Monday, June 27, 2016

Space is the place for Waterloo-based antenna

Left to right: Professor Safieddin Safavi-Naeini, Aidin Taeb, Reza Rafi.

This article was originally featured on the Waterloo News site.

A one-of-a-kind communications device developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo is now orbiting the Earth as a central component of a microsatellite launched in Sriharikota, India on Tuesday to test new technologies in space.

The product of several years of work and refinement, the compact, sophisticated antenna for identifying and managing marine traffic is built into a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) satellite that is about the size of a household dishwasher.

A team led by engineering professor Safieddin Safavi-Naeini at the Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) in Waterloo collaborated on the project with the CSA and COM DEV International (now Honeywell Canada) of Cambridge, which built the small but powerful microsatellite.

“The antenna was designed to perform with 100-per-cent reliability because there is no way to actually fix it once it is in space,” said Safavi-Naeini. “Being trusted by these agencies was, of course, very important to us.”

A key challenge for the Waterloo team was making the antenna - housed in a box about 35 centimetres square and five centimetres thick, and weighing less than two kilograms – small enough to go into space as part of the Maritime Monitoring and Messaging Microsatellite (M3MSat) project.

In addition to improving Canada’s ability to track ships from space using technology known as the Automatic Identification System (AIS), the mission is testing devices to ensure data continuity and measure static electricity, and a new generic satellite platform design.

Read more about CIARS' role in this CSA initiative.

Malleck is Warwick's first international visiting teaching fellow

Professor Geoff Malleck will soon be wrapping up his stint as the Warwick International Higher Education Academy's very first International Visiting Teaching Fellow.

Malleck is a continuing lecturer in the Department of Economics and the Director of Waterloo's Management Studies Program.

The Warwick International Higher Education Academy is the professional association for academic staff at the University of Warwick, and was launched in April 2015.

Malleck joined Warwick on June 13 and his visit wraps up on June 30.

"Geoff will be the first International Fellow to visit the Warwick International Higher Education Academy," said WIHEA Academic Director Gwen Van Der Velden. "With the intention to inspire, international fellows are invited to Warwick to engage with a wide range of staff involved in teaching or the support of learning. At Warwick we take pride in being a highly international university and global perspectives on teaching will no doubt further enrich our international impact over the coming years. Geoff's focus on global employability, enterprise and learning fits well within this agenda.”

"It is a privilege to be invited to the University of Warwick as an international Teaching Fellow," said Malleck. "The culture of innovation is something our two great institutions share and I look forward to benefiting from the insights and expertise of the faculty, the administration and the students.  Likewise, I am excited to bring to Warwick some of our best practices in this true spirit of knowledge exchange."

During his visit, Malleck has participated in an entrepreneurial society forum, creativity workshops, and an Enterprise Question Time Debate, and this week he will be part of a Social Enterprise Challenge panel.

The Ripple Effect Education program receives Hallman Grant

The Ripple Effect Education (TREE), a peace education initiative based out of the Frank and Helen Epp Peace Incubator in the MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement, has received a $150,000 grant from the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation.

The grant has a three-year term.

“The Lyle S. Hallman Foundation believes that peace-literacy and conflict resolution skills are important ingredients in a well-rounded education for all students,” said Executive Director Laura Manning. “We are excited to see Conrad Grebel’s wealth of expertise in these areas brought directly into local classrooms.”

Starting in the classroom, TREE aims to create peace-literate citizens with demonstrable conflict resolution skills and awareness of justice issues locally and globally. 

In 2014 and 2015, the Director of TREE, Katie Gingerich, coordinated Conrad Grebel University College’s Peace Camp – a day camp and workshop program for youth. In 2015, Peace Camp facilitated conflict resolution and social justice workshops in 121 classrooms where they worked with over 2,400 elementary students in the Waterloo Region and Waterloo Catholic District School Boards – a 100 percent increase from the year before.

TREE is developing a curriculum-based workshop series with pre- and post-workshop resources for teachers to use throughout their school year to further develop concepts in their classroom. Additionally, TREE will offer custom programming for Waterloo Region’s students, beginning with the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union Peace in Action scholarship program.

Monday's notes

A Starry Night in the stairwell: Michael Davenport of Information Systems & Technology snapped this pic of an art attack that pays homage to both Van Gogh and the Dana Porter Library in a stairwell at Engineering 5.

GrandLinq's work on the East Campus crossings will extend to the end of this week, with sections reopening as the construction progresses. The crossings were temporarily closed last week. Check out the ION-related travel disruptions website for more information.

Effective today, members of Marketing and Strategic Initiatives, University Communications and Government Relations have relocated from their current homes in Needles Hall, the Commissary and East Campus 3 to a new shared space near the corner of Columbia and Phillip Streets. Community Relations and Events will follow in mid-July.

Some delays can be expected as the transition continues and boxes are unpacked. Phone extensions will remain the same, and office locations have been updated on departmental websites.

"The Science Undergrad Office (SUO), in STC 2031, will be closed tomorrow (Tuesday, June 28) from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. due to a staff meeting," says a message from the SUO. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Check the SUO webpage for regular office hours. Don't forget to sign up for our drop-in hours!"

St. Paul’s University College is holding a farewell reception today to thank Graham Brown, their longest-serving principal, for his many contributions to the St. Paul's and University community. Waterloo colleagues, alumni, and friends are welcome to the reception between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall at St. Paul's University College.