Grad student orientation coming this fall

by Katie Eley, Student Success Office.

Waterloo graduate students are invited to participate in the inaugural Graduate Student Orientation this fall.  The full-day event will orient current and incoming students to university services, academic integrity policies and the Graduate Student Association (GSA). 

Graduate Student Orientation was developed out of a recommendation from the Graduate Student Advocacy Report, conducted by the GSA, with the support of the Associate Provost, Students.  The report found that graduate students wanted more information and resources presented through an orientation program. 

“Waterloo students reported that they didn’t have all the information and support they needed to fully succeed throughout their graduate studies,” said Robert Henderson, GSA President.  “In partnership with the Student Success Office and the Graduate Studies Office, the GSA has created a one-day event focused on the graduate experience at Waterloo.”  The main event, Campus-wide Graduate Student Orientation, will include booths and information sessions and will be held in the PAC on Tuesday, September 3, 2013 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Following the orientation, a welcome reception will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. outdoors on the Graduate House green, providing new students the opportunity to connect with fellow students and faculty.  The campus-wide event will kick off a week of activities.

From September 4 to 6, students will participate in department-specific events.  This new campus-wide programming allows faculties to run events targeted to their programs. 

“The support of many departments, faculties and services has made this orientation for graduate students possible this fall,” explained Henderson.  “Many units have changed their activities to make room for the campus-wide events and communications to incoming students have been streamlined.”

Current and incoming graduate students are encouraged to register for the campus-wide orientation events, and any questions related to programming should be forwarded to the GSA.  Departmental contacts will answer questions about department-specific activities. Information and registration for the lab safety training and international graduate student orientation will be available through the orientation website as details are finalized. 

Volunteers are needed for the campus-wide event; students are encouraged to apply for a variety of tasks listed on the GSA website.

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UWSA expands services, raises fees

by Gail Spencer, University of Waterloo Staff Association, with files from Trevor Grove and Jeremy Steffler.

The University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) held a Special General Meeting on Tuesday, July 23. Four separate motions were approved by the members present at the meeting.

Three of the four motions were proposed to help facilitate a move to the UWSA President position being a full-time position for a one-year term, and to provide a stable financial basis for the position.  The other motion was the addition of a standard “Director Indemnification” provision in the UWSA Constitution. The effects of the motions are as follows:

• The position of President-Elect was created for a one-year term;
• The terms of the President and Past-Presidents were reduced to one-year terms;
• The terms of UWSA Directors were modified from two to three years; 
• The position of President was turned into a full-time UWSA paid position;
• Monthly fees are restructured from a three-tier flat rate to a percentage of salary; and
• Fees were increased to cover additional costs.

Altogether, the commitment for the stages of the President is reduced from four to three years.

UWSA President Carlos Mendes chaired the meeting.  UWSA Past-President and Treasurer Trevor Grove, UWSA Secretary Jason Gorrie, and Director Jeremy Steffler presented the rationale behind the motions. They indicated that demands on UWSA resources are growing both from increased staff use of UWSA services and enhanced opportunities to engage with University administration on staff advocacy issues.  The UWSA is representing members, individually and collectively, at an increasing rate and is benefiting from a willingness on the part of the administration to proactively engage the Association on projects, policies and community initiatives, which benefit all staff.

Fulfilling the requirements of the position of President has been difficult and time consuming, even with the four days per month release time traditionally provided by the University. Mendes indicated that the workload of his regular position on campus combined with the UWSA President position is almost equivalent to two full-time jobs.  The University recognizes the work the UWSA has been doing on the behalf of staff and, while the final details are still under negotiation, has committed to provide half the annual funding for the full-time President position.

Even with this funding commitment, the UWSA will require additional funds to support a full-time president.  The membership approved a fee increase (new fees will be 0.28 per cent of salary) which will be directed towards providing these additional funds (~25 per cent of this increase will be allocated to increasing UWSA legal budget).

Grove presented a chart with estimates of the new fees, based on the “JobVal” for each USG level.  For most staff the new fees represent an increase of only a few dollars per month.  The increase is somewhat larger for staff who hold positions of USG 16 and above.  

The President will be a full-time employee of the UWSA and a voting member of the Board of Directors. Further details will be worked out over the coming months and be communicated to the membership in time for a November 2013 implementation.

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Experts gather to hear tales from the QCrypt

a news release from the media relations team.

Researchers and students from around the globe are gathering this week at the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing to discuss progress in the field of quantum cryptography.

Today, cryptographic schemes keep everyday transactions on the Internet secure. In the not-so-distant future, quantum computers will be able to break even the most secure schemes easily. But the same technology that can break today’s cryptography, can add unbreakable key exchange and other tools to tomorrow’s cyber security arsenal.

“We need to transition the current cryptographic toolbox to one that will protect against emerging quantum technologies, one that is quantum-safe,” said Professor Michele Mosca, deputy director of the Institute for Quantum Computing. “Quantum cryptography will be a critical part of protecting against the cyber attacks of the future.”

Over the last decade, research has shown significant progress in both the theoretical understanding and experimental approaches in quantum cryptography.

The third annual QCrypt conference includes invited talks, tutorials, industry sessions and an exhibit where research groups and several companies showcase their products and experimental prototypes. IQC researchers will demonstrate their approaches and companies such as IDQuantique from Switzerland and Anhui Asky Quantum Technology from China will have their products on display.

“Researchers have the opportunity to hear speakers such as Nobel laureate Sir Anthony Leggett and Scott Aaronson of MIT, the author of the blog Shtetl-Optimized,” said Vadim Makarov, research assistant professor at IQC and chair of the local organizing committee of this year’s conference. “We also have Jane Nordholt of Los Alamos National Lab who has demonstrated how a pocket-sized quantum key distribution (QKD) transmitter can secure signals sent over public data networks to control smart electricity grids.”

The QCrypt conference also includes a public lecture, Quantum computing and the entanglement frontier, Tuesday, August 6 at 7:00 p.m. by John Preskill the Richard P Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech and one of the founders of modern quantum information research.

More information about the conference, including the full schedule, can be found on the QCrypt website.

QCrypt is an annual conference for students and researchers working on all aspects of quantum cryptography. The steering committee and programme committee select speakers that best represent the previous year’s results in the field. Next year’s conference will take place in Paris, September 1 to 5, 2014.

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