Tuesday, December 8, 2015


Suncor hosts annual awards banquet

by Dipali Batabyal.

On Thursday December 3rd at the University Club, Howard McIntyre (Vice-President of Lubricants at Suncor Energy Inc.) and Mandi Penfold (Recruitment Advisor, Human Resources and Campus Program Suncor Energy Services Inc.) held their 5th awards banquet on Waterloo campus in recognition of the 2015-16 recipients of the Suncor Energy Emerging Leaders Award (SEELA). This year, 20 recipients received this prestigious award including 4 new students and 16 renewing.  

The event has become an annual tradition celebrating Suncor and Waterloo’s partnership, which spans across faculty units including Co-operative Education and Career Action, and has helped launch several innovative initiatives that are important priorities at Waterloo. Also in attendance was acting dean of engineering, professor Wayne Parker, and the dean of science, professor Bob Lemieux, along with directors of advancement and members of principal gifts.

This banquet recognizes the recipients and their scholastic achievement in the areas of Science and Engineering by providing renewable awards that promote and incite students out of high school entering Waterloo to continue to thrive in one of these disciplines. Over the last decade, Suncor has generously contributed $1M to establish SEELA and have made a commitment to our students to help them develop into future experts and leaders for Canada’s economy and industry. To date 71 students have received the Suncor Emerging Leaders Award.

“Waterloo graduates a different talent than others,” says Howard McIntyre. “Ideas and innovation are a core competency of Waterloo’s students where nothing is suppressed to create the disciples of tomorrow instead of the practitioners of today. This aligns with our mission statement at Suncor, where we are ‘creating energy for a better world.’ We’re focused on tomorrow and we can’t do it alone. We need the idea generators for a better tomorrow and Waterloo’s students challenge the status-quo. There is much personal accountability amongst Waterloo’s students, faculty and researchers, which is high in this institution, who want to be part of the solution. It is the entrepreneurial journey.”

Howard McIntyre and Robert Bahensky.“This scholarship will serve to ease the financial load that comes with pursuing a post-secondary education," says mechanical engineering student and SEELA award recipient Robert Bahensky. "As a result, I can direct more focus towards my studies and extracurricular pursuits. More importantly, however the award introduces me to a wide network of connections and possibilities that are sure to be beneficial to my growth as a student and an individual.”

Suncor Energy and Suncor Energy Foundation and the University of Waterloo have also collaborated on initiatives as the Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo projectthe Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISIR), and the 11th Annual Fusion Conference, held by the Faculty of Science.

Social Impact Fund grant recipients named

 Richard Yim, Rhea Daniels, and Trishala Pillai.

Richard Yim, Rhea Daniels, and Trishala Pillai.

Three initiatives by St. Paul's GreenHouse students received Social Impact Fund grants at the December Social Impact Showcase, held Thursday, December 3. The Showcase highlights some of the projects current students are working on — and, new this term, special guest speaker and Ashoka Fellow Ilona Dougherty spoke about how youth are key drivers of innovation.

The first Social Impact Fund recipient, Richard Yim, showcased his business, The Landmine Boys, which is committed to making land mine neutralization safer and more efficient. He will be using the $2,500 grant to test the first prototype machine in Cambodia.

Trishala Pillai received $1,000 for The Dialogue Project, a "TEDx for engaged dialogue." She will organize and promote two campus-wide events that will start engaged conversations about important and topical issues. 

Finally, Rhea Daniels received $1,000 to capture first-person narratives of the alliances between settlers and Indigenous peoples in Canada through a project called Bridging Communities through Narratives. 

St. Paul's GreenHouse is a live-in social impact incubator that helps students find an idea for social good, develop it, and then launch it as a startup.

Book launch event tomorrow; other notes

The cover image of "Innovation and Entrepreneurship are in the Waterloo Genome."

