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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

 

 

  • Nominations open for equity, inclusion award
  • PumpUp takes second in mobile competition
  • Celebrating a 42-year career
  • Light Rail Lunch and Learn and other notes

 

  • Editor:
  • Brandon Sweet
  • Communications and Public Affairs
  • bulletin@uwaterloo.ca

 

Nominations open for equity, inclusion award

A message from the Status of Women and Equity Committee (SWEC).

The Status of Women and Equity Committee (SWEC) is seeking nominations for the second annual equity and inclusion award. This award is a celebration of excellence in equity, inclusivity, and diversity. The award recognizes a member or affiliate of the University of Waterloo community whose actions have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to improving equity, inclusivity, and/or diversity at the University of Waterloo. 

Nominees will normally be an individual, group, or unit associated with the University of Waterloo or the Federated University and Affiliated Colleges (FUAC).  The committee will also consider those who, although not formally affiliated with the University, have nonetheless made a demonstrable impact on equity, inclusivity, and/or diversity.

Nominees will have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to improving the lives of women and/or other members of equity-seeking groups on campus. The impact of their efforts or actions should be demonstrable and shareable. These efforts or actions could be in, but not restricted to, the following areas: outstanding service; policy development or improvements; education or awareness-raising efforts; political, legal, or collective bargaining advancements; relevant scholarship; organizational leadership.

Nomination packages should include the following: a cover letter by the nominator, a C.V. or resume, additional letters of support, and any other evidence deemed relevant by the nominator(s). Only completed nomination packages will be considered. Please send nomination packages by June 3, 2013 to Diana Parry, Chair of SWEC.

The successful candidate will be notified by August 1 and the award celebration will take place in the Fall of 2013.

 

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PumpUp takes second in mobile competition

PumpUp, a VeloCity Garage startup and mobile application that is designed to provide users with personalized workouts, placed second at the University Mobile Challenge at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Spain on February 28.

The challenge asked competitors to develop an innovated concept that "will address a need today" and could take the form of a business concept or technology development (application or device) that could be aimed at any market and address any issue.

A baker's dozen of student teams from around the world participated in the competition, included competitors from Harvard, Oxford, the University of California - Berkeley, the National University of Singapore, and Princess Sumaya University For Technology. Four of the 13 finalists, including Waterloo's PumpUp, made it to the final round of the competition.

In the end, the team from UC Berkeley carried the day, with an app designed to help solve the problem of the lack of water in developing nations by allowing water providers to remotely control water supplies.

PumpUp, which got its start in the VeloCity Garage, is also part of Communitech's HYPERDRIVE incubator program. It was founded by Garrett Gottlieb, a Waterloo computer science student, and Wilfrid Laurier University grad Phil Jacobson.

 

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Celebrating a 42-year career

by Carol Truemner. A longer version of this piece appears in the February issue of the Waterloo Engineering Alumni eLetter (WEAL).

Dean of Engineering Pearl Sullivan and June Lowe pose with her 2012 Engineering Outstanding Staff Performance Award in the technical category.June Lowe (right) has kept the name of every Waterloo Engineering student she has ever worked with or taught. And considering she's been with the Faculty for over 42 years, that's quite a few names. More than 30,000, in fact.

The personal connection she forms with her students is one of the reasons the senior demonstrator, first year engineering, will be missed when she officially retires from the University of Waterloo in March.

“I think more than anyone I have ever met, June cares about others,” says her colleague Chris Rennick, also a senior demonstrator for first year engineering. “She has been extremely dedicated to her students and seems to have a knack for knowing what they needed over the years. If you ask alumni if they remember June, without fail their faces light up, and they have some humorous anecdote of something she did for them.”

June began working in Waterloo Engineering on July 2, 1970 or, as she puts it, before there were computers. Only two students in her first class had calculators and the rest had slide rules.

There were occasions she considered a career move, but was persuaded not to leave. "Every time I went for a new job I was offered a different role or responsibility within the Faculty," June says. Her dedication to Waterloo Engineering has been recognized with the Faculty’s 1975 Distinguished Teaching Award and the 2012 Engineering Outstanding Staff Performance Award in the technical category.

