OSAP lineups, litter, and other stuff

The massive lineups in Needles Hall have been hard to miss over the past couple of weeks, and they're all for one purpose, says UW registrar Ken Lavigne. He said routine business at the registrar's office is going smoothly, but the student awards office is being mobbed: "Many more students are qualifying for OSAP because of changes in the government criteria. And that's a good thing! But the ministry insists on a face-to-face transaction — to harness technology is not a possibility at this time." Hence the "unacceptable" lineups to meet with staff members. By the end of orientation week, Lavigne says, the registrar's office had devised a "ticket" system giving students a one-hour slot within which they can be seen by staff. Longer-range plans include developing "a pool of reliable casual help" who can do the backroom paperwork, freeing more student awards professionals to meet with students. "We're also looking at the hours of business," Lavigne noted. He said customers will still be frustrated if they get to the front of the lineup and don't have the necessary information with them, so he urges students to double-check the OSAP instructions they've received and make sure everything is in order.

"We don't believe that littering is the beginning or end of the environmental challenge on campus," says Darcy Higgins, a vice-president of the Federation of Students, which is helping to sponsor the Garbage Campaign that was launched this week. On the broader front, he notes that the Feds sponsored a panel discussion on "sustainability" last night in the Student Life Centre. And at its meeting last Sunday, students' council unanimously passed a motion calling on the university "to become the Canadian leader in on-campus environmental innovation. Be it further resolved that the Federation of Students' Council supports the creation and implementation of a University of Waterloo Office of Sustainability, which will provide a focus on research, capacity-building, marketing, fundraising and on-campus coordination of environmental efforts." The resolution notes students' "strong interest" and support of sustainability projects, and argues that "an Office of Sustainability makes fiscal sense . . . generating an ability to achieve significant cost savings as well as enhancing the University's reputation".

The UW chapter of Engineers Without Borders is holding its fourth annual "gala" event (tickets $50) tonight at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. University president David Johnston will speak, but the stars of the gala will be three EWB interns, back from their overseas postings, who will present highlights of their experiences. Ryan Case (2nd year systems design engineering) spent the summer in northern Ghana working for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture analyzing rural agricultural technology and water resource management. Wayne Miranda (4th year mechatronics engineering) spent his internship in Malawi with the consulting firm CADECO, and assisted on projects with NGOs involved in youth rights and promoting democracy. And Cristina Randall (2nd year systems design engineering) was in Eastern Zambia with the PROFIT (Production, Finance and Technology) project, improving the effectiveness of farming and agricultural technologies in rural areas.

A UW representative will receive an "award of excellence" tonight from another organization that's marking its 50th anniversary in 2007. The honour comes from the British Computer Society, which represents the information technology business in the United Kingdom, and will be presented by the British high commissioner (the equivalent of an ambassador). It recognizes "50 years of outstanding contribution to the IT industry in Canada" by the UW department of electrical and computer engineering. Krzysztof Czarnecki of E&CE will accept the award — and a bursary sponsored by BCS — at a dinner in Toronto hosted by the British Computer Society in Upper Canada, a regional group for British computing professionals working in southern Ontario. "It seems fitting that BSC and the University of Waterloo are both celebrating their 50th anniversaries of innovation and excellence," says a statement from Sujeet Chaudhuri, chair of the E&CE department.

Registration is under way all this week for instructional programs to be offered this term by Campus Recreation. They range from fitness classes (some with high-intensity names: Innergize, Body Blast) to first aid, ten kinds of dance (belly, social), first aid and boat operator's training. Campus rec also offers broomball and yoga clubs, women-only swim times in the Physical Activities Complex pool, private personal training sessions, nutrition information, hockey skills courses — overall, too much to list in any space smaller than the 36-page campus rec program guide that's out on campus this week. The place to find out more is the campus rec web site. For the fall term, athletic facilities in the PAC and Columbia Icefield buildings will be open Monday to Thursday 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Government, business and university representatives were gathering early this morning at TechTown, the community centre on Hagey Boulevard, for a 9 a.m. event hosted by UW's president at which "three exciting new developments at the UW Research + Technology Park" are to be announced. • At Monday's meeting, the UW senate formally appointed its executive committee as the nominating committee to find a new chancellor of the university, as Mike Lazaridis's term will expire next year. • This year's Faculty of Mathematics Banquet will be held Thursday evening in South Campus Hall, but the student-organized "mathematics gala" that had been announced for Friday night in Federation Hall has been cancelled.

