Wednesday, March 22, 2017

World Water Day 2017 highlights wastewater

The eighth annual UN World Water Day in Waterloo takes place today. This year's theme is wastewater, and the campaign ‘Why waste water?’ is about reducing and reusing wastewater. 

Co-hosted by the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, this event is a celebration of water which showcases water research at both universities. This year the event will be hosted at Wilfrid Laurier University.

The United Nations established World Water Day in 1993 to increase global awareness of the importance of water to the environment, agriculture, energy, health and trade. Each year, the students from the Water Institute and the Laurier Institute for Water Science co-host a full day of activities to highlight the breadth and depth of their water research. This year more than 60 students will be presenting details on their water-related research.

The keynote speaker this year is Canadian filmmaker, adventurer, writer and environmentalist Frank Wolf, whose remarks are entitled "Advocating for wilderness waterways through adventure."

The day will also feature a panel discussion on achievements and challenges in Canada’s wastewater system, research poster presentations and a photo contest.

The student-organized celebration takes place Wednesday, March 22, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Lazaridis Hall on Laurier’s Waterloo campus.

Schedule for teaching and learning conference released

The schedule for CTE’s 2017 Teaching and Learning Conference, Cultivating Curiosity in Teaching and Learning Conference, is now available online.

This year's conference theme engages with all things curious in teaching and learning: learn from educational researchers and Waterloo instructors as they share their teaching strategies, research methodologies, and much more in interactive workshops, presentations, and panel sessions. The day kicks off with a keynote session, "Can We Teach Curiosity?", delivered by Dr. Peter Felten, and a special afternoon plenary session, Igniting Our Practice, gives participants an inside look at the teaching methods of two inspiring Waterloo instructors.

Registration for the conference, which will take place on April 27, closes on April 5.

Celebrate National Co-op Education Week with contest

By Christine Nhan

It’s National Co-op Education Week! From March 20 to March 24, the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE) is running a social media contest to celebrate the growth and impact that co-operative education has across Canada.

With the world’s leading co-op program, Waterloo has many stories that showcase students and employers. “Without a doubt, my academic experience has been enhanced through co-op since I’m given the opportunity to apply classroom material to a real life work environment,” says Sahej Bakshi, a bio-chemistry student at Waterloo.  

Using the hashtag #coopweek and #hirecoop, students can tweet, like and share their co-op experiences to @CAFCE_CoopWeek for the chance to win lots of fun prizes. Join us in representing the University of Waterloo by encouraging students to participate in the social media contest and be sure to follow @CAFCE_CoopWeek on Twitter to hear all the amazing stories.

For more information on National Co-op Week, please visit CAFCE’s website.

Three Minute Thesis finals tomorrow

The University-wide finals competition for the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) takes place tomorrow in the Theatre of the Arts.

The finalists have competed in faculty heats and will give their timed single-slide presentation in front of a panel of judges and an enthusiastic audience from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The winner will move on to the provincial finals.

3MT is a university-wide competition for graduate students in which participants present their research and its wider impact in 3 minutes or less to a panel of non-specialist judges. The challenge is to present complex research in an engaging, accessible, and compelling way, using one static slide.

Judges for the competition include Mandy Brouse, co-owner of Words Worth Books in Waterloo, Adrien Côté, a Business Advisor at Velocity, Mohit Muthanna, the Principal Engineer and Director of the Site Reliability Engineering group at Google, Craig Norris, the lead singer for The Kramdens and a host on CBC Radio, and Milaina Wright, the Tournament Director for the Manulife Ladies Professional Golf Association (LGPA) Classic.

Audience members will be able to vote for their favourite presenter in the People's Choice category. Winners will be announced at the competition, after a short deliberation period by the judges.

The University of Waterloo will also be hosting the provincial 3MT competition on April 12.

Wednesday's notes

The Department of Fine Arts is staging IGNITE, the 43^rd annual Senior Undergraduate Exhibition that features artwork by fourth-year honours students completing the Fine Arts undergraduate degree program.

Representing a diverse range of themes, materials and media, the exhibition reflects both the creativity of the students and the wide-range of studio-based practices they are engaged in.

Featured artists this year include: Faith Ashford, Danielle Bennett, Thomas Bourque, Nicole Brkic, Cassandra Chortos, Una Chung, Sara Davis, Vivian Diec, Carolyn Diemert, Michelle Dubreuil, Sana Faheemuddin, Jan Fretz, Kayla Frigault, Mélika Hashemi, Clara May Hoover, Shannon Jackson, Nicolette Kemp, Kassia Kooy, Noreen Lardizabal, Kaylee Lock-O'Connor, Jasmine Mander, Neda Moshg, Yasmeen Nematt Alla, Giovanna Ngai, Michelle Passarelli, Erienne Rennick, Shani Rollins, Arvic Serapio, Taylor Singh, Izabella Szabo, Rachel Taylor, Lariana Ustariz, Wynn Yau, Hee-Jung Yi, and Alan Zeberek.

