Wednesday, April 27, 2016

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• FedProv celebrates 50 years
• International co-op: a work term on Wall Street
• Community input sought on Waterloo Park design
• Water Institute hosts lecture on the global groundwater crisis
• Office closures, Let's Talk Science and other notes

FedProv celebrates 50 years

The University of Waterloo's annual Federal-Provincial simulation is celebrating 50 years of live-action political role-playing.

Canada's longest-running simulated federal-provincial conference took place yesterday and today, and is organized by the University of Waterloo's Political Science department and the Waterloo Regional District School Board's History Heads' Association.

This year, Arjun Pandy of Waterloo Collegiate Institute will serve in the role of Canada's prime minister. A total of 315 students will participate in the event.

The event opened with an address from MPP Catherine Fife and former Ontario cabinet minister John Milloy. Ministerial delegations made up of students from Waterloo Region's high schools then participated in committees addressing financial, justice, health, environmental, agricultural, economic, immigration and aboriginal affairs. In addition, students playing the roles of Canada's first ministers conducted meetings.

Participants from a number of schools also produce newspapers during the conference to provide information about the proceedings and to spark debate.

"To watch this number of high school students wrestling with some of the most important national issues of our times with this level of intensity is absolutely amazing.” said Gerry Boychuk, chair of the Department of Political Science.

On the final day of the simulation, a number of awards are presented, including:

• The John Boulden Award, named after one of Fed-Prov's founders, given to the student First Minister most able to articulate the position of their assigned government and to achieve the goals of their delegation;
• the Advisors Award for the student who most exemplifies the vital 'behind the scenes' work essential to the success of their delegation;
• the Waterloo Record Press Award for the best coverage of the conference by a school press team; and
• the UW Faculty of Arts Award for the student who did the most to resolve differing opinions or conflict within or across delegations.

Photograph courtesy of the Faculty of Arts Twitter Account.

International co-op: a work term on Wall Street

by Max McKee

Subways, city lights, and sky scrapers will welcome Zain Munir back to New York City this May as he starts his second work term in the Big Apple.

After wowing management at Hudson Insurance Group in his fall work term, the 3B Mathematics Business student returns to a new role this spring that combines aspects from his previous reporting job with additional responsibilities more tailored to his skillset.

The opportunity to gain work experience and travel at the same time is something Zain values highly.

“When you travel, you learn so much about culture and how the world is different,” said Zain. “Now is the time to pursue your goals. I’ve always thought that any opportunity to grow personally and professionally should be seized, and this is my greatest opportunity yet.”

Zain is no stranger to international work. Growing up in Dubai and completing his first co-op work term in Kuwait, co-op outside of Canada was an obvious choice.

“Toronto, LA, New York; where I went didn’t matter to me. My time in Kuwait and [in Waterloo] has made me adaptable to different work environments, and used to being away from home. It was easy for me to go wherever I felt the work best suited me.”

Co-op has given Zain a more thorough understanding of the insurance industry. Furthermore, it provided a window into the high-pressure, fast-paced life of Wall Street and the realities of working in what he deems to be “the most competitive place on the planet”- a place he thoroughly enjoys.   

We wish Zain the best this spring in his return to the concrete jungle!

Visit Hire Waterloo for more information on international co-op.

Community input sought on Waterloo Park design

The City of Waterloo, in collaboration with landscape architectural consultants the MBTW Group, are hosting a drop-in public information centre to gain the community’s input into the “functional design” of Waterloo Park’s Central Promenade. Members of the University of Waterloo community have been invited to participate and share their views on the project.

"This study is a visioning exercise to develop a design for improvements and enhancements along the section of the existing Laurel/Trans Canada Trail that runs through Waterloo Park," says the invitation from the City. "This promenade will be the main spine for pedestrian and cycling traffic through Waterloo Park and will run parallel to the Region of Waterloo’s light rail transit corridor. This project will also focus on making Central Drive pedestrian-friendly." 

