Daily Bulletin

Friday, October 24, 1997

University of Waterloo -- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Weekend of a thousand degrees

No, not the chilly weather, but tomorrow's convocation ceremonies, in which 1,092 people are scheduled to become bachelors, masters and doctors, or to take home diplomas, in fields from occupational health to architecture. Ceremonies for UW's 75th Convocation will be held in two sessions in the Physical Activities Complex -- at 10 a.m. for arts and applied health sciences, at 2 p.m. for other faculties.

Some convocation highlights:

Three people will be named Honorary Members of the University, all at the morning ceremony: Trevor Boyes, former registrar; Peter Naus, retired from the faculty of St. Jerome's College; and Jake Willms, former assistant to the dean of arts.
There will be three new Distinguished Professors Emeritus at the morning ceremony: Herb Lefcourt, Don Meichenbaum and Muriel Vogel-Sprott, all retired from the psychology department.
At the afternoon ceremony there will be six Distinguished Professors Emeritus: George Francis (environment and resource studies), Ralph Haas (civil engineering), Bruce Hutchinson (civil), Richard Preston (geography), Archie Sherbourne (civil), and Tim Topper (civil).
The James D. Leslie Prize for academic excellence in the distance education program goes to Muriel Orr-Hadzocos, of Lancaster, Ontario, receiving an honours BA in classical studies.
Winners of the Alumni Gold Medals for academic excellence are Ty Ferre, PhD, earth sciences; and Hao Zhang, master of mathematics, computer science.
At the morning ceremony, UW will present a Doctor of Laws degree to James Wilson of Northeastern University, who has been committed to co-op education for over 35 years. He will address the graduating students. Wilson is co-author of the influential book Workstudy College Programs.
Jane Urquhart, author of Away (1993) -- co-winner of the 1994 Trillium Award -- and two earlier novels and several collections of poetry and short stories, will receive a Doctor of Letters degree at the morning ceremony. Her latest book is The Underpainter.
In the afternoon ceremony, Tom Brzustowski, a former UW provost and professor of mechanical engineering, will receive a Doctor of Engineering degree, and Arthur Carty, former dean of research at UW and professor of chemistry, will receive a Doctor of Science degree. Brzustowski is now president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, while Carty is president of the National Research Council. Both Brzustowski and Carty will address the afternoon ceremony.

Also tomorrow, an open house

"Celebrate Science and Technology" is the theme of this year's Science Open House on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The annual open house is an opportunity for primary school children and their families to experience science for a few hours.

Science and technology explorers can look forward to hands-on chemistry experiments, including turning copper into gold, making nylon and manipulating the atoms of aspirin on a computer screen, plus plenty of tricks; a preview of Engineering Science Quest; and the Chemistry Magic Show, featuring Michael Chong and Company, who will dazzle with colours, smoke and other delights at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

There's also "Phil's Cool Physics" at 1:30 p.m. and "Vanderkooy's Sound and Light," a demonstration of the science behind music, at 2:40 p.m. "Rock and Water Music", at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., provides an opportunity to learn about the rock and water cycles and the layercake rocks beneath our feet in a toe-tapping way". It's hosted by singer Chris Rawlings and Peter Russell of the Biology-Earth Sciences Museum.

In the museum itself, visitors can examine the travelling exhibit "Nine Frogs and a Toad" from McGill University, or view minerals and rocks under the microscope and check out the planet using aerial photographs.

Lynn Hoyles and friends invite visitors to wander through the biology greenhouse to view palms and hibiscus. "That's Elementary," a display of the elements, awaits in chemistry, while physics presents the "Circus of Physics". Outside, "That's Aeronautical" gives visitors a chance to design a space pop bottle and see it fly, while the rock garden is filled with samples from all over. The Chemistry Club Food Stop will cook up hot dogs and serve soft drinks, and visitors can instantly whip up free microcrystalline ice cream for dessert. The Student Life Building will have photo features showing the school of optometry and profiles on science teachers and researchers.

Steel tower comes to campus

Students in civil engineering and architecture will be able to get a first-hand knowledge of steel structures with the donation of a Steel Construction Teaching Aid by a professional institute. A dedication ceremony will be held today.

The gift comes from the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction. Today's event will take place behind the structures and concrete laboratory in the Engineering III building, beginning at 3:30 this afternoon.

"We are extremely pleased and grateful to receive such a teaching aid for our students, both civil engineering and architecture," said Reinhold Schuster of architecture and civil engineering, who specializes in structural engineering. "This will give the students a chance to look at how real steel structural elements are fastened together in practice, adding the more practical aspect to their academic studies in steel design. I, for one, plan to take the architecture steel classes to this site in order to connect the real with the academic learning experience."

The structure -- worth about $15,000 -- consists of a central column approximately four metres in height, with several beam and truss segments cantilevered from it, using different fasteners in the construction of the model. The structure gives students a physical example of a variety of steel components and how they are fastened together in typical building construction.

Also happening this weekend

UW's 13th Symposium on Chemical Physics runs today through Sunday, this year with the sobriquet of "Okafest" in honour of the leading speaker, Takeshi Oka of the University of Chicago. "He is renowned for many things," says Robert Le Roy of the chemistry department, "but one chief recent claim to fame is his work on making and identifying and determining the astrophysical significance of H3+, a critical species for interstellar astronomy as well as many atmospheric and on-earth chemical processes." He'll speak Saturday morning at 10:45 in the Davis Centre, where most of the symposium is taking place. Saturday night's banquet is at Conrad Grebel College, with William Klemperer of Harvard as after-dinner speaker. The Waterloo symposium is considered the leading Canadian event in its discipline.

Students from the Villages will be at Waterloo Town Square on Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., collecting food items and piling them into a bus. The "Stuff-a-Bus" event is meant to raise publicity, as well as badly needed food, for the local Food Bank. (Donation boxes will also be at Beechwood and Glenridge plazas in Waterloo.) The event is part of the Villagers' annual Community Outreach Campaign, which so far has brought in $2,000 from various events to support the Food Bank. The eventual goal is to exceed the $28,000 raised for last year's beneficiary of the campaign, the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Inside Waterloo Town Square, meanwhile, optometry students will be running an information booth "in order to educate the public about the importance of receiving regular eye exams by qualified doctors of optometry". People are also encouraged to drop off old eyeglasses at the booth so they can be used by optometry students involved in aid work in Mexico this winter. The event marks Eye Health Canada Week.

Sports this weekend: the football Warriors finish their regular season by hosting Guelph's Gryphons at University Stadium. (The game starts at 1 p.m. rather than the usual 2:00.) Tennis, soccer, rugby and field hockey teams are all out of town at league championships. The basketball Warriors are playing in a tournament in Ottawa, and the hockey Warriors have a Saturday afternoon game at Brock.

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY October 24, 1964: A student-created program is aired on CKKW radio for the first time, in a project that would eventually lead the founding of CKMS. October 24, 1968: The UW senate becomes the first governing body of an Ontario university to open its meetings to the public. October 24, 1982: UW holds the second day of a 25th anniversary open house.

October 25, 1964: A dedication service is held for Conrad Grebel College. October 25, 1973: Paul Dirksen is named director of the computing centre, succeeding Wes Graham. October 25, 1990: A bomb scare closes the campus for the afternoon.

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