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Thursday, January 29, 2004

  • Student space conference this weekend
  • Flakes in the snowstorm of life
  • Order of Canada for peace activist
  • Graduate business students shine
  • To sweeten the February blahs
Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

Freethinkers Day


[Astronaut lecture poster]

Student space conference this weekend

The third annual Canadian Student Summit on Aerospace (CSSA) will be held at UW this Friday through Sunday, hosted by UW and the local branch of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, with involvement from the Waterloo Space Society. It's one of the largest student-run aerospace events across Canada.

It will focus on four main areas of interest: Engineering and Technology; Medicine and Life Sciences; Business/Media/Politics; and Physics and Astronomy, said Sara-Jane Carter, one of the organizers. The summit will attract "industry leaders and students from across the country for a collaborative and insightful weekend of ideas and discussion," she added.

Keynote speakers expected to attend include Dave Williams, Canadian Space Agency astronaut, and Bob Richards, director of Optech's Space and Atmospheric Division.

Williams will give a free lecture Saturday at 9 a.m. in the Theatre of the Arts (see the poster at left).

First dreamed up in 2002, the CSSA was developed by the Queen's University branch of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Society. After a successful conference at Queen's, the event was hosted in 2003 at Carleton University in Ottawa, and Waterloo's CASI branch started organizing the 2004 conference before it was folded into the Waterloo Space Society this fall.

The conference has grown to attract the interest of many large corporations including Research In Motion Ltd. and MD Robotics, which are helping to sponsor the summit. "The conference will be of special significance to the aerospace community as it marks the tragic anniversary of the Columbia shuttle disaster," Carter said. This conference in Waterloo is one of the major highlights in a series of events that are being jointly organized by students across the country.

The fee to attend is $65. Further details and a registration form are available online.

[Porcellino and Porter Library]

Flakes in the snowstorm of life

First a small correction in the wake of Tuesday's on-and-off snowstorm. (Pictured above: the second morning after, with Porcellino just about buried on his plinth in front of Modern Languages; photo by Barbara Elve.) I wrote in Tuesday's Daily Bulletin that while several nearby universities were open for business, McMaster in Hamilton was, like UW, closed. That wasn't quite accurate. Mac closed on Monday night, but reopened Tuesday morning -- then closed again in midafternoon Tuesday. (Meanwhile, the University of Toronto also closed late in the day on Tuesday, the result of both the storm and, at its downtown campus, an electrical blackout affecting some buildings.)

The weekly positions available list is out from the human resources department -- I should have mentioned it yesterday. There are three jobs on this week's list:

More information about each job is available on the HR web site.

An interesting article in yesterday's Record reported that Wilfrid Laurier University "wants employees to consider taking unpaid leaves of absence to help the university save money", in a year when government operating grants for higher education are uncertain. Said the Record: "While some Ontario universities are considering a hiring freeze, UW is not, said Amit Chakma, UW's vice-president academic. 'We feel that the '96 cutbacks caused significant damage to the university and we would not like to repeat a similar experience. . . . We are proceeding full blast and assuming the risks. We have given up on news (from the government). We don't like it but we have learned to deal with uncertainty.'"

Avi Caplan, a former volunteer with Engineers Without Borders, sends this message: "A few of us from EWB are trying to get a group of interested people together from across the university (not just engineers) to have regular informal discussions and perhaps to learn something from each other about issues in development, particularly as related to technology. We want this to be very participatory, so there are as of yet no 'topics'. No experience or background is required. Faculty and staff are very welcome." An organizational meeting -- first scheduled for Tuesday, but cancelled because of the storm -- is to be held today at 5:30 in PAS (Psychology) room 1056. Anyone who's interested, but can't make it to the meeting, can reach Caplan at aecaplan@artsmail.

There's a reception in Toronto today -- 4 to 7 p.m. at the Sutton Place Hotel -- for the publication of a book by Ken Westhues of UW's sociology department, under the title Administrative Mobbing at the University of Toronto. The book tells of the 1994 dismissal of Herbert Richardson, a religious studies faculty member at U of T's St. Michael's College, after charges of misconduct in teaching and other parts of academic life. A major issue in the case was Richardson's role as founder and editor of the Edwin Mellen Press, which was variously described as a "vanity" press and a breakthrough in channels of scholarly communication. Mellen is the publisher of Westhues's new book, which describes Richardson's experience as "an unprecedented ritual of humiliation". It also compares the Richardson case to Westhues's own run-ins with the UW ethics committee, also in the mid-1990s. Administrative Mobbing includes "essays in response" by nine scholars, and is priced at $29.95.

