![[University of Waterloo]](/images/logobars/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Friday, September 30, 2005
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Lots of gold and black]](/images/2005/0927oufair.jpg)
Black golf shirts
on the staff, a 100-foot-long booth, and thousands of reply cards at the
ready -- those are among UW's preparations for the
Ontario Universities Fair, to be held
today through Sunday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. About
150 volunteers -- staff, faculty, students and alumni -- will greet an expected
70,000 future students and their parents over the three-day fair, says
Julie Kalbfleisch of the marketing and undergraduate recruitment office.
Those who express interest in UW will be offered a brochure known in
the trade as "the search piece", and can request more detailed information.
The professionally designed booth is the same one used at last year's
event, with minor improvements to the signage, Kalbfleisch said.
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The hope, says Olaf Naese of CECS, is "that it will improve the co-op experience by enabling jobs and students to be matched before the traditional ranking date of the first interview cycle.
"Students will have the option to rank their employers as a first choice immediately after an interview with them. Employers will be encouraged to complete their rankings as soon as possible after interviewing students. Employers and students will be matched when they have ranked each other as a first choice.
"CECS will identify matched students and jobs daily at noon during the first interview cycle and immediately remove them from the process."
In the past, even students and employers who had it from hello have been forced to wait until the general matching process at the end of the three-week interview period (this term, October 27). That'll still be the way it works in many cases: "Students and employers who are not early matched will rank each other the traditional way at the end of the first interview cycle and take part in the computer match."
Why is CECS making the change -- the biggest innovation in job procedures since the creation of "continuous phase" placement? "Students and employers have requested the option of ending the wait if there was an obvious match," says Naese. Plus: "Matching jobs and students early will open up interview opportunities to more students as matched students are removed from subsequent interviews. The number of filled jobs is expected to increase, thereby reducing the large number of jobs that are usually unfilled at the time of the match. At the same time, the number of employed students will increase." Finally, employers' rankings "will be used to optimize the chances of filling their jobs in case their #1 students have accepted other positions."
Later this term, CECS will review the results of the pilot project, he said, and if things go as well as expected, the new procedures will be continued in future terms.
EinsteinFest takes place September 30 to October 23. Tonight is opening night, with "Homage to Einstein" -- a violin and piano concert (tickets $42) followed by jazz (cover charge $10). Displays and presentations continue Saturday from 10 to 6, Sunday from 10 to 5, and periodically over the coming weeks. Details are on the EinsteinFest web site.
Perimeter -- based in central Waterloo, and with close links to UW -- describes EinsteinFest as "a spectacular event that celebrates the 100th anniversary of Einstein's most pivotal year by exploring our rapidly changing civilization and setting his prolific contributions in context with the science, philosophy, politics, art and music of the day".
| WHEN AND WHERE |
|
International Conference on Image Analysis and Recognition
continues in Toronto.
Entrepreneur Week student expo, Friday 1:00 to 4:00 (note revised hours), Davis Centre. Kickoff event with speaker Tony Perkins of Red Herring, 11:30, 57 Erb Street West, tickets $30 from Communitech. Japan video topics: First in a monthly series of short video features on Japanese culture, 12:10, chapel lounge, Renison College. This month: "Japanese Pottery and Porcelain." Career workshop: "Interview Skills, Selling Your Skills" 2:30, Tatham Centre room 2218, registration online. Mathematics lecture: Barbara Keyfitz, University of Houston, "Hyperbolic Conservation Laws: Do We Need Proofs?" 3:30, Math and Computer room 5136. One Waterloo diversity campaign event: comedian Shaun Majumder, 9 p.m., Humanities Theatre. Tickets $12 for UW people and $15 for guests, Humanities box office or Federation of Students office. World Religions Conference (moved from Humanities Theatre), 10:00 to 6:00, Centre in the Square, Kitchener, many UW groups among the sponsors, information online. Alumni event in Toronto: Systems design engineering graduate Tom Chau speaks about his work on assistive devices for children with disabilities, Saturday 1 to 3 p.m., Ontario Science Centre. Children's activities available; details online. Craig Cardiff at Federation Hall, Saturday, tickets $10 in advance from Federation of Students office. 