Duly installed, the new chancellor of St. Jerome's University, Peter Naus, and the new president, David Perrin, make their way out of St. Agatha Roman Catholic Church at the end of last Saturday's ceremonies. Naus is a retired professor of psychology at the college; Perrin, who becomes the sixth president of St. Jerome's since it gained its degree-granting autonomy in 1959, is formerly of Saint Paul University in Ottawa.

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Day of peace, and day of fewer cars

One student’s last-minute efforts will bring pinwheels to the centre of campus today as a celebration of peace.

“It is a little known fact,” writes Nick Petten of psychology, “that in 1981 the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York passed a resolution to recognize September 21 as the International Day of Peace. Personally, I just realized this yesterday and I've been talking about it ever since. I found that nobody knows about this day. It would be a shame if the day passed without any recognition of peace and all the peace movements that occur throughout the world.

“To resolve a burning desire to honor peace this Friday, I've created an impromptu event called Peace Day at UW. The students at UW will be on the B2 Green — between the Math Building, the Student Life Centre and the Biology 2 Building — to plant Pinwheels for Peace to create a visual display that we are all working towards peace on earth and a global ceasefire.”

He urges everybody across campus: “Come stop by the B2 Green, create a pinwheel and plant it to show your willingness to honour peace throughout the world.”

On another socially conscious front, Car-Free Days are under way in the community, backed by the UW-based Waterloo Public Interest Research Group. And an event to mark the occasion in an unusual way is taking place this morning at the UW Architecture building in Cambridge.

“The latest tool available in the fight against automobile addiction” is the car itself, says Jason Hammond, president of Grand River CarShare, which will launch its 10th self-service location at the Architecture building on Melville Street. “Carsharing allows drivers to use more sustainable modes more often,” he explains, “knowing that the convenience of a car is available when it is most necessary.”

"The car co-op is another accessible and environmentally conscious transportation choice for UW Architecture students," said Darcy Higgins, vice-president (internal) of the UW Federation of Students. "Partnering this service with the new universal bus pass makes a great combination." The media event is set for 10:00 this morning at Architecture.

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Nobel physicist seeks better teaching

Nobel laureate Carl Wieman (left) will visit UW next week to talk about how to improve science education for today's students.

Wieman, currently a professor at the University of British Columbia, will deliver the second annual Arthur J. Carty Lecture. His talk, "Science Education in the 21st Century: Using the Tools of Science to Teach Science", takes place Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Theatre of the Arts. Admission is free.

As director of UBC's Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative, he will present a new teaching approach that promises relevant and effective science education. Wieman will also explore new research on how people learn and on the latest in information technology. He will discuss the failures of traditional educational practices, even as used by "very good" teachers, and the successes of some novel practices and technology underlying the new teaching approach.

Wieman, who joined UBC earlier this year from the University of Colorado at Boulder, is a native of Corvallis, Oregon. He shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in physics for creating a new form of matter in 1995 called Bose-Einstein condensate. He is also the director of the Colorado Science Education Initiative at the University of Colorado, which works collaboratively with the UBC project.

Terry McMahon, UW's dean of science, says he is looking forward to hosting Wieman — "an internationally renowned teacher and researcher. His work is revolutionary and is proving to have long-lasting impacts on education."

For many years, Wieman has been a leader in using technology to improve science education. His classes make use of computer simulations used to conduct virtual physics experiments, infrared transmitter clickers that provide immediate feedback on how well students are understanding classroom lectures, and other innovations.

The Arthur J. Carty Lectureship is named after a former UW chemistry professor who is now the national science advisor to the Canadian government. Carty served as chair of the chemistry department as well as UW's dean of research, and has been president of the National Research Council. The lectureship features an annual lecture in an area of science or science policy of broad general interest. It is funded by a gift from Frank Karasek, a UW professor emeritus of chemistry.

