![[University of Waterloo]](/images/logobars/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
Earthquake 'vigil' in SLC todayThe Pakistani Students Association and Ismaili Students Association will hold an event in the Student Life Centre today to draw attention to last month's massive disaster in their homeland."We are holding a vigil," explains Jeyakumar Nadarajah of the PSA, "for the victims of the recent earthquake that devastated parts of Pakistan, Kashmir and India. We want to spread the message that people in the affected areas still need international attention and funds in order to rebuild their lives." The vigil will run from 11:30 to 1:00 today in the SLC great hall. Several members of the associations will give background information and show pictures, Federation of Students president John Andersen will speak, and there will be a minute of silence. After the event, a booth will be in operation to accept donations. |
"WatITis," the conference web site explains, "is a one-day conference for those involved in IT planning, support and decision making at the University of Waterloo. It is an opportunity to see what others are doing on campus in information technology, to exchange ideas, and make new contacts.
"Information Technology (IT) is an integral part of the University of Waterloo's mission to deliver academic excellence to its students, faculty and to the greater community. As IT support staff, we are privileged to be able to play such an important role in the advancement and future of our institution."
WatITis -- more formally, the Waterloo Information Technology and Information Systems conference -- "continues to promote the sharing and dissemination of the work and ideas of our computer support staff across campus, underscoring the importance of 'collaborative IT' in UW's mission to provide teaching and research excellence in an academic institution."
The announcement goes on: "Innovation is happening all over campus, wireless network access is available across campus, the campus network core is getting a makeover including better and more flexible firewalling, Sharcnet is getting their own building and over 300 courses are now using course management software (UW-ACE). The number of IT support personnel continues to increase to meet the demand. We are pleased to be able to bring IT people together from all across campus to share our experiences and knowledge with a full day of topical presentations and discussion sessions."
The conference is open to all staff, faculty and students involved in IT. Conference registration is free and includes lunch. (There will be a $50 charge for no-shows.) Not surprisingly, registration takes place online.
The description of a new hangout for the patrons of the University Club? Maybe a retreat for UW senate and board members? Perhaps a private room for a harried president?
UW Place manager Wendy Cooper, architect Pedro Bevelander and structural engineer Stephanie Rossi admire the work of carpenter Dennis Millward on the Master's Club lounge. |
While a carpenter was putting the finishing touches -- including built-in wooden bookcases with crown mould detailing -- on the Master's Club in Woolwich Court, students were already relaxing in other theme lounges at UW Place. Two lounges which opened last September in Wellesley Court were inspired by the Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian. Debuting this fall are the Laser Lounge and the Lava Lounge in Waterloo Court, and the Mad Hatter Lounge in Woolwich Court. Concepts for all were developed by the architects for UW Place renovations, Totten Sims Hubicki Associates of Kitchener.
Working with architect Pedro Bevelander on the project is structural engineer Stephanie Rossi, a 1999 civil engineering graduate with an interest in design and -- as a former resident of the Villages -- an awareness of the student's perspective on what makes a good lounge experience.
She remembers the Village lounges as "pretty uniform." At UW Place, says Rossi, "we wanted to give students a fun place to hang out. We wanted to spice it up, get some energy and colour. This was definitely breaking out of the box."
In addition to her contributions to the engineering and design work, Rossi penned descriptions of each lounge, including the profile of the Masters' Club above. Of the Lava Lounge, she says, "the stylized galvanized steel shapes represent the form of an expanding lava flow." The Laser Lounge "is inspired by the play of coloured light beams as they criss-cross past each other and angle around corners." And in the Mad Hatter's Lounge: "Anything is possible here, and everything that doesn't make sense, does if it's thought about in the right way."
Besides a big-screen TV and comfy furniture, each lounge includes a study area, kitchenette and washroom. The multi-purpose spaces are popular with residents, says residence manager Wendy Cooper, with the lounges used for everything from watching hockey and soaps to games nights and spaces for dons to hold meetings with residents.
Electrical and computer engineering. Jie Lian, "Routing, Deployment and In-Network Aggregation Strategies in Wireless Sensor Networks." Supervisors, K. S. Naik and G. Agnew. On display in the faculty of engineering, CPH 4305. Oral defence Friday, November 18, 9;30 a.m., Davis Centre room 1304.
Physics. Laura C. Parker, "A Weak Lensing Study of Dark Matter Halos." Supervisor, M. J. Hudson. On display in the faculty of science, ESC 254A. Oral defence Friday, November 18, 1 p.m., Physics room 352.
Combinatorics and optimization. Amarpreet Rattan, "Character Polynomials and Lagrange Inversion." Supervisor, I. P. Goulden. On display in the faculty of mathematics, MC 5090. Oral defence Tuesday, November 29, 10 a.m., Math and Computer room 5136.
Earth sciences. Roudrajit Maji, "Conditional Stochastic Modelling of DNAPL Migration and Dissolution in a High-Resolution Aquifer Analog." Supervisor, E. A. Sudicky. On display in the faculty of science, ESC 254A. Oral defence Tuesday, November 29, 1 p.m., CEIT room 3014.
Physics. Tao Lu, "The Application of Boundary Element and Multicanonical Methods in Optical Communications." Supervisor, D. O. Yevick. On display in the faculty of science, ESC 254A. Oral defence Tuesday, November 29, 1 p.m., Physics room 352.
