UW delegation in Asia this week

A UW delegation led by president David Johnston crossed the Pacific over the weekend and will seek to raise UW’s profile with visits to Singapore and Hong Kong this week, as well as side trips to Beijing, Nanjing and Taipei.

“The trip to Asia is designed to showcase the many linkages that UW has with those countries, and to further strengthen our relationships in that region,” says Gail Cuthbert Brandt, the university’s associate vice-president (international). “Having a team from UW will make it possible for us to engage effectively in this range of diverse activities and to gain maximum exposure for our university.”

She said the trip, which involves various combinations of administrators and faculty members and includes half a dozen public events and many private meetings, “will afford us an opportunity to meet with government representatives, senior academic leaders, researchers, alumni, parents of current students, and prospective students.

“I am personally delighted to have the opportunity to work closely on this trip with the various Faculties who are sending representatives and organizing events. And, of course, we are all very much looking forward to connecting with our alumni, especially at the 50th anniversary gala in Hong Kong.” That celebration will be held Friday night (6 a.m. Friday, Waterloo time) at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers.

Johnston and Cuthbert Brandt are in Singapore today and tomorrow along with Linda Kieswetter, associate vice-president (principal gifts), mathematics dean Tom Coleman, and several other UW people. There’s an alumni reception tonight and a presentation tomorrow aimed at prospective students.

The delegation will reach Hong Kong on Thursday, where others will join them including Bob Harding, chair of the board of governors. Johnston is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a luncheon Thursday for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce there. The gala on Friday night is to be followed by a parents’ reception on Saturday at the Sheraton.

While that winds up the main part of the UW trip, Johnston will stay several more days in Asia, visiting Nanjing next week to speak at the Nanjing University of Finance and Economics on “Trends and Issues for Ontario Universities”. Two UW staff will visit Taipei, capital of Taiwan, next week to meet with alumni and prospective UW students.

Officials with UW's Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing are a key part of the trip, visiting Beijing and Hong Kong to offer problem-solving workshops for students and teachers. They will also discuss education and career opportunities for students in mathematics and computer science.

Waterloo’s math faculty has been running competitions for 40 years, and its outreach activities now impact close to 500,000 people annually. While most of the students and teachers are in Canada, the CEMC has in recent years worked to increase its involvement in Hong Kong and other parts of China. "There are many excellent students in this part of the world and we have a strong interest in introducing them to one of the best educational options for any student interested in mathematics and computing," said Coleman.

Two faculty members have confirmed visits with six schools in Beijing today through Thursday, while two others will visit eight Hong Kong schools. "The aim is to visit a handful of schools, talk to teachers and conduct workshops with the students," said Ian VanderBurgh, director of the CEMC. The centre has been expanding its activities and recently announced a $12.5 million gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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News from the faculty of engineering

Says the engineering e-newsletter: "Check out engineering's research home page for presentations from both the NRC-Auto21 fuel cell workshop and the energy video conference between Nanyang, Technological University, Singapore, and the University of Waterloo. Both late October events were held during Energy Days. Pearl Sullivan, chair of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, said that 80 people participated in the video conference — 50 from Waterloo and 30 from Singapore. "There was overwhelming enthusiasm to join hands and work together," says Lalitha Subramanian, who helped organize Energy Days. Sullivan, along with university president David Johnston, will be visiting Singapore to explore establishing more formal ties between the universities. Waterloo plans to hold another video conference next year on the topic of solar-thermal energy systems."

The engineering faculty council meets tomorrow, and among the agenda items is a change to the Geological Engineering curriculum. The agenda explains: “The Geological Engineering Program currently requires the student to choose between following either a Hydrogeology Theme or a Geomechanics Theme, with the choice of theme dictating a number of core technical courses that the students must complete in 3B, 4A and 4B, These core technical courses differ between the two themes. This has not been popular amongst the students (due to a perception of excessive specialization in a branch of civil engineering), and consequently the curriculum was relaxed about four years ago so that students could pick and choose between the core technical courses offered by the two themes within a given term. Therefore, it is no longer possible to assign a theme to any given student’s transcript. . . . The proposed curriculum changes are designed to remove the Hydrogeology and Geomechanics Themes from the undergraduate calendar, and officially create a Geological Engineering Program without any themes.”

