Andrew Cooper wins Fulbright Award

from the Centre for International Governance Innovation

Andrew F. Cooper (right) has been awarded a prestigious 2008-09 Canada-U.S. Fulbright Visiting Research Chair by the world’s premiere academic exchange program. Dr. Cooper is associate director and distinguished fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and professor of political science at the University of Waterloo.

“Dr. Cooper is a distinguished and important scholar whose work on public diplomacy has been critical in our understanding of Canada’s role in the world,” says Dr. Michael K. Hawes, executive director of the Foundation for Educational Exchange, which administers the Canada-U.S. Fulbright awards. “I am thrilled to be able to support Dr. Cooper’s work and to welcome him back to the Fulbright family.”

As a Fulbright Visiting Chair, Dr. Cooper will take up residence at the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California from January to mid-May 2009. There, he will undertake a research project to explore the role of individuals and foundations in the United States and Canada which promote ideas and practices that stretch our notion of who does diplomacy and why.

Dr. Cooper is a recognized expert in the areas of innovative diplomacy and comparative foreign policy. His recent book, Celebrity Diplomacy, examines the role that celebrities play in international relations, and his newest co-edited work, Global Governance and Diplomacy: Worlds Apart? looks at the theoretical and practical disconnects between national diplomacy and global governance. He has authored and edited 20 books published internationally.

Dr. Cooper’s past honours include a 2000 Visiting Fulbright Scholar Award at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, one of the leading graduate schools devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, diplomacy and policy research and education. He has previously been a visiting professor at Harvard University, Australian National University and Stellenbosch University.

By engaging the brightest minds in academic exchanges, the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program seeks to enhance mutual understanding between Canada and the United States. Through its bilateral academic exchanges, outstanding students, scholars and professionals strengthen Canada-U.S. relations by examining a wide range of subjects which are critical to the relationship between the two countries.

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PhD oral presentations lining up

Physics and astronomy. Jean Paul O. Brichta, "Laser-Initiated Coulomb Explosion Imaging of Small Molecules." Supervisor, J. Sanderson. On display in the faculty of science, ESC-254A. Oral Defence Thursday, August 28, 10:00 a.m., Physics Building room 352.

Health studies and gerontology. Paul Spagnuolo, “Effects of Dietary Bovine Lactoferrin on Intestinal Lymphocytes in Mice after Dextran Sulfate Sodium or Acute Exercise Challenge.” Supervisor, Laurie Hoffman-Goetz. On display in the faculty of applied health sciences, BMH 3110. Oral defence Friday, September 5, 10:00 a.m., Matthews Hall room 3119.

Optometry / Biology. Hyun-Yi Youn, "Ultraviolet B and Blue Light-Induced Phototoxic Effects on Retinal Pigment Epithelium Using In Vitro Assays." Supervisor, Jacob Sivak. On display in the faculty of science, ESC-254A. Oral Defence Friday, September 5, 10:00 a.m., Optometry Building room 347.

Civil and environmental engineering. Tricia Stadnyk-Falcone, “Mesoscale Hydrological Model Validation and Verification Using Stable Water Isotopes: The Development of Iso Watflood.” Supervisors, Nick Kouwen and Tom Edwards. On display in the faculty of engineering, PHY 3004. Oral defence Friday, September 5, 1:00 p.m., Engineering II room 3324.

Statistics. Ivan Adolfo Carrillo Garcia, "Analysis of Longitudinal Surveys with Missing Responses." Supervisors, Changbao Wu and Jiahua Chen. On display in the Faculty of Mathematics, MC 5090. Oral defence Friday, September 5, 2:00 p.m., MC 6027.

Systems design engineering. Maryam Shokri, “Concept of Opposition for Incremental Model-Free Reinforcement Learning.” Supervisors, Mohamed Kamel and Hamid Tizhoosh. On display in the faculty of engineering, PHY 3004. Oral defence Friday, September 5, 3:00 p.m., Engineering II room 1307C.

Mechanical and mechatronics engineering. Mehrnaz Motice, “Development of a Novel Multi-Disciplinary Design Optimization Scheme for Micro-Compliant Devices.” Supervisors, Amir Khajepour and Raafat Mansour. On display in the faculty of engineering, PHY 3004. Oral defence Monday, September 8, 8:30 a.m., Engineering III room 4117.

Computer science. Matthew Nichols, "Efficient Pattern Search in Large, Partial-Order Data Sets." Supervisor, David Taylor. On display in the Faculty of Mathematics, MC 5090. Oral defence Monday, September 8, 9 a.m., Davis Centre room 1331.

Computer science. Aaditeshwar Seth, "Design of a Recommender System for Participatory Media Built on a Tetherless Communication Infrastructure." Supervisors, Srinivasan Keshav and Robin Cohen. On display in the Faculty of Mathematics, MC 5090. Oral defence Monday, September 8, 10 a.m., Davis Centre room 3323.

Electrical and computer engineering. Neda Parnian, “Integration of Local Positioning System and Strapdown Inertial Navigation System for a Hand-Held Tool Tracking.” Supervisor, Farid Golnaraghi. On display in the faculty of engineering, PHY 3004. Oral defence Monday, September 8, 10 a.m., Engineering II room 2354F.

Systems design engineering. Abbas Ahmadi, “Multiple Cooperative Swarms for Data Clustering.” Supervisors, Fakhreddine Karray and Mohamed Kamel. On display in the faculty of engineering, PHY 3004. Oral defence Monday, September 8, 10:00 a.m., Davis Centre room 2634.

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Olympic update, and other Friday notes

Olympic update: UW kinesiology grad student Keith Beavers capped a 20-year career in competitive swimming — he is 25 — by reaching the Olympic finals for the first time. Last night he competed in the men's 200-metre individual medley with the likes of American Michael Phelps, who won the gold, to nobody's surprise. Beavers finished seventh in a field of eight, with a time of 1:59.43. "I achieved all my goals and I just couldn't be happier," he told Josh Brown of the Waterloo Region Record. The story is online.

Starting next week, with exams over and next term's newcomers still thinking about what to pack, the campus grows even quieter. Hours are shortened in libraries (see sidebar, top). Only three food service outlets will be open. In the Student Life Centre, Tim Hortons is closed this weekend, then opens 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday to Friday, to the end of August. Brubakers will be open 8 a.m. - 3 p.m., Monday to Friday, August 18-31. Pastry Plus in Needles Hall is open as usual, 7:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Bon Appetit (Davis Centre) closes tomorrow, reopening September 2 at 10:30 a.m. The Eye Opener café (Optometry) closes tomorrow, reopening September 8 at 8 a.m. Mudie's (Village I) closes tomorrow, reopening August 31 at 9 a.m.

Children's summer camps will finish next week, with Arts Computer Experience, Engineering Science Quest, and the Ontario Mennonite Music Camp wrapping up on Friday, August 22.

Some things are starting: the UW Warrior Hockey Camps for players five to 14 years old start on Monday and run through Friday, August 29. Registration is on Sunday, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. at the Columbia Icefield Arena.

Up to 600 people (with 600 bicycles) are expected to stay at Village I and Ron Eydt Village this weekend, August 15 to 17, during the 190-kilometre Brampton-to-Waterloo stage of the Multiple Sclerosis Bike Tour. This annual event raises funds and public awareness for the MS Society of Canada.

CPA staff

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