Reunion 2012 puts out the "welcome back" mat

The University of Waterloo will welcome more than 1,600 alumni back to campus for Reunion 2012 tomorrow.

AHS alumni from the classes of '72, '77, '82 and '87 have been invited to an anniversary banquet. In addition, the 27th Annual AHS Fun Run will take place at 9:00 a.m. with the race around the Ring Road getting underway at 10:15 a.m. There will be a free BBQ after the race. Anyone can participate in the annual event.

The Faculty of Arts will be celebrating with an Arts Orientation Leader reunion event from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at The Bombshelter, or for those who were around way back in the day, the "CC." The name may have changed, but the address is still the same.

Aside from the new couches in the 3rd floor Comfy Lounge, Mathematics alumni will also be treated to an open house at the faculty's newest building, Mathematics 3, that includes music and refreshments from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and walking tours starting at 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

The Faculty of Engineering's reunion events contain programming for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45-year class reunions including a Back to the Classroom Lecture by Dr. Keith W. Hipel, systems design engineering professor, entitled "Tackling Climate Change: A System of Systems Engineering Perspective," at 10:30 on Saturday, a Get Reacquainted lunch buffet, an open house for Engineering 5 in the Student Design Centre from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., campus tours led by students that start at Engineering 5 and end at South Campus Hall from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., a sold-out Reunion Dinner at the Waterloo Inn at 6:00 p.m., and a Farewell Brunch at Rushes (also at the Waterloo Inn) on Sunday, September 30.

Special events are also scheduled for the 50th anniversary of the very first class of Waterloo Engineers, those stalwart veterans of the parking lot portable in the fledgling university's early days who graduated in 1962. A special Iron Ring Ceremony for alumni to renew their obligation has been organized today at 3:30 p.m. in Engineering 5. This event, sanctioned by Camp 15 Waterloo of the Iron Ring Wardens is a special ceremony for the Class of 1962 and is followed by a Golden Anniversary Iron Ring Stag at the University Club beginning at 5:00 p.m. More on the Engineering 50th reunion follows below.

The Faculty of Environment will be celebrating with guided and self-led tours of Environment 3 starting at 12:10 p.m. in the main floor atrium. No registration is required.

The federated and affiliated university colleges are also getting in on the Reunion action, with a 2005-12 era reunion for Conrad Grebel that coincides with the "Taste of Grebel" event. Renison University College will be hosting its annual East Asian Festival, and for the ninth year in a row, St. Paul's will celebrate its traditional Pow Wow

with a 6:00 a.m. sunrise ceremony, and the main event starting at noon and running until 5:00 p.m. The St. Jerome's Alumni Golf Classic gets going at the Grey Silo Golf Club at 8:00 a.m. and there is a Reunion Weekend dinner at 5:30 p.m.

Former residence dons will be gathering for an event known as RONdezvous that celebrates the man behind the moustache, Ron Eydt (pictured at left), who served as the university's "warden of residences" from 1966 to his retirement in 1996, and whose name adorns the residence formerly known as Student Village 2. The guest of honour's 80th birthday will be celebrated at a reception and dinner at the University Club at 4:30 p.m., with an after-dinner party at the Bombshelter to follow, ending with, appropriately enough, a Sunday Hangover Brunch at the Delta Inn in Kitchener. Nearly 180 of the 1250 dons hired by Eydt between 1966 and 1996 plan to be in attendance.

The Federation of Students is organizing a pep rally and carnival called Black & Gold, Reunited to bring first-year students and their Orientation leaders back together on the Village Green at 11:30 a.m. for face-painting, games, and more. Black & Gold bandanas for those who didn't get theirs during Orientation Week will be available, and there are prizes for those displaying the most school spirit. If enough people gather, reports Becky Wroe, there will be a retry of the Campus Hug that was cancelled due to rain a couple of weeks ago.

The Student Success Office is hosting a Family Reunion event starting at 9:30 a.m. for first-year students and their parents that features a question and answer forum for parents, welcome breakfast and family trivia, and a reverse family scavenger hunt, among other things.

At 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, all eyes will be on Warrior Field for the Reunion Game as the Warriors take on the University of Toronto's Varsity Blues. There is an alumni tent with tickets available on a first-come, first serve basis.

Rebranded in 2011, Reunion (formerly Homecoming) gives alumni the chance to return to their alma mater, connect with old classmates and participate in a full roster of events.

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Quantum-Nano Centre opens its doors

The Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre will host a public open house on Saturday, September 29 a little over a week after the ribbon-cutting event marked the grand opening of the 285,000 square-foot facility.

Already, things are looking a little different —the above banner being just one example— and the building, which is home to the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) is ready for a day-long celebration.

