Thursday, March 17, 2016

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• Institute for Quantum Computing joins Innovation150
• Fine Arts students reach their ZENITH
• Bibliometrics working group publishes white paper
• #AskAPharmacist: The Cost of Your Medications
• Prime Minister joins HeForShe and other notes

Institute for Quantum Computing joins Innovation150

by Jodi Szimanski.

On Tuesday, March 15, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, held an event at Halifax’s Discovery Centre to highlight the vision for marking the 150^th Anniversary of Confederation. As part of this event, one of Canada’s Signature Initiatives for the 2017 celebrations—Innovation150—was unveiled. Five Canadian outreach organizations, including the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), will lead the nation in celebrating Canada’s innovative past and spark ideas that will propel our future. Together with the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Actual, the Canadian Association of Science Centres and the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation, Innovation150 is expected to reach 80 Canadian communities throughout 2017. 

The announcement also featured a quantum levitation demonstration by IQC’s Senior Manager, Scientific Outreach, Martin Laforest. 

IQC’s contribution to the project will feature a traveling 4,000 square foot interactive exhibition to share the wonders of the quantum world and give Canadians one more reason to be proud to call Canada home. Quantum: The Exhibition, the first-ever exhibition on quantum information science and technology,  will examine how quantum mechanics and information technology are merging to create technologies that will revolutionize and define the 21^st century.

Fine Arts students reach their ZENITH

The Department of Fine Arts and the University of Waterloo Art Gallery present ZENITH, the 42^nd Annual Senior Undergraduate Exhibition.

The show features recent artworks by fourth year honours students completing the Fine Arts undergraduate program at the University of Waterloo. Representing a broad spectrum of materials, themes, media and concepts the exhibition reflects the diversity of the program and the creativity of its students.

The show features works by Laura Arendoque, Caroline Bordignon, Jennifer Byrnes, Karli Campitelli, Aleksandar Cupovic, Rachel Dang, Teghan Dodds, Natasha Fligg, Zofia Glab, Breigha Gillespie, Margaret Gissing, Melissa Johns, Cynthia Kaczala, Jeneviere Kentner, Brittany Law, Julia Martin, Madzia McCutcheon, Laurie-Lynn McGlynn, Samantha Mellick, Lenore Ramirez, Sofia Roy, Caren Roy, Eleonora Shteynle, Christopher Smith, Laura Snider, Allison Villemaire, Alyana Versolatto, Cheryl Waugh, Stephanie West, Sharon Yau, Anastasia Zaiats, and Michelle Zarytshansky.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Bibliometrics working group publishes white paper

The Working Group on Bibliometrics has developed a white paper with the purpose to educate and create a common understanding on campus around the appropriate use and limitations of bibliometrics.

Bibliometrics is an area that focuses on ways to quantify research output, such as publications and citations.

A draft of the paper underwent broad consultation across campus and was presented to Senate in February. Based on that feedback, the final white paper is now available as a reference document. In addition, there is a companion guide available.

The working group would like to thank all members of campus who provided thoughts and feedback during the consultation process.

#AskAPharmacist: The Cost of Your Medications

This is the latest in a series of posts from the School of Pharmacy celebrating Pharmacist Awareness Month.Today’s topic: the price you pay for medications. Dave Edwards, Associate Dean and Director of the School of Pharmacy, explains why brand name drugs are more expensive than generics:

Dr. Edwards also tackle the larger question of why many drugs are expensive: see the #AskAPharmacist playlist for his response.

More pharmacy questions and answers are coming next Tuesday.

Prime Minister joins HeForShe and other notes

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was announced yesterday as an official champion for the UN Women’s HeForShe campaign, and the second Canadian representative to take part in the initiative.

The campaign is a global effort to engage everyone, regardless of gender, to stand together and create a bold, visible force for gender equality and remove the social and cultural barriers that prevent women and girls from achieving their potential.

“Leaders like Justin Trudeau and Feridun Hamdullahpur from the University of Waterloo are showing all Canadians how vital it is that we achieve gender equality,” said Diana Parry, the Special Advisor on Women’s and Gender Issues to President Hamdullahpur. “There is a wealth of evidence that shows that national productivity and economic growth is improved when the balance of genders in the workforce is more equal, and we need this kind of visible leadership to galvanize all parts of our nation to this challenge.” 

Read the full article on the Waterloo Stories page.

The Philosophy Graduate Student Association (PGSA) will be holding its 23^rd annual conference on March 18 and 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in HH 373.

Kristie Dotson of Michigan State University will be delivering the keynote address entitled "A Road to Oblivion: Epistemological Problems and the Importance of #BlackLivesMatter" on Saturday, March 19 at 3:30 p.m.

"In her December 3rd, 2015, Salon piece, "White American's Scary Delusion: Why Its Sense of Black Humanity is So Skewed," Brittney Cooper labels the stupefaction many people have in the face of today's Black rage an "epistemology problem."", says the talk's abstract. "It is a problem, she explains, of people utilizing inadequate frameworks for understanding "reasonable" responses to relentless state sanctioned violence against Black people. In this paper, I lend support to Cooper's claim by outlining the accumulation of epistemic power that appears to result in a kind of oblivion concerning realities for Black people and police conduct. Ultimately, I claim that some accumulations of epistemic power can lead to resilient oblivion, i.e. impaired schedules of salience."

Here's today's Nutrition Month "Myth vs. Fact" supplied by Health Services Nutritionist Sandra Ace:

Myth: Nuts are too high in calories to be considered a healthy snack.

Fact: On the contrary, while nuts and seeds are more calorically dense than many other foods, they also have a high satiety value, or ability to satisfy hunger. Nut consumption is part of a healthy, plant-focused dietary pattern associated with a lower risk of many chronic diseases. Nuts are nutritional powerhouses that contain not only heart-healthy fats, but protein, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, potassium, magnesium, copper, antioxidants and fibre. Different nut varieties have their own nutritional bragging rights; almonds are a good source of calcium, walnuts contain an omega 3 fat called alpha-linoleic acid, Brazil nuts are a rich source of selenium and even the humble peanut (which is actually in the legume family) contains heart-healthy unsaturated fats.

A mid-afternoon serving of nuts (30 g or ¼ cup) has about the same number of calories as a one ounce chocolate bar. However, choosing nuts rather than a sweet snack may help you to keep hunger under control for a couple of hours until you sit down for dinner. Enjoy them raw or roasted, but go for unsalted varieties most often rather than nuts with a salty or sweet coating. It’s easy to mindlessly consume a lot of nuts while working, studying or watching TV, so portion out your serving rather than eating directly from the jar. If you can’t eat nuts, try sunflower or pumpkin seeds which contribute similar nutrients.