June’s retirement plans include building a house for herself and travelling to Tanzania in January 2014 to teach for a couple of months for another institution. And she’s also planning to do something with all the names of her students that she’s collected throughout the years.

“At this point I don’t quite know what I’ll do with them,” she laughs. “I’ll definitely count the names and maybe plot them on a graph.”

Read the entire piece at the Waterloo Engineering Alumni eLetter (WEAL).

June's retirement celebration will be held tomorrow, March 14, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in South Campus Hall's Festival Room. To recognize June’s 42 years of service to our students, the Faculty of Engineering would like to establish an entrance scholarship in her honour, the June Lowe Scholarship.

 

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Waterloo Region on the Move event graphic.
Light Rail Lunch and Learn and other notes

Commuting options will be the topic for discussion at an event entitled "Lunchtime Lecture Series: Waterloo Region on the Move" on Wednesday, March 27 in Arts Lecture Hall 124.

Organized by TravelWise, the event will feature guest speaker Kimberly Moser, the Rapid Transit Community Manager for Waterloo Region, who will be discussing the impact that commuting has in Waterloo Region, and reviewing some of the updates for Waterloo Region's forthcoming Light Rail Transit (LRT) project. Registration for the event is free.

TravelWise is a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program that provides an assortment of transportation tools and services to program members to encourage sustainable transportation to and from work.

Other notes as the week hits its stride:

Waterloo Regional Police are seeking information about an assault that occurred on Saturday, March 9 in the parking lot of UW Place. A news bulletin on the University of Waterloo Police Services website has more details on the incident.

Chandrika Anjaria and John Milloy at the medal presentation ceremony.The University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) has a piece on its website about longtime university staff member Chandrika Anjaria, who recently received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Congratulations Chandrika!

Information Systems & Technology (IST) has announced that registration has opened for the early spring course offerings of Skills for the Electronic Workplace (SEW). Courses are registered through myHRinfo (there's a handy how-to guide if you need it).

Here's today's nutrition "myth vs. fact" provided by Health Services Dietician Sandra Ace:

"Myth:" Nuts are fattening and should be avoided if you are trying to lose weight.

"Fact:"  It is true that nuts are high in calories because they contain mostly fat, which is more calorically-dense than either carbohydrates or protein. However, nuts contain heart healthy types of fats as well as fibre, vitamins, minerals and protein. In small amounts, nuts can be part of a healthy eating pattern even for people trying to lose weight. Some studies have indicated that eating nuts may even aid in weight loss. This might be due to nuts’ satiety properties which help a person to feel full and satisfied and may mean less snacking on other foods or smaller meal portions. If you are trying to lose weight, rather than a chocolate bar, serving of chips or cookies, you might try snacking on a ¼ cup of nuts with a piece of fruit. Choose unsalted nuts that are raw or dry-roasted without oil. And, unless you have a lot of willpower, avoid keeping large containers of nuts at your desk or by the TV; when you snack directly from the jar it’s easy to overeat!

 

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Link of the day

Today in 1953: USSR uses UN veto on Lester Pearson

When and where

KI-X Knowledge Integration Exhibition, Monday, March 11 to Wednesday, March 13, EV1 246. Details.

Noon Hour Concert, "Brass Essentials" featuring Debra and Martin Lacoste (trumpets), Trevor Wagler (French Horn), Carolyn Culp (trombone), Susan Follows (bass trombone), Wednesday, March 13 at the Conrad Grebel Chapel, 12:30 p.m.

Quantitative Biology Lecture Series featuring Nuno Barbosa-Morais, University of Toronto, "The evolutionary landscape of alternative splicing in vertebrate species," Wednesday, March 13, 2:30 p.m. B1-266.

VeloCity Pitch Night Social, Wednesday, March 13, 7:00 p.m., CEIT atrium. Details. Free pizza!

UW Drama presents Top Girls, Wednesday, March 13 to Saturday, March 16, 8:00 p.m., Theatre of the Arts. Details.