Many events have been scheduled for the open house, including:

• Self-guided tours starting at 10:00 a.m. that will see visitors explore cutting-edge laboratories, meet the scientists who will be pioneering new technologies in the building, and the opportunity for some hands-on activity in the interactive Discovery Zone. Tours are available until 6:30 p.m., and video screens throughout the building will help explain quantum and nano research to visitors.
• Three sold-out speaking events, including:
  • A public lecture by Jay Ingram, one of Canada's best known science journalists, entitled "Science Journalism: It's a Hard Life" at 11:00 a.m.
  • A public lecture by author Chad Orzel entitled "What Every Dog Should Know About Quantum Physics" at 12:30 p.m.
  • A public lecture by Canadian sci-fi writer Robert J. Sawyer entitled "Science Fiction and Computing" at 2:00 p.m.
• A panel discussion called "Bridging Worlds" featuring Mike Lazaridis (Founder, Board Vice-Chair, Research In Motion) Raymond Laflamme (Executive Director, Institute for Quantum Computing), Tom Brzustowski (expert on Canadian innovation), and Chad Orzel (author of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog) at 4:00 p.m.
• The Quantum Revue featuring Jay Ingram and the Qubits - Jay Ingram and his rock band, The Qubits, will team up with researchers from the Institute for Quantum Computing for an interactive mash-up of music and science. The concert promises "classic rock songs with a quantum twist - and plenty of audience participation - in a fun and immersive evening for the whole family." The concert will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Humanities Theatre, and tickets are on sale for $10.

But the fun and discovery don't end there: on Sunday, September 30 the Quantum-Nano Centre will host the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony for a special performance entitled "Quantum: Music at the Frontier of Science." Billed as an "innovative mash-up of art and science," the concert "will entertain, educate and enthrall, as it explores how music — and everything — works at nature’s most fundamental level." The piece, first performed in February 2012, is written by Colin Hunter, conducted by Edwin Outwater, and narrated by Ann Baggley. Ticket-holders will be able to tour the facility after the concert.

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Golden anniversary for Waterloo engineers

This article first appeared in the September 2012 Waterloo Engineering Alumni Letter (WEAL)

Not long after he graduated in 1962 with an electrical engineering degree, Bruce Hutchinson booked an appointment with his dentist in Saskatoon. Noticing the iron ring on his finger, the dentist asked him where he’d gone to school.

Hutchinson told him he was part of the inaugural class of University of Waterloo engineering students. Impressive? Absolutely. But the dentist knew the City of Waterloo for a reason other than its young, upstart university.

“Oh yeah, students wrote the word ‘BEER’ on the water tower there!” the man answered, referring to the high jinks that made national news.

What a difference five decades has made. Now when Hutchinson tells people he has an engineering degree from Waterloo, he can see they’re simply impressed by the university’s reputation.

“Just recently I was talking to a doctor and when I told him I went to Waterloo you could really see him perk up. He was thinking, ‘Wow,’” says Hutchinson.

It’s this kind of story that will likely be shared by the engineering graduates at their 50-year anniversary reunion being held at the end of this month from September 28 to 30. At the milestone reunion, alumni will have the opportunity to attend a special lecture, visit the new Student Design Centre, and pull up a chair at reunion dinners, lunch buffets and brunches.

Ron Gotts, the class representative for chemical engineering, is looking forward to the iron ring obligation renewal ceremony that will kick off the weekend. An engraved iron ring, specifically created for the first class of engineers, represents much to the pioneering students who took a chance on a new school that was more idea than bricks and mortar.

“Being in the first class, it really forced you to try hard. You were pretty much on your own and had to find a way to get your work done,” says Gotts.

Waterloo and its innovative co-op program was instrumental in launching both Gotts’ and Hutchinson’s careers. Gotts eventually went on to work in the environmental field while Hutchinson, this year’s class rep for electrical engineering, taught computer electronics at a college in Hamilton. Bill Lennox, both the former chair of civil engineering and dean of Waterloo Engineering, is also a rep for the reunion.

“One of the things we tend to forget is that when we started in 1957 the terms were only three months, instead of four,” remembers Lennox. “So you were always on the move.”

Since the failure rates were high during the engineering program’s first few years the university would provide the students with loans allowing them to skip work terms and immediately join the next upper-year class.

“Another feature in the beginning was that you could be admitted to a pre-engineering year after just four years of high school. All other universities at that time required five years of high school,” says Lennox.

Because there were only 74 initial engineering students, the group of alumni attending the reunion is expected to be small, but that won’t stop Gotts from catching up with his former classmates who do come.

“The reunion gives us all a chance to tell stories . . . and lies,” he jokes. “It will be a great time.”

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Volunteers prepare for United Way campaign

By Jacqueline Martinz, Federation of Students.

With the launch of the Waterloo United Way Campaign approaching, the Festival Room in South Campus Hall was filled with sentiments about supporting the community at the Volunteer Training Luncheon on September 26.

“It was exciting to see such strong interest and enthusiasm from all the volunteers,” said Richard Wells, co-chair for the university’s campaign. “We’ve set our goal for $230,000, and with their help we’ll reach it.”

The Volunteer Training Luncheon was held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and featured a number of guest speakers including representatives from Big Brothers, Big Sisters and the United Way Kitchener-Waterloo. The speakers highlighted the difference the United Way makes in people’s lives, and how important it is to contribute to its programs. Volunteers also received packages outlining information about the campaign, important dates, and prizes for donors.

President Feridun Hamdullahpur went a step further telling everyone that he would like to see the campaign goal exceeded. “I think $250,000 is a nice, round number,” he said.
The Waterloo United Way Campaign begins on October 1, and more information is available on the campaign webpage.

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