Thursday, July 20, 2017

Waterloo to host Women in Physics Canada conference

The sixth annual Women in Physics Canada (WIPC) conference is set to take place from July 26 to July 28 at the University of Waterloo.

This year's conference is being hosted by the University, the Faculty of Science, the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and the Institute for Quantum Computing.

HeForShe is among the conference's sponsors.

The Women in Physics Canada conference is an opportunity for early-career scientists to present their work and hear plenary talks from leaders in the field. Among the plenary speakers this year are:

• Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, University of Washington;
• Joan Vaccaro, Griffith University;
• A.W. Peet, University of Toronto;
• Shohini Ghose, Wilfrid Laurier University;
• Donna Strickland, Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo; and
• Crystal Senko, IQC, University of Waterloo.

The event encourages women to continue in a career in science through panels on:

• How to Increase Diversity in Physics;
• Careers Outside Academia featuring Jon Walgate, Strategic Research Initiatives Officer, University of Waterloo;
• How to Choose a Supervisor and Build a Good Working Relationship

The event also facilitates the sharing of experiences, ideas and advice through:

• A Mental Health Workshop by Dr. Edward Beharry of Counselling Services;
• a Work/Life Balance panel; and 
• an Implicit Bias Workshop by Crystal Tse, Centre for Teaching Excellence.

Conference sessions will take place in QNC 0101. Be sure to register online - registration includes breakfasts at Mudie's in Village 1 as well as a banquet dinner at the University Club on Thursday, July 27.

The conference welcomes the attendance and participation of people of all genders.

Waterloop pod to be unveiled on campus tomorrow

Imagine traveling from Toronto to Montreal in 30 minutes.

An interdisciplinary student design team at the University of Waterloo is helping to make that dream a reality.

Team Waterloop will host a special event this week to unveil the new prototype they designed and built for the upcoming SpaceX Hyperloop competition.

Hyperloop is a next-generation, high-speed passenger train that will involve levitation, near-zero air resistance in a low-atmosphere tube track, solar power and linear induction motors to create a highly-efficient, fast and economical mode of transportation.

Waterloop will compete with its pod, Goose II, on a one-mile track in Hawthorne, California later this summer. Waterloop is the only Canadian team competing.