New executive for 'commercialization'

An announcement yesterday revealed that UW and the Accelerator Centre have jointly appointed a technology-transfer expert to oversee the commercialization efforts of both organizations.

Tom Corr (left), currently director of commercialization at the University of Toronto, has been appointed to the new position of associate vice-president (commercialization) in the UW research office and also chief executive officer with the Accelerator Centre. He assumes the first position February 15 and the latter when incumbent Gerry Sullivan steps down on April 1, a news release said.

"We are delighted that Tom Corr has agreed to serve in this dual role. His skills will help the university identify promising intellectual property on campus and seamlessly move IP from the university into the Accelerator Centre," said Alan George, vice-president (university research). "This is particularly important given the emphasis all levels of government are placing on ways of ensuring that IP developed at universities benefits society in general."

Corr will oversee and direct the technology transfer and licensing office, part of the UW research office, and will also manage the operations and finances of the Accelerator Centre.

The primary responsibility, says the release, "will be to manage the transfer of IP and related technology developed at the university and the Accelerator Centre. The goal is to ensure that the broader community enjoys societal and economic benefits. The work will include augmenting the technology transfer and licensing activities, as well as encouraging the development of early-stage technology companies."

Ian McPhee, chair of the Accelerator Centre board of directors, declared that "The joint appointment of Tom Corr with the University of Waterloo will enhance the Accelerator Centre's success in the commercialization of innovation. We are grateful to Gerry Sullivan, who agreed to serve one year as CEO and has fulfilled two primary objectives: to establish the Accelerator Centre on solid footings of financial stability and program excellence, and to help recruit a suitable successor."

Corr has, most recently, been responsible for the information technology and communications commercialization group at U of T, responsible for the commercialization of research developed at the university and other research institutions. His career also includes a position as managing partner at Catalyst Partnership; founder and CEO of Momentum Systems; founder, CEO and president of Applied Development Corp., and president of Canadian Data Processing Corp.

He is looking forward to new challenges at UW: "Waterloo has an unparalleled reputation in Canada for successful new-company spin-off creation. This record speaks to both the quality of the research conducted at the university and the entrepreneurial culture at both the university and community level. Having spent the last 35 years in the technology sector, the last few as director of commercialization at the University of Toronto, my goal at Waterloo is to continue to provide researchers with the support they require in moving the commercialization of their research forward, while at the same time nurturing start-ups from the community and the university through the activities of the Accelerator Centre."

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Candidates for Federation positions

Undergraduate students will vote on campus and online February 13-15, and the newly elected executive of the Federation of Students will take office May 1. Candidates are speaking at a number of events around campus this week and next, including a "media forum" from 11:00 to 2:00 Wednesday in the great hall of the Student Life Centre.

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Board votes today on residence fees

UW's board of governors will hold its quarterly meeting this afternoon, and agenda items range from residence fees to choosing a construction firm for the accountancy school's long-awaited building.

The board — meeting at 2:30 in a novel location, the Fireside Lounge at St. Jerome's University — will also hear updates on the current year's UW budget and plans for next year, as well as the president's "environmental scan" of events in government and the outside world that affect UW.

A report on fall enrolment, which is a key factor in the university's financial status, will show that there were 5,354 full-time first-year students as of November 1, including not quite 5,000 newcomers plus about 400 continuing students. That was 97.9 per cent of the target that had been set. "As a measure of quality," says the report, "the percentage of Ontario Scholars (the best six average of 80%) this year was 82.8%, compared to 75.8% last year."

The vice-president (administration and finance) will ask the board to approve increases of 4.0 per cent in nearly all residence fees. In the Student Villages, for instance, the rate for "dorm style" single rooms will rise from $4,438 this year to $4,616 as of September 2007. Rent on a townhouse room in Columbia Lake Village will go from $2,116 this year to $2,200 next fall. And a double room in Beck Hall will cost $4,347 for two terms in 2007-08, up from $4,180 this year.

The one exception to the 4.0 per cent figure is the rent on a full townhouse in Columbia Lake Village, where the monthly figure paid by UW students will go up from $1,037 to $1,059, or just 2.1 per cent.

