$100,000 honour for chemistry prof

a release from the Manning Awards Foundation, based in Calgary

We rely on chemical testing to identify toxins in the water, pollutants in the air we breathe, and medications in our blood. Thanks to the ingenuity of Canadian scientist Janusz Pawliszyn, many chemical tests that were once laborious and environmentally unfriendly are now simple and safe to do.

Pawliszyn, a professor of chemistry at the University of Waterloo, is the 2008 winner of the $100,000 EnCana Principal Award from the Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation. The award recognizes Canadian innovators who, like Pawliszyn, have made a significant impact in the world outside the lab. His invention of solid-phase microextraction, or SPME, has transformed chemical testing. (Photo, above, by Simon Wilson.)

“SPME has revolutionized the way that samples are collected and extracted,” says Bruce Fenwick, executive director of the Foundation. “Before the commercial development of SPME, many chemical tests were time-consuming and required the use of hazardous organic solvents. But with SPME, sample collection and extraction is simple, safe and can be done on site.”

This is the fourth time in ten years that a Waterloo nominee will receive one of Canada’s most prestigious innovation prizes. Pawliszyn joins Manning Award winners En-hui Yang (2007), Mike Lazaridis and Gary Mousseau (2002), and Roman Baldur (1999).

Before SPME became available, water and other environmental samples were typically transported from the field to a lab before chemicals of interest could be concentrated, extracted and analyzed. Furthermore, like an indiscriminate fishing net, older sampling methods picked up a range of chemicals instead of particular chemicals of interest.

In contrast, using SPME, scientists can collect concentrated amounts of specific chemicals on site. In order to sample pesticides, antibiotics, or even the aroma of a ripe tomato, the tester simply depresses the plunger on a small syringe to project a miniature fibre “dipstick.” The fibre, typically a coated metal wire the width of a hair, selectively concentrates target chemicals from the sample in minutes before being drawn back into the syringe needle for safekeeping. Back in the lab, scientists can determine not only what is in a sample, but also how much of a chemical is present.

Pawliszyn says that, initially, many researchers were puzzled about how a small fibre could possibly collect enough chemicals for meaningful analysis. “When (a technology is) new, it’s sometimes surprising,” he admits. Yet, in a little over a decade since its commercialization, SPME has been widely adopted by environmental testing agencies, forensic scientists, clinical labs, the food industry and the fragrance industry. For example, investigators used SPME to test for toxins in the air at Ground Zero at the World Trade Center after 9/11.

Pawliszyn is recognized not only for his innovation in developing the theory behind SPME, but also for putting theory into practice by building various SPME devices. Today there are over 60 products in the Supelco SPME product line. Since its commercial launch in 1993, the technology has generated more than $20 million for Sigma-Aldrich/Supelco and $1 million in royalty revenues for UW.

More recently, Pawliszyn has been collaborating on medical research that uses SPME to sample blood with minimal impact on the test subject. “There are no limitations to (its) application,” he says.

Pawliszyn holds the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council Industrial Research Chair and Canada Research Chair in New Analytical Methods and Technologies.

This year the Manning Foundation will award $165,000 in prize money. Four awards, totalling $145,000, will go to leading Canadian innovators. Another $20,000 will go to young Canadians chosen at the 2008 Canada-Wide Science Fair.

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Federal candidates speak on Thursday

Local candidates in the October 14 federal election will make their pitch on Thursday at a debate in the Student Life Centre.

“Confirmed attendance to the debate includes Peter Braid of the Conservative Party, Cindy Jacobsen of the New Democratic Party, Andrew Telegdi of the Liberal Party, and Kathy MacLellan of the Green Party,” says an announcement from the Federation of Students.

Also on the ballot in Kitchener-Waterloo riding, two weeks from tomorrow, will be Jason Cousineau of the Libertarian Party, Kyle Huntingdon of the Canadian Action Party, Ramon Portillo of the Communist Party, and independent Mark Corbiere. The K-W riding includes all of the city of Waterloo plus a section of Kitchener.

Thursday’s debate, starting at noon, “is expected to be two hours in length,” the Feds say, “and will begin with questions from the Federation of Students, Graduate Students Association and several other student groups before taking questions from the floor. Dr. Ken Coates, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, will be moderating the public debate.”

Meanwhile, a candidates’ meeting both for the K-W riding and for the nearby riding of Kitchener Centre is being held tonight, sponsored by the Social Innovation Research Group at Wilfrid Laurier University. It will start at 7 p.m. in the main auditorium of WLU’s Faculty of Social Work building at 120 Duke Street West in Kitchener.

The Federation has issued a memo to students, in cooperation with the federal agency responsible for the election: “The Federation of Students and Elections Canada would like to remind students of the important dates for this year's federal election to ensure students are prepared to vote on October 14 or before.

“Many students are unaware they have a choice to vote in their local school riding or their ‘home’ riding if their place of residence as a student is in a different riding than their permanent address or ‘home’. If you would like to vote for candidates in your ‘home’ riding, but aren't there for the poll, October 7 is the deadline to register as a national voter using a special ballot form. It is available online or at the local Elections Canada (EC) office located at Beechwood Plaza, 450 Erb Street West, Waterloo. When completed, with identification, you will receive your ballot for mail-in to Ottawa.

