February 13, 2002

Wednesday, February 13, 2002

IBM announces insurance centre at UW
'Filter and switch' chair launched
Open meetings before faculty vote
And a little of this and that

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

The federal industry minister's 'innovation strategy'

[Posing beside the telescope]
The observatory atop the Physics building is getting $15,000 worth of renovations this year, a front-page story in today's Gazette reports. Refinished mirrors in the 12-inch reflector telescope "will increase the amount of light coming through by a factor of five", says astronomer Michael Fich (pictured). A digital camera is being installed, and specialized new software will put UW undergraduates light years ahead of astronomy students on most other campuses, Fich says.

IBM announces insurance centre at UW

IBM Canada Ltd. said Monday that it will create an International Insurance Solutions Centre (ISC) "that will be centred at the University of Waterloo with operations in Toronto".

The promise came along with an announcement that IBM is taking over "the management of information technology infrastructure" for Waterloo-based Manulife Financial Corp.

IBM's news release said the new centre would be created "in order to meet the increasingly complex and sophisticated technology needs of the industry in Canada and around the world. The ISC will be home to a collection of some of the best minds and international resources, committed to developing, deploying and managing cost-effective solutions that will help insurance companies succeed in the rapidly changing marketplace."

An IBM executive said: "The insurance industry is faced with deregulation, mergers and acquisitions, and increased competition. Insurance companies want to decrease their time to market, and increase their ability to react to the changing needs of the market. IBM and our partners can help them do this, and reduce costs, through the Insurance Solutions Centre, strategically located here at the University of Waterloo, and part of a global network of centres of excellence."

The company said Manulife would be "the premier participant" in the new centre. A statement from Manulife said the insurance company was "very pleased to strengthen our commitment to innovation and customer service through technology in the Insurance and Wealth Management sectors with this new participatory arrangement with IBM. . . . The IBM Insurance Solutions Centre will help us strengthen our commitment to the Kitchener/Waterloo area as well as enhance our relationship with the University of Waterloo."

It's not clear what the announcement means from UW's point of view. "It is our hope" that the centre might end up in the planned north campus research and technology park, said Gerry Thompson, chief administrative officer for Waterloo Region.

Insurance research at UW is centred in an institute headed by Rob Brown of the department of statistics and actuarial science. He told the Record that the centre will eventually include "hundreds of researchers and information technology specialists", and added that Waterloo was the perfect place for such a centre because of the university's complementary strengths in information technology and actuarial science.

IBM said its plans for the ISC include working closely with IBM Research, consisting of 3,000 researchers, in eight labs around the world. "IBM is also announcing an enhanced research and technology relationship with the University of Waterloo," the news release said, adding that IBM and UW "are augmenting their relationship to add research and projects specifically focused on early adoption of innovative insurance software solutions on IBM software platforms in partnership with leading software vendors and insurers".

Under the new agreement with Manulife, a second news release said, "IBM intends to provide operational services to support Manulife's North American IT requirements including data centres, help desk, desktop computers, and voice and data networks. The agreement would also involve the transfer of approximately 400 Manulife employees to IBM."

'Filter and switch' chair launched

The NSERC-Com Dev Industrial Research Chair in Filter and Switch Technologies was launched yesterday as visitors announced that the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council is providing $1 million over five years and Com Dev, based in Cambridge, south of Kitchener, is contributing $850,000.

[Mansour] Andrew Telegdi, Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Waterloo, announced federal financial support for the chair on behalf of industry minister Allan Rock. "Filters and switches are at the heart of innovation in the communications industry," Telegdi said. "The University of Waterloo team will keep Canada intellectually at the leading edge of this field and, most importantly for the future, train the new talent who will drive the Canadian innovations of tomorrow. That is why the federal government is funding this important work."

"Filters and switches are crucial elements in wireless and satellite technology," explained the chairholder, Raafat Mansour (right) of the electrical and computer engineering department. "The devices that my team is developing will make communications technology smaller, faster and better. That means cell phones that are lighter and bring us more services more efficiently and satellites that stay longer in orbit and are more productive because the smaller communications devices leave more room for fuel."

"I am confident that the technology developed as a result of this chair will make a valuable contribution to helping Com Dev maintain its dominant position as a global market leader in the design and manufacture of microwave switch and filter products for space satellites," said Keith Ainsworth, president of Com Dev.

"Telecommunications research is a Canadian strength and will continue to be so, " said NSERC president Tom Brzustowski. "NSERC is pleased to be partnering with Com Dev, the largest Canadian-based designer and manufacturer of space hardware subsystems."

The "chair" is not a single faculty position but a program headed by Mansour, aimed at doing applied research "at the forefront of innovation, design and characterization of Radio Frequencies (RF) filters and switches for satellite and wireless systems". Technologies developed through this kind of research are expected to open the door for future novel communication systems with capabilities that are not possible with existing technologies.

