Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Director of Velocity leaving to join Waterloo startup

Mike Kirkup, director of the Velocity program, can’t resist the thrill of startup life and announced this morning that he will leave the University on May 20 to join Encircle, a startup that is set to launch from the Velocity Garage later this year. 

“This wasn't an easy decision. I truly love the team we have built at Velocity and will miss working with them every day,” said Kirkup in a Velocity blog post. “It has been an incredible experience working with some of the most innovative companies in the world. I have seen some of the best days and many of the worst days in the founder's lives. It has been an honour to help celebrate their success or help push them forward towards it.” 

"I have accepted the CTO role at Encircle and am jumping into the fintech world with both feet,” said Kirkup. "Insurance is undergoing a massive transformation whether the industry wants to or not. At Encircle I will have the opportunity to work with an amazing team to help shape that future. It is something I am very excited about." 

Over the last four years, Velocity has gone from strength to strength and it is now the largest free startup incubator in the world and its companies have raised in excess of $300M in investment. Kirkup led Velocity through changes that include opening the Velocity Garage, creating Velocity Start in South Campus Hall and partnering with the Faculty of Science to create Velocity Science as well as growing the Velocity Residence program. 

“Mike Kirkup has been instrumental in taking Velocity to new heights. His enthusiasm, knowledge of the startup community and unique mentorship ability will be missed,” said Associate Provost, Students Chris Read. “We have an extremely capable team in place, and I look forward to communicating our plans to ensuring Velocity continues to evolve and support our world-class entrepreneurial students.” 

1000 Acts of Green Needs You!

A message from the 1000 Acts of Green Campaign.

Have you posted your Act of Green yet? If not, join the challenge, and if so, keep it up! Lots of action in Week One focused on Food, Waste, and Transportation, and the Faculty of Environment took an early lead out of the gate.

Join the conversation in week two by taking pictures of all your big and small sustainable actions and posting them to Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram using the hashtag #1000GreenUW and tagging your department.

You can also join one of the on-campus or community events happening throughout April, including:

• A Lunch-and-Learn on saving energy at home with REEP Green Solutions. Lunch will be provided.

• Waterloo’s annual 20-minute makeover. Lunch and supplies will be provided.

Visit the 1000 Acts of Green page for some inspiration and to see what others are posting.

Researchers win medical imaging awards

This article was originally published on the Faculty of Engineering's news page.

A systems design engineering professor and team of graduate students are the recipients of two Magna Cum Laude awards presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Imaging Network of Ontario held in Toronto at the end of March.

Alexander Wong, the Canada Research Chair in Medical Imaging Systems, and systems design engineering graduate students Audrey Chung, Mohammad Javad Shafiee, Devinder Kumar, along with their collaborators at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, doctors Masoom Haider and Farzad Khalvati, were recognized for their research in the area of radiomics-driven oncological clinical decision support.

Wong and his team in collaboration with clinical researchers at Sunnybrook Health Sciences, have introduced a breakthrough strategy to quicker and more effective cancer identification.

Known as discovery radiomics, the concept allows for the identification of a large number of imaging-based features that act as quantitative biomarkers for capturing highly unique tumor traits and characteristics beyond what can be captured using predefined feature models.

Read the rest of the article on the Faculty of Engineering news page.

Building peace at Conrad Grebel's summer camp

by Rebekah DeJong

Between August 8 and August 12 youth in the Waterloo Region will be discovering community through peace at the MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement’s sixth annual Peace Camp, a day camp run at Conrad Grebel University College. 

As a non-profit organization, Peace Camp receives a 5-year grant from the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation and on-going sponsorship from Mennonite Savings and Credit Union, Josslin Insurance, and the Kitchener Waterloo Community Fund. Thanks to our sponsors, youth aged 11 to 14 will experience a week packed with exciting activities, crafts, games, and field trips, all with a social justice spin that encourages youth to inspire lives, strengthen ties and make peace happen in the Waterloo Region.

Last year, Peace Camp attendees developed a better understanding of their individual ripple effect recognizing that their actions, no matter how small, can have a big impact. One camper stated that peace camp was meaningful because “it helped me to learn about how to help the community” Another camper reflected on her Peace Camp experience by saying “ there are a lot of things that need attention...now I know how to help”. When asked what they liked most about Peace Camp, campers consistently mentioned that they enjoyed meeting new people, interacting with camp leaders, playing fun games, interesting guest speakers and fun field trips!

This summer the Peace Camp theme is “Peace in Action” focusing on empowering youth by teaching them that no matter who you are or what you like to do you can be a peacebuilder. Campers will become more aware of how their skills and passions can create peace in their own lives, and in the global and local community. Peace Camp will be a week full of activities lead by a dynamic Peace Camp team. Guest speakers from peace-building organizations across Waterloo Region will share their wisdom and experiences emphasizing how to use your skills and interests to create peace. Campers will gain an understanding of ways they can be involved in social justice and peacebuilding, while having fun and making lasting friendships.

If you are interested in registering your child for peace camp, visit the registration page.

If you are interested in volunteering as a Peace Camp Leader please contact daycamp.peacecamp@uwaterloo.ca. 

For any other Peace Camp related inquiries please contact Rebekah DeJong at daycamp.peacecamp@uwaterloo.ca.

Board of Governors meets and other notes

The University's Board of Governors will meet today at 1:30 p.m. in NH 3407. Among the agenda items:

• a motion to approve the 2016/2017 Operating Budget;
• a motion to increase the compulsory Student Services Fee, which is assessed and collected each term from all full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students, effective spring term 2016. Undergraduates will see an increase of 6.6 per cent over last year, while graduate student contributions will be reduced by 2 per cent over last year;
• a motion to delegate the Board's authority to approve the University’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended 30 April 2016 to the Board Executive Committee; and
• a motion to approve the the appointment of CS&P Architects for the proposed addition to the Student Life Centre (SLC) and Physical Activities Complex (PAC) with an approved budget of $34 million.

In addition to the usual senior administrator and committee reports, the governors will hear a research presentation by Professor Michael Hudson of Physics & Astronomy.

Registration for the 10^th Anniversary R+T Park Charity Golf Tournament coincides with the first day of The Masters in Augusta, and thus registration will open Thursday, April 7 at 9:00 a.m. All 200 golf spots tend to sell out within the first few hours. All proceeds will be directed to the R+T Park Tenants Fund at the Kitchener-Waterloo Community Foundation. To date, $210,000 has been raised in support of local children's charities and community-based projects.