At the launch of his new book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship are in the Waterloo Genome, Kenneth McLaughlin, distinguished professor emeritus, will tell the behind-the-scenes story of how the University disrupted post-secondary education.

Students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community are invited to join McLaughlin for an engaging dialogue and discussion. The new book explores pivotal moments in the history of the University — from its entrepreneurial beginnings to its position as Canada’s leading innovation university.

The event takes place Wednesday, December 9 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Room 0101 of the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre, University of Waterloo. Copies of the book will be on sale at the event.

Now, some news from the north campus: at long last, the Laurelwood Drive extension that runs through the University's Northwest Campus subdivision is now open to the Westmount Road roundabout, affording easier access to the Centre of Excellence for Innovation in Aging, the Stork Family YMCA and the Harper Branch of the Waterloo Public Library.

16 Days of Activism Banner.

Cyberstalking, gamergate, revenge porn, online rape threats: violence against women 2.0

Link of the day

Chuck Williams, of Williams-Sonoma, dies at 100

WCMS upgrade Tuesday evening

What is happening? WCMS sites are being upgraded to version 1.12.2.

Why is this happening? This upgrade includes new features and functionality, bug fixes, and updates to the admin theme. A complete list of changes can be viewed in the release notes.

When is this happening? Tuesday, December 8 from 9:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, December 9.

What you need to do before the upgrade begins: Please log out of your site and do not work on your site during this upgrade window. Sites will remain available to site visitors during the upgrade windows.

Important information: A temporary change has been made to the way automatic URL aliases are handled. Please review the release notes for full details.

Issues or concerns? Please submit to rt-ist-wcms@rt.uwaterloo.ca or the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.

When and where

Kinesiology Lab Days, Monday, December 7 to Friday, December 11.

On-Campus Examinations begin, Tuesday, December 8.

Getting Started in LEARN (CTE656), Tuesday, December 8, 1:00 p.m., EV1 241.

Public lecture featuring Jonathan Reinhardt, associate professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Arizona, “Digital Games for Language Learning: State of the Art, Research and Practice,” Tuesday, December 8, at 4:00 p.m., Stratford Campus.

WIN Seminar featuring Dr. Carole Rossi: Nanoenergetics, A New Technological Area through the Integration of Reactive NanoMaterials into MEMS, Tuesday, December 8, 10:30 a.m., QNC 1501.

Management Sciences seminar featuring Timothy Chan, "Goodness-Of-Fit in Inverse Optimization," Wednesday, December 9, 2:00 p.m., CPH 4333.

Book Launch event featuring Ken McLaughlin, "Innovation and Entrepreneurship Are In The Waterloo Genome," Wednesday, December 9, 3:30 p.m., QNC 0101.

On-line examination days, Friday, December 11 and Saturday, December 12.

CBB Workshop: How to Start a Spinoff Company: Some Key Steps and Who Can Help, Friday, December 11, 1:00 p.m., DC 1302.

Kinesiology Lab Days, Monday, December 11 to Wednesday, December 16.

Waterloo This-Idea-Must-Die Day, Monday, December 14, 1:00 p.m., AL 208.

Retirement celebration for Jenny MacIntyre, Tuesday, December 15, 2:00 p.m., MKV multipurpose room. 

UWRC Book Club event featuring Dennis Maione's "What I Learned From Cancer," Wednesday, December 16, 12:00 p.m., LIB 407.

Advent Jazz Vesper Service, Wednesday, December 16, 7:00 p.m., Conrad Grebel University Chapel.

Retirement reception for Bob Gillham, Thursday, December 17, 4:00 p.m., EIT Atrium. RSVP to Mary Anne Hardy, ext. 32658 or mahardy@uwaterloo.ca.

Co-operative Work Term ends, Friday, December 18.

On-Campus Examinations end, Tuesday, December 22.

Christmas holidays, Thursday December 24 to Thursday, December 31, most University services and buildings closed.

New Year's Day, Friday, January 1, 2016, most University services and buildings closed.