your admission average including required courses must be 90% or higher for the program to which you've received and accepted an Offer of Admission," the site tells students. "You must accept your Offer of Admission by the date specified on the offer. . . . You may qualify for another entrance scholarship based on specific admission and/or scholarship criteria established by the Faculty/School to which you've been admitted. These other entrance scholarships are generously supported by alumni, private donors, and corporations. Eligibility requirements for other scholarships vary. In some programs, you may still be offered a scholarship if your average is below 90%."

Engineering dean Adel Sedra has sent a memo across his faculty in the wake of the decision to move UW's school of architecture into engineering, from environmental studies, as of May 1. "Staff and administrators from the Faculty of Engineering, the School of Architecture, and the University's central operating and service units are working closely now to ensure a smooth operational transition for the School," he writes. "The Faculty of Engineering welcomes the School of Architecture, and we look forward to the benefit of strengthening relationships and building collaborations between the School of Architecture and the Departments of Civil and Systems Design Engineering, among others." Meanwhile, the Iron Warrior had an interesting piece recently noting some of the issues that will arise as architecture students become part of an engineering environment.

"It's been wonderful to hear how the Grebel experience has impacted the lives of so many students and families," says Henry Paetkau, president of Conrad Grebel University College, writing in UW's annual donor report. He cites an example: the family of John Giesbrecht, who served on the Grebel board for two terms, and whose son Ron (BSc 1983) and daughters Caroline (BSc 1973) and Janice (BMath 1977) lived at Grebel. The third generation is also represented, as grandson Dan Gartenburg is now part of the Grebel community. "This past year," says the report, "the family made a gift to the College to establish a music scholarship in memory of John's wife, Agnes, who passed away in 1999. During her high school years, Agnes had developed a close friendship with Helen Martens, who later became the first head of the Music Department at Grebel. The Agnes Giesbrecht Choral Music Scholarship was established to support and promote choral music and training. . . . Recipients will be actively involved in the Music program, possess excellent vocal skills, and demonstrate a keen interest in choral music, including the Russian Mennonite choral music tradition. The award is also intended to foster leadership skills, as the recipient will serve as assistant to the Director of the Chapel Choir. The family connections and commitment to music make this a fitting memorial of Agnes' life and musical interests."

And . . . I had a note yesterday from a staff member who is missing "a gold and diamond earring that is of very sentimental value. I lost it today while walking around the university on my lunch hour." She'll be checking the official lost-and-found in the UW police office, of course, but if somebody should find the earring and would call her directly at ext. 6360, she'd certainly be grateful.

CAR

Communications and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
(519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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