Three UW profs named to the Royal Society of Canada

The Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of the Sciences and Humanities, has elected 60 new Fellows, including three professors from the University of Waterloo.

Systems Design Engineering students Hafiz Vellani, acting as driver, and Mike Schnurr at the controls, demonstrate a system that warns drivers if they're falling asleep. Their project on display Wednesday at the Davis Centre was part of a special exhibit to help people with disabilities make the most of the latest technologies. Photo by Barb Elve, Communications & Public Affairs

Prof. Bruce Mitchell, of the Geography department, and UW's Associate Provost, Academic and Student Affairs; Prof. Edward Sudicky, of the Earth Sciences department, and Prof. David Jackson, of the Combinatorics and Optimization department, are among those on the distinguished list for this year.

Election to the Royal Society of Canada is the highest honour that can be attained by scholars, artists and scientists in the country. This year's new Fellows will be inducted to the society in a ceremony set to take place on Sunday, November 27, 2005.

"The society is now proud to celebrate the intellectual achievements of the new Fellows," Gilles Paquet, President of the Royal Society, said in a news release. "We wish to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of persons of talent, expertise and creativity in all fields, from experimental and applied science to health and medical sciences, and from social sciences and humanities to the various artistic domains."

Mitchell was elected to the Royal Society's Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. The society says in a citation that Mitchell has led innovative research in water and environmental management.

"Bruce Mitchell is a distinguished scholar, teacher, mentor and leader," the citation says. "His groundbreaking and innovative research in the areas of water and environmental management has been widely recognized, as is reflected in the numerous national and international awards and distinctions he has received, the editorships he has held and the extent to which his advice is sought by governments and international organizations.

"His remarkable record of publication includes 31 authored and edited books and monographs and over 128 articles and chapters. His textbooks have been standards in the field for 25 years, with one translated into three languages."

Sudicky was elected to the Royal Society's Academy of Science in the Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Division. The citation says Sudicky is "a scientific leader in the development and application of mathematical models to aid in our understanding of fluid flow and mass transport in porous and fractured geologic media.

"He has had a profound influence on the development of theories that describe how geologic heterogeneities influence the migration and degradation of contaminants dissolved in groundwater and in the redistribution of multiphase fluids within aquifers.

"Most recently, he has been leading the development of hydrologic models applicable at scales ranging from small watersheds to continental scales, which fully integrate fluid flow and solute transport on both the land surface and in the subsurface."

Jackson was elected to the Royal Society's Academy of Science in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Division. The citation says Jackson is "a superb mathematical researcher, recognized around the world as a leader in algebraic combinatorics.

"He has been at the forefront as this field has developed over the last 30 years into a mature discipline. Perhaps most notable has been the creative vision that has consistently driven Professor Jackson's work, and the subsequent independence and novelty of his contributions.

"His impact in combinatorics has been remarkable, but in other areas touched by his work, he has also made substantial contributions, including algebra, mathematical physics and, most recently, geometry, due to his high-profile research on ramified covers of surfaces."

Since its founding in 1882, the Royal Society has been regarded as "a force for the enrichment, interpretation and strengthening of Canada's intellectual heritage."

MIT leads solar challenge, UW holds third spot

During the third day of the North American Solar Challenge, the cross-country solar car challenge that began in Austin, Texas last Sunday and ends on July 27 in Calgary, one team now holds both the daily and overall lead.

As of 9 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was in first place and was the only car to reach the checkpoint in Omaha, Neb., 921 miles from Austin. Twelve other teams made it through the checkpoint in Topeka, Kan.

Following MIT in order were the University of Minnesota, University of Waterloo, University of Michigan, University of Missouri-Rolla, Principia College, Western Michigan University, Auburn University, Iowa State University, CalSol, University of Missouri-Columbia, Stanford University and the University of Calgary. Eighteen cars are participating in the race.

Having a younger brother with neurofibromatosis inspired Systems Design Engineering student Laura Given, centre, to work with her team to develop a low-tech device to relieve painful skin pressure. She demonstrates the invention with Samantha Ng, left, and Jasmine Shihn. Their project on display Wednesday at the Davis Centre was part of a special exhibit to help people with disabilities make the most of the latest technologies. Photo by Barb Elve, Communications & Public Affairs

With today's results, MIT takes the overall race lead with the lowest cumulative time of 24 hours, 10 minutes and 37 seconds. Minnesota and Waterloo are in second and third overall. Time penalties, if any, have not yet been assessed.

Here's a report from UW's Midnight Sun VIII team, telling how things went during the second day of the competition: "We started off from the stage end in fourth spot as one team got bumped behind us due to penalties. We did not have any penalties assigned within the first stage of the race.

"The stage start was completely under cloud and we proceeded to our next media stop in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. This leg of the race was the longest interval between stops at 306 miles.

"The first part of the morning we had a few electrical issues with our battery protection system. However, once that was cleared up we proceeded along quite well under cloud.
Fortunately at mid-day, the sky opened up and we were running under bright sunshine. This allowed us to open up the car and run at the speed limits for the remainder of the day."

The North American Solar Challenge is an educational event in which participants build and drive cars that run on 100 per cent solar power. The car with the fastest cumulative time will win the competition.

Official daily results will be posted at this website. Final cumulative times are based on actual time, plus time penalties for rules infractions.

The contest is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Natural Resources Canada, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, TransAlta, University of Calgary, CSI Wireless, AMD and Manitoba Transportation and Government Services.

IST introduces lower cost backup service

Changes in technology and a streamlining of processes have made it possible for Information Systems and Technology to significantly reduce the charges for its backup service.

The new charging formula will be a fixed annual charge, based on the category of the machine (for example, workstation, small server).

During July, IST will be sending email to all of the current users of the backup service, providing details on their use of the service over the previous months and charges for the current year.

Contact information and details of the charging formula and the service are available online at their website.

C&PA