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To make water research world-class

a memo from provost Amit Chakma

UW’s 6th Decade Plan aspires to have at least 20 research centres or institutes recognized by peer evaluation to be among the best in the country, with six of those recognized among the best globally.

Many scholars at UW have active research programs related to water. In some areas, UW researchers are recognized worldwide for the quality of their work and their impact. UW wishes to build on this strength and establish a research institute, with the aim for it to become known internationally as one of the leading research organizations. To achieve this goal, the institute must be focused on selected research clusters, and yet at the same time must also incorporate the broad-based activities related to water as its foundation. The challenge therefore is to determine the research clusters supported by a broad base.

I am therefore pleased to announce the formation of a task force on Water research at UW chaired by Professor Bruce Mitchell, Associate Provost Academic and Student Affairs and a leading international authority on water. The task force is charged to develop a proposal to establish interdisciplinary research clusters focusing on water-related research and the application of research results. The task force will carry out consultations with various stakeholders on and off campus.

The specific terms of reference for the task force are as follows:

• To review UW’s current areas of strength in water research.
• To identify interdisciplinary research clusters in which UW can be a world leader in terms of critical mass, quality of research and impact.
• To identify gaps in building such research clusters.
• To recommend an appropriate structure (e.g. Institute) to facilitate collaboration among scholars from all disciplines.
• To recommend innovative, interdisciplinary graduate programs which reflect the research clusters.
• To report to the Provost by April, 2008

Membership: Bruce Mitchell, Chair; Susan Andrews, Civil and Environmental Engineering; George Dixon, VP Research; Wayne Parker, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Dave Rudolph, Earth Sciences; Mark Servos, Director of the Water Network.

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Prof knows solar panels first-hand

Geography professor and Waterloo resident Paul Parker may be up on the roof occasionally with his 18 solar energy panels (right), but he’ll descend tomorrow night to speak at the Kitchener Public Library about his experience of converting his house into a shining example of solar technology.

“While provincial candidates are debating the merits of scrubbers on coal smoke stacks,” a news release observes, “a growing number of home-owners in the province are generating their own clean energy with solar technology. Will solar technology work for you? Find out from a Waterloo resident and expert in renewable energy . . . also, come to hear about a new bulk buy solar initiative that will allow local home-owners to purchase solar technology at a group rate.”

Parker will be the keynote speaker at tomorrow’s “Energy $ense forum”, hosted by Community Renewable Energy Waterloo and the Residential Energy Efficiency Project, a UW spinoff which Parker formerly headed. The event will be held at the Kitchener Public Library on Thursday evening, with exhibits starting at 6:15 p.m., and the keynote address at 7:00.

The audience “will learn about the details of Parker’s projects,” the release says, “and take advantage of his wealth of experience from over two decades of involvement in the design, implementation, and evaluation of energy and environmental research projects.

“Parker installed 18 solar photovoltaic panels (3kW) on the roof of his home two years ago and has recorded the resulting electricity generation ever since. The panels provide two-thirds of the electricity consumed by the family of four. They save approximately $400 on the annual household electricity bill (at regular prices). The house also achieves 80 days of net zero electricity consumption each year (when more electricity is produced than consumed).”

Along with installing solar panels, it goes on, Parker made a number of energy conservation upgrades to his home including installing a high efficiency furnace, adding insulation, and upgrading doors and windows. “Generating our own electricity directly from the sun and reducing our consumption through energy efficiency enable us to feel good about the future,” he says, “There are lots of steps that we can take to reduce emissions. We always check for Energy Star labels and EnerGuide ratings before we buy appliances.”

The second part of the Energy $ense forum will feature the announcement of the new local “bulk buy” community solar purchase initiative. Several other bulk-buy plans now exist across Ontario, helping homeowners to buy photovoltaic solar panels. “These homeowners,” says the release, “will be able to sell their solar-generated electricity to their hydro companies at $0.42 per kWh by participating in the Ontario renewable energy standard offer program. Solar leaders from CREW will be on hand at the forum to describe the new Waterloo region community solar purchase initiative.”

CAR

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