World science gathering in Waterloo in 2011

A global gathering of “international researchers, business leaders and public policy decision-makers” in the spring of 2011, sponsored jointly by UW and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, was announced last night at the closing celebration of Perimeter’s “Quantum to Cosmos” festival.

A news release explains that the global gathering will see participants “help identify actions in the science and technology arena that must be taken in order to seize opportunities in the decades ahead and monitor progress against those actions”.

The Waterloo Global Science Initiative “will focus,” says the release, “on the role that science and technology can play in addressing the world’s most fundamental social, environmental and economic challenges.  The conference will provide leading thinkers with a forum in which to view the long term and identify clear actions.  Areas of provincial, national and global concern may include energy, quantum information and water resources.”

A Board, Advisory Council and Scientific Advisory Committee “will be drawn from a variety of organizations, including universities across the province.”

Among those who sent congratulations last night was the Ontario minister of research and innovation, John Milloy. “Ontario understands the value of world-class science to the future of our economy, our environment and our society as a whole,” he said. “The WGSI will bring the world to our doorstep and shine a light on the important work of Ontario as a global thought leader, a global policy leader and unequivocal champion for innovation as the key driver for prosperity.”

Says UW president David Johnston: "The growing complexities of our world require exceptionally clear thinking if we are to grow the knowledge economy and benefit the province and Canada.  Taking a long term view is critical to spotting opportunities early in order to identify and sustain responsible social and economic development.  UW and PI are well positioned to help keep Ontario ahead of the innovation curve and position the province for success in specific research fields.”

Neil Turok, director of Perimeter, said that “Science and technology will be vital to our future. Through wise investments, Ontario and Canada are already emerging as global knowledge leaders. WGSI will help with identifying key challenges and opportunities, thereby ensuring the best possible decisions are taken.”

The news release says Waterloo Region “can provide an ideal location for the conference due to its international reputation for innovation throughout the full research chain - involving basic research, experimentation and commercialization.  The region is highly regarded outside of Canada for its efforts in spurring the transition from a manufacturing base to a knowledge-based economy. The location is highly accessible to the world, yet provides the intimate environment required to facilitate a highly focused gathering of top leaders.”

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Fashionable notes to launch the week

Fashion models met Waterloo math graduates (right) and a good time was had by all at Thursday night's UW alumni event, held at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Star of the show was Daniel Lalonde, a 1987 math graduate and now CEO of Louis Vuitton North America. The Waterboys student a cappella group provided background music during the networking, vice-president (external relations) Meg Beckel emceed, dean of math Tom Coleman introduced Lalonde — and, says Pat Duguay of the alumni office, "a very lucky alumnus went home with a gorgeous leather Louis Vuitton duffel bag, apparently more highly prized than a nice Waterloo sweatshirt. Go figure. It was a great evening."

At last week's "town hall" meeting, UW president David Johnston told faculty and staff members that Waterloo's parking rates — $32 a month for most employee permits — are "half" those of comparable universities. Dan Anderson, director of police and parking services, has had some questions about that, and sends this detail: "Unfortunately, comparing rates is a challenge as universities administer parking lots differently. Wilfrid Laurier University faculty and staff have two choices: paying $69.99 per month to get a designated spot or paying $25.43 per month to access a number of lots. There is no guarantee of finding a vacant spot in your lot of choice, and if it's full you have to go to a different lot to look for a vacancy. Western and Queen’s faculty and staff have a choice. They can pay a premium ($88 or $89 per month respectively) for access to a gated lot closer to campus, or they can be in an un-gated lot further from the centre of campus that is also shared with students for $44 or $65 per month, respectively."

Now here’s a reminder that the WatPD and PDEng offices, based in the Tatham Centre, are holding a Hallowe’en costume and decorating contest’ across campus, with proceeds going to the United Way. Joy Harris of WatPD explains the event, which is scheduled for this Friday, October 30: “Dress up by yourself, with a team in a theme or turn your office into a crypt! Challenge your co-workers to do good while looking ghostly (or ghastly). Fantastic prizes for participants have been generously provided by campus and community supporters. Register by the end of the day on October 28 to be included in the judging. We'll be looking for originality, effort and overall appearance, so bring out your dead! Or your pumpkins — whatever makes the day fun for you!" Entry fees are $5 per person or workspace, and $10 per team.

Several other Hallowe'en events will also be raising money for the United Way, including a jack-o'-lantern raffle (not quite sure how that works) in the registrar's office, and the Annual Hallowe'en Pizza Lunch on Friday in the psychology department. Also Friday, there's the annual Hallowe'en Luncheon Buffet at the University Club — entrees include chicken, pork, grouper (that's a fish), and "Goanese vegetable curry" — with a $19.95 per person tariff, and a portion of the gratuities going to the United Way. The campaign is moving towards its conclusion, with givings at $143,252 as of late last week, some 72 per cent of the target. "We have reached 409 donors," says a memo from the UWay office in the Davis Centre, "and are getting that much closer to our goal of 600-plus."