Computer science. Ali Ghodsi Boushehri, "Nonlinear Dimensionality Reduction with Side Information." Supervisor, D. Schuurmans. On display in the faculty of mathematics, MC 5090. Oral defence Wednesday, November 30, 2 p.m., Davis Centre room 1331.
Chemistry. Xinyu Liu, "Development of Solventless Sampling/Sample Preparation and Introduction Techniques for On-Site Determinations." Supervisor, J. Pawliszyn. On display in the faculty of science, ESC 254A. Oral defence Monday, December 5, 9:30 a.m., Chemistry II room 361.
Combinatorics and optimization. Marina Potaptchik, "Portfolio Selection Under Nonsmooth Convex Transaction Costs." Supervisor, M. J. Best. On display in the faculty of mathematics, MC 5090. Oral defence Thursday, December 8, 9:30 a.m., Math and Computer room 5136.
Computer science. Khuzaima Daudjee, "Scalable Lazy Database Replication with Ordering Guarantees." Supervisor, K. M. Salem. On display in the faculty of mathematics, MC 5090. Oral defence Thursday, December 8, 9:30 a.m., Davis Centre room 1304.
Electrical and computer engineering. Sameh Kodsi, "Accounting for the Effects of Power System Controllers and Stability on Power Dispatch and Electricity Market Prices." Supervisor, C. A. Cañizares. On display in the faculty of engineering, CPH 4305. Oral defence Friday, December 9, 10 a.m., CEIT room 3142.
| WHEN AND WHERE |
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World Town Planning Day design
charrette, planning
students and local high schoolers discuss uses for Fairway Road site
in Kitchener, 1:30 to 4:30, Environmental Studies I courtyard.
Electronic grade submission demonstration 2:30, Arts Lecture Hall room 113. Arts faculty council 3:30, Humanities room 373. UW art gallery opening reception for "Pseudoarc" by Dermot Wilson and "Diary: Of a River" by Kirsten Abrahamson, 5:30 to 7:30, East Campus Hall. 'The Cruel Behind the Cool: Sport Shoe Production in Indonesia," 5:30, Arts Lecture Hall room 105, presented by Waterloo Public Interest Research Group. Renison Institute of Ministry presents Darren Marks, University of Western Ontario, "The Eclipse of the Church, or the Road to Self," 7 p.m., Renison College. 'Pamper Night Out' with special attention to feet, organized by UW Recreation Committee, 7:00, spaces still available, details online. Noon-hour concert: Cheryl Pauls, "Classical and Contemporary Piano", Wednesday 12:30, Conrad Grebel University College chapel. Arts research seminar series continues: "The Division of the Disciplines: Historical Perspectives" Wednesday 3:00, Humanities room 373. Club Projects information session organized by Federation of Students to make administering a student club easier, Wednesday 5 p.m., Student Life Centre room 2134, details online. Remembrance Day observances Friday 10:45 at St. Bede's Chapel, Renison College, and in Carl Pollock Hall foyer. 'Our Town', drama department major presentation, November 16-19 (preview performance November 15), 8 p.m., Theatre of the Arts, tickets 888-4908. |
Yesterday I mentioned that a United Way luncheon is being held at the University Club on Thursday, but I gave a rather misleading impression of what the event is. It's not the usual after-the-campaign get-together for departmental United Way representatives. Rather, it's a luncheon that's "open to everyone (and everyone will have to pay their own way)," says Jonah Levine from the United Way office. "The University Club will donate to the United Way the value of gratuities received for this luncheon." There's more information online.
And a correction that dates back a few days: I wrote that Doris Jakobsh, who's teaching a winter term course on "Gender and Asian Religions", is a member of the sociology department. In fact, and not surprisingly, she's in the department of religious studies.
Laura Talbot-Allan, UW's vice-president (external relations), is in Australia at present, and will be speaking to a group of Waterloo alumni tonight. (Actually "will be" isn't correct -- in Australia it's already Wednesday morning, I realize.) The alumni event is being held at the Italian Village restaurant at Sydney's historic Rocks, and Talbot-Allan will be highlighting recent events and achievements at UW and mentioning ways the far-away alumni can keep connected to the university.
UW is represented at a higher education fair in St. Michael, Barbados, today and tomorrow. . . . Ontario University Athletics has announced the members of its all-star team as the women's rugby season comes to an end, and among them are Nisha Wellstein and Sam Kristoferson of the Warriors. . . . The staff association has sent its members a red flyer announcing the annual Winterfest event at the Columbia Icefield, to be held December 11 (registration deadline is tomorrow). . . .
Doug Dye writes from the UW safety office: "I have had some requests to hold a safety seminar for groups and individuals that use compressed gas cylinders here on campus. I have arranged a safety seminar on the use and handling of these cylinders with Praxair, UW's largest supplier of compressed gases. The seminar is open to all who wish to attend." It'll be held November 17, with a morning session at 10:00 and a repeat session at 2:00. "Compressed gas cylinders present a possible hazard to life and property," says Dye. "It is important for all people that work with compressed gas cylinders of any size to be aware of the particular safe use and handling procedures." Anyone who hasn't been to such a session is "strongly encouraged to attend" and can make a reservation with Dye at ddye@uwaterloo.ca.
I learned a new word from the food services menu for this week, which notes that a dinner selection today in REVelation, the Ron Eydt Village cafeteria, is bean stew with paratha. . . . The Engineering Society is electing its new executive today, although it looks from the Iron Warrior as though many of the key posts will be filled by acclamation. . . . Here's a reminder that the Black Knight squash tournament, postponed from earlier in the term, will be held this Saturday. . . .
CAR