Editor:
Brandon Sweet
University Communications
bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Water Institute funding quenches thirst for interdisciplinary research
Global water issues are becoming increasingly complex and often require a collaborative approach across a breadth of disciplines. To stimulate interdisciplinary water research, on Monday, May 9 the University of ݮƵ’s Water Institute announced it hadawarded six teams a combined total of $112,000 during its most recent winter Seed Grants Program application round.
The program awards a total of $150,000 annually, with competitions generally held during fall and winter terms. The goal is to catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration, facilitate interaction with national or international authorities, to encourage new areas of research and to encourage the development of research proposals.
“This program is an important instrument for the Water Institute to initiate novel inter- and trans-disciplinary collaboration between faculties, departments and research groups at ݮƵ, and with potential end-users,” says Roy Brouwer, executive director of the Water Institute. “It also encourages creative and unconventional thought — something that distinguishes and brands the research carried out at the University of ݮƵ and is in line with NSERC’s 2020 discovery research strategy.”
Project teams must be led by a Water Institute member and demonstrate an interdisciplinary approach, involving a minimum of three departments or two faculties per team.
2015/16 grant recipients forWinter 2016 include:
- Public perception and priorities for safe water in Accra, Ghana,featuring researchers from Geography and Environmental Management, the School of Public Health and Health Systems, and the United Nations University for Water, Environment and Health;
- Establishment of the first and most detailed account of lake-levels in the Peace-Athabasca Delta: a key hydrologic node of the Mackenzie River Basin, northwestern Canada,featuring researchers from Earth and Environmental Sciences, Biology, and Geography and Environmental Management;
- Implementing an open access GIS and satellite imaging system to inform health system spatial planning in Western District, Zambia,featuring researchers from the School of Public Health and Health Systems, Geography and Environmental Management, Aberystwyth University, and theUnited Nations University for Water, Environment and Health;
- Reactive interfaces in agroecosystems: meta-analysis and uncertainty analysis of biogeochemical functions in agricultural landscapes,featuring researchers from Earth and Environmental Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Economics Geography and Environmental Management, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change;
- Improving weather forecasting models with satellite data assimilation: a new initiative at University of ݮƵ,featuring Geography and Environmental Management, Systems Design Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Environment Canada;
- Catching ripples in the water: a social- ecological regime shifts approach to understand abrupt changes in coastal watersheds and crafting governance arrangements, featuring researchers from theSchool of Environment, Enterprise and Development, Environment, Resources and Sustainability, Geography and Environmental Management, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Civil and Environmental Engineering.
2015/16 grant recipients forfall 2015 include:
- Boomerang effect: climate change adaptation, organized violence and regional (in)security,featuring researchers from the Schoolof Environment, Enterprise and Development, Economics, and Geography and Environmental Management; and
- Do watershed biogeochemical models really inform coastal ecology and environmental policy? Assessing knowledge gaps and charting the way forward in linking hydrology, biogeochemistry and land use to coastal ecosystem functions and environmental impacts,featuring researchers fromEarthand Environmental Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability.
Sabbaticals 101 aims to help academics and their families
Faculty members interested in reducingthe stress, easingthe transition, and increase the joy of their next sabbatical are invited to attend a University of ݮƵ Recreational Committee (UWRC) talk on Tuesday, May 17 at noon entitled"Sabbaticals 101 with Nancy Matthews."
Matthews, author of the recently-revised, 2ndeditionofSabbaticals 101: A Practical Guide for Academics and Their Families, will lead a discussion on the planning needed after the professional arrangements have been made.
Matthews will look at issues such as finding housing, the "trailing spouse," the joys of internationalbanking and taxes, the settling-in blues, and re-entry.
"Whether you're planning your first or fourth sabbatical, travelling across the world or just settling into a city nearby, bring your questions and sabbatical tales to share," writes Matthews."Spouses/partners welcome!"
Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Register for the session bye-mailing Nancy.
Matthews is a veteran of numerous overseas sabbaticals and exchanges with her now-retired husband, ݮƵ's David Matthews ofStatistics andActuarial Scienceand their two sons.She has supplemented this personal experience with interviews of more than 50 other sabbatical veterans (many from ݮƵ), as well as research on cross-cultural adjustment, travelling with children, living abroad, and returning home. Nancy is also the coordinator of ݮƵ's International Spouses.
Farewell event for Mike Kirkup and other notes
"You are invited to attendMike Kirkup’s farewell celebrationto celebrate all he has accomplished for Velocity and for the broader entrepreneurship community," says a note from Velocity."As Director of Velocity, Mike has played a central role in developing a thriving startup community in ݮƵ region, fostering student interest in entrepreneurship, and guiding numerous startups to success. This farewell celebration is to thank him for everything he has done to help students, startups, and faculty at the University of ݮƵ, and to wish him the best in his next adventure."
The eventwill take place on Thursday, May 19 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00p.m. in the Communitech kitchen on the 2ndfloor, located in the Tannery building.by Wednesday, May 18.
