Hydro One supports clean energy research

a release from UW Media Relations

The University of Waterloo and Hydro One Networks Inc. signed an agreement yesterday to strengthen ties in order to spur the use of clean energy technologies and train experts in the province's power sector.

As part of the agreement, Hydro One will support research projects and graduate students. Hydro One will contribute $2.5 million to the University of Waterloo; $1.5 million for a Hydro One Chair in Power Engineering, $500,000 to endow two graduate scholarships and an additional $500,000 to establish a research fund.

"This very generous gift is a substantial investment in Waterloo engineering and one which will provide significant benefits not only to our faculty, but to the field of engineering as well," said Adel Sedra (left), dean of engineering. "We're proud of our strong partnership with Hydro One and are extremely grateful for its ongoing support throughout the years."

The memorandum of agreement builds on a long-standing research and training partnership between the university and Hydro One aimed at developing a sustainable energy future for Ontario with new sources of clean energy.

"This important agreement will promote the development of innovative electrical engineering solutions to support our efforts to connect clean and renewable energy and help us realize our vision of a more flexible and smart electricity grid," said Laura Formusa (right), president and CEO of Hydro One. "It will also support our goal to develop the future leaders of Hydro One and the electricity sector."

The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE), a recognized leader in promoting innovation through research in the development and deployment of advanced sustainable energy systems, will lead the effort.

About 70 Waterloo faculty members from the faculties of engineering, science and environment are engaged in WISE to work in multi-disciplinary research teams with utilities, government agencies and private sector partners.

The research will explore how to improve current transmission and distribution systems and how to encourage smart networks and emerging industry infrastructure, including energy storage and plug-in electric vehicles. The researchers will also investigate how to plan transmission projects.

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Golf Warriors will marshal Canadian Open

from Chris Gilbert, Athletics

Eight University of Waterloo men will be taking part in the upcoming 2009 RBC Canadian Open, July 20-26, at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville — but not as players. Members of the Warriors men’s golf team will be helping out as volunteers, by marshalling the fourteenth hole.

(From left, Coach Dave Hollinger, J.S. Rancourt, Matt Sim, Jimmy Latta, Garrett Rank, Bowie Abbis-Mills, and Coach Jack Pearse.)

According to information on the RBC Canadian Open website, "marshals are the largest and one of the most important groups of volunteers. This committee works on the course to assist PGA Tour players and enforce golf etiquette among spectators to ensure play is not disturbed. Responsibilities also include the following: Spot balls on the fairway, watch for errant shots and keep play proceeding smoothly."

The University of Waterloo golf program is one of eight Canadian universities receiving $25,000 annually from the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) Foundation in support of their golf programs and scholarships for student-athletes.

“We felt we should do something for the RCGA in return,” said head coach Dave Hollinger. "We contacted the RCGA with the idea of volunteering and they were happy to accommodate us.” Waterloo will have four players, two coaches, and two alumni participating.

The Warriors have a few Canadian Open day passes for sale as a fundraiser for the men’s golf program. Contact Hollinger to buy tickets for $50 (which includes three UW crested Titleist Pro V1x golf balls). The regular price for a one-day pass is $55.

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Students tackle heat, water; sniff browsers

SJU students brave Kalahari heat for local development

Maryam Woldeyohannes (left), Matthew Fox, and Ruby Ku are volunteering in Botswana for three months this summer through St. Jerome’s International Service Learning Program, Beyond Borders. This July, they will be taking part in Y Care’s 150-K walk across the Makgadikgadi Pans of the Kalahari Desert. Y Care aims to support community projects in Botswana by helping local leaders determine how the money would best fit their organizations.

The three students aim to raise $3,000. Anyone able to contribute, see donation links on the students' blogs, above, or contact Elyse Redden at St. Jerome's.

Student organization screens water issues documentary

The Ontario Water Works Association Waterloo Student Chapter's Spring Social on Tuesday, July 14, features a screening of The Water Front, a documentary film (director, Liz Miller) about water privatization and its impact on human rights.

The film has won numerous awards and reviews such as this, from the Montreal Gazette: "Miller's film does precisely what documentaries do best: it introduces us to a problem, sticks with it without losing focus and somehow makes us care deeply about the struggles of the people in front of the camera."

Discussion of the issues raised will follow the screening; food and drink will be available. The meeting takes place in the Student Life Centre Multipurpose Room at 3 p.m. Contact Nicole McLellan for more information. "We also have two or three openings in our executive committee starting in the fall, and we will discuss these at the event," Nicole writes.

Wearing your browser history on your sleeve (or mug)

Holden Karau, a fourth-year Waterloo computer science student, has created a web2.0 site "which graphically illustrates how easy browser history sniffing is (and its implications)," he says.

As the site explains: "Web2.0collage constructs a collage of the web2.0 websites that you visit. It does this by using nifty javascript to sniff your browser history, and delicious plt-scheme code on the backend to pull the bits together from all over the web." Reassuringly, "the browser history sniffing is done from a white-list of web2.0 related sites."

The gathered logos and other representative images are put together within seconds into a colourful collage, like the one on the right. "You can download it," Holden says, "or maybe even get it printed on something cool like a mug, or women's or men's T-shirt." The Web2.0collage site was reviewed on the tech-news site Slashdot, and some of the implications pointed out: "While the collages are cool on their own merit, they also serve as an illustration of the privacy implications of browser history sniffing."

CPA staff

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