January 29, 2003

Wednesday, January 29, 2003

'Constructive dialogue' about pubs
Engineers here to talk development
This week's staff positions
Computing courses are scheduled
The campus is a busy place

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

'Constructive dialogue' about pubs

A very brief statement was issued late yesterday, eight days after liquor service at UW's two student pubs was shut down.

"Representatives of the Federation of Students and the University met today in a constructive dialogue for the purposes of resolving the issues related to the operation of the Bombshelter and Federation Hall," it said.

"Both sides recognize that time is of the essence to attempt to conclude a resolution to ensure that the establishments resume operations in an environment that is in the best interests of the students and the University of Waterloo."

It's signed by Brenda Koprowski, president of the Federation, and Martin Van Nierop, UW director of information and public affairs.

[Two guys grinning]

Engineers here to talk development

More than 300 members of Engineers Without Borders from across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom will arrive at UW today for discussions of the role of technology in international development, as the second annual conference of EWB gets under way.

EWB is "a facilitator of student innovation", according to conference co-chairs John Cuddihy and Scott Griffiths (right), both systems design engineering students at UW. The conference will display 25 research projects and initiatives in the field of international development, specifically focusing on appropriate technology.

Tonight delegates will register and attend a wine-and-cheese party. Tomorrow, they begin three days of "provocative speakers, dynamic panel discussions and interactive workshops" on topics that include the environment, gender roles, peace and conflict, education, health, economics, technology, society and culture.

Among the speakers will be James Orbinski, past president of Doctors without Borders, who headed the organization at the time it received the 1999 Nobel peace prize, and David Hughes, recently appointed president of Habitat for Humanity. The EWB conference will also hear from UW president David Johnston; Robert Derouin of the Canadian International Development Agency; David Brooks of Friends of the Earth; and John Watson of CARE Canada.

[Polo shirts and big grins]
The math building has played a big role in the life of Steve Martinello, seen with actuarial science faculty member Steve Brown at a reception last year. Martinello was presented with a limited edition print showing the building, where he studied (in the math teaching option) from 1971 to 1976. But his connections go back further: as a high school student he worked a summer job hauling sand and marble chips for the building's construction. He tells the story in the new edition of the Math Ties alumni newsletter.
Most sessions of the conference are for registered delegates only, but public tickets are available for two VIP speakers on Friday afternoon. At 4:00, former external affairs minister Flora MacDonald will speak, followed at 5:00 by United Nations AIDS envoy Stephen Lewis. Tickets for the pair of talks, in the Humanities Theatre, are available for $10 at the Humanities box office.

Engineers Without Borders was founded by two Waterloo engineers, and in less than three years has grown to include 20 chapters across Canada, harnessing the creativity and generosity of more than 2,500 engineers. The organization has already sent more than 40 interns to work overseas with developing communities and NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) partners, and begun projects with overseas partners in Cameroon (health and sanitation), the Philippines (IT learning centres), Uganda (education and IT), and more. This conference includes the first national gathering of EWB's returned interns.

This week's staff positions

Five positions are listed on the weekly circular from UW's human resources department showing staff jobs for which applications are being accepted.

Here are the opportunities included in today's list:

Research technician, biology, USG 6.
Assistant club chef, food services, USG 4/5.
Technical/administrative assistant, secretariat, USG 8.
Copy centre pool operator, graphics, USG 3.
Research ethics coordinator, office of research, USG 7.

Longer descriptions are available on the HR web site.

As always: "The University welcomes and encourages applications from the designated employment equity groups: visible minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and aboriginal people. For more information call ext. 2524."

Computing courses are scheduled

The information systems and technology department (IST) is offering computing courses in February to UW faculty, staff and students.

The following courses are being offered for students: Introduction to Unix, Using PowerPoint for a Class Presentation.

The following courses are part of the Skills for the Academic e-Workplace program, and are offered to faculty, grad students, and staff with instructional responsibilities: Statistical Analysis with SPSS, Statistical Analysis with SAS, Scientific Computing Using Maple, Posters with PowerPoint, Word and PowerPoint Equations, Extending Excel Using Visual Basic, Database Management with Access, Technical Animations with Flash, Technical Diagrams with Visio, Engineers - Keeping Current - Digitally.

Information about the courses, along with a registration form, can be found on the web.

The campus is a busy place

Employer interviews begin today, as co-op students look for jobs for the May-to-August work term. The regular interview season will run through February 11 -- a shorter cycle in the past, largely because the co-op department, in its new building, has more interview rooms available. (Pictured at right: co-op student Tara Mack takes a few UW staff members through the new building on one of the recent noontime tours.)

Campaigning continues in the Federation of Students election, and when I said yesterday that students are electing a president and three vice-presidents, I should have added that several positions on students' council and the UW senate are also up for grabs. An open forum for executive candidates will be held today from 11:30 to 1:30 in the Carl Pollock Hall foyer.

The joint health and safety committee will meet at 1:30 today in Needles Hall room 3001. . . . The workshop about the Merlot "learning object repository", announced for today by the LT3 technology centre, has been rescheduled for February 5. . . .

A blood donor clinic continues in the Student Life Centre, with sign-ups available at the turnkey desk. . . . Conrad Grebel University College presents a noon-hour concert of piano music played by Catherine Robertson, starting at 12:30 today in the Grebel chapel. . . . Rt. Rev. Marion Pardy, moderator of the United Church of Canada, will have lunch at St. Paul's United College today and meet with a crowd of representatives from local congregations. . . . Toronto novelist and poet Sue Sinclair will read from her work at 4:00 today in the common room at St. Jerome's University. . . .

The residence cafeterias, both Mudie's in Village I and REVelations in Ron Eydt Village, offer a Chinese new year dinner from 4:30 to 7:00 tonight. . . . A "free video presentation on self-knowledge", featuring Indian thinker Prem Rawat, will be shown at 4:30 at the Graduate House. . . . The basketball Warriors host McMaster tonight in the Physical Activities Complex, with the women's teams playing at 6 p.m., the men's teams at 8:00. . . .

Local branches of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, including UW's, are sponsoring a contest to write a software application for BlackBerry communicators. . . . The Graduate Student Association says it will sponsor first aid and CPR training for a grad student from each department across campus. . . . UW alumni in Hamilton are getting together for a pub night tonight at the Whistling Walrus. . . .

And among the notes on tomorrow's calendar:

Student services sponsors an information session on housing (what to look for, renter's rights and responsibilities) from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Student Life Centre.
This term's Stanley Knowles Lecture, to be given by political scientist Alan Cairns under the title "First Nations and the Canadian Nation" (Humanities Theatre, 7:30 p.m.; free, no tickets required).
"Spirituality, Health and Activism", a seminar by physician Neil Arya, sponsored by the Waterloo-India Linkage and the Spiritual Heritage Education Network (Math and Computer room 4021, 7 p.m., admission free).

And a little further ahead . . . a memo from the research office announces that "Consistent with our role in, and continued commitment to, providing UW researchers with information, opportunities and activities related to the art of successful grant proposal writing, we wish to announce a workshop to be held on Monday, February 10, from 1:30-4:30 p.m. This workshop is jointly sponsored with the Office of Research at WLU and will feature Dr. Larry McEnerney, the Director of the Writing Program at University of Chicago. Additional information on the focus of this workshop is located on our website. As the workshop will take place in the Paul Martin Centre at WLU, registration for this event is being handled through WLU's Research Office. Since space may be limited, you are encouraged to register as soon as possible." More information: Susan Sykes at ext. 6005, e-mail ssykes@uwaterloo.ca.

CAR