Editor:
Brandon Sweet
University Communications
bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Last week to register for Teaching and Learning Conference 2024
A message from the Centre for Teaching Excellence.
is about to close for the 15thԲԳܲUniversity of ݮƵTeachingandLearningConferencetaking place on May 2, with a day of online workshops taking place onMay 1.
We are at capacity for the lunch at Federation Hall,but you can still register for the online dayandthe in-person sessions.Schedulesare now available!
Last year saw over 500 faculty members, staff,andstudents gather to learn fromandwith one another around the theme of embedding careandkindness into ourteaching. Our 2024 conference theme isSparkingandSustaining Engagement. We are excited to welcome Jessie Moore, Director of the Center for EngagedLearningat Elon University, as our keynote speaker, as well as Craig Fortier (Professor, Social Development Studies,Renison University College)andSuzanne Kearns (Professor, Geography,andFounding Director of the ݮƵ Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics), who will each recreate a successful instructional approach in our Igniting Our Practice plenary session, which showcases some of the excellentteachingbeing done on our campus.
The registration deadline is Friday, April 19.Any questions can be emailed touwtl@uwaterloo.ca.
Here's what happened at April's Senate meeting
A message from the Secretariat.
The University's Senate met on Monday, April 8. The following items were approved:
- New type II graduate diploma in climate change, and major modifications to the MA plan in Recreation and Leisure Studies;
- Recommendation of the 2024-25 annual University operating budget to the Board of Governors;
- Reports to recommend the membership of Senate committees/council as well as elections of Senators to the Board of Governors, with some nominations acclaimed and others proceeding to elections;
- Delegation of Senate’s authority for the approval of the roster of graduands jointly to the chair and vice-chair of Senate for convocation ceremonies scheduled in June 2024 and October 2024, with direction that reports on the complete roster of graduands be brought forward to Senate for information following their respective convocation;
- Revisions to academic regulations:
- Amendments to several sections of the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar, following a holistic review of the calendar that began in Fall 2023 with the aim of renewing and updating the calendar; and
- Academic regulation revisions to Doctor of Optometry Academic Regulations, Course Grades and Credits, and Online Courses.
Additionally, Senate received for information:
- Recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Awards and the Amit & Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student;
- Recipients of the University Professor designation; and
- A presentation from a student on concerns with the University’s response to the ongoing situation in Gaza.
The University of ݮƵ Senate is comprised of faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, governors, and administrative staff who are both elected and ex-officio members. This governing body of the institution is the highest authority on academic matters and meets regularly to discuss topics such as academic programs, educational policies, appointments, and other academic priorities.
For more information
Visit theSenate websiteto find the meeting agenda and related materials for all recent Senate meetings, as well as dates for upcoming meetings. The Secretariat will make Zoom links available to those wishing to attend meetings virtually.If you have any questions, please contact the Secretariat atsenate@uwaterloo.ca.
President's Office display a throwback to UݮƵ 70s and 80s computing glory
By Sam Toman.
Since the mid 1960s, the University of ݮƵ has been a Canadian leader in the development of computer technology for commercialization. Much of this history is well-known. Perhaps less known are the pioneering developments made by UݮƵ in the evolution of computers as teaching tools.
That’s the inspiration for a new display in the Office of the President on loan fromUݮƵ’s Computer Museum. For a limited time, visitors to the office have the chance to marvel at artifacts including analog slide rules, publications on computing from some of the school’s original computer researchers, and a personal computer prototype.
Museum co-founders Scott Campbell and Lawrence Folland along with fellow enthusiasts Charlotte Wipp and Trevor Grovechose the display items they thought best illustrated unheralded accomplishments from the 1970s and 80sthat set the stage for UݮƵ’s reputation of applying theory and academic work to “real-world” problems.
For those old enough to have lived through the dawn of home computers, the President’s Office display features a familiar-looking early computer named the MicroWAT by its UݮƵ creators. The MicroWAT was conceived to tackle a prevalent issue in programming education during the late 1970s: a scarcity of computers relative to the burgeoning number of students.
According to Wipp, a ݮƵ co-op student who serves as Computer Museum Assistant, "In the late 1970s, there were plenty of relatively inexpensive personal microcomputers, such as the Apple II, the Commodore PET, and the TRS-80. But they were also relatively underpowered for “real” programming languages like FORTRAN or APL that students needed to learn.”
