Tuesday, January 17, 2017

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• Math to launch its 50th anniversary celebrations
• Research funding helps bridge the digital divide
• Workshop on Global Branding in the Digital Era
• Tuesday's notes

Math to launch its 50th anniversary celebrations

The Faculty of Mathematics is launching its 50^th anniversary celebrations with a panel event that goes right back to the source - those faculty members who were there from the very beginning.

These distinguished guests will share stories of the faculty's early days during a special event this Wednesday as Mathematics hosts a first-decade panel at 12:00 p.m. at Federation Hall.

Registration is available online, and the program will be available via live stream.

The panel will be chaired by Steve Brown.

Research funding helps bridge the digital divide

Research at the University of Waterloo that has the potential to affordably connect billions of new users to the Internet via intelligent antennas will receive $6.1 million in joint funding from C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. (C-COM) and the federal government.

C-COM and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) will each provide funding of $3,055,000 over five years. C-COM will also provide $751,000 of in-kind support to the project, which Professor Safieddin Safavi-Naeini, from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will lead. Safavi-Naeini is the head of the Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS).

Work at CIARS involves the development of low-cost, flat, modular antennas capable of establishing and maintaining links to satellites, even while on the move. That capability would be a breakthrough for C-COM, which presently manufactures and sells robotic antennas for fixed Internet connectivity in 103 countries around the world. The new technology would enable widespread broadband internet service in cars, trains, ships, planes and other vehicles.

“If you imagine there are billions of people out there with no connectivity, and hundreds of millions of cars, trucks, planes, boats, anything that moves, the market potential is exciting,” said Leslie Klein, an alumnus of Waterloo Engineering and co-founder of C-COM.

Existing antennas can connect to satellites in areas as remote as the middle of the Sahara Desert, but they are relatively large and expensive. The next-generation antennas will lie flat, conforming to the contours of a car’s roof, for example, or be attached to buildings and maintain fast, reliable connections by electronically directing their beams to satellites overhead. Once in mass production, the antennas could affordably service huge areas of the world that lack conventional cellular networks on the ground.

“The University of Waterloo has built a global reputation in antenna and wireless communications research,” said D. George Dixon, vice-president, university research. “The establishment of this industrial research chair will support the innovative work taking place at CIARS that will connect people in all corners of the world in the near future.”

Waterloo Engineering has five industrial research chairs who collaborate with industry in a variety of areas, including energy infrastructure, information theory of optical networks, and risk-based life cycle management of engineering systems.

“Digital technologies are playing a major role in what many have referred to as the fourth industrial revolution,” said B. Mario Pinto, president of NSERC. “NSERC is proud to further drive innovation in wireless communications by supporting this research partnership in advanced satellite antenna systems. Dynamic collaborations between industry and academia are vital to transformative advances and breakthroughs in this field.”

An initial product may be on the market within two to three years. Other possible applications for the antennas include use with high-speed, 5G communications networks using millimetre wavelength radio frequencies, which are expected to become reality within about five years, and sophisticated radar imaging for sensor systems in self-driving cars.

Workshop on Global Branding in the Digital Era

Interested in expanding your research partnerships or exploring other collaborations? Join David Brebner, CEO of Umajin, from New Zealand on campus next week as he presents "Global Branding in the Digital Era."

Learn about the technology and partnerships behind Umajin as David showcases his perspectives on digital innovation and his partnerships with global firms to create a platform for discussion of areas for potential collaboration. Umajin is open to collaborations of any type, including research, that allow for new business models, relationships, and solutions.

New products, services, and experiences require new approaches and new technologies for maximum customer engagement and best customer experience. David’s technologies and approaches include user interaction, software design, gamification, 3D machine vision, AR, IoT, AI, and solutions architecture. The Umajin engine has shipped over 25 million apps through partners including Dell, Acer, ASUS, Sony, Intel and HP. Partnerships and projects with IBM and Microsoft have pushed the boundaries of what is possible.

Registration and coffee networking will begin at 3:30 p.m. before the one hour presentation at 4:00 p.m. More details and registration instructions.

Tuesday's notes

Save the date: The 2017 Senior Women's Academic Administrators of Canada SWAAC Conference will be held from April 27 to 29 in Edmonton, Alberta. The "Leaping Forward" event promises a "lively mix of keynote speakers, panel discussions, concurrent sessions, and networking social events."

SWAAC was founded in 1987 to provide a forum and a collective voice for women in senior administrative ranks in Canadian universities, colleges and technical institutes and exists primarily to promote female leadership in the Canadian post-secondary sector. Participants can register online.

As winter makes its icy return this week, there's no better time to escape reality, climb into the University's golf simulator, and learn to play golf.

For $100, participants receive 4 one-hour sessions (if you have a partner it's only $70 a head) in the Physical Activities Complex (Squash Court 6). Staff, students, and children ten and up have the opportunity to learn from members of the 2016 OUA Champion Warriors golf team.

All proceeds will be used to help pay the team's expenses at the national championships in May 2017. Golf clubs will be supplied.

The first round of sessions begin on Sunday, January 22 and continue on January 29, February 5 and 12. The second round runs on Sunday, March 5, 12, 19 and 26.

There are time slots available at 9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.

Participants are encouraged to register early as there are only 16 time slots available. Contact Coach Dave Hollinger for more details and to reserve your session and time.

The 18^th Annual Fantastic Alumni, Faculty, Staff and Retiree Day is set for Saturday, February 11. Bring your family and friends to cheer on the Waterloo Warriors men’s and women’s basketball teams to victory as they compete against the Windsor Lancers. The annual Airplane Toss will take place at half time during the men's basketball game. The best paper airplane pilots will take home prizes that include:

• Daniel Christian Tang Bracelet
• a Gibson Sound & Vision Package
• $500 Enterprise Voucher and a Pebble Watch
• $500 Merit Travel Voucher and Warrior Swag
• Wonderland Season Pass Family Package

All registered guests will receive one free airplane on admission, with additional airplanes available for purchase at $2 each. All proceeds raised will go towards KidsAbility. Register yourself and your family today.