The chairholder, Raafat Mansour, received his PhD from UW and then worked for Com Dev from 1986 to 1999. He held several key positions at Com Dev's corporate research and development department before joining UW in December 1999. He holds several U.S. and Canadian patents in the development and Computer Aided Design (CAD) of filters and multiplexers.

Says a news release: "Another main thrust of the chair program is the training of highly qualified personnel for industries like Com Dev. The program will serve as a good training ground for students who will be vested in the design and testing of emerging new RF technologies. The program will also provide the necessary resources and visibility to attract and retain the best researchers who will eventually integrate in the work force in Canada."

Open meetings before faculty vote

The faculty association has announced some details of the faculty vote, which will begin February 25, on the new rules on program redundancy, financial exigency and layoffs that are proposed as articles for the Memorandum of Agreement.

Says a memo issued yesterday: "All regular and some part-time faculty members are entitled to participate in a ratification vote, to be managed electronically. Information about the online voting process and the ratification ballot are available on the Secretariat homepage.

"The poll will be open from 8:30 a.m. on Monday, February 25 until 12:00 noon on Friday, March 8, 2002. During this period, a station will be available in the Secretariat from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. daily for those faculty members without access to a computer or who require assistance. Contact the Secretariat (ext. 6125) if you require further information about the voting process.

"We are aware that many of you will have questions about these articles. Consequently, we have arranged three meetings to answer your questions and listen to your comments."

Meetings are scheduled for this Friday (2:30 p.m. in Carl Pollock Hall room 3388); next Wednesday, February 20 (3:30 in Math and Computer room 4060); and February 28 (4 p.m. in Humanities room 280).

"If the ratification vote is favourable," says the memo, "these articles will be presented to the Board of Governors for approval at its meeting on April 2."

Valentine preparations
[Heartbeat] Kiss-o-grams for delivery on Valentine's Day (tomorrow) are on sale from 1:00 to 2:30 today on the third floor of the Math and Computer building, the Math Grad Committee announces.
"Cards and gifts are available in the UW Shop to show your sweetie that you love 'em," adds Noemia Fernandes of the retail services department.
The University Club will be serving a romantic lunch tomorrow (including raspberry chocolate mousse cake) for $11.95 per person, and an even more romantic dinner (including roasted rack of lamb) for $79.95 per couple. Reservations: ext. 3801.
And I see that Federation Hall is promising "Temptation Island" tomorrow night, a competition with "a limo ride and a romantic dinner" as first prize.

And a little of this and that

First of all, in spite of what I announced, there was nobody from the CNIB selling potted crocuses in South Campus Hall yesterday. Quite a few people called or e-mailed to ask why, and whether they'll be along some other day instead. I don't know, but I'm trying to find out.

Today is Ash Wednesday, a significant day in many branches of the Christian tradition as the first day of Lent. Chapel services today will mark the occasion at two of UW's church colleges: Roman Catholic, 12:00, 5:00 and 7:00, Notre Dame Chapel, St. Jerome's University; Anglican, 12:00 and 7:00, St. Bede's Chapel, Renison College.

The staff association will hold a town hall meeting at 12 noon today in Arts Lecture Hall room 124. "The topic for discussion," an announcement says, "will be Pay Increases vs. Job Security."

A free concert starts at 12:30 in the chapel of Conrad Grebel University College. Performing today are Catherine Robertson and Catherine Anderson, who promise "classical piano and cello chamber music".

The computer store's planned "Lunch & Learn" session for today, with visitors showing off Apple Canada hardware, has been postponed to Tuesday, March 5.

[Sun] As I said at quite some length yesterday, solar architect Steven Strong of Solar Design Associates Inc. will be speaking at 2:30 this afternoon in Davis Centre room 1351. His visit is sponsored by ARISE Technologies of Kitchener.

The Computer Science Club offers a talk this afternoon, by CS student Billy Biggs, on "DVD-Video under Linux". Everyone's welcome; the talk starts at 4:00 in Math and Computer room 4060.

At 7:00, the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group sponsors a couple of films, followed by discussion, under the general title "Resistance in 2002 and Beyond: What's Next?"

The drama department's "Absurd Person Plural" is beginning its second week, with performances tonight through Saturday at 8:00 in "Studio 180" in the Humanities building. Tickets: 888-4908.

Nominations close at midnight tonight in this year's Graduate Student Association elections. Last-minute information: check with GSA administrator Rose Vogt in the Graduate House.

Finally, I understand that UW will be represented today at an event where the future of Cambridge's Cruickston Park will be revealed. Recent publicity suggested that an environmental centre proposed for part of the property might be operated by the university.

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY
February 13, 1971: FASS winds up its four-night run with what the Gazette calls "the slickest show ever", but without the traditional in-jokes because "the campus is too big -- people no longer know each other that well."