Human Resources has reported the followingstaff retirements, effective May 1, 2016:
- Mark Haslett, who started at the University in August 1996, retires as University Librarian;
- Siva Ganeshalingam, who started at ݮƵ in April 1997, retires as Senior Lab Instructor/Manager in Chemical Engineering;
- Dan Anderson, who joined the University in November 2008, retires as Director of UW Police Services; and
- Dawn Cheng, who began working at ݮƵ in February 1999, retires as Faculty Secretary for the Dean of Engineering.
Congratulations all!
The followingemployee career developmentworkshopsare being offered at the Centre for Career Action this term:
- : Wednesday, May 18, 12:00 to1:00 p.m.
- : Tuesday, June 7, 12:00 to1:00 p.m.
- : Tuesday, June 14, 12:00 to1:00 p.m.
- : Wednesday, June 22, 12:00 to1:30 p.m.
Employees who are interested in attending are encouraged to register early, as spaces are limited.Coffee and treats will be served at all sessions, and attendees are welcome to bring their lunch.
The Centre for Career Action provides workshops and individual confidential career advising atno cost to University of ݮƵ employees who are in regular appointments or temporary contracts of one year or longer.
For additional information, contact the Centre for Career Action at extension84047 or by sending an e-mail tocareers@uwaterloo.ca.
Linkof the day
When and where
Feds Welcome Week, Monday, May 9 to Friday, May 13.
, Thursday, May 12, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., South Campus Hall concourse.
, Thursday, May 12, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Friday, May 13, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., ݮƵ Centre Great Hall.
Geographical and Geological Setting of Korean Peninsula – A Spatial, Temporal and Cultural Overview, Thursday, May 12, 12:00 p.m., REN 2106.
Library Workshop: Information for Entrepreneurs, Thursday, May 12, 1:30 p.m., DC 1568.
Writing Centre workshops, "Creating assertion-evidence presentations,"Thursday, May 12, 1:30 p.m.
David Sprott Distinguished Lecturefeaturing Martin Wainwright, "Some new phenomena in high-dimensional statistics and optimization," Thursday, May 12, 4:00 p.m., DC 1302.
ݮƵ Unlimited Grade 10 - Change, Sunday, May 15 to Thursday, May 19.
Centre for Teaching Excellence workshop,CTE601:Instructional Skills Workshop(24 hours), Monday, May 16 to Wednesday, May 18, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., EV1-241.
Writing Centre workshop, "Literature reviews for grads (Part A): Organizing research,"Monday, May 16, 11:30 a.m.
Senate meeting,Monday, May 16, 3:30 p.m., NH 3407.
Writing Centre workshop, "Say it in your own words: Paraphrase & summary,"Tuesday, May 17, 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, March 17, 12:00 p.m., Accelerator Centre.
Sabbaticals 101 with Nancy Matthews,Tuesday, May 17, noon to 1:00 p.m., MC5501 (formerly MC5158).
,Tuesday, May 17, 4:00 p.m., Federation Hall.
, Wednesday, May 18, 12:00 to1:00 p.m., TC 1208.
Library workshop: Introduction to ArcGIS, Wednesday, May 18, 2:00 p.m., LIB 329.
,Wednesday, May 18, 3:00 p.m. to5:00p.m., Velocity Start, SCH 2ndFloor.
Study Strategies, Wednesday, May 18, 3:00 p.m.
UW Retirees' Association AGM,Wednesday, May 18, 3:30 p.m. to5:30 p.m.,University Club.
Velocity Start presents Find Your Kick A** Idea,Wednesday, May 18, 7:30 p.m., Velocity Start, South Campus Hall.
Caregiving for aging parents and other family members - Opportunities and unmet challenges,Thursday, May 19, 11:00 a.m., LHI1621.
Global Accessibility Awareness Day celebration, Thursday, May 19, 11:45 a.m., Renison Atrium.
The Writing Centre presents Design and deliver: Practising presentation skills, Thursday, May 19, 1:30 p.m.
, Thursday, May 19, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., CommunitechKitchen, 2ndfloor, 151 Charles Street West,Kitchener.
Victoria Day holiday, Monday, May 23.
ݮƵ Region MED TECH Bridging the Gap 2016 - Inaugural Meeting, Wednesday, May 25, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Grand River Hospital,. Co-hosted by the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CBB).
Belonging: Diversity, Community Capacity & Contribution - An Evening with The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Wednesday, May 25, 6:00 p.m., Humanities Theatre.
You @ ݮƵ Day, Saturday, May 28, various locations on campus.
Undergraduate School on Experimental Quantum Information Processing (USEQIP), Monday, May 30 to Friday, June 10, Quantum-Nano Centre.
WISE Public Lecture Series: Towards Sustainable Development & a 'Green GDP', Tuesday, June 7, 10:30 a.m., CPH 4333.
, Tuesday, June 7, 12:00 to1:00 p.m., TC 1208.