As a result, UݮƵ computer scientists were inspired to build their own more powerful microcomputers which they named the MicroWAT. Combined with the many terminals already on campus mass-produced by ݮƵ-based Volker-Craig Ltd., the new arrangement provided both computational capabilities and the kind of terminal functionality needed to propel research and teaching at the highest level in Canada.
Sadly, despite its promising design, production remained limited, with only 100 units or so manufactured by Northern Digital Inc (NDI). Those units however laid the foundation for the establishment of centralized management of classroom computers, eliminating the need for students to bring their own memory storage devices, and facilitating centralized backup of students’ work. This innovation addressed excuses such as "the dog ate my floppy disk," said Wipp.
That wasn’t the end of the story, however. In true UݮƵ fashion, the MicroWAT paved the way for theCommodore SuperPET which used the same technology as the MicroWAT.
The SuperPET was designed at ݮƵ, built in Canada, and marketed by Commodore and sold in the thousands, and the rest they say, is history.
Board of Governors meeting today; other notes
The University's most senior governance body, theBoard of Governors,has its meeting today in NH3407 at 1:30 p.m. Among the agenda items:
- A motion to approve changes to the Pension & Benefits Committee's terms of reference to includeone member of OPSEU (the union representing the Special Constable Service), appointed on recommendation of the President of OPSEU. This motion comes with the recommendation of the Pensions & Benefits Committee and the Governance Committee;
- motion to approve the 2024-25 Operating Budgeton the recommendation of the Finance & Investment Committee;
- A motion toaccept and approve revisions to the Memorandum of Agreement between the Faculty Association of the University of ݮƵ and the University of ݮƵ;and, toaccept and approverevisions to University policies 76 – Faculty Appointments, and 77 – Tenure and Promotion of Faculty Members, and, that the foregoing are approved in accordance with the agreed terms between the Faculty Association of the University of ݮƵ and the University of ݮƵ,effective September 1, 2024. This motion has the recommendation of the University's Senate behind it;
- Also on the recommendation of Senate, a motion toaccept and approverevisions to University policies 3 – Sabbatical and Other Leaves for Faculty Members (Policy 3), and to 43 – Special Conditions for Employment for Deans (Policy 43); and
- The consent agenda includes an item to approve the list of sabbaticals and administrative leaves for faculty members.
Board Committees will be providing their reports to the Board and the President's Update will include a report on University Professor designations.
Members of the University community are invited tojoin the ݮƵ Climate Institute for a guest talkfeaturingHolly Buck from the University of Buffalo will draw upon multiple methods to explore what new political subcultures mean for climate politics broadly and the politics of solar geoengineering research in particular.Post-covid freedom discourses and their influence on the politics of climate interventionwill take place onWednesday, April 17 from2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. inDC 1304.
Tomorrow, theInstitute for Quantum Computing (IQC) willhosta public lecturefeaturing Dr. Rajibul Islam, IQC faculty member and associate professor in the Physics & Astronomy department, entitledDr. Islam is also co-founder ofOpen Quantum Design.
"Quantum computing promises to advance our computational abilities significantly in many high-impact research areas," says the lecture promo."In this period of rapid development, the experimental capabilities needed to build quantum computing devices and prototypes are highly specialized and often difficult to access."
The lecture takes placeWednesday, April 17 at7:00 p.m. inQNC 0101 and is being held in recognition of World Quantum Day.
Upcoming office closure
ݮƵ Internationalin EC5 will be closedtodayfor the day for staff to attend Professional Development. Email responses to ݮƵ International will be delayed.
Safetyabroad@uwaterloo.cawill be checking this email periodically. We are prioritizing responses and only urgent messages will be responded to.If you have a travel-related emergency, please contact the local authorities at your destination and University of ݮƵ Special Constable Service +1-519-888-4911. Access is available 24 hours/day, 365 days/year. If you require medical assistance, contact your medical insurance provider. Other emergency contact points are detailed onthe ݮƵ Safety Abroad website.
Linkof the day
When and Where
TheStudent Health Pharmacy(located in the lower level of the ݮƵ Centre) is offering flu shots with no appointments needed daily from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Call519-746-4500 or extension 33784 for more info. COVID shots will be available on appointment basis only. You can register online at.
Warriors Youth Summer Camps.Basketball, Baseball, Football, Hockey, Multi-Sport and Volleyball.
Final examination period, Thursday, April 11 to Thursday, April 25.
Board of Governors meeting,Tuesday, April 16, 1:30 p.m., NH 3407 and Zoom.
