Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Earth Sciences Museum brings the prehistoric into the future

by Science Communications.

Bringing the prehistoric back to life is not just for the movies: soon, anyone anywhere with access to a smartphone, tablet or computer will be able to interact with the University of Waterloo Earth Sciences Museum’s exhibits, thanks to a new five-year partnership with Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada®.

“This partnership allows us as educators to communicate with people on a new platform. It helps us break new ground and take the Museum beyond its physical walls.” said Corina McDonald, museum curator. “To be able to invite students and the general public from around the world to explore our prehistoric and geologic past right in their own living rooms is truly incredible.”

This $200,000 partnership enables the Museum to develop and design exhibits that are built with a combination of advanced digital technologies, including 3D visualization, augmented and virtual reality, and are accessed through innovative web and mobile applications. 

“The project taps into everything the University of Waterloo is known for, “ said Bill Taylor, chair, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Waterloo. “Our Earth Sciences Museum is harnessing the possibilities of technology and Waterloo’s innovative spirit to bring science education to our community in a very unique and exciting way.”

The exhibits will be designed in consultation with local elementary and high school teachers and will complement classroom curricula and existing Waterloo Science outreach programs.

“We’re pleased to be able to support the University of Waterloo’s Earth Sciences Museum in this exciting project,” said Ronald Beettam, President and CEO, Equitable Life. “Supporting education is an important component of our philanthropy strategy. This initiative not only brings dinosaurs back to life, but it does it in a way that extends well beyond the physical walls of the museum itself or even a classroom. The potential reach of this initiative is exceptional.”

The work on the exhibits is already underway. By this time next year the content and technological architecture should be completed with an eye to unveiling the first exhibit to the public in 2018.

Get to know CECA’s Faculty/ASU Relations Managers

By Phil Bézaire. Portions of this article previously appeared in Prism.

I’ve heard great things about Waterloo Co-op, but how do I hire a student? How does co-op relate to my faculty, program or department?

These are the most common questions that Co-operative Education & Career Action (CECA) hears from new faculty and staff members on campus. All co-op stakeholders – including our on-campus partners – have a dedicated team of staff to assist with a variety of functions: account management, hiring process support, co-op program design & delivery, and work term support. The Faculty and Academic Support Unit (ASU) relations managers are the primary point of contact to facilitate faculty and department co-op needs. 

Whether it’s hiring a co-op student, introducing or re-branding a co-op program, seeking to improve academic integration with co-op, or wanting to explore best practices and innovations in co-operative education, each Faculty’s on-campus relations manager is there for support. 

“We want to strengthen the partnership between CECA, faculty members, and academic support units in order to achieve greater consistency across the University and evolve the sharing of best practices,” says Carol Ann Olheiser, ASU relations manager.

The University of Waterloo has the opportunity to take its commitment to co-operative education to the next level, by working strategically with all on-campus partners. Not only will this enhance the productivity and quality of the co-op experience for students and employers, it will also ensure Waterloo’s continued leadership in the field of co-operative education. 

For more information please contact ASU Relations Manager Carol Ann Olheiser and Faculty Relations Managers: Applied Health Sciences and Science - Janice Bruin, Arts and Environment - Scott Davis, Engineering - Phil Bézaire, Mathematics, Research Centres, and Institutes - Jeremy Steffler.

Vice-President, Advancement resigns

"I regret to inform you that Ken McGillivray, vice-president, advancement, resigned his position at the University for personal reasons on Monday, May 11, 2015, effective immediately," read a memo from President Feridun Hamdullahpur that was circulated earlier this week.

McGillivray joined the University of Waterloo in August 2012 from the University of Southern California.

"Consultation with the campus community will commence shortly to determine how best to proceed with the selection of a replacement for this vital leadership role," the president's memo concluded. "In the interim, the Office of Advancement will report directly to the Office of the President."

Wednesday's notes

If you've set a goal to lose weight, increase strength and muscle tone, improve your endurance or just feel healthier, and you like the convenience of exercising on campus in a fun, private, well-equipped gym supervised by trained exercise professionals, then UW Fitness is here to help.

UW Fitness, located in the Manulife Wellness Centre and Lyle Hallman Institute for Health Promotion, is offering small group personal training sessions for Waterloo staff and faculty (these sessions are not open to students). These twice-per-week exercise sessions include cardiovascular exercise, resistance/weight training, and flexibility exercises under the certified exercise physiologist in a private and encouraging environment right here on campus. 

To sign up for a 6 week session or for more information, visit the UW Fitness website, or contact UW Fitness by sending an email to fitness@uwaterloo.ca or by calling extension 36841.

The next session begins on May 19. Spaces are limited, so sign up soon.

The Library's Special Collections & Archives is pleased to announce a new digital exhibit on Aldus Manutius and the Aldine Press.

Manutius was an Italian humanist, publisher and printer who founded the Aldine Press at Venice in 1494, which was known as one of the finest printers of the period, printing high quality, affordable editions of 127 works, primarily Latin and Greek classics as well as dictionaries to help scholars understand and interpret the texts. To do so, Manutius employed learned scholars such as Erasmus, whose works the press later printed when they moved to contemporary printing in modern languages.

The digital exhibit is based on a physical exhibit that was featured in the Library's display cases in March and April of this year.

It has come to the Daily Bulletin's attention that a goose is nesting on a small island space on the edge of the C parking lot on the University's south campus that's been having a rough go, and a group of faculty, staff and students are asking pedestrians and drivers alike to give the bird some space and slow down at the parking lot entrance until its nesting season is over. Be sure to check Goose Watch for updated details on goose nest locations on and around campus, especially as the eggs continue to hatch and the cute little goslings are roaming around.

Today and tomorrow will feature back to back entries in the Spring 2015 Arriscraft Lecture Series. Tonight, Torben Østergaard of 3XN from Copenhagen will speak, and tomorrow's lecture will feature Marc Fornes of New York's THEVERYMANY. Both lectures take place at 7:00 p.m. in the School of Architecture's Lawrence Cummings Lecture Theatre tonight and tomorrow.

Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include eSentire Inc., Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Fairfax Financial Holdings, Digiflare Inc., Bazaarvoice, Enflick, D2L, Facebook, A Thinking Ape and PagerDuty Inc.