Students can report flu through Quest

Text of a memo issued Friday by UW provost Feridun Hamdullahpur

On September 21, 2009, I announced that verification of illness was not needed for student absences resulting from the flu and that absences resulting from other conditions continued to require verification by a doctor in the usual manner. This memo is to announce that online reporting for absences for influenza-like illness is now available to students through Quest. Such reporting is required if a student is seeking accommodation from any instructor for course requirements missed due to an influenza-like illness. Details from such reporting will be available to designated administrative staff and faculty, including instructors, advisors and associate deans.

Within two calendar days of deciding not to attend class because of an influenza-like illness, the student must report the start date of the absence. Upon returning to class, the student must report the return to class. The online declaration can be used for influenza-like illnesses of up to 10 calendar days; longer absences will necessitate completion of the standard Verification of Illness form.

Step by step instructions for students are available in “How Do I…? instructions for using Quest”. Step by step instructions for instructors who want to view declared absences are available on the same page.

If a student becomes ill and does not have access to the internet, the student is to phone his/her graduate/ undergraduate associate dean and provide his/her name, student number and the date of the start of the absence. The information should be left in a message if the student does not speak directly with the associate dean.

As is the practice with verified illnesses, instructors are asked to make appropriate accommodation to deal with student absenteeism due to the flu. Alternative arrangements for fulfilling course requirements are to be determined by each instructor, in consultation with the associate dean or chair as appropriate.

Ultimately, the authority for deciding whether an accommodation will be granted rests with the instructor. Regardless of whether an accommodation is granted, the student is responsible for meeting course requirements.

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Ecosystem centre to be launched Thursday

a news release from the UW media relations office

UW's Faculty of Environment this week launches Canada's largest transdisciplinary centre to study the inherent complexity of ecosystems and society's responses to environmental degradation.

The new Centre for Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation holds its official launch in Toronto on Thursday, with guest speaker James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and other Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century. In his talk, Kunstler, who has lectured extensively on urban design, energy issues and new economies, will share details of his long-emergency survival guide. Thursday’s event, which begins at 6 p.m., takes place at the Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Avenue East.

"Environmental degradation is destroying ecosystems and pushing species to the point of extinction at an accelerating rate," said Stephen Murphy, director of the centre and a professor of environment and resource studies. "To address this crisis and ensure a healthy environment for future generations, our researchers work on large-scale projects to repair damaged ecosystems, conserve rare habitats and protect species-at-risk. They are widely known for pioneering research on biosphere reserves, environmental modeling and engineering, planning and management in parks and protected areas, and new approaches to ecological restoration."

The new transdisciplinary centre will focus on conservation and restoration, protected areas and adaptation of humans and other organisms. Ecosystems, with their wealth of biological diversity, provide essential sources of food, materials and natural spaces for people.

The centre's researchers, drawn from the natural, physical, mathematical and social sciences, aim to help decision-makers develop better policy and governance to buffer ecosystems against unwanted and unprecedented change. Their innovative ecological work to date has resulted in advanced ecological modelling, new conservation and restoration policies for parks and protected areas, and multiple approaches for integrated management of invasive species. The researchers are based at Waterloo and at other universities and organizations.

In the future, the researchers will focus on how ecosystems respond in the face of changes created by human activities; how organisms within ecosystems adapt to change; when, and how, people should actively assist ecosystems in order to boost resilience; and how human activities should change in order to improve ecosystem resilience.

They will investigate new approaches to prevent and repair damaged ecosystems in order to maintain or restore resilience. Also, they will probe the role of protected areas in facilitating ecosystem resilience and adaptation, along with the capacity for ecosystem components to adapt to changes in the environment.

Work at the centre complements the diploma in ecological restoration and rehabilitation offered by the faculty of environment. The diploma provides students with specific knowledge and opportunities to work on real-world projects.

The centre will also be part of Waterloo's new Summit Centre for the Environment, a state-of-the-art research and community/experiential learning facility, after its use as the site for the G8 Summit in Huntsville, Ontario, next June.

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Perimeter celebrates first graduate students

a news release from the Perimeter Institute

They’ve come from 17 countries around the world, and though they may speak different languages at home, here in Waterloo, they all speak physics, all the time. These 28 outstanding physics graduate students have converged on Waterloo to attend Perimeter Scholars International, an innovative and intensive 10-month master’s level course being held at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, in partnership with the University of Waterloo.

UW president David Johnston and Perimeter Institute director Neil Turok recently celebrated the program’s official launch at Perimeter. “PSI is a bold and exciting partnership that is very much in keeping with the spirit of innovation driving both Perimeter Institute and the University of Waterloo,” said Johnston. "These students are pioneers of a new model for research training and I expect we’ll soon see some remarkable new scientists graduating from the program."

Turok says he sees the PSI program as key to Perimeter’s goal of creating the optimal environment for theoretical physics research. “When I arrived at Perimeter last October, creating an exceptional training course for future physicists from around the world was right at the top of my list of priorities. The university was wonderfully supportive right from the start. A steady influx of bright new minds is enormously important to our field.”

The PSI course is designed to expose students to the full spectrum of theoretical physics, bringing them rapidly to the leading edge of current research. The schedule is intense, with daily lectures given by a stellar array of international scientists, as well as Perimeter researchers and UW faculty members. Visiting lecturers for this year include such eminent scientists Nima Arkani-Hamed of the Institute for Advanced Study, David Cory of MIT, Leo Kadanoff of the University of Chicago, Xiao-Gang Wen of MIT, and many others. Several of the world’s most distinguished theoretical physicists, including Stephen Hawking and Sir Roger Penrose, are PSI Patrons, acting as advisors to the program.

The Canadian physics community was integrally involved in getting PSI off the ground: John Berlinsky, of McMaster University, is PSI’s academic program director, and UW’s James Forrest was instrumental in shepherding the proposed partnership through university channels to Senate approval last year, enabling PSI students to receive their master’s degrees from UW.

Once the program was announced, word spread quickly in the international physics community; within three months, over 220 applications had been received for the 28 spots. Berlinsky said, “We were overwhelmed and gratified by the response. Many of these students could have gone anywhere in the world, and they chose to come to PSI — they are an incredibly diverse and talented group. I’m also pleased that over twenty percent of PSI students are women, which is unusually high for a graduate level physics course.”

In addition to research training at the cutting edge of theoretical physics, PSI students have all of their tuition and transportation costs covered, and are provided with lodging in student housing at UW, laptops, and meals. The innovative learning model incorporates daily roundtable discussions between students and lecturers, and individually tailored support from tutors to maximize the capabilities of each student. While formal evaluations are de-emphasized, students complete daily problem sessions and a final research project under the supervision of a faculty member at one of the participating institutions.

Turok says PSI appeals to adventurous students who know that they love physics, but are not yet specialized in a particular area. “PSI is for those who want to experience the full breadth and power of theoretical physics, and gain wide problem-solving experience before homing in on their specialized field of research," he said.

CAR

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