Waterloo to host world's CS whiz kids

Waterloo Media Relations

Eight of Canada’s top high school computer science students will represent the country next month at the world's premier programming contest.

The 22nd International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) will be held August 14-21 at the University of Waterloo. It will be the first time the competition has been hosted in Canada.

The Canadian students were chosen from a pool of 21 contenders who qualified after writing the Canadian Computing Competition, run earlier this year by the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing at Waterloo. Close to 2,300 students wrote the exam in February.

This year's IOI will attract 315 students from 83 countries. The most recognized high school competition in the world will challenge the best young minds in computer science.

"Our top eight Canadians will be competing against the top young computer scientists in the world and they are all keen to capture a gold medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics," said computer science professor Troy Vasiga (right), chair of IOI 2010. "The IOI will challenge them to stretch their math and computing abilities to their highest level."

The 21 Canadian contenders attended a training camp in May to sharpen their skills and enter a six-hour contest. The top eight students in that test will form the country's two teams at the IOI next month.

As host, Canada's organizing committee can enter one official (first) team of four competitors and an unofficial (second) team of four competitors. Canada's first team members are:

• Brian Bi, Woburn Collegiate Institute, Scarborough
• Robin Cheng, Pinetree Secondary School, Coquitlam, British Columbia
• Zhiqiang Liu, Don Mills Collegiate Institute, North York
• Jacob Plachta, Woburn Collegiate Institute, Scarborough

Canada's second team members are:

• Tyson Andre, Richmond Hill High School, Richmond Hill
• Aurick Qiao, Vincent Massey Secondary School, Windsor
• Cyril Zhang, Don Mills Collegiate Institute, North York
• Jonathan Zung, University of Toronto Schools, Toronto

Next month, the eight Canadians will compete against contenders from countries spanning five continents. The competitors will spend a week in Waterloo to demonstrate such computing skills as problem analysis, design of algorithms and data structures, programming, and testing. They will also enjoy an opportunity to visit Niagara Falls and spend a day at Canada's Wonderland.

The International Olympiad in Informatics, launched in 1989 in Bulgaria, is one of the most recognized secondary school computer science competitions in the world. It was first proposed by UNESCO (United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

A note on the IOI logo, above. Each time the IOI is held, the host institution creates a new logo for that year. For 2010, the logo was designed by Waterloo’s graphics department, using the university’s new signature Gotham font, and incorporating an inukshuk, an Inuit-built landmark.

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Student trip to Mexico opens eyes

adapted from a Renison University College news release

When 10 Renison students went to Mexico with social work professor Linda Snyder and Marilyn Malton of the Renison Institute of Ministry, they knew the experience would be eye-opening, but they didn’t expect to encounter so much suffering as a result of Canadian mining companies operating there.

“The Canadian mining operation we learned about in Mexico is despicable,” says Melissa Riewald, a student in social work (far left, with classmate Karene Martin). “The land is being exploited, the water polluted, and the people poisoned and threatened.”

During their visit in February, they discovered that the presence of these companies, which remain unnamed for the safety of those protesting against them, has been contaminating the local environment and causing unsafe conditions for residents. Arsenic levels in the water were tested and found to be over eleven times the acceptable limit, and locals have begun developing skin, neurological, and digestive disorders as a result.

People in the affected community have made pleas to the Mexican government to shut down or regulate the mining, but little progress has been made. The mining companies have since offered the community higher rental amounts for access to the farmers’ lands.

Snyder says this has caused a division among the locals, as some village members have been paid to “sell the company line” to the rest of the members, using threats, force, and even violence to silence the protestors.

“One woman we met with was being harassed, followed, and threatened for helping to organize the community against these operations,” says Riewald. “After hearing her story and that of the community, I was extremely sad and angry. It brought tears to my eyes.”

Back in Canada, Snyder, with Karene Martin, Melissa Riewald and other students, are rallying for support of Bill C-300, which would require Canadian corporations to be accountable for mining, gas, and oil activities in developing countries, or forfeit their access to EDC and CPP funds. The bill has passed its second reading and is being reviewed by the Committee of Foreign Affairs and International Development. Its third reading is expected to take place in September.

“We, as Canadians, have a responsibility to do better,” says Riewald. She and Martin took part in a letter-writing workshop connected with the campaign.

“We feel we would be doing the experience a disservice if we didn’t act on it,” says Martin. They encourage everyone who wants to help to write letters to their local MP and sign petitions to support the bill.

For further information about Bill C-300, visit the website of the Honourable John McKay, the Scarborough MP who developed the bill.

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Robot racers win; Daily Bulletin wants input

The University of Waterloo Autonomous Racing Team claimed a couple of firsts in the 2010 International Autonomous Robot Racing Competition held last Saturday at the University of Windsor, despite a rocky start.

In competition with five other universities, Waterloo won both the design event and the circuit race challenge, and placed second overall.

The team members (above, from left) are mechanical and mechatronics engineering students Prasenjit Mukherjee, Arun Das, Carlos Wang, and Gerardo Salas. Their faculty advisers are MME professors Steve Waslander and Sanjeev Bedi.

According to a July 26 article in the Windsor Star, “Waterloo had some trouble two days before the race, … when they crashed and had to put together a new platform in a frenzy.”

Arun Das explains: “Our initial robot platform was a larger, faster system built over three months.” Following the accident, they put together another platform, this time with some help from Clearpath Robotics, a Waterloo-area startup run by a group of mechatronics grads.

“It was a hectic few days but we were able to transfer our algorithms to the new platform and exceeded our own expectations at the competition,” Das says. “We also had tremendous support from the WAVE Lab (Waterloo Autonomous Vehicles Lab) and WARG (Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group).”

A reminder: the Intercountry Adoption Summit

For those planning to attend the Intercountry Adoption Summit in Stratford September 23-26, organizer Robert Ballard sends this reminder that the early bird deadline to register is August 1. The summit is being held "to address the growing international concerns surrounding intercountry adoption and the need to reduce corruption and human trafficking while maximizing the best interests of children." More information is here.

The Daily Bulletin wants to pick your brains

We're always looking for ways to improve our communications services, so we'd greatly appreciate your feedback on the Daily Bulletin. Please take a few moments to fill out this confidential and anonymous feedback form. The link will appear in the Daily Bulletin for the next 10 days, and again in September. A report  on the results will also appear here in due course.

CPA staff

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