High-voltage lab reopens tomorrow

The university's $5-million high voltage engineering laboratory, which conducts advanced research and teaching for the power industry, will officially reopen this week, rebuilt following a major fire two and a half years ago.

The three-hour reopening celebration, featuring a live lab demonstration for industry professionals and academics, takes places Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. in Carl Pollock Hall room 1333.

The HVEL lab, which does studies on such areas as power transmission and insulation, suffered a costly fire March 7, 2005. The lab now is rebuilt and ready for business. The two-storey lab, covering 4,200 square feet, is based in the department of electrical and computer engineering.

"HVEL is one of the most research-intensive facilities in North America and features state-of-the-art technology," says Shesha Jayaram, director of the laboratory and a professor of E&CE. She says the electrical and power engineering researchers at UW bring together expertise in insulation, applied electrostatics, nanodielectrics (high voltage insulating materials with unique properties), pulse power applications, power electronics, renewable energy, power quality and distribution systems.

Alain Francq, director of industry and government relations for the E&CE department, adds: "Our strength is in our flexibility to go beyond standard testing, to produce innovative research and top engineering talent for the energy industry."

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Thieves get ice research computers

A UW researcher specializing in melting ice and global warming has suffered a setback to his work with the theft of three computers from his office in Environmental Studies I building over the October 13-14 weekend.

In an incident thought to have happened on the Sunday evening, “Thieves broke in and stole two high-end computers and a back-up unit from my office,” says Richard Kelly of the department of geography, who joined UW’s faculty last year from the University of Maryland (Baltimore County).

“Maybe someone might know something,” he suggests, hoping that publicity about the loss “might spur someone to somehow return the data/information and at least return a hard drive or two, as is — or as a series of DVDs with the information that was on the drive.”

Says Kelly: “One of the pieces of stolen equipment, an Apple MacBook Pro, is used for teaching geomatics and Earth observation to undergraduate and postgraduate students, and the other powerful Linux-based workstation is used to conduct research into the remote sensing of snow and ice using measurements and data from state-of-the-art satellite systems.

“The loss of the data and information stored on these machines is especially untimely since my research activities are geared towards International Polar Year efforts which is currently underway.”

On his web page, Kelly explains his work briefly: “My research interests are in snow and ice hydrology and especially in the measurement of snow and ice from Earth observing remote sensing instruments. This research focuses on the use of measurements from active and passive remote sensing instruments to estimate global water storage in seasonal snowpacks. I am also interested in how in situ measurement strategies can be deployed to support remote sensing observations and numerical hydrologic models of snow. I have conducted field work in several parts of the world to support these activities (e.g. the USA , Norway and the UK).

“My research interests relate to substantial questions concerning how the cryosphere is responding to global environmental change. In many places, seasonal snowmelt makes a significant contribution to the annual water budget. Quantifying regional snow water storage is crucial for effective water resource management. With global environmental change, we are starting to observe changes to seasonal snow dynamics that will affect people in many parts of the world. Fundamental accurate observations and measurements of the cryosphere, therefore, are critical.”

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Free recycling offered for e-waste

A student group will be offering free recycling of electronic waste for the UW and local community tomorrow. As an extension of Waste Reduction Week across Canada, the University of Waterloo Sustainability Project (UWSP) is collaborating with HP Canada in hosting a one-day electronic waste recycling public event.

On Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., students, faculty and staff, along with local residents, can drop off any brand of old computer equipment — desktops, laptops, monitors, printers and scanners — at the Student Life Centre." HP will ensure the equipment is recycled in an environmentally responsible manner," an announcement explains.

"UWSP and HP are working together to educate people about the issues of electronic waste," says Brandon Seegmiller, event coordinator and fourth-year environment and business student. "E-waste is one of the fastest growing municipal waste streams, as more than 140,000 tonnes of e-waste accumulate in Canadian landfills each year and much more is being exported to developing countries.

"Take a look in your garage, closet or basement. I can almost guarantee that you have an old piece of electronic equipment collecting dust. That is the problem — people know that adding e-waste to the landfill is a hazard to the environment, but they are unsure where to take it for proper recycling, which is why we are so pleased to be able to offer this free e-waste collection event with HP."

In Canada, HP has partnered with Sims Recycling Solutions to develop state-of-the-art facilities and processes to recycle electronic equipment responsibly. All hardware products returned to HP Canada for recycling are taken to the Sims plant in Brampton, which has the capacity to recycle 10,000 pounds of end-of-life electronics per hour. The facility conducts 100 per cent environmentally-sound recycling for electronic products including computers, peripherals and office equipment. All hardware is recycled and Sims ensures that none of HP's recycled electronic waste goes to landfill.

HP has been recovering electronics since 1987 and is a sponsor of Waste Reduction Week in Canada. UWSP is a student-led group volunteer group that seeks to improve the state of sustainability on campus as well as raise environmental awareness among students, faculty and staff. UWSP is made up of different working groups, each targeting specific aspects of sustainability such as waste, energy and transportation. The waste management group has also invited the Region of Waterloo's Waste Management staff to tomorrow's event to bring fun and educational activities as well as free blue boxes for students.

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'Intelligent' city discusses broadband

a news release from Intelligent Waterloo

Can broadband technology help conserve energy? That question is at the heart of a conference tomorrow that will explore the use of broadband as an energy alternative. The conference, which will be held at the Centre for International Governance Innovation on Erb Street, will set the tone for a weekend of discussions on energy and the environment.

“Intelligent Communities and Broadband: An Alternative to Energy Consumption” is a one-day Intelligent Waterloo conference exploring approaches to using broadband technologies that can lessen the dependency on energy, the distribution of energy and influencing energy policy. This conference is hosted by the Intelligent Waterloo Committee, the City of Waterloo, UW and CIGI. Conference sponsors are Cisco Systems Inc. and Atria Networks Inc.

The conference will explore several questions: How can we save energy using broadband? What environments can we provide to simulate person-to-person contact at a distance? Can we outsource work to other environments such as the home to reduce the need for office space and travel? What broadband technologies and pricing strategies can be used to encourage more conservative use of energy? What businesses might be derived from broadband support for energy conservation?

Patricia Demers, president of the Royal Society of Canada, has been invited to moderate the conference. Other notable guests will include Michael Binder, assistant deputy minister of Industry Canada; Jan Carr, CEO, Ontario Power Authority; Mark Golan, vice-president, Cisco; Jeffrey Simpson, columnist, the Globe and Mail; and John Wetmore, former CEO, IBM Canada.

In addition to the conference, the New York based Intelligent Community Forum will announce the 21 finalists for the 2008 Intelligent Community of the Year. The City of Waterloo was named the 2007 Intelligent Community of the Year by the ICF, a not-for-profit think tank that focuses on job creation and economic development in the new global economy based on broadband.

Those invited to attend the conference include mayors and senior officials from Ontario municipalities, executives of the hydro utilities in Ontario, business leaders in broadband and energy companies and organizations, Intelligent Waterloo and Intelligent Community Forum representatives, international participants attending the CIGI ’07 Conference, senior provincial and federal officials and politicians, academic experts and interested citizens of Waterloo Region.

An optional pre-conference tour for a behind-the-scenes look at what makes Waterloo the 2007 Intelligent Community of the Year is being offered today. Participants have an opportunity to visit various organizations including the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, CIGI, the Accelerator Centre, and RIM.

CAR

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