The Public Information Centre takes place on Tuesday, May 3 from 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. near the Laurel Trail pedestrian bridge crossing Laurel Creek in Waterloo Park. In the event of poor weather, the event will be held at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery.

For those unable to attend the information session, comments from the public are being accepted on the City of Waterloo’s website from Tuesday, May 3 to Tuesday, May 17.

You can also sign up to receive project updates and additional information about the project by contacting Project Manager Anna lee Sangster at 519-747-8790 or by sending a message to annalee.sangster@waterloo.ca.

Water Institute hosts lecture on the global groundwater crisis

A leading international expert on the state of the world’s freshwater resources, NASA scientist and University of California professor Jay Famiglietti, will deliver the the 2016 Water Institute RBC Distinguished Lecture, entitled  “Water and Sustainability: 21^st Century realities and the global groundwater crisis” on Thursday, April 28 at 4:00 p.m. in Room 1350 of the Davis Centre.

In his lecture, Professor Famiglietti will discuss how the evolving water cycle of the 21^st century will result in the depletion of the world’s major groundwater aquifers, and a global regions of freshwater “haves” and “have-nots”. The lecture will address how water managers might cope with these “new normals”, and how food and energy production will be impacted. Professor Famiglietti, whose work is often featured in the international news media, will also share personal experiences with science communication and water diplomacy. 

Professor Famiglietti is the Senior Water Scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.  He is also a professor of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine, where he was Founding Director of the UC Center of Hydrologic Modeling.

Office closures, Let's Talk Science and other notes

The Arts Undergraduate Office, located in PAS 2439 will be closed today from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. 

The Science Undergraduate Office, located in STC 2031, will be closed todayfrom 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and onThursday, April 28from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

More than 220 students in grades 6, 7 and 8 from 20 Waterloo-area schools will unite this week to explore, discover and compete at the Let’s Talk Science Challenge. 

The event is hosted at the University of Waterloo by Let’s Talk Science, an award-winning national charitable youth development organization.

The Let’s Talk Science Challenge is a fun, team-based competitive event that ignites students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and invites them to develop and apply their knowledge, teamwork, leadership, critical thinking and problem-solving skills in a fun learning experience. It features special presentations, a quiz-show component and a hands-on engineering design challenge.

Opening ceremonies start at 10:00 a.m. in M3-1006. The engineering design challenge takes place at 10:45 in various locations in the MC building, with the quiz show and final awards taking place back in Mathematics 3.

Faculty of Mathematics Lecturer Ian VanderBurgh has won the 2016 Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) Excellence in Teaching Award. 

"Within the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Mathematics, VanderBurgh has earned enormous respect from faculty and students alike," says the official CMS announcement. "His reputation and popularity are legendary and the influence he has had on students and teachers will endure. VanderBurgh understands students’ needs and knows where and when they will have difficulties with the material. He carefully prepares and presents material in a way that is easy to understand, with motivating examples and insightful observations."

"Ian joins an elite group of math educators," says nominator Serge D'Alessio. "The only other Waterloo faculty member to receive this prestigious award was Brian Forrest back in 2007."

The award recognizes "sustained and distinguished contributions in teaching at the post-secondary undergraduate level at a Canadian institution."

The Education Credit Union (ECU), located in the David Johnston Research + Technology Park, has organized its first annual Charity Golf Tournament at Whistle Bear Golf Club.

Registration includes 18 holes of golf (with cart!), a continental breakfast, a chicken and rib BBQ lunch, and prizes for the winning foursome, the longest drive, "closest to the hole", and much more. Pictured at right are a pair of golfers including soon-to-be-retired Director of Police Services Dan Anderson. 

For more information, visit the ECU website. The tournament takes place on Monday, July 18.

Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include Diagram, Bazaarvoice, PDT Partners, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Technology, Uken Games, CIBC Technology, 500px, DAC Group, Bridgeable, TextNow, NetSuite, and Bloomberg LP.