![[University of Waterloo]](/images/logobars/goldbar.gif)
| Friday |
Monday, October 24, 2005
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Daughter smiles, mother beams]](/images/2005/1024conv.jpg)
The faces
tell the story: the parent's joy when the child graduates. Chris Hughes
of Graphics Photo/Imaging caught the moment after Saturday morning's
convocation ceremony. Watch for more convocation pictures in the Daily
Bulletin tomorrow.
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With a new advanced electrochemical technique, unknown bacteria and the antibiotics to which the bacteria are most susceptible can be identified. This method can provide test results in less than 30 minutes from a clinical isolate, which is much less than current technology that generates results somewhere between four hours and 72 hours.
As a result, patients can be placed on more appropriate and effective antibiotics much more quickly. In addition, hospitals can manage contagious disease and secondary infections with greater knowledge. Commercially available methods rely on the observation of growth over a longer period of time, comparing the extent of growth for microorganisms cultivated in the absence and the presence of antibiotic. Mikkelsen and Ertl's new technology is based on a direct measurement of cellular activity and eliminates the need for long periods of bacterial growth.
"Speeding up the process to identify and determine the most effective antibiotics to be used will have a significant positive impact on the patient and on the healthcare system," said Jeff Hendrikse of RapidLabs (Rapid Laboratory Microsystems Inc.), the company set up to commercialize the intellectual property originating at UW.
![[Mikkelsen]](http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/chemistry/people/faculty/photos/mikkelsen.jpg)
Six years ago, Mikkelsen (right) and Ertl
found through different experiments in their labs that
it's possible to measure the life and death
of a bacterial culture by making electrochemical recordings of
respiration, just as a doctor measures a patient's lung capacity.
And by killing the bacteria with antibiotics, they found that
respiration measurements were much faster than standard methods for
determining drug effectiveness.
The presence of an effective antibiotic causes a decrease in the respiration of the bacteria, while the presence of an antibiotic to which the bacteria is resistant does not cause any change in the bacteria's respiration. The results of this antibiotic susceptibility test indicate which antibiotics a physician should use to fight the patient's infection or disease.
Later, it was shown that the new measurement technique could also be used to identify bacteria. Respiration measurements made after exposure of the bacteria to various chemicals (such as sugars and amino acids) yield a unique pattern of responses for each bacterial species. With a database of known bacterial respiration measurements, unknown bacteria can easily be identified, Mikkelsen said.
Keynote speaker will be men's wear tycoon Harry Rosen. Also speaking will be Bill Tatham, an entrepreneur who sold his tech start-up company Janna Systems for a Canadian record of $1.76 billion to rival Siebel Systems in 2000.
Conference organizers have secured two $5,000 scholarships to UW's Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program, scholarships which will be granted to Impact attendees.
"Further recognizing the needs of their fellow students," a modest news release says, "resourceful conference organizers have kept the costs of the conference low, at just $129 per person for over $750 in value (groups of 10 receive a discounted price of $99 per person)."
The conference offers students the opportunity to sit down with presenters, conversing with them and asking questions in intimate environments: during meals, between conference sessions and at after-hours social events. In addition to high-profile speakers, students will have the opportunity to meet passionate, ambitious like-minded students from across Canada, all interested in the subject of entrepreneurship.
The weekend event will also feature workshops, breakout sessions and a silent charity auction. One highlight is a case study competition, pitting teams of participants against each other, challenging them to come up with the best solution to a real-life entrepreneurship problem.
The conference serves as a flagship event for Impact, a student-led organization committed to promoting educational and professional development by allowing students to explore and learn more about the entrepreneurial world. Impact's mission is to foster innovators, thinkers and economic movers, to stay competitive in a global economy. The organization is also working on starting a national entrepreneurship magazine, a national student "Apprentice" competition, high school outreach, has partnered with Shad International, DECA, and other projects.
The first conference of its kind was held in Kitchener last year, organized by UW software engineering student Kunal Gupta. It drew about 100 students. This year 300 are expected for most of the conference, and 600 for the banquet at which Rosen will speak. (While the conference is for students, UW alumni are among those welcome to buy banquet tickets.)
The not-for-profit Impact organization involves about 30 student volunteers from across Canada. Says UW president David Johnston, who sits on the Impact Advisory Board: "It gives me great pleasure to be involved with Impact, as I am confident that this organization is an ideal vehicle to kindle the entrepreneurial flame in tomorrow's leaders."
| WHEN AND WHERE |
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Used books sale organized by mature student services, today
and Tuesday 9:00 to 2:00, Modern Languages lobby. "Hard-to-resist
prices" on texts, children's books, "an impressive collection of
fantasy and mystery".
