![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Thursday, December 4, 2003
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[In front of knot sculpture]](/images/2003/1204kauffman.gif)
Knot expert
Louis
Kauffman of the University of Illinois at Chicago, a
visiting professor in the combinatorics and
optimization department, will give this month's seminar for the
Interdisciplinary Coffee Talk Society. He'll speak on
"Knots and Paradoxes" at 5:00 today at the Graduate House. "His
talk should be most interesting," says ICTS organizer Achim Kempf,
"as he will make connections to various fields, from logic and
topology to biology and physics." The
ICTS is
"an informal society of researchers . . . the talks present
insight into some important or fascinating topic in terms understandable to those from other fields and yet on a high level."
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Details of givings during 2002-03 are presented in a "Donor Report" that's distributed with the fall issue of the UW Magazine.
It says the $21-million-plus came from 20,626 donors. Three quarters of them were alumni, whose gifts added up to slightly more than $6 million. Gifts of $10.4 million came from 318 corporations.
Other groups of donors included faculty, staff and retirees (1,053 people, for $795,000); parents of students (2,115 people, for $213,000); foundations, "friends", and even 49 patients of the optometry clinic.
"Where is the money going?" one chart is headed. The answer is that $11.2 million went to university-wide projects, including construction, athletics and the library; the arts faculty received $2.6 million, engineering $2.2 million, math $1.5 million, environmental studies just under $1 million, science $600,000 and applied health sciences $270,000. The colleges were given $2.3 million, most of it going to Conrad Grebel University College, which was winding up a major building project.
While some of the money from donors gets spent right away, especially on buildings, some of it goes into the endowment funds, which earn interest year after year to help pay for scholarships and other activities that continue. In 2002-03, interest on the endowment funds was almost $1.8 million, the report says, and the total in the funds rose to $79.8 million, up from $4 million ten years ago.
"Waterloo is fortunate," says the donor report, "to have so many donors, whether they are individuals, corporations, foundations, or governments, who share our vision of the future of post-secondary education. We are particularly grateful to the individuals and organizations who have made extraordinary leadership gifts. In the early stages of a campaign, these pacesetting gifts are critical to achieving our goal. They build a solid foundation for our talent trust and challenge others to follow their example.
"In the fiscal year ending April 30, 2003, close to 1,000 individuals made leadership gifts of close to $6 million towards enhancing the University's academic and research excellence."
Sponsored by the department of kinesiology in the faculty of applied health sciences, Lab Days was originally established 30 years ago as an introduction to the then relatively new discipline of kinesiology -- the science of human movement. Since then, Kinesiology Lab Days has served as an educational resource to hundreds of high school teachers across the province working with kinesiology, biology and exercise science curriculum.
This year, Grade 11 and 12 students from 39 schools, including eight local area high schools, will learn about a wide range of human health and movement-related topics in these mini-laboratory sessions. The student tours begin with an introductory presentation examining human movement "From Cell to Society" followed by participation in three of several laboratory experiences.
The lab sessions include "Ergonomically designed" -- the science of fitting the task to the person; "Put your best foot forward" -- neurological pathways and biomechanic principles involved in walking/running/jumping; "Pedal power" -- the workings of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems; "Nutrition" -- impact of various diets on wellness and performance; "Psyched up" -- how psychological variables affect performance; and "Work those muscles" -- how muscle forces are generated and quantified.
Students will have the opportunity to interact with equipment used in many of state-of-the-art research and teaching laboratories. Lab experiences range from the use of electrocardiograms to electromyograms (to measure muscle activity); from ventilation measurement to movement analysis using video and force plate technology.
Besides learning some traditional testing techniques, participants can apply their new-found knowledge in creative applications such as propelling an electric car around the corridors using only electrical activity from their muscles.
A brief presentation honouring the 30th anniversary of Kinesiology Lab Days was made by Stuart McGill, chair of the kin department, yesterday morning in the Matthews Hall foyer.
![[Red brick]](/images/2003/1204townhouses.gif)
| WHEN AND WHERE |
|
Canadian Centre of Arts and Technology official opening
celebration, 10 a.m. Monday, December 8, Modern Languages building.
Carol sing, 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, December 9, Modern Languages lobby. Mature student Christmas luncheon, noon Wednesday, December 10, information ext. 2429. Better Recordings seminar for faculty and graduate students, 2 p.m. December 10, audio-visual centre studio, information from jscharle@admmail. Orientation session for non-union staff hired since March, 8:30 to noon Friday, December 12, Rod Coutts Hall room 307. Overview of Eating Disorders seminar sponsored by Employee Assistance Program, noon on December 16, register with Johan Reis, health services. |
One of UW's longstanding scholarship programs (and we're talking scholarships here, award for academic merit, not bursaries based on need) is the Waterloo County Scholarships. They're given each year to attract top graduates from local high schools to come to UW. A major source of the funds: money received from parking and traffic fines on campus. According to a financial summary provided by the senate committee on scholarships and student aid, those fines in 2001-02 brought in $105,815.85 (I'm not sure who ponied up the 85 cents). With other revenue, the committees responsible for the scholarships were able to give out $179,000 last year. Most recipients of the scholarships get $3,000 for their first year; some also get $1,000 in second and third year.
Planning is moving along for the Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference, to be held this year January 22-24 at a Toronto hotel. "The largest conference organized exclusively by university students across Canada", it's largely a UW production, and this year will feature speakers ranging from the president of Microsoft Canada to the director of Sun Microsystems Labs. "Through events such as ThinkTank, TechExpo, CareerExpo, TechPanel, TechShops and TechTours," says public relations organizer Cathy Choi, "delegates will have the opportunity to share their opinions, ideas, proposals, comments and criticisms about contemporary issues pertaining to technology with those who drive the industry." I'll be saying more about CUTC as it gets closer; meanwhile, registration is open on its web site.
The DaCapo Chamber Choir, which is based at Conrad Grebel University College and directed by Grebel's Leonard Enns, is "dedicated to exploring unaccompanied choral music of the 20th century and beyond". Sara Martin, manager of the choir, says she "is thrilled to announce that our first recording project is underway. Last Sunday we had our very first session, recording a number of pieces including Tim Corlis' 'Silent Dawn', Barrie Cabena's 'Only the Lonely', and Jeff Enns' 'The Call'. Other selections will include Barber's 'Agnus Dei', Enns' 'Gloria', and Tavener's 'Svyati' (performed at our November 2003 concert). The CD, tentatively titled 'Still', promises to be a wonderful experience -- for the choir, as performers, and for our listeners. It is scheduled for release in the late spring. We are currently selling the CD at the pre-release price of $15." Advance orders can go by e-mail to dacapo@canada.com.
CAR