Gustav Bakos Observatory Tour, Wednesday, March 13, 9:00 p.m., PHY 308.

International Student Experience presents "Nigeria: Good People, Great Nation, and Cameroon: The Africa Miniature," Thursday, March 14, 12:00 p.m., NH 1116.

Pi Day, Thursday, March 14, 1:59 p.m., free pie on the third floor of MC building. Full schedule here.

Observations and Free Inquiries seminar featuring Hamid Tizhoosh, Systems Design Engineering, "Learning and Intelligence - Beyond the barriers of thought" Thursday, March 14, 5:30 p.m., E5 6004. Details.

VeloCity Pitch Night Social, Thursday, March 14, 7:00 p.m., CEIT atrium. Details. Free pizza!

The Departments of Classical Studies and Religious Studies present Professor Jeffrey Wickes, Saint Louis University, "The Scriptural Poetics of Syriac Hymnody," Friday, March 15, 4:30 p.m. EV3 4412.

21st Annual Juggling Festival, Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17, Student Life Centre, with performances at 7:00 p.m. in Hagey Hall. Note the new time.

Public Consultation Centre for proposed 2013 Grand River Transit Service Improvement Plan, Monday, March 18, 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Student Life Centre Great Hall.

Fourth Year Design Symposium for Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Monday, March 18, 1:00 p.m., DC foyer. Details.

Chemistry Department Seminar Series featuring Prof. Claude Spino, Department of Chemistry, Sherbrooke University, “Making Chiral Quaternary Carbons”, Monday, March 18, 2:30 p.m., C2-361. Details.

UWSA "Let's Talk" event, Tuesday, March 19, 12:00 p.m., Brubakers, Student Life Centre. Details.

Vincent Lam reads at St. Jerome's University, Tuesday, March 19, 8:00 p.m., STJ 3014. Details.

Fourth Year Design Symposium for Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wednesday, March 20, 9:30 a.m., DC foyer. Details.

UWRC Book Club meeting, featuring "The Sense of an Ending" by Julian Barnes, Wednesday, March 20, 12:00 p.m., LIB 407.

Kitchener Public Library Ideas and Issues Lecture Series featuring Christine Perdon, Department of Psychology, "Think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts ...d'oh!" Wednesday, March 20, 12:00 p.m., Forest Heights Community Library.

Int'l Spouses, Book Club featuring "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, Wednesday, March 20, 7:00 p.m., St. Paul grad apartments, 3rd floor. Details. Note the new time.

Weight Watchers At Work registration session, Thursday, March 21, 12:15 p.m., PAS 2438, info ext. 32218.

Math alumni event featuring Paul Salvini, CTO of Christie Digital and BMath grad, Thursday, March 21, 5:30 p.m., Waterloo Stratford Campus. Registration required. Details.

Master of Public Service Annual Talk and Dinner Social featuring the Honourable Kevin G. Lynch, Thursday, March 21, 6:00 p.m., University Club.

Int'l Spouses, "Anne of Green Gables," Saturday, March 23, 2:30 p.m., Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts. Group details. Event details.

Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (I.B.M.B.) Seminar Series featuring Prof. Gerald Audette, Centre for Research on Biomolecular Interactions, York University, “Structural and Functional Studies of Protein Nanotubes and F-Plasmid Conjugation”, Tuesday, March 26 at 3:30 p.m., C2-361. Details.

Retirement Open House for Cathy Mitchell, UW Police. Wednesday, March 27, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Commissary Building, Meeting Room 1112D.  RSVP by March 22 to Sharon Rumpel, ext 33510. Details (PDF).

Positions available

On this week's list from the human resources department, viewable through myHRinfo:

• Job id# 2046 - Administrative Assistant – School of Accounting & Finance, USG 5
• Job id# 2039 – Head, Digital Initiatives – Library, USG 13
• Job id# 2042 – Student Advisor – Coop Education & Career Action, USG 8/9
• Job id# 2047 – Steward Officer – VP) Advancement, USG 9
• Job id# 2043 – CTE Liaison – Faculty of Arts – Centre for Teaching Excellence, USG 8/9


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