The 36-member board of governors is UW's senior governing body, responsible chiefly for property and financial matters. The board includes outside members — some appointed by the Ontario government and some by the board itself — as well as faculty, students and staff representatives.

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The cold facts of life at Waterloo

UW had a sizeable representation — two staff members and ten residence dons (right) — at the 27th annual Residence Life Conference, held late in January in North Bay. Says Sean Jackson, residence life coordinator in Ron Eydt Village: "Waterloo was given the opportunity to present two sessions over the course of the weekend to an audience that consisted of Dons and RAs from universities and colleges across the country. Waterloo continued its strong showing at the conference, walking away with 1st and 2nd place for the best overall program. The second place presentation was given by Chantal Jackson, Brad Moyle, Michelle Logan and Marc Esposito and was entitled 'Life After Residence: Real Life 101'. It investigated the fears, concerns and challenges facing dons after they leave residence and enter the 'real world'. The first place presentation was given by Natalie Witiuk, Jocelyn Ridgway and Meaghan Spence, and was entitled 'Making Every Snowflake Count'. It dealt with team dynamics, fostering positive team spirit and creating change. This is the second year in a row that Waterloo dons have captured the conference's top prize. The 1st place presenters will be invited to present at the annual OACUHO conference for housing professionals held in Mississauga at UTM this May."

Lives and their stories will be one of the topics discussed at the Hallman visiting professorship lecture series, beginning this week in UW’s faculty of applied health sciences. The public lecture series, entitled “Aging, Health and Well-being”, features afternoon lectures starting at 3:30 p.m. in room 1621 of the Hallman Institute wing of Matthews Hall. Admission is free. "The Hallman lecture series allows us to share with the community the knowledge that these speakers are bringing to students in our new interdisciplinary PhD program in aging, health and well-being," says Richard Hughson, associate dean (graduate studies and research) in AHS. "The speakers will share the practical aspects of their research to help community workers, seniors and their families understand and even slow the aging process." Catherine Archibald, organizer of the series, said the six experts on the aging process will express their views about why it should not be just about living longer, but also about maintaining good health until the end of life. The series starts this Thursday with “Aging, Life Stories and Social Context” by Jaber Gubrium, professor and chair of sociology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Narratives dealing with aging will be presented to show how intimately tied life stories are to the social contexts to which they relate. From rich narratives of the self to detailed accounts of social worlds, the emphasis is on the depth of experience from childhood to old age.

The Office of Alumni Affairs is seeking "a talented alumni artist interested in having one of their works represent the 50th Anniversary Alumni Awards program". That's the program, announced a few weeks ago, that will recognize 50 outstanding alumni in honour of UW's anniversary. Says the new announcement: "The selected artist will be given a $1,000 cash award and will have their work (painting or sculpture) unveiled at the 50th awards ceremony on September 28, 2007. A reproduction of the piece will be given to all 50 award winners and the work will be permanently displayed on campus. If you are interested in having your work considered for the program, please email five images of your recent work to Jason Coolman, Director, Alumni Affairs by March 1, 2007. Your submission should include your full name, graduation year, degree, mailing and email address and a day time phone number."

Announcing the athletics department's "Fantastic Alumni, Faculty and Staff Day" yesterday, I wrote that it would feature a Warrior hockey game, but of course the February 17 fixture in the Physical Activities Complex is basketball. • This morning's Record newspaper has a story about the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation's drive to unionize UW staff. • The continuing education office is offering a course on "Project Management Essentials" at its Gage Avenue training room on February 20 and 21.

Finally, there was some information in this space the other day — reprinted from the UW Magazine — about the coming International Polar Year, about which I now know more than I did then. For one thing, the "year" will last 24 months, from March 2007 to March 2009; not sure whether that's the effect of inflation, relativity, or global warming. In addition, a couple of UW researchers who weren't mentioned in that article have spoken up to say that they're working on IPY-related things. "I am involved," writes M. M. Vijayan of biology, "in a multinational IPY proposal submitted by Trent University on Arctic wildlife health: assessing the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors." And Frank Seglenieks of civil and environmental engineering chimes in: "Both myself and my supervisor, Dr. Ric Soulis, are involved in the IPY Arctic-Hydra project."

CAR

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