"IGNITE celebrates four years of studio practice. It encompasses the culmination of all of our efforts and embodies the varying themes and ideas explored by our graduating class,” says a statement from Fine Arts. “IGNITE is an action that represents the spark of a new beginning, one that will inevitably fuel the fires of our future."

The exhibition runs until Saturday, April 8 at the University of Waterloo Art Gallery in East Campus Hall.

Human Resources has announced the following staff retirements, effective March 1:

• May Yan, who joined the University in August 1974, retires as Director, Retail Services;
• Sandra Avey, who started working at Waterloo in July 1986, retires as Optician in the Optometry clinic;
• Roger Sanderson, who joined the University in May 1976, retires as Lab Director, Teaching in Electrical and Computer Engineering;
• Janet-Lynn Metz, who started her career at Waterloo in February 1970, retires as Student Advisor, Co-operative Education and Career Action;
• Hilda Rottine, who joined the University in January 1980, retires as Custodial Foreperson in Plant Operations;
• Betty Goral, who started at Waterloo in May 2001, retires as Accounting Co-ordinator at St. Jerome's University;
• Annette Dandyk, who started at the University in July 1974, retires as Administrative Assistant in the Library; and
• David Gloor, whose start date was in July 2000, retires as Controls Technician in Plant Operations.

Congratulations all!

Retired Waterloo Professor Gordon Nelson's new book, The Magnificent Nahanni: The Struggle to Protect a Wild Place, has just been published by the University of Regina Press.

"It describes the unique wonders of the Valley, mountains, hot springs, Virginia Falls, the four long canyons, limestone karst and rich plant and animal life," says a promotional statement. "It also describes explorations by John McLeod, a Hudson's Bay trader in 1823, and Raymond Patterson, Fenley Hunter and the mysterious Albert Faille in the 1920s and 1930s, among others. The book analyzes the three decade struggle to protect the Nahanni watershed as a national park in 2009 and the remaining mining and other challenges. The role of native people in the history of the watershed and establishment of a national park are recognized along with the needs and opportunities of Indigenous people in the Nahanni National Park Reserve today."

A retired faculty member in Geography, Professor Nelson served as Dean of what was then known as Environmental Studies (now Environment) from 1975 to 1983.

University of Waterloo Muslim Chaplain Rania Lawendy will be participating in a free public discussion entitled “Islam Demystified – A Community Town Hall” on Saturday, March 25 at the Kitchener Market. The event is hosted by Kitchener Centre MPP Daiene Vernile. The discussion includes a Q&A and begins at 10:00 a.m. 

Here's today's Nutrition Month myth vs. fact supplied by Health Services Dietician Sandra Ace:

Myth:  Gluten-free foods are healthier for most people.

Fact:  Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley and in any food made with these grains. Following a gluten free diet is the only healthy way of eating for people with celiac disease, a lifelong medical condition in which the intestine is damaged by gluten. People with celiac disease, about 1 percent of the Canadian population, must permanently follow a strict gluten free diet.

Gluten sensitivity or intolerance is a less well-understood condition. The symptoms of non-celiac gluten sensitivity may be similar to those found in celiac disease. However, in non-celiac gluten sensitivity, certain internal disease markers such as specific antibodies found in the blood and intestinal inflammation are absent.  It is possible that rather than the protein in wheat, rye and barley, some people may react to another component of the grain. These grains contain certain carbohydrates that some people don’t digest well. A thorough assessment by a family physician or specialist, including a detailed patient and family history, as well as a diet history is always advised. A blood test and/or an intestinal biopsy to exclude celiac disease may also be recommended. Individuals should not self-diagnose or start a gluten free diet on their own and without medical advice. If a person needs to be tested for celiac disease, the test is only accurate if gluten is being included in the diet.

Without a medical diagnosis that requires a gluten free diet, there are no clear health benefits to going gluten free. In fact, if you do, you may be giving up some valuable dietary fibre and nutrients including iron and B vitamins. At a meeting last week of the American Heart Association, researchers highlighted the results of three long term studies of nearly 200,000 individuals which found that those with the highest gluten intake had a lower risk of developing diabetes. This may be due to the protective effect of more dietary fibre and additional research is need to confirm these findings. If you have celiac disease or need to follow a special diet for other reasons, a Registered Dietitian can help you to plan healthy, balanced and delicious meals.