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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

 

 

  • Putting our stamp on the nanosphere
  • And we're back for 2013
  • OND conference seeks proposals; other notes

 

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

 

A nanoscale image of the University of Waterloo's seal.Putting our stamp on the nanosphere

Chemistry professor Tong Leung sent in the above photo of the university's seal etched in silicon using Canada's first and only Helium Ion Microscope.

This is no small feat, though its dimensions are tiny. How tiny? The logo itself measures one micrometre across, and the smallest line width in the drawing (the inner perimeter circle) is around 5 to 6 nanometres. When you figure that a nanometre is one billionth of a metre, that's a pretty thin set of lines!

"I think this could be the record," writes Leung.

The Zeiss ORION Plus Helium Orion Microscope was funded as part of the Canada Foundation for Innovation's Smart Materials Ontario: Advancing New Functional Materials Technology project. The microscope, the first and to date the only one of its kind in Canada, was installed in WATlab in 2011.

The nanomachining was done by WATlab science technical support staff member Lei Zhang. Nanomachining is achieved, Leung explains, by using the NanoPatterning and Visualization Engine (NPVE) developed by Fibics, WATLab's industrial partner. 

Chemistry nano logo.The university logo and this one (at right) for the Chemistry Department are a way of test-driving the Fibics engine and the Orion tool itself, says Leung.

"Lei is getting very good with using the Fibics engine now and we will begin building some nano circuits soon," he writes.

 

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And we're back for 2013

The students may not be back yet, but the campus is up and running for 2013.

Food Services outlets that are open this week include the SLC Subway, open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Pastry Plus in Needles Hall, open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.,the Davis Centre Tim Hortons from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and South Campus Hall's Tim Hortons open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. These hours are in effect from January 2 to January 4. If anyone needs me, I'll be rattling the shutters at the SLC Tim Hortons, which doesn't open until Monday, January 7.

The Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries are open for reduced intersession hours between January 2 and January 6 - 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, and they will both be open noon to 5:00 p.m. this weekend.

The Physical Activities Complex and Columbia Icefield opened at 7:30 a.m. today.

Retail Services locations that are open include the Book Store, Waterloo Store, and Write Stuff, open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. today, tomorrow, and Friday, and open from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. this weekend.

The Feds Used Books store opened today at 8:30 a.m. and will be open until 5:30 p.m., a trend that will continue for the rest of the week, including Saturday.

 

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Wednesday's notes

The call for proposals has gone out for the fifth annual Opportunities and New Directions (OND) 2013 conference, which is scheduled for Thursday, April 25. This year's conference theme is “Barriers and Breakthroughs: Accounts of Change in Teaching and Learning.”

"We welcome research-based or practice-based submissions related to the theme," reads a message sent in late December from Geoff McBoyle, Associate Vice President, Academic Programs and Strategic Initiatives, Donna Ellis, the director of the Centre for Teaching Excellence, and Julie Timmermans, Instructional Developer - Consulting and Research, and OND 2013 conference chair.

Proposals are due on Friday, January 25. The full call for proposals and the proposal submission form can be found on the conference website. Registration information will be posted later in January.

"We are excited that “Decoding the Disciplines” experts Dr. Leah Shopkow and Dr. David Pace from Indiana University Bloomington will be the Keynote Speakers," the message continues. "Even if you do not submit a proposal, please plan to join us for what we hope will be an enriching and exciting day!"


Conference-related questions can be directed to Julie Timmermans.

Human Resources has reported that Manuel Ribeiro, who began working at the university in April 2004 as a Custodian in Plant Operations, died November 7, 2012. He is survived by his spouse, Maria Monteiro, who is also an employee in Plant Operations.

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Link of the day

Not quite the last stand of Joe Who, but close

When and where

Feds Used Books extended hours for January 2013: Opening Wednesday, January 2, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday, January 3 to Saturday January 5, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday, January 7 to Wednesday, January 9, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday, January 10 to Saturday, January 12, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Regular hours resume Monday, January 14, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday.

The Book Store, Waterloo Store, and Write Stuff extended hours for January 2013: Wednesday, January 2 to Friday, January 4 9:00 – 5:00 p.m., Saturday, January 5 and Sunday January 6 12:00 – 4:00 p.m., Monday, January 7 to Thursday, January 10 8:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, January 11 9:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Co-operative work term begins, Wednesday, January 2.

Winter orientation events begin Sunday, January 6 to Friday, January 11. Details.

International Student Orientation, Sunday, January 6, 9:30 a.m., SLC Multipurpose Room.

U Start Here event, Sunday, January 6, 11:00 a.m., Student Life Centre Multipurpose Room.

Winter term classes begin Monday, January 7.

Winter orientation campus tours, Monday, January 7. Student Life Centre Great Hall.

Exchange Student Information Session, Monday, January 7, NH 3001.

Interstate Relations in Antiquity Study Day, Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., ML 245. Details.

University of Waterloo and McMaster University Collaboration Event, Tuesday, January 8, 4:00 p.m., Waterloo Regional Campus of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, Downtown Kitchener Health Sciences Campus.

Athletics Open House, Wednesday January 9, 10:00 a.m., SLC Great Hall.

Nethermind Art Exhibition, Thursday, January 10 to Wednesday, March 13, University of Waterloo Art Gallery. Details.

Open online class enrolment ends, Friday, January 11.

Frost Week 2013, Monday, January 14 to Friday, January 18. Details.

Feds Get Involved Fair, Tuesday, January 15, 11:00 a.m., SLC Great Hall.

Leadership Lunch event, Wednesday, January 16, Student Life Centre Great Hall.

Grade 10 Family Night, Wednesday, January 16, 6:30 p.m., Theatre of the Arts. Details.

PhD Oral Defences

Statistics and Actuarial Science. Jesse Raffa, "Multivariate Longitudinal Data Analysis with Mixed Effect Hidden Markoc Models." Supervisor, Joel Dubin. On display in the Mathematics Faculty graduate office, MC 5090. Oral defence Wednesday, January 9, 3:30 p.m., M3 3127.

Statistics and Actuarial Science. Chao Qiu, "Option Pricing and Hedging Analysis Under Regime-Switching Models." Supervisors, Mary Hardy, Chengguo Weng. On display in the Mathematics Faculty graduate office, MC 5090. Oral defence Thursday, January 10, 2:00 p.m., M3 4206.

Computer Science. Lachlan Dufton, "Stochastic Mechanisms for Truthfulness and Budget Balance in Computational Social Choice." Supervisor, Kate Larson. On display in the Mathematics Faculty Graduate Office, MC 5090. Oral defence Friday, January 11, 1:00 p.m., DC 2310.

Electrical and Computer Engineering. Hao Liang, "Resource Management in Delay Tolerant Networks and Smart Grid." Supervisor, Weihua Zhuang. On deposit in the Engineering graduate office, PHY 3004. Oral defence Friday, January 11, 1:00 p.m., EIT 3151/3153.

Positions available

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

• Research Financial Analyst – Office of Research, USG 7
• Computing Specialist – Math Faculty Computing Facility, USG 11

 

December 21's Daily Bulletin