![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Tuesday, July 30, 2002
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[White]](/images/2002/0730white.gif)
Glen White, president of Steelway Building Systems of Aylmer, Ontario, was on campus last week for the official dedication of his gift of a large structural testing frame to the department of civil engineering and the Canadian Cold Formed Steel Research Group. The $35,000 frame, one of Canada's largest structural testing frames of its kind, will be used for testing trusses. Photo by Barbara Elve. |
Anyway, I'm home, having survived the heat alert that Environment Canada imposed on us, a variation on the smog alerts that are getting familiar by now. (The UW grounds crew is starting work at 6 a.m. these days, I'm told, to get more of the job done before the heat of the day reaches its worst.) Sunday afternoon there was even a tornado watch for a while.
That was about the only thing that interrupted the voice of Michael Higgins on every radio station and television channel over the weekend. Higgins, president of St. Jerome's University, is clearly Canada's foremost media personality when it comes to explaining the Roman Catholic Church and Pope John Paul II during his World Youth Day visit to Toronto.
It's a good time to be in Waterloo. The spring term, and especially the late weeks of the spring term, must be the best time of year to be on this campus, at least for those who aren't having to write exams. The sun is out (mostly), it's not hard to find a parking space, and while there's still plenty of work to be done, the pressure is eased a little, it seems. Unless, of course, you're involved in last-minute admissions work, or Student Life 101 (set for Monday, August 12), or preparations for the fall term. . . .
Textbooks for fall can be ordered now through the bookstore's Express Books service: request them online, provide your credit card number, and the books will be all packed up and ready for you when you hit campus in September. "You won't have to wait in lineups in the store, and you won't have to search for your books on the shelves," students are promised. Deadline for Express Books orders is August 18.
Deadline for fall term fees, if you were wondering, is August 26 if you're paying by cheque, September 4 by bank transfer.
Note from the retail services department: all the stores (bookstore, computer store, UW Shop, Techworx) will be closed Wednesday morning for the staff's annual general meeting. All stores will be re-opening at 1:30 p.m.
Waterloo Maple, a source for analytical software used by scientists, engineers and mathematicians, will be showcasing the car concurrently with a lunch and poster session in Davis Centre room 1301. Conference attendees (and passers-by) will have the opportunity to view the car between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and ask questions to team members. Participants will also be able to pick up promotional materials regarding Midnight Sun.
Waterloo Maple's summer workshop runs from July 28 to July 30 at UW. "Over one million people," says a news release, "benefit from using Maple applications, including many UW students, staff, and faculty. The summer conference trains users of all levels and will be focusing on Maple products in both education and industry. Currently, the Midnight Sun team looks forward to the possibility of using Maple applications for the design of our next generation solar car."
The Midnight Sun Solar Race Team is the largest student-run project at UW, and is now building its seventh generation solar car. Midnight Sun VI has been clocked at speeds well over 100km/h, and the next generation car is expected to be the fastest and most advanced to date.
Tobacco use is the primary cause of premature illness and death in Canada and beyond. In Canada, about six million adults smoke, with about 50 per cent of long-term smokers dying prematurely. Tobacco use accounts for 33,000 to 45,000 deaths annually (21 per cent of all deaths and 30 per cent of cancer deaths). Worldwide, 30 per cent of adults smoke, and if this rate persists, 15 per cent of the global adult population could die prematurely because of smoking.
There is an urgent need to train researchers who can help figure out how to reduce the number of smokers in the population as quickly as possible to reduce the death toll, the institutes say. This research training must be broad since tobacco use is related to many factors, including public policy, genetic factors, public education and cessation services.
The award will support training that crosses departments and institutions, serves to broaden the understanding of current researchers as well as trainees, and bridges research and practice to support translation.
The program is built around research programs that are unique in the world. The three participating universities all have close working relationships with the tobacco control system.
UW is home of the Canadian Cancer Society/National Cancer Institute of Canada's Centre for Behavioural Research and Program Evaluation, which operates a national research network that aligns its work with the National Tobacco Control Strategy. The University of Toronto has the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, which is responsible for conducting research to guide the Ontario Tobacco Strategy. The University of British Columbia researchers work closely with officials responsible tobacco control in that province.
Faculty members who will conduct the training come from many fields, including clinical, social and educational psychology, economics, health studies, pharmacology, sociology, medicine, geography, nursing, statistics, mathematics and adult education. There are also health departments offering graduate training programs in addictions, community health sciences, economics, health behaviour, psychology, statistics and actuarial science, nursing, mathematics, behavioural science, social science, epidemiology, health promotion and education.
CAR
TODAY IN UW HISTORYJuly 30, 1993: The Gender and Science and Technology Association holds its biennial conference at UW. |