Stephanie Vermeulen has won a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Housing Studies Award for her master's thesis work completed at UW's School of Architecture last year. Based on a study of housing in the Netherlands, her thesis proposes new, high density urban housing forms for Toronto. "A city with limited housing options — the single family home or the high rise condominium — needs to diversify," she writes, "and alternative typologies must be adopted and adapted to the residential fabric of the city. The Dutch model proves that quality of life can be improved by a housing type that Toronto has never been comfortable accepting." Vermeulen is now working for Grimshaw Architects in London.

Hugh Kerr, distinguished professor emeritus in mechanical engineering, ha been named a Fellow of ASM International, the Materials Information Society. During the society's awards dinner, held recently in Detroit, Kerr was cited for "outstanding contributions to the solidification of alloys in welding and soldering, to joining process development, and broad contributions to education in the fundamental and applied aspects of joining". Kerr is also a Fellow of the American Welding Society.

And . . . one of the highlights of any term for the student Engineering Society is scheduled for tonight. It's TalEng, the opportunity for an appreciative audience to see (and hear) what engineers can do away from the lab and in front of a microphone. Organizers note that the event is "very, very licensed", and promise prizes for "best, worst, funniest, most unnecessary, etc." The entertainment starts at 7:00 tonight in the Festival Room, South Campus Hall.

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Jewish studies lecture, and other notes

An American expert will give a public talk tonight outlining what Russian president Vladimir Putin's influence means to his country and its Jewish population. Stephen Berk, a historian at Union College in Schenectady, New York, will deliver the annual Michael and Ida Finkelstein Lecture, entitled “Putin, Russia and the Jews”, sponsored by UW's Jewish studies program. It begins at 7:30 p.m. in Siegfried Hall, St. Jerome’s University. Admission is free. "Although President Putin has had an enormous impact on changing Russia from its old Communist ways, the question is whether those changes leave the Jews in as precarious a situation as it was formerly under Communist rule," says James Diamond, who holds the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies at UW. "Our guest speaker will discuss whether Putin will remain in power and what does a Putin-led or -influenced Russia mean for Russia, the world and the Jews." It’s the seventh time Berk has visited to give a public lecture at UW. He is the Henry and Sally Schaffer Professor of Holocaust and Jewish Studies at Union College, and has earned an international reputation for his teaching, writing and research about such topics as Russian and Soviet Jewish history, the Holocaust, the American Jewish experience and anti-Semitism.

"Tonight was the UW Juggling Club's fire night for this term," pure math student Michael Druker wrote at the end of a lively Wednesday. "Those who dared (and had presumably signed a form to join the club) were given torches to juggle. You might be interested in a photo." Yes indeed; the result appears at left.

"The CHIP will go cashless!" writes Peggy Day from the information systems and technology department. "Yes, in the new year the Computer Help and Information Place will be cashless. In preparation for this we have installed a WatCard machine to complement the debit machine already in use. Starting the week of November 19, students, staff or faculty wanting to purchase software, deposit money to their printing or dial up accounts or pay for computer repairs, will have the option to pay with their WatCard, debit card or the old way — cheque. We will run this as a pilot until the new year when we hope to eliminate all cash purchases."

The campus recreation program is offering the first two parts of the National Coaching Certification Program over the next two weekends, November 23-24 and November 30 to December 1, for a fee of $100 each time. • Tomorrow's the registration deadline for WatITis, the December 4 conference "for those involved in IT planning, support and decision making". • A three-day course on "Project Management Applied Tools and Techniques" starts today at the continuing education training room at 335 Gage Avenue in Kitchener.

And . . . Bob Harding, chair of the UW board of governors, sent a memo to the members of the board Friday about the latest public service role for the university's president, David Johnston. Said Harding: "I'm sure you share my admiration in our President's accepting the invitation of the Prime Minister 'to serve as independent adviser to conduct an impartial review of allegations respecting the financial dealings between Mr. Karlheinz Schreiber and the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, in order to make recommendations for an appropriate mandate for a public inquiry.' The kind of service President Johnston is rendering is important to the country and it is important that individuals take on these challenging tasks when called upon by their government. It will not surprise you, therefore, that when the President consulted me before making his decision, I gave him my wholehearted support. This is a short term assignment, with the report due in early January. I know the business of the University will be effectively managed while David continues to serve as President as well as independent advisor."

CAR

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