Blood donor clinic Monday-Wednesday 10 to 4, Thursday 9 to 3, multipurpose room, Student Life Centre, appointments now at the turnkey desk. Canadian Institutes of Health Research campus visit: meetings with graduate students and researchers (call ext. 6040 for appointment); Anne Martin-Matthews, Institute of Aging, "Funding Research from Cell to Society, from Promise to Practice" 2:30, Clarica Auditorium, Lyle Hallman Institute. Kate Lawson, department of English, "Being a 'Redundant' Woman: Charlotte Bronte's Last Novel," 12:00, Kitchener Public Library main branch. Computational mathematics seminar: Ron Kimmel, Technion, "Matching Isometric Manifolds, from Texture Mapping to Face Recognition," 3:30, Math and Computer room 5158. School of architecture reception for visiting team from the Canadian Architectural Certification Board, 5:00 to 7:00, Architecture building, community welcome. 'Peaceable Kingdom' film showing, and presentation by Harold Brown, Farm Sanctuary, 5:30, Davis Centre room 1304, sponsored by WPIRG. Marcel Massé, executive director, World Bank (Canada), "How Fast Can We Change? Some Effects of Globalization in Canada," 5:30 p.m., Centre for International Governance Innovation, 57 Erb Street West, free tickets 885-2444 ext. 251. Chili lunch in support of the United Way, Tuesday noon, Math and Computer room 5158. Call ext. 2696 for tickets if still available. Sharcnet tutorial Tuesday 2 to 4 p.m., Rod Coutts Hall room 108, aimed at new and potential Sharcnet users. UW board of governors Tuesday 2:30, Architecture building, Cambridge, agenda online. Sociology colloquium: Lorne Tepperman and Jennifer Reynolds,, University of Toronto, "Doing Sociology on Problem Gamblers and Their Partners: A Study in Progress," Tuesday 3:00, PAS room 2030. Waterloo Centre for German Studies lecture: Mathias Schulze, Germanic and Slavic studies, "Sprechen sie Deutsch? Status und Veränderung des Deutschen in der Gegenwart," Tuesday 3:30, Humanities room 334. Smarter health seminar: Diane Beattie, London Health Sciences Centre, "Getting to Filmless: Implementing a Shared Services Approach to Digital Diagnostic Imaging," Wednesday 3:00, Davis Centre room 1302. Federation of Students annual general meeting Wednesday 4 p.m., Student Life Centre great hall; all undergraduate students are members. Business breakfast: "East Meets West: Corruption Across Cultures", with Bronwyn Best, Heiwa Business International, Friday 8:30 a.m., Renison College, tickets 884-4404 ext.657. Fifth annual Trivia Challenge at St. Jerome's University, Friday 7 p.m., ticket information 884-8111 ext. 8277. |
The committee that organizes the Hagey Lectures, considered to be UW's most distinguished lecture series, has made its announcement about this year's speaker. Coming on November 28 will be John Meisel, former chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, and now (here's a wonderful title) Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Queen's University. Meisel has more achievements in his c.v. than this screen has room to display, from a term as president of the Royal Society of Canada to involvement in the crisis of the former Yugoslavia under United Nations auspices. He'll be speaking on "The Curse and Potential of Greed: Social and Political Issues Arising from Acquisitiveness". Free tickets for the lecture (8:00 that Monday evening in the Humanities Theatre) are available at the Humanities box office. Meisel will also give a student colloquium while he's at UW, at 10:30 on the morning following the lecture.
![[Merikle]](/images/2005/1007merikle.jpg)
Long-time psychology professor Phil Merikle (right)
officially retired July 1, ending a 38-year career at UW, but he's far
from gone. "Phil now holds an adjunct appointment with the department,"
I'm told, "to continue his current research in synaesthesia (with
Mike Dixon and Dan Smilek), and as the person largely responsible for a
tremendous resurgence of interest in this topic, he continues to be
supported by NSERC." Merikle has been working with the support of NSERC
(and its predecessor) since 1967, "has served as an outstanding mentor
for new faculty and hundreds of students", an admirer says, and served
two terms as chair of the psych department.
A free one-day workshop on scanning probe microscopy is being held tomorrow, sponsored by the molecular imaging experts in the Waterloo Advanced Technology Laboratories, or WatLabs. "Our on-site demonstration and hands-on operation sessions," a flyer boasts, "will help attendees to learn and benefit from the powerful capability of scanning probe technology for their current and future research projects. . . . Recent application examples combining temperature and environmental control will be presented. New developments for local conductivity and impedance measurements, important for battery and fuel cell studies, will be discussed." There's more information online.
Marko Agatonovic of the Warrior tennis team has been named to the Ontario University Athletics men's all-stars for this year, after winning a match against Toronto to help UW take the bronze in the championship tournament. . . . Rita McAlpine, office assistant in health services and a UW staff member since September 2001, will retire officially November 1. . . . As many as 80 people can take part in the Texas Hold'em championship to run in the Bombshelter pub in the Student Life Centre tonight starting at 7:00. . . .
There's been a question or two about what Tom Brzustowski, former UW provost and more recently president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, is going to be doing in his new role as "senior advisor" to UW's Institute for Quantum Computing. Brzustowski has another commitment over the months ahead: the University of Ottawa has announced that he has been named RBC Financial Group Professor in the Commercialization of Innovation there. The UW post "is not a full-time position," the provost's office explains. "In his role as advisor he will visit Waterloo four or five days a month and will devote approximately 20 per cent of his time to help our administration explore, identify and analyse strategic initiatives in natural sciences and engineering with a particular emphasis on quantum computing. He will fulfill a special role in advancing the Institute by establishing linkages with industry and governments as well as national and international research organizations and individuals."
People on campus have an unusual opportunity tomorrow to be involved in preparation of the new official plan for Waterloo Region, addressing such issues as growth, transportation and waste. Mark Seasons writes from UW's school of planning: "On Tuesday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Regional Planning staff will be in the Environmental Studies Courtyard (ES1) for an open house on the preparing the new Regional Official Plan. There will be an information display set up for anyone interested in finding out more about the process, the key messages, and most importantly, about how to get involved. Regional staff would like to hear what you think and they will be on-hand to answer questions, although there will be no formal presentation. Treats and refreshments will be provided, so please drop by any time during the afternoon!" More information on preparation of the new Regional Official Plan is online.
CAR