Post-covid freedom discourses and their influence on the politics of climate intervention, Wednesday, April 17, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., DC 1304.
Wednesday, April 17, 7:00 p.m., QNC 0101.
The Foundation: Building Inclusive Research Teams, Thursday, April 18, 10:00 a.m. to 11: 00 a.m..
Games Institute (GI) research symposium,“Disrupting Disciplinary Divides for Digital Futures”,FridayApril 19, East Campus 1.
DaCapo Chamber Choir,conducted by Leonard Enns, Professor Emeritus at Conrad Grebel University College, concludes their 25thseason withDualities, Saturday, April 20, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April April 21,3:00 p.m.,Trillium Lutheran Church, ݮƵ. Seefor tickets and details.
Green Labs Earth Week Challenge, Monday, April 22 to Friday, April 26.
Earth Day Campus Clean-up,Monday, April 22, 11:00 a.m. to1:00 p.m., supplies available at DC Green.
WISE Public Lecture,“Virtual Power Plants: Navigating through Foundational Concepts, Technologies Involved, Strategic Impacts, and Development Challenges” by Amir Miragha, (PhD, SMIEEE, Global Senior Principal Architect, Schneider Electric.), Monday, April 22, 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., CPH Fourth floor 4335., in-person andon Zoom.today!
, Tuesday, April 23, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., NH 3407.
Deadline to get "Fees Arranged,"Wednesday, April 24.
An Evening with Astrophysicist Dr. Avery Broderick, Wednesday, April 24, 5:30 p.m. to8:00 p.m., Federation Hall.
ݮƵ Innovation Summit,Thursday, April 25, McKinsey & Company, Toronto.
Spiritus Ensemble, conducted by Kenneth Hull, Professor Emeritus at Conrad Grebel University College, concludes their 15thseason withBach Vespers After Easter,on Sunday April 28,4:00 p.m.,St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, Kitchener. Admission by donation. Seefor details.
Safeguarding Science workshop and more, throughout May and June. Public Safety Canada invites faculty, staff and students to attend a series of virtual event via MS Teams. Register to receive a link.
Quantum Connections 2024: Quantum Perspectives, Wednesday, May 1 to Thursday, May 2, QNC.
Spring Tree Planting, Thursday, May 2, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., main campus.
Master of Taxationvirtual information session,Saturday, May 4,9:00 a.m.
BioBlitz, Monday, May 6 to Sunday, May 12.
Equitable Recruitment and Selection, Monday, May 6, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Spring Tree Planting, Wednesday, May 8 and Thursday, May 9,12 noon to 2:00 p.m., main campus.
Bridging Black: Building Black Connections for Black Flourishing, the 2024 Inter-Institutional Forum of the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education, Thursday, May 9 and Friday, May 10, University of ݮƵ and Wilfrid Laurier University campuses.
GOODHack24, Saturday, May 11, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., 151 Charles Street, Kitchener.
PhD oral defences
Chemical Engineering. Yatian Zhang, "Rational Design of Engineered Porous Transition Metal-based Electrocatalysts for Rechargeable Zinc-air Batteries." Supervisors,Dr.Zhongwei Chen, Dr. Aiping Yu. Thesis available via SharePoint. Contacteng.phd@uwaterloo.cato request a viewing link. Oral defence Tuesday, April 23, 11:00 a.m., remote.
Computer Science.Greg Philbrick, "Writing My Own Line Drawing Software as an Artist." Supervisor, Dr.Craig S. Kaplan. Thesis available from MGO -mgo@uwaterloo.ca. Oral defenceWednesday, April 24, 9:00 a.m.
Systems Design Engineering.Kevin Laven, "Practical Application of Machine Learning to Water Pipe Failure Prediction." Supervisor, Dr.Kumaraswamy Ponnambalam.Thesis available via SharePoint. Contacteng.phd@uwaterloo.cato request a viewing link. Oral defence Wednesday, April 24, 4:00 p.m., remote.
School of Planning.Anahita Shadkam,“Reclaiming the Urban Public Realm as a Site for Children’s Play.”Supervisor, Dr. Markus Moos.Available upon request from theFaculty of Environment, Administrator, Graduate Studies. Oral defenceTuesday, April 30, 9:00 a.m.
Computer Science. Andrew Na, "Efficient Machine Learning Methods for Solving Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman Equations in Finance." Supervisor, Dr. Justin Wan.hesis available from MGO -mgo@uwaterloo.ca. Oral defence Tuesday, April 30, 9:00 a.m.