Daily Bulletin

The world's chemists are arriving

This year marks the first time that BCCE has been held outside the United States. It's hosted by UW's chemistry department and is sponsored by the American Chemical Society's Division of Chemical Education.

Delegates started trickling in on Wednesday evening, says Dave Reynolds, manager of the Ron Eydt Village conference centre. The majority of them will get here today and tomorrow, and by Sunday the campus will be crowded, he says, with "people wearing name tags and carrying Maple Leaf tote bags". Treat them with hospitality and high-quality service, he urges everyone at UW.

During the conference, BCCE participants will be brought up-to-date on leading-edge research activities such as new ways to detect and treat cancer, keeping track of pollutants in the environment and vastly speeding up chemical analyses. They'll also get plenty of advice on new teaching techniques, from inexpensive demonstrations to ways to set teenage imaginations on fire.

Some highlights of the technical program:

• David Dolphin, University of British Columbia, keynote speaker on the development of drugs for photo-dynamic therapy for treating cancer.
• Susan Mikkelsen, UW, will discuss an inter-disciplinary advanced course on new techniques for bio-molecule analysis.
• Irwin Talesnick, a retired Queen's University professor, who is renowned for his educational, entertaining and enriching demonstrations that bring science to life.
• Steve Spangler, WREN Enterprises, Colorado, producer of television programs on children's science. He will oversee leading science demonstrators as they perform "signature demonstrations" at the closing ceremony.

UW has role in swimming centre

WLU will play host to "top-level national swimmers who wish to train in the Southern Ontario region in pursuit of international excellence".

Says a news release: "In addition to providing training and coaching support, swimmers at the centre will be offered services and support in strength training, sport medicine, sport science, as well as paramedical support services. . . . Kitchener-Waterloo was awarded the centre as a result of the campus location and the organizational expertise and level of cooperation displayed by its bid committee." It didn't hurt that the WLU swimming pool is already home to the high-powered Region of Waterloo Swim Club.

Bob Rosehart, president of WLU, said in a statement that Swimming Canada "was properly impressed with the level of organization displayed by the Region of Waterloo Swim Club, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo". The news release said that swimmers will "use the various available services at the Wilfrid Laurier and University of Waterloo campuses".

A head coach for the swimming centre is to be hired in September.

A couple of medical notes

She predicts that despite the potential for Canada to be self-sufficient in its production of physicians, there will be too much reliance on foreign doctors, with resulting problems of quality control. "Standards are not uniform around the world," she added.

But Robert Evans of the University of British Columbia, also writing in the CMA Journal, disputes the conclusions and cites a decline in the number of Canadian doctors moving to the United State

Meanwhile, Ontario's medical interns (recent medical graduates) are fighting a move that would require them to pay tuition fees during their residency period -- from two years for family practice to eight years for a specialty. The provincial government recently gave the power to medical schools to charge tuition fees for residency. Although the University of Toronto and Queen's University decided against charging fees to interns starting in July, McMaster, Western and Ottawa have not yet announced a decision. An association representing the province's 2,500 medical interns has threatened legal action if fees are imposed for residents.

This fall, most medical schools are raising tuition fees by about 20 per cent for current students, but new students will face an increase of some 100 per cent, or about $10,000 per year.

UW web site of the day

"A really bad picture of the UW pool" and a chart of the fastest swimmers, men and women, in Waterloo sports history are among the features of this site, maintained for the Warrior swim teams by electrical engineering student Andrew Moffat, a swimming competitor himself.

"I maintain the page," he says, "for the interest of the swimmers on the team and those considering Waterloo who might be interested in swimming or have swimming background. Alumni might also find some of the history interesting, and members on work term can keep up with what is going on. I have had about 3,000 hits since last September."

The site is a mixture of information -- lists of team members, qualifying times for potential swimmers, all-time records, next year's schedule -- and atmosphere. In the latter category: a "photo album" of the 1997-98 team, not so much in the pool but at the Athletic Awards Banquet (where "we were a little noisy") and on a training trip to Costa Rica which many of the team members were able to take.

"There is a complete history of coaches, records, mvp's, etc.," Moffat notes. "The most interesting parts would be all the previous Imprint articles of swim meets and the 'years in pictures' for 96-97 and 97-98."

CAR

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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