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University of Waterloo -- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
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Friday, July 12, 1996

On the supposedly Glorious Twelfth

Lots of news and events today, but first some frivolity. "Is it just me," an admirer wrote by e-mail a couple of days ago, "are you getting weirder lately?" The latter, I hope, as evidenced by Wednesday's advice on how to cook an owl on a cedar shingle, which produced this note from Constant Reader:
I once heard a similar recipe for Ontario groundhog. In this case, however, the wrapping was aluminum foil, a stuffing of apples and nuts was used, the cooking time was longer, and the final feast was to be the foil. I would guess that the shingle would probably be tastier.

Technology executive named chancellor

The chief executive of Com Dev International, a high-tech firm based in Cambridge, Ontario, has been named UW's next chancellor. He will take office May 1, 1997, succeeding the current chancellor, Sylvia Ostry of the University of Toronto's Centre for International Studies.

Valentine (Val) O'Donovan was most recently in the news at UW when his firm announced a $250,000 pledge to Campaign Waterloo to support co-op students working on electronic communications. Com Dev is among the most prominent high-tech firms in Waterloo Region, with its work centred on building payloads for communications satellites.

Says a UW news release:

"Waterloo has a most distinguished chancellorial tradition, and Val O'Donovan fits admirably into it," said UW president, James Downey. "His professional success and broad range of personal interests are particularly desirable in a chancellor. I look forward to working with him and learning from him."

"The means by which universities go about the educational process will be profoundly changed by the advances in information technology presently taking place", said Dr. O'Donovan. "To be asked to be Chancellor of this university would be a signal honour at any time. To be Chancellor during this time of great change as we approach the millennium will be particularly interesting and exciting."

Born in Cork, Ireland, he earned his professional engineering accreditation in England. In 1962 he invented a new type of microwave multiplexer, and a paper he wrote describing the invention won the best paper award in the Journal of the Institution of Electronic and Radio Engineers.

Emigrating to Canada in 1963, he joined the communications division of RCA in Montreal and participated in the engineering development of the first generation of satellite earth stations. By 1971, he was manager of RCA's satellite transponder department, which was responsible for designing the payloads used in the innovative Canada/United States communications technology satellite and the first domestic U.S. satellites. Drawing on his expertise, he co-authored a book titled Microwave Filters for Communications Systems.

He founded COM DEV in 1974 and, under his guidance, it has become a global leader in satellite and wireless communications technology. In 1979 COM DEV moved from Montreal to Cambridge, ON, to take advantage of the talent pool at area universities. In 1993 he received the Laurier Outstanding Business Leader Award from Wilfrid Laurier University and in 1995, UW awarded him a Doctorate of Engineering.

The chancellor is UW's ceremonial head and provides at convocation ceremonies; he or she is a member of the senate, and always heads the nominating committee when UW is choosing a president.

Happening at UW today

Important concert this weekend

The QuartetFest, which has kept aficionados of classical music happy in recent days, winds up Saturday night at 8 with a performance in the St. Jacobs Schoolhouse Theatre. "Cecilia" (Jan Narveson) sends this warm recommendation:
The concert features the Penderecki Quartet in Hugo Wolf's perennially delightful Italian Serenade, Bartok, Quartet no. 5 [considered by many to be the most significant string quartet of the 20th century), and the Brahms Sextet No. 2 in G, which is one of the finest chamber works from his pen. In the sextet, the Penderecki Quartet has the assistance of two of Canada's finest musicians: Douglas McNabney (Professor at McGill University's prestigious School of Music, and violist of the prestigious ensemble, Proteus), and cellist Roman Borys of the famed Gryphon Trio (who also teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Music). $20 at door (students and seniors, $10) or from U of W's box office, Reader's Ink or WordsWorth Books; or reserve at 886-1673 (K-W Chamber Music Society answering machine).

The weekend's other events

I hear there's a chance of showers, so here's what might get wet:

And a final dry note

Hot water will be turned off to the south and east quads of Village 2 all next week -- starting Monday morning at 8 -- to allow for hot water tank inspection, the plant operations department advises.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin:
Chris Redmond -- credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
(519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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