Friday, February 26, 2016

Waterloo, McMaster, Western to launch advanced manufacturing consortium

Three of the top research-intensive and industrially collaborative universities in Ontario – McMaster University, University of Waterloo and Western University – received $35 million in funding over five years from the Government of Ontario yesterday as part of a $50 million project aimed at combining existing strengths in the heart of Ontario’s manufacturing region to create an Advanced Manufacturing Consortium.

The Consortium is meant to lead Ontario in advanced manufacturing in the broadest sense, including in emerging sectors like next-generation additive manufacturing, digital components and devices, across a variety of sectors with the potential to make significant impact on a global scale. The three partner institutions have already established a significant critical mass of infrastructure, talent and know-how.

McMaster, Waterloo and Western have a strong track record in research, training and commercialization in the advanced manufacturing and materials sectors and are well positioned to leverage this strategic investment in broader collaborations to accelerate Ontario’s transition from our traditional manufacturing sector to lead the world in the next generations of advanced manufacturing.

The universities are already working together on a smaller scale in some of these areas and achieving significant results. For example, Waterloo and McMaster have been successful with the “Initiative for Automotive Manufacturing Innovation” and Western and McMaster have a successful partnership for many projects involving the Fraunhofer Composites Centre. All three universities have successfully collaborated on a project for lightweighting of automotive components using magnesium in an Automotive Partnership Canada project.

By leveraging existing research strengths, infrastructure and research capacity, the Consortium will serve as a centre for the development of new technologies, creating new products and production methods and generating new highly-skilled jobs.

The funding was announced as part of the provincial government's 2016 budget.

Update on 2016 Orientation planning process

a message from the Orientation Advisory Committee.

The Orientation Advisory Committee has been working collaboratively with students, faculty and staff to lead the development of a new orientation program. After several planning sessions, the Orientation Advisory Committee, along with the working group, has developed a transition program for students for Orientation Week 2016.

The schedule for Orientation 2016 provides first-year students with choice, facilitated downtime and the opportunity to be challenged and supported in their transition. With the learning outcomes top of mind, our Federation Orientation Committee (FOC) leaders will now develop programming to support the successful transition of our new students.

The schedule can be viewed, along with the program overview document, on the orientation website. As planning continues, the titles of these time blocks will likely change to become more student friendly.

Developing a finalized schedule was only one of the many tasks that the Orientation Advisory Committee has accomplished so far. The collaborative process has helped to ensure the best possible schedule to help our students’ transition to the University.

If you have any questions about the orientation planning process, or would like additional information please contact orientation@uwaterloo.ca. 

Giving back on the coldest night of the year

by Loran Ellero-Dionne and Khrystine Waked. This is the latest in a series of #UWCommunity stories that feature Waterloo in the community. 

On Saturday, February 20, the School of Pharmacy was proud to work with the Ray of Hope Community Centre to provide a comfortable rest stop for the annual Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) 5km or 10km walk. Providing over 650 participating community members with shelter, warm drinks, and snacks at the halfway point, University of Waterloo Pharmacy student ambassadors connected with our community, offering words of encouragement, and answering questions about student life at the University’s downtown Kitchener campus.

Held in over 100 communities across the country, the CNOY is a family-friendly walk that aims to raise money and awareness for the hungry and homeless. Growing its audience every year, the CNOY walk has raised an impressive 7.9 million dollars through local community charities across Canada since 2011.

Beginning in 2012, the School of Pharmacy has partnered with the CNOY walk for the last four years, providing the use of the building and opening its doors to the community at large. Pharmacy staff and students are eager in their pursuit to give back to the community in which they reside, recognizing the need for well-rounded future leaders that prioritize state-of-the-art education and impactful volunteerism.

By spreading Waterloo pride into downtown Kitchener, the creation of the University’s Health Science Campus in 2009 has brought new opportunities for community engagement. Through their partnership with the Ray of Hope Community Centre, the School of Pharmacy continues to enhance the health and well-being of residents in Waterloo Region by taking action on complex social issues like hunger and homelessness, doing their part to help generate awareness and offer innovative solutions for our community.

Bridges Lecture will feature an Iron Genie

The latest edition in the Bridges Lecture Series is set for this evening at 7:00 p.m. in St. Jerome's University's Siegfried Hall.

The lecture will feature London-based artist Anita Chowdry and Professor John Baez of UC Riverside in a discussion entitled "The Harmonograph".

A harmonograph is a drawing machine powered by pendulums. It was first invented in the 1840s - the heyday of the industrial revolution, whose sensibilities are now celebrated by the Steampunk movement.

In the presentation, artist Anita Chowdry will recount her fascinating journey into this era, culminating in her creation of a two-meter high harmonograph crafted from brass and steel: “The Iron Genie”. Then, using computer simulations, mathematical physicist John Baez will explore the underlying mathematics of the harmonograph, taking us on a trip into the fourth dimension and beyond. As time passes, the motion of the harmonograph traces out a curve in a multi-dimensional space. The picture it draws is just the two-dimensional "shadow" of this curve.

This presentation will be enhanced by the creative output of a four-day workshop with University of Waterloo students at the department of Fine Arts, led by Anita Chowdry.

Documentary looks at First Nations segregation

The History Speaker Series alongside the Waterloo Aboriginal Education Centre is hosting a film screening and director’s talk on Tuesday, March 1 from 7:00-10:00 p.m. at St Paul’s University College in Alumni Hall.

The Pass System, a new investigative documentary by filmmaker Alex Williams, exposes "an illegal and segregationist practice by the Canadian Government that forced First Nations to carry a pass in order to leave reserve."

Watch The Pass System trailer.

"Beginning in 1885, the system was enforced by Government Indian Agents, mostly in Western Canada, for over 60 years, making reserves virtual open-air prisons for those who experienced the system," says the event announcement. "It cut people off from their children at residential schools, prevented them from hunting, fishing and engaging in commerce, and permission was required even to get married. The economic damage caused by this system is incalculable, let alone the assault to dignity and basic freedoms."

Through extensive archival research and the testimony of First Nations Elders, the film reveals the system to be much more pervasive that previously known. One document reveals that the government intended to keep the illegality of the program a secret, in order to better enforce it: "...all we can do is keep the true position from the Indians as long as possible."

After the screening, Susan Roy will facilitate a panel discussion.