UW's Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy is co-sponsoring a conference in Ottawa yesterday and today: "Nuclear Power in Society, Finding the Balance". • "Registrations are still being taken," says Rebecca Boyd-White of UW's athletics and recreational services, for "a new 5-week session of swimming lessons at the PAC starting November 5". • Co-op student Alex Hughes, working last term for the UW-based Canadian Cryospheric Information Network, designed a new "kids' website" for CCIN that will tell schoolchildren everything they could want to know about the cold parts of the world; it's just been launched.

At last week's meeting of the UW senate, Susan Wismer, environment and resource studies faculty member who represents UW at the Council of Ontario Universities, presented a written report on issues of interest. A key paragraph: “The Pathways project, designed to increase articulation between colleges and universities, continues to be a Ministry priority. Credit transfer is the preferred mechanism, with a focus on access to universities for college students, although university-university and/or program-program transfers are also an issue. A taxonomy of over 300 bilateral agreements between colleges and universities has been created. There is a desire for increased multilateral agreements. Processes for moving forward on this are still under discussion. Accountability and funding mechanisms, for example, have not yet been developed. Credit transfer is a key political priority for colleges currently. Colleges are arguing that credit transfer will have positive economic impacts, saving money; and that credit transfer will have a positive impact on student outcomes.”

“In astronomy, every photon counts,” says Arsen Hajian. “You’ve got to make the most of them, because what else can you do: turn up the stars?” A systems design engineering professor, he’s profiled this month in the engineering faculty’s e-newsletter. Hajian was a new postdoctoral student when he came up with a way to improve one of astronomy’s standard instruments, the Michelson interferometer, essentially unchanged since its invention in 1887. Hajian added a diffraction grating to the back end. “It was a crazy idea,” he remembers. “It was like gluing a bus onto a submarine. But it worked.” Using the improved instrument, Hajian and his team were able to confirm the results of a large telescope with a smaller one: getting the same results with 96 per cent less light. But in the back of his mind, Hajian was thinking of another area where he could improve the quality of existing instrumentation: medical imaging. He wants to build MRI devices that will get better resolution with less scanning time. Faster images will be cheaper, and with extra resolution, smaller cancers could be detected. To build his better MRIs, Hajian has partnered with Sentinelle Medical Inc. Sentinelle’s founder, systems design engineering alumnus Cameron Piron, was one of the first researchers in the world to use an MRI to screen for breast cancers.

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Continuing education office explains itself

by Sheila McConnell, distance and continuing education

There was a time when a degree, some experience, a good work ethic, and a positive attitude could garner you a good job and a series of promotions. Today, our futures are not that clear-cut, and many of us are realizing that if we want to get employed or stay employed, we need to continue our education.

UW Continuing Education recognizes the growing training needs of our community and, as CE’s associate director Michael Hunt explains, they are giving the public what they need to succeed in today’s workforce: “We are seeing a rise in students asking us for career-specific training. Many of these students are upgrading their skills to remain competitive in their current line of work and many more are retraining themselves for a new career.”

Nick Houston is one of the many students who came to Waterloo looking for a career change. “After more than 27 years in the telecommunications and IT world, I became another statistic during the downturn in the economy,” he says. “After searching for a new position for several months from Toronto to Niagara Falls to Waterloo, I realized that I needed to upgrade my skills.”

In January, he began taking courses in one of Continuing Education’s classroom certificate programs. After a few months, he graduated with a Certificate in Project Management. “This certificate led directly to several interviews and two job offers on the same day! I highly recommend it,” says Houston, explaining how he is a newly-hired project manager with the City of Hamilton.

He credits the success of Waterloo certificate programs to the “quality of the instruction and the program's facilities and flexibility.” He also adds that “the people at Waterloo Continuing Education made the process convenient and enriching.”

Continuing Education has three certificates that students can take in the department’s Gage Avenue classroom: project management, leadership, and business analysis. Each certificate consists of a series of classroom training modules and, when complete, gives students knowledge and skills that can be immediately applied to the business world.

“Though relatively new, as you can see from Nick’s story, our classroom certificates are already getting results,” says Hunt, adding that the Continuing Education began offering certificate programs in fall 2008. Besides the three classroom certificates, CE also offers an online certificate in project leadership.

“To fulfill more immediate needs, CE also offers corporate training and over 130 innovative online courses including fast and convenient training for many software programs,” Hunt goes on.

“Our role in the university is to provide innovative and relevant lifelong learning to everyone in our community. To do this, we continually improve our programs to keep current with the latest trends and work with industry experts to see what the future will bring.”

CAR

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