12th Downey Tennisfest Sunday, faculty and staff invited, last-minute information ext. 4074. Tourism lecture: Ulrike Probstl, "Trends in Tourism and Recreation -- Driving Forces in Europe", Monday 9:30, Arts Lecture Hall room 105. Research In Motion founder Mike Lazaridis speaks on "the future of communications"; potential recruits can "meet and greet" RIM staff 3:30, lecture 4:30, Federation Hall, register online. Faculty of engineering presents 2005 O'Donovan Distinguished Visitor: Rosalind Williams, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "A Tale of Two Centuries: Engineering in 1900 and Technology in 2000", Monday 7:00, Davis Centre room 1302. Waterloo Public Interest Research Group presents Mark Kielburger, founder of Leaders Today and director of Free the Children, 8:00, Humanities Theatre, free. Silversides Theatre Artists Series: Astrid Janson, set and costume designer, winner of 12 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, speaks at the UW bookstore, Tuesday 12:00 to 1:30, introduced by Bill Chesney, chair, department of drama and speech communication. Warrior sports: Women's golf, Waterloo Invitational today, Cambridge Golf and Country Club. Men's golf, Waterloo Challenge Cup, Elmira Golf Club. Women's volleyball, UW Invitational (today and Saturday noon and 8:00, championship rounds Sunday), Physical Activities Complex. Soccer, today vs. Laurier, women at 1 p.m., men at 3 p.m., University Stadium (WLU home games). Cross-country, Waterloo Invitational, Saturday 1 p.m., north campus. Baseball, Saturday 1 p.m. vs. Laurier, Sunday 1 p.m. vs. Guelph, Jack Couch Park. Men's rugby, Saturday 1 p.m. vs. Queen's, Columbia Field. Football, Saturday 1 p.m. vs. Laurier at University Stadium (WLU home game). Out-of-town sports: Women's hockey, tonight at Western. Tennis, OUA finals at London today. Badminton, Saturday at York. Field hockey, vs. Queen's at Toronto, Saturday and Sunday. Men's hockey, at Brock tournament Saturday and Sunday. Women's rugby, Saturday at Toronto. |
Einstein's pioneering accomplishments of 1905 are being commemorated worldwide as part of the World Year of Physics 2005, a United Nations-endorsed international celebration of physics. More than 30 nations are participating in year-long festivities to highlight the importance of physics in the coming millennium and inspire a new generation of scientists -- the "Einsteins" of the future.
At the age of 26, Einstein published several landmark ideas that helped lead physics -- and the world -- into the modern era. Einstein revolutionized science with groundbreaking advances, such as playing a key role in proving the existence of atoms and molecules; radically changing the understanding of light; and developing the theory of special relativity, which led to history's most famous equation, E=mc2.
Canada's Perimeter Institute explains itself as "home to a unique group of theoretical physicists from around the world who use their imaginations and mathematics to help forge new ideas about the ultimate nature of space, time and matter. In addition to foundational research operations, the Institute provides educational outreach programs for students, teachers and the general public, the largest being EinsteinFest."
![[Veterans' Green logo]](/images/2005/0926veterans.jpg)
"Learning about and celebrating a
neighbourhood's heritage has made a world of difference in the
conflict that once existed between the residents and the
University students who live near," says a news release from
the City of Waterloo.
The neighbourhood near University and Hazel Street was originally developed in the late 1940's in response to the post-war demand for homes. Veterans were offered the first chance at moving in. Many people who served in World War II still live in the area, "and their families have become part of a close-knit community," the city says. "In recent years, however, there has been a shift in the makeup of the neighbourhood as more university students continued to move in."
Kaye Crawford of the city's community development department says longer-term residents "were concerned about the changes in the neighbourhood and they came to the City about the noise and the vandalism. We looked into it, and realized that the students had no idea who was living in the neighbourhood and they didn't know that many of the families were veterans." A committee was formed, bringing together representatives from the WLU administration and Students' Union, city agencies, community groups and veterans' organizations. Its goal: "Solutions that would recognize the significance of the area and the veterans, and that would generate respect from the residents of the neighbourhood and from people who used the park."
The result was the Veterans' Green Commemorative project, celebrating the history of the veterans who settled in the area. As a part of this project, oral history interviews have been conducted with area veterans about their experiences in the war and the development of the neighbourhood. Those interviews will be shared through the City's web site.
Says the news release: "The most obvious outcome of this project, however, is the change in the way the neighbourhood parkette, now known as Veterans' Green, at University and Hazel Streets looks." The parkette has been landscaped to address issues of safety, vandalism and noise, and interpretive panels are being installed to reflect the memories and the commemorative nature of the Veterans' Green project, Crawford explains.
Official unveiling of the panels is scheduled for Sunday. A parade that begins at 1:00 at the Waterloo cenotaph on Regina Street and travels along King Street will end at the Veterans' Green, where dignitaries, veterans, their families and guests will come together to mark the achievement. The public is welcome to join the parade and attend the ceremony.
CAR