Convocation honours set for Johnston

Just three weeks into his term as Governor General of Canada, David Johnston will be coming back to Waterloo to receive the university's most formal honour.

He will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the morning session of the 101st Convocation on Saturday, October 23, it was announced at Monday's meeting of the university senate. Johnston, who has been president of the University of Waterloo since 1999, will leave September 30 to take on the national viceregal role.

He will also be recognized as "president emeritus" of the university, a title already held by the two living former presidents, Douglas Wright (1981-93) and James Downey (1993-99). Such titles, as well as honorary degrees, are the prerogative of the senate to award. In Johnston's case, approval was given in an e-mail vote during August, the university secretariat says.

"During his 11-year tenure at Waterloo," says an announcement issued yesterday, "Johnston oversaw unprecedented growth in the university’s reputation, teaching and research resources, as well as its leadership capabilities. He is credited for putting the university and the surrounding region on the national map as a centre for talent, ideas and innovation through his vision of a knowledge capital that raised the sights of Waterloo to aspire to world leadership. He also demonstrated the value of collaboration among academics, government, philanthropists and business to boost community building and economic development."

He will give the convocation address to Convocation guests and graduating students in the faculties of applied health sciences and arts. The morning ceremony begins at 10 a.m. in the Physical Activities Complex.

At the same ceremony, Catharine Scott, former associate provost (human resources and student services) will be made an honorary member of the university. "In a career spanning more than 36 years at Waterloo," says yesterday's release, "Scott made significant contributions through her long-standing participation on university-level committees on staff relations, staff compensation, and pensions and benefits.

"To provide a safe and healthy environment for students to study and grow, Scott created a framework for first-year orientation. Student Life 101 in the summer and special campus days during the year allowed parents to come to Waterloo and learn about the university and the many services available to their sons and daughters."

In the afternoon Convocation ceremony, starting at 2:30, Ronald Graham, who holds the Irwin and Joan Jacobs Endowed Chair in Computer and Information Science at the University of California at San Diego, will receive an honorary Doctor of Mathematics degree. Graham is one of the world’s most eminent scholars in the field of discrete mathematics, and his contributions have had a major impact on the development of computer science, combinatorics and optimization. In 1978, he was granted a Guinness World Record for the largest number ever used in a mathematical proof, known as “Graham's number.” He will address graduating students in the faculties of engineering, environment, mathematics and science.

Also at that ceremony, Pingkai Ouyang, president of the Nanjing University of Technology in China, will receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree. He is one of the most prominent researchers and educators in biochemical engineering in the world, as well as a pioneer and leader in Chinese biochemical engineering. Under his leadership, Nanjing University of Technology has formed a formal collaborative research and education relationship with the University of Waterloo.

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AHS dean plays key role in allergy study

Canadians tend to think that food allergies are much more common than they really are, says a research team that includes the new dean of Waterloo’s faculty of applied health sciences, Susan Elliott.

She was among the researchers on hand at a media event in Montréal on Monday when findings were released from a recently completed study that looked at the prevalence of peanut, tree nut, fish, shellfish, and sesame allergies in Canada. (Left: Elliott at the Monday event with Claude Roy of Montréal's Hôpital Ste.-Justine.)

“Our research shows,” she said, “that a large gap exists between Canadians’ perception of food allergy prevalence and actual food allergy prevalence verified through research. Food allergy is the primary trigger of anaphylaxis, which we know can be life-threatening. It is, therefore, essential that through research, we compile a comprehensive picture of food allergy prevalence and perception in Canada to appropriately inform regulatory decisions and reduce the overall burden.”

She and her colleagues, Samuel Godefroy of Health Canada and Ann Clarke of McGill University, are working toward a national anaphylaxis registry, C-CARE, that they say will “fill significant gaps regarding anaphylaxis prevalence, triggers, development and management.”

Their study is funded by AllerGen NCE Inc., the Allergy, Genes and Environment Network, a federally funded “network of centres of excellence” based at McMaster University, where Elliott was a faculty member until she moved to Waterloo this summer to become dean. The study, scheduled to run until 2012, is titled “Surveying Prevalence (of food) Allergy (in) All Canadian Environments” — SPAACE for short — and has a focus on vulnerable Canadian populations. It promises to build on current research findings and knowledge about food allergy prevalence and perception in Canada.