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Other news in the late, late summer

Visitors will be welcome, but won't get to see any major conflagrations, as UW's fire research facility opens its doors from 10:00 to 2:00 on Saturday. "A few of us will be there to answer questions," says mechanical engineering professor Beth Weckman (right), "although this year we have been so busy that we do not have any formal demonstrations. We will run tours of the various labs as interest requires." The fire lab is housed at the Waterloo Regional Emergency Services Training Centre on Erb Street West, just past the regional landfill site, and tomorrow's opportunity is part of an open house for the centre as a whole, marking Fire Prevention Week. Visitors at other parts of the complex will get to see fire-fighting demonstrations and meet police officers and paramedics; there will be "interactive displays and prizes" as well as a free barbecue.

Current students who are thinking about a future in medical school can get "perspectives of a Waterloo grad" in an afternoon-long session tomorrow in the Tatham Centre. The Waterloo grad in question is Kevin Mayer, formerly a health studies undergraduate at UW and now a University of Toronto medical student. He'll return to campus to "discuss life as a medical student and help you assess whether medicine is the right choice for you", says a flyer from UW's career services. Specific topics "will include appropriate undergraduate course selection; tactics for improving your OMSAS application; advice on reference letters, personal statements, and medical school interviews". The event runs from 2:00 to 4:30 on Saturday; registration is online.

The Federation of Students has a new interactive website called Pulse — I’ll be saying more about that one of these days — and, with a general election in Ontario three weeks away, a special section has been developed under the title Election Pulse. It is, says Rick Theis of the Federation staff, “a catch-all website for students looking to find out more information on the upcoming Provincial election. Content includes links to all the Kitchener Waterloo candidates, schedule of on and off campus election events (debates, info sessions, etc.), instructions on how, where, when to vote, interactive media, election news feeds, a link to the new ‘Public Disclosure’ podcast show, podcasts of debates (for those students unable to attend in person), and (eventually) maps of all the K-W polling stations.”

Here’s news from Wendy MacIntosh, formerly a staff member at UW and now working at Waterloo City Hall: “We at the City of Waterloo have a campaign currently underway to solicit nominations for our community's highest civic honour: Waterloo Award. This is the first year we have gone public with the nomination campaign, which was previously limited to staff, council or City volunteer nominators. We hope to receive a field of excellent nominations for this award for this, the City's 150th, year. Our nomination deadline is September 28. I know there has always been considerable collaboration between the City and UW, to make some great community initiatives possible. It is likely that there are some University people who would make excellent nominees and/or nominators for the Waterloo Award.” Indeed, some past award recipients have been from UW, including all three winners in the 2004 round. Each year’s award recognizes “up to three outstanding individuals who have contributed significantly to the quality of life in Waterloo, without thought of personal or financial gain.” More information: 519-888-6488.

TVOntario is turning its attention to the university and college classroom again: "Who's Ontario's Best Lecturer? TVO asks students and alumni from the province's colleges and universities to have their say, as Big Ideas, TVO's televised lecture series, kicks off the third edition of the Best Lecturer Competition sponsored by Meloche Monnex. Nominations will be accepted at tvo.org from September 4 to October 2, 2007. A panel of judges will chose 10 finalists from the nominee list to deliver complete lectures on Big Ideas in March 2008. Viewers will be invited to grade each of the finalists and cast their vote for Ontario's next Best Lecturer. The winner's institution receives a $10,000 TD Meloche Monnex Scholarship."

The "Smart Start Spin-off Contest", sponsored by the Accelerator Centre and UW's research office, is under way until October 9, offering prizes up to $50,000 to help with commercialization of a UW invention. • Organizers of the "Fall Fun Fest in the Park", to be held in Waterloo Park October 6 as part of Community Parks Week, are looking for volunteers (call 519-888-6488). • The just-published summer issue of WatTimes, the newsletter of the UW retirees' association, includes a profile of Beverlie Robertson, who has been able to devote full-time efforts to folk music since retiring from UW (library and co-op education and career services) in 1996.

CAR

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