Banting, Vanier award winners named

a news release by the media relations team.

Transformational research at the University of Waterloo received major support yesterday as the recipients of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships and the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships were announced.

Four postdoctoral researchers awarded prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships will be based at Waterloo, and three graduate students from Waterloo received distinguished Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships.

"I am thrilled and proud that Waterloo received four Banting fellowships this year, when only 70 are awarded across the country," said Sue Horton, associate provost, graduate studies at Waterloo. "The four winners represent a great range of talent, from areas as diverse as membrane biophysics and Mennonite literature, from quantum gravity to energy storage."

Two of the winners of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships are in the Faculty of Science. The others will each conduct their research in the Faculty of Mathematics and the Faculty of Arts.

• The work of William (Drew) Bennett of the Department of Chemistry will focus on bioactive molecules, and has applications for drug delivery and personalized medicine. His fellowship is from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). His work fits into the university's strategic research priority areas of health and materials manufacturing and devices.

• Jaka Sunarso of the Department of Chemistry will work on new rechargeable batteries that can perform at higher-than-normal temperatures. He received his fellowship from NSERC, and his research falls under Waterloo's priority areas of energy and the environment, and materials manufacturing and devices. 

• Maïté Dupuis of the Department of Applied Mathematics will work on loop quantum gravity, which falls within the theory of general relativity. The research she will conduct under her NSERC Banting fellowship will allow Dupuis to join over 30+ postdoctoral fellows at IQC, and allow her to focus on the Quantum-Nano nexus, which is arguably one the University’s top current research priority.  

• Robert Zacharias of the Department of English Language & Literature is a leading international expert in the field of Mennonite literary studies.  His work will situate Mennonite literature within the theoretic framework of hemispheric studies, which reads Canadian cultural production across national borders in relation to the Americas. His fellowship is from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC); his topic fits into the theme of Society and Culture, one of the areas of focus in Waterloo's strategic research plan.

Banting fellowship awards are worth $70,000 a year, for two years. Their intent is to attract and retain top talent, and prepare recipients as leading researchers to solve the challenges of the future. This year's recipients come to University of Waterloo from Canada, France and Indonesia.

The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships recognize top academic achievement and leadership skills. They support recipients as they complete doctoral degrees while conducting significant research. Scholars receive $50,000 each year, for three years. This year's recipients come from the arts, engineering and mathematics faculties.

“Graduate students are instrumental in contributing to the high quality research taking place at Waterloo," said Horton. "I am pleased to see Vanier recognize the outstanding achievements and promise of these award winners."

• Timothy Leshuk is a doctoral candidate. His proposed research project involves the application of nanotechnology for water purification, and builds on the university's established excellence in these areas. He received his Vanier scholarship from NSERC.

• Abbas Mehrabian is a doctoral candidate. He also received an NSERC Vanier. His research is in the area of graph theory, a branch of mathematics with fundamental links to computer science and operations research.

• Shauna Bottos is a doctoral candidate whose research interest lies in the areas of complex trauma and mentalizing with the particular interest in the psychological squelae resulting from chronic childhood abuse and neglect.  She is the recipient of the SSHRC Vanier.

The Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced the 165 winners of the Vanier scholarships and 70 recipients of the Banting fellowships at an event in Quebec City Monday.

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Canada's largest Career Fair is back

by Lenore Ramirez, Co-operative Education & Career Action (CECA)

It’s that time of year again: the Partnerships for Employment Career Fair is set to take place at RIM Park tomorrow, Wednesday September 25 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  200 employers and more than 3,500 students and recent graduates of the region’s four post-secondary institutions will explore careers and employment prospects at Canada’s largest post-secondary career fair of its kind.

At the Fair, students and alumni have the opportunity to meet hundreds of Canadian and international employers and gather vital information on careers. In turn, employers are able to introduce future employees to their organization, and reduce recruitment costs by connecting with many highly skilled candidates on the same day in one location. The Fair features organizations from various sectors including financial, healthcare, IT, manufacturing, telecommunications, government, food and hospitality, oil and gas and many more,  such as Bell, Cisco Systems, McCain Foods, Microsoft Canada, Morgan Stanley, NexJ Systems, Ontario Provincial Police, Scotiabank, Stantec, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc., Trans Plus Systems Corp., to name  a few.

Please spread the word! Co-operative Education & Career Action encourages staff and faculty to let students know about the Fair and to attend it.  

Trans Plus Systems Corp. representative, Andrew McKendrick says: “Attending the Career Fair provides us the opportunity to attract new graduates to our company, to raise awareness that there is a thriving software industry in Guelph (well over 20 companies) that pays well and in a region that is ranked high in terms of livability and affordability. Although many graduates have some related work experience, new graduates still have much to offer and can inject new ideas into software companies, such as ours, that help us to maintain competitiveness in an ever competitive world.”  

Maureen Hossack of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. (TMMC) adds: “At TMMC we believe in supporting our local community and part of that company objective is to have a physical presence at the Partners 4 Employment Career/Job Fair in September and February each year. This Career Fair provides our organization with an opportunity to meet and spend time with people within the community, both potential candidates for the future and local employers.  We are very fortunate to have the largest career/job Fairs in Canada located within our community, a great benefit to us all.”

The Fair is open to students and alumni from the University of Waterloo, University of Guelph, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Conestoga College. A shuttle bus service starting at 9:30 a.m. will be available in front of Hagey Hall every half hour, to and from the Fair, and admission is free with a valid uWaterloo student/alumni card. The fair is not open to the general public.

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Equinox: Learning 2030 and other notes

Innovators, policymakers, and other experts will be rolling up their sleeves to write the blueprint for education in the year 2030 at the WGSI Equinox Summit: Learning 2030, which will be held from September 29 to October 3.

The Summit is presented by Waterloo Global Science Initiative (WGSI), a partnership between Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and the University of Waterloo.

Through three days of workshops and discussions, participants will develop new education strategies based on the most promising learning models, communities, technologies, and emerging resources from around the world.

This event will bring together a multinational, multidisciplinary and multigenerational group of experts to explore best practices and promising initiatives in education aimed at empowering students in their creativity and potential.

The end result will be a framework for the Equinox Blueprint – a document that will provide clear recommendations on building a learning environment that fosters critical thinking, problem solving, and innovation.

There are still spaces available for a number of Fall 2013 Learning & Development Workshops offered by Organizational and Human Development (OHD), including:

• Defining Your Financial Futures (OHD701) October 1 & 3 & 8, 8:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
  
• Report & Proposal Writing (OHD210) October 1, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
  
• Writing Matters I ™ (OHD207) October 4, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
  
• The Principles of Inclusivity (OHD502) October 9, 8:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
  
• Integrity Matters (OHD120) October 28 or November 12, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
  
• Writing Matters II ™ (OHD208) November 8, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
  
• Performance Conversations (OHD405) December 9, 8:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. or 1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
  
  

To register for OHD workshops, visit myHRinfo Register through the Learning and Development module of the Self Service myHRinfo menu.

More information about OHD's workshop offerings is available on their website.

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