More than six million Canadians are thought to have a food-allergic person in their household. “Our first Canadian food allergy prevalence project showed that approximately 7.5% of Canadians report at least one food allergy, and that the prevalence of food allergy differs between socioeconomic groups and geographic regions,” says Clarke. But a survey found that people estimate that 30 per cent of the population has a food allergy, four times as many as the reality.

A news release notes that the burden on Canadian society associated with anaphylaxis — the most severe expression of food allergy — “remains largely unknown. Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that can be life threatening. Food is the most common cause of anaphylaxis, but insect stings, medicine, latex or exercise can also cause a reaction.”

It says the planned registry “will enable allergy experts to characterize anaphylaxis by identifying emerging triggers and facilitate patient follow-up. C-CARE will benefit Canadians by informing the development of improved diagnostic approaches and therapeutic strategies, which will contribute to reducing the incidence and decreasing the morbidity and mortality of anaphylaxis.”

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Other notes on the first day of fall

Speaking of Convocation, as we were a minute ago, here's a reminder that an extra Convocation ceremony will be held this coming Monday, September 27. The event is an opportunity to honour A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, space engineer and former president of India. (Kalam previously spoke at Waterloo in April 2008.) The ceremony to present him with an honorary degree will be held in the Humanities Theatre, starting at 11 a.m. on Monday. "We still have seats available," I'm told, but since space is finite, anyone wanting to attend the event is being asked to register by e-mail: karen.mason@ uwaterloo.ca.

The president of the university, dean of engineering Adel Sedra, and other dignitaries will say thank you today to a family of donors. “We will recognize the many contributions made by the Savvas Chamberlain family,” says an invitation, “including a recent $3 million gift to Waterloo Engineering's Vision 2010 Campaign.” Chamberlain was a long-time faculty member in the department of electrical and computer engineering, who left the university to found Dalsa Corp., now a world leader in semiconductor and digital imaging technology. (Famously, some of the cameras used on the two "rovers" exploring the planet Mars are Dalsa products.) A celebration — mostly by invitation, though spectators are welcome — is scheduled for 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the foyer of the Centre for Environmental and Information Technology.

There's a new version of the video "A Decade of Growth Under David Johnston", which was first shown at last week's testimonial dinner for Johnston at Bingemans. A few words and images, and a few seconds of running time, have been added, and the revised version is now on display on YouTube.

Crews with heavy machinery were at work yesterday running a new sidewalk from parking lot H out to University Avenue. That'll make it unnecessary for people to take the sometimes risky walk along the edge of the automobile slipway from the ringroad to the street's westbound lanes. "It's a pretty strong desire line," says Tom Galloway of plant operations, speaking of the rut that feet had worn over the berm between parking lot and roadway. "We decided to legitimize that — we've done a few around campus." The work's being done by the same company, he said, that is winding up an extensive project around the Optometry building turning gravel roadways and paths into pavement.

Yan Li of Renison University College is featured on the cover of the October issue of China Business Focus for her novel Daughters of the Red Land. Li teaches Chinese culture, literature, history, and language, and is also director of the Confucius Institute. Daughters, her first English novel, appeared in 1995, but was recently translated into Chinese and released in China. This year, she has published another English novel, Lily in the Snow, as well as two Chinese works (Red Duck Weed, and Chinese Literature: A Reader). Li says it’s important for stories of her native land to be told by a native voice. When she arrived in Canada to study in 1987, she was surprised that most people knew very little about China. She wanted to use her own knowledge and experiences to show what had happened in China in the 20th century. While writing in a second language can be a challenging task, Li feels that she can express herself in English more freely and truthfully, in a simpler style: “I guess that the 26 letters of English function well in my mind that way since the language brings me into a more straightforward expression rather than too much attention spent on the rhyme, the sound, and even the graphical beauty of the words which are so much emphasized in Chinese.”

Waterloo Unlimited will operate a "Roadmap to Research" program for grade 12 students November 18-20, and is now accepting applications. • The pharmacy school will repeat last year's "Mini Pharmacy School" in a series of six Tuesday evening sessions starting October 12, for a fee of $100 plus tax. • There are still some spaces available for the staff association's November 12-14 shopping trip to Erie, Pennsylvania.

CAR

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