I don't know about you, but I can't look away: The Movember hits just keep on coming, with good sports like Electrical and Computer Engineering's Roger Sanderson, Scott Patterson from the Arts Computing Office, and the Registrar's Office's Eric Jardin (pictured above) doing their part to raise awareness and funds for cancer research.

 

Back to top

$10,000 up for grabs in data challenge

The Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation (WICI) is throwing down the gauntlet with a call for submissions to the WICI Data Challenge.

WICI is seeking tools and methods that "improve the exploration, analysis, and visualization of complex-systems data."

"With each passing year, researchers and policymakers have access to steadily more data on the behaviour and causal structure of complex systems such as urban land markets, global financial networks, epidemic disease, and Earth's climate," reads the call for submission. "They need tools and methods to effectively evaluate and interpret these data and present the results in accessible formats to a broad range of stakeholders."

According to WICI, the development of such tools and methods has not kept up with the data's soaring available. Thus, the challenge prize of $10,000 to help address this emerging need.

The scope of such tools is wide-ranging and can include:

• Identifying and visualizing critical transitions and bifurcations in nonlinear systems;
• Providing interactive graphical representation of catastrophe manifolds;
• Providing meta-analysis of—and visualizing the data generated by—computational models of coupled human-natural systems;
• Visualizing and analyzing social capital and its relationship to social networks;
• Exploring the use of movement and dance as visualization tools for complex systems;
• Developing visualization platforms for stakeholder and participatory decision making; and
• Developing scenario models and gaming visualizations of imagined futures produced through mass-collaborative online social technologies.

The challenge is open to anyone who wishes to enter, with submissions accepted through the WICI Data Challenge website. The winner will be granted a $10,000 cash value prize and will be invited to present at WICI's major public colloquium on data visualization to be held in the fall of 2013.

Entries should include:

• A written document, not exceeding 2,000 words (citations excluded), that provides an overview of the submission that describes the substantive challenge that the tool addresses, the tool's innovative contribution, its algorithmic or conceptual foundations, the data to be analyzed, a demonstration of the tool in a format understandable to complex-systems scientists, and a statement on the tool's broader impact (if applicable);
• the dataset used for the tool's application;
• an executable of the tool, along with either its source code or an explanation of the program (detailed enough to ensure replicability);
• a statement that the product is the original work of the creator; and, optionally
• additional graphics, videos, documentation, and publications directly relevant to the submission.

Entries should be submitted by Friday, March 15, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. 

Questions about the challenge should be directed to WICI Associate Director Dawn Cassandra Parker or the WICI's administrative assistant Maria Legault.

 

Back to top

Pawliszyn wins environmental chemistry award

by Sharon McFarlane

Congratulations are in order for Faculty of Science researcher Janusz Pawliszyn on being awarded the prestigious Environment Division Research and Development Award. This annual Canadian award recognizes distinguished contributions to research and/or development in the fields of environmental chemistry or environmental chemical engineering. Professor Pawliszyn is being awarded for developing ‘green’ sample preparation technologies.

His contributions range from scientific leadership in environmental analytical chemistry, research excellence and innovation to commercialization of his inventions including his solvent free sample preparation and on-site sampling devices. He works in collaboration with industry in the promotion of these new analytical concepts relevant to environmental chemistry among industrial scientists and academics.  Most recently, Pawliszyn has established a very active joint research program with uWaterloo biology professor Mark Servos on the evaluation of in-vivo solid phase micro extraction (SPME) for non-lethal sampling of fish to estimate the environmental impact of pharmaceutical residues in the environment.  Pawliszyn has been working with regulatory agencies to develop approved solventless regulatory methods.  Presently he has joint projects with the Ministry of Labour and Health Canada which involve split sample analysis to demonstrate equivalence of his methods.

Professor Pawliszyn will be presented with the award next May during the 96^th Annual Canadian Chemical Conference & Exhibition in Quebec City.

 

Back to top

Senate meets today and other notes

The university's Senate meets today at 3:30 p.m., and among other things on the agenda is consideration for a new doctoral program in the School of Pharmacy. Professor Jennifer Clapp of Environment & Resource Studies is also scheduled to deliver a presentation on her research areas.

The voting period for the University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) presidency is now open. Candidate information is available on the UWSA website, and the ballot will remain online until 5:00 p.m. on November 22.

And finally, a reminder that the Fall 2012 Town Hall Meeting will take place tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. in the Humanities Theatre.

 

Back to top