Watching us like a...: Judy Reidt in the Faculty of Mathematics' undergraduate admissions and outreach office snapped this image of a hawk at the window of her office in Math & Computer yesterday morning.

Back to top

Wetlands symposium draws global audience

With more than half of the world's wetlands destroyed over the past century, Canada is home to about a quarter of what's left, and the University of Waterloo is leading the national conversation highlighting the vital economic and environmental role of wetlands.

The University of Waterloo is bringing together international scientists, economists and policy experts to discuss wetland conservation and sustainability today. As water system experts, the Ecohydrology Research Group in the Faculty of Science at Waterloo is leading the discussion.

Given that wetlands cover 14 per cent of Canada, our future and economy are dependent on the health of this unique ecosystem. Known as the kidneys of the planet, wetlands filter out excess nutrients and pollutants, such as heavy metals. They form an integral part of the climate system, contribute to the cycling of water, oxygen and carbon, provide flood protection as well as protect shorelines against coastal erosion.

"Putting wetlands and water-related ecosystem services at the centre of water management is critical to meeting the social, economic and environmental needs of a growing global population," said Professor Philippe Van Cappellen, of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Waterloo and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Ecohydrology.

At today's event, scientists, NGO representatives and industry experts will discuss how effective local, regional, national and international policies have been in preventing the loss of wetlands. Other topics include the economic benefits of wetlands and whether constructed wetlands can replace natural ones. The latest wetland research from various universities will also be applied to policy, industry and public awareness initiatives.

World Wetlands Day is an annual international celebration commemorating the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The Ramsar Convention is a global environmental treaty signed by 168 countries to protect more than 200 million hectares of designated wetlands worldwide.

Ramsar partners with UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to raise awareness about the interdependence between water and wetlands. The Ecohydrology Research Group at Waterloo will submit a summary of the event, statistics and photos to Ramsar.

Seminars, a panel discussion and poster presentations by participants from the University of Waterloo, McGill University and McMaster University, as well as Ducks Unlimited and the David Suzuki Foundation are on the agenda.

For more details, including the program and registration, please visit the event website.

Back to top

Student gives competition a taste of cold steel

with files from the January 8 issue of Structural Engineer magazine.

A University of Waterloo student has placed second in the 2013 International Student Competition on Cold-Formed Steel Design, hosted by the University of North Texas (UNT) earlier this month.

Colin Van Niejenhuis, a civil engineering master's student, placed second behind Junle Cai from Virginia Tech and ahead of third-place winner Yu Gao, also of Virginia Tech.

The international student competition promotes higher education in cold-formed steel structural design and encourages students to use creative thinking skills to solve engineering challenges. Co-sponsors of the event include the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the University of North Texas.

Students were asked to design “an open section shape for an 8-inch deep, 25-foot long flexural member that provides an adequate nominal bending strength and utilizes the least possible material.” The competition received 55 entries from institutions in Canada, China, Iran, Thailand, and the United States.

The top three winners will receive monetary awards and award plaques, with their designs exhibited at various conferences in 2014. The top 10 students in the 2013 competition will receive one-year student memberships in the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI).

The winning designs are posted online.

Back to top

Reflecting on the New Year at January's end

I hope that, like me, you’re finding 2014 is off to an outstanding start.

It was a pleasure to partner with FEDS in welcoming students to campus during Winter Welcome Week. Our President’s Lunch event was well-attended and enjoyed by all. Thanks to the many of you who participated, and for my administration colleagues who helped to serve.

I’m delighted to report that Waterloo is making strong strides on the international scene, in accordance with our Strategic Plan goals of being a “truly global institution” and of continuing to shine as a hub for transformational research.

In December, I led a delegation from Waterloo to the University of Bordeaux, France, where we signed a partnership agreement with that excellent university. Our two universities will work together to find a range of opportunities for collaboration, including exchanges, conferences, exploring joint degree possibilities, and teaching and research partnerships in each institution’s areas of strength.

We also announced, this month, plans to enter into a research partnership with the Technion University based in Haifa, Israel. Like Waterloo, the Technion is a top innovation university, with mutual strength and interest in the areas of quantum information systems, nanotechnology, and water. In March, I’ll lead a delegation of Waterloo researchers and administrators to Technion so that joint research teams can work out research plans for these three core areas.

Combined with the relationship we deepened in July with one of Australia’s most innovative institutions, Monash University,  the University of Waterloo is making big gains as a leading international university with a growing network of powerhouse partners. I hope to have more to report in this regard in the months to come.

Closer to home, in mid-January I had the honour of attending a major alumni event at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa, where we celebrated Waterloo alumnus from the faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Rohit Ramchandani. Rohit partnered with ColaLife to bring essential medicine to children in Zambia using Coca-Cola’s distribution system, as documented in The Cola Road. If you have an opportunity to do so, attend a screening of the documentary. It is such a heart-warming example of what can happen when the spirit of innovation meets the humanitarian impulse. I thank our Ottawa-area alumni (and co-op students!) for making it out to the event.

Speaking of our University of Waterloo community members: we have been extremely well represented in a recent set of appointments made by Governor General David Johnston to the Order of Canada.

Former president of St. Jerome’s University, Doug Letson, former chair of our Board of Governors, Bob Harding, as well as alumni Stephen Carpenter and John Daniel were all named to the Order of Canada on December 30, 2013. This is a truly prestigious honour, recognizing distinguished Canadians who have demonstrated “outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation”.

I would also like to highlight that Waterloo honorary degree recipient and executive chairman of OpenText, Tom Jenkins, was recently named by Industry Minister James Moore to the Council of the National Research Council of Canada in recognition of his “innovative contributions to the Canadian high-technology sector.”

These appointments demonstrate that the region of Waterloo continues to be one of Canada’s leading centres of innovation and civic leadership, and that the University of Waterloo is indispensable to that role.

Wishing you all the best for a good weekend and a productive February.

Sincerely,

Feridun

Back to top