[Regehr]

WHEN AND WHERE
Joint health and safety committee, 1:30, Needles Hall room 3001.

Making the Job Fair Work for You: workshop at 2:30, Tatham Centre room 1208. The fair itself is scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, at Waterloo's RIM Park.

Financial and purchasing system shutdown begins at 4:30 today.

Arriscraft Lecture, British architect Michael Stacey, "Tradition and Change: The Design of Ballingdon Bridge", 7 p.m., Environmental Studies II room 286.

'Religious Exclusiveness with Spiritual Inclusiveness', seminar by Jewish scholar Bob Chodos, sponsored by Spiritual Heritage Education Network, 7 p.m., Math and Computer room 4021.

Simplicity Circle first meeting of the term, Friday 5:30, WPIRG office, Student Life Centre, information simplicity@pirg.uwaterloo.ca.

Drum making workshop, Saturday 1 p.m., St. Paul's United College, registration 885-1460 ext. 209.

Order of Canada for peace activist

A national honour was announced Tuesday for Ernie Regehr (left), director of Waterloo-based Project Ploughshares and an adjunct faculty member at Conrad Grebel University College. Regehr's name was on a list of people named to one of three levels in the Order of Canada -- in his case, a Member of the order, the middle rank.

In making the appointment, the Governor-General's office said said: "His is one of Canada's most prominent and respected voices on international disarmament and peace. Executive director and co-founder of Project Ploughshares, Ernie Regehr is known for his sound judgment, balanced views and integrity.

"Canadian and foreign governments as well as the United Nations call upon him as an expert on disarmament. Organizations such as the World Council of Churches, the Canadian Council for International Cooperation and the Africa Peace Forum also benefit from his knowledge and insight. A dedicated humanitarian, he has made a significant contribution to Canada's international reputation as a leader in peacemaking."

He was acting president of Grebel in 1994-95.

Graduate business students shine -- from the UW media relations office

A team of students from the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program has been selected as one of three North American finalists in the Graduate Student Licensing Competition.

The competition, sponsored by the Licensing Executives Society Foundation, is for graduate students interested in intellectual property and licensing issues.

Participants had to submit a business plan with a significant intellectual property or licensing component. Of the numerous entries received, the judges narrowed the field to three finalists, two from the United States and the UW team.

The MBET team -- consisting of Prem Gururajan, Ethan Henry, Harish Patel and Joyce Kyeyune -- will present their plan at the society's winter meeting in San Francisco in mid-February. The MBET advisory council (a group of local entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and business professionals) has been active in coaching and mentoring the team.

"This is a prestigious accomplishment for our team, and the students will have a wonderful opportunity to receive additional guidance and mentorship by individuals with expertise in their area," says Howard Armitage, director of the Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology. MBET is a graduate program designed to provide students with a technical background the business skills required to move ideas forward to commercial success.

To sweeten the February blahs

During the month of February, faculty and staff are invited to order treat-a-grams -- "yummy, crunchy, extra-large, chocolate chip cookies on a stick as the perfect way to say 'you're special,' celebrate a job well done, remember a birthday, or send any other personalized greeting."

As a fundraiser for the Keystone Campaign, the treat-a-grams will be delivered on campus by February 12, just in time for Valentine's Day, says alumni and development communications officer Shelley Rudd.

[Cookie logo] Treat-a-grams are $3 each and can be ordered from Keystone campaign departmental representatives. A full list of Keystone department reps is available on the Keystone web site. (Surprise treat-a-gram orders for department reps themselves can be sent to Bonnie Oberle, Keystone campaign manager, office of development, South Campus Hall room 234.)

To order, fill out the form on the treat-a-gram flyer being circulated by mail or download a PDF flyer from the Keystone web site. Orders are due by February 6 -- that's Friday of next week.

The treat-a-gram project is made possible with the help of many volunteers and food services, which is sponsoring the cookies.

CAR


Communications and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
(519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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