“If you do not choose this option, you may vote in the riding of your current place of residence – and registration is required.

“To get registered to vote locally, students have three options: Register in person with Elections Canada on campus September 29 to October 2; register in person with Elections Canada at the local office before October 7; register at your polling station when you vote on October 14. Voter Identification is required for any registration.”

The memo notes that Elections Canada staff will be at the Student Life Centre today through Wednesday from 1:00 to 4:00 to get potential voters onto the list. They’ll also be at Ron Eydt Village and Village I tomorrow, Tuesday, from 5:00 to 7:30, at UW Place on Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30, and at the Columbia Lake Village community centre on Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30.

Voting Day is Tuesday, October 14, when polls will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Advance polls are October 3, 4, and 6 from noon to 8 p.m.

“Students must vote in their designated polling location,” the memo notes. “There are multiple polling locations within ridings, so be sure you check with Elections Canada where you are to vote by calling 1-866- 239-2836 or by entering your postal code in the ‘Voter information service’ or ‘Where do I vote’ slots on the web site.

“The Federation of Students will be operating limited shuttle services to nearby polls during prime school hours; stay tuned for complete shuttle details.

“On-campus polling is only for students residing on campus. Village I and UW Place will be the designated polling locations for these students.”

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Train of events on a Monday morning

Peter Russell. curator of UW’s Earth Sciences Museum, and a colleague are heading for Cobalt, Ontario, today to pick up something new for the museum. The new artifact, donated by the Cobalt Historical Society, looks pretty much like a train (right) but is actually a “mucking machine”, for loading broken ore onto carts for transport out of the mine, and two of the ore carts. They’ll be used for a new display on mining in the Museum, in UW’s CEIT building. Mining equipment used in Cobalt had to be small because of the narrow silver veins being mined, Russell explains: the ore carts are 81 centimetres (2 feet 8 inches) wide. “This makes the equipment ideal for the museum display.” The equipment will be unloaded back at CEIT tomorrow and put on display later this fall.

Ann Cavoukian, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, will speak this morning in the Humanities Theatre, sponsored by the School of Computer Science. Her talk, “Change the Paradigm: Embed Privacy into Technology and Ride the Next Wave”, starts at 11:00. “Real-time or offline,” organizers say, “we are under growing surveillance as we go about our daily lives. We are told that we need all of this surveillance to ensure public safety, fight crime, control access to resources, and achieve operational efficiencies. Privacy is a luxury standing in the way of societal goals, so privacy has to give way, right? Wrong. This is classic zero-sum thinking. Cavoukian will explain why privacy is not opposed to achieving other desirable goals – be they security, business, or technical objectives. ‘Privacy by design’ embeds privacy into invasive surveillance technologies without sacrificing data security, system functionality, efficiency, usability, or accountability, thereby transforming it in the process. So the message is: We can have both security and privacy.” Cavoukian has held the provincial job since 1997, and is the author o Who Knows: Safeguarding Your Privacy in a Networked World, written with Don Tapscott, and The Privacy Payoff: How Successful Businesses Build Customer Trust, with Tyler Hamilton.

The UW staff association is having another of its town hall meetings at lunchtime today (12:00, Davis Centre room 1302) and this time the issue for discussion by members will be one with deep historical roots. "An ongoing concern for some UWSA members," says association president Jesse Rodgers, "has been with regards to advice that was given to them on whether or not to join the UW Pension Plan. The UWSA Executive was particularly concerned that the advice being given was appropriate and well-intentioned for the given time period." (The heart of the issue is what guidance was given to young women who entered employment at UW a generation ago — at a time when it was less common than it is today for women to stay in the workforce all their lives.) Rodgers goes on: "The UWSA Executive has looked at this issue a number of times in its history with the previous executive paying a lawyer for advice. The current UWSA Executive followed through on the lawyer's initial advice and hired an actuary to look at the plans as they changed over a period of time and render an opinion. This report, along with a reply from the University's Actuary, is available in the UWSA office to UWSA members."

The second (main) floor of the Dana Porter Library will be open to the public within a few days. Early last week, “we passed a life safety inspection,” says Alex McCulloch of the library’s circulation department. That means staff members who have things to do there — such as helping get books back onto the shelves — are now allowed into the area as contractors put the final touches on four months’ renovation work and furniture and computers find their places. A celebratory event for library staff was held on the second floor on Friday.

"Each year," says a memo from engineering dean Leo Rothenburg, "the Faculty of Engineering, with the assistance of the Sandford Fleming Foundation, presents awards to recognize outstanding teaching. I am pleased to announce that this year's winners of the Faculty of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award are Robert Jan van Pelt (Architecture), Duane Cronin (Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering), and Ed Jernigan (Systems Design Engineering). The winners are selected by the Faculty's chairs and associate deans following the annual assessment of the activities of all faculty members. Recipients are chosen for their continued record of excellence in undergraduate teaching. Other contributions such as course development, student guidance and involvement in student project supervision are also considered. This year's awards will be presented at the Dean's Dinner on October 2. Recognition includes a certificate, a cash award and financial support for two Undergraduate Research Assistants. As well, recipients are identified in the academic calendar and their names are recorded on a plaque in the foyer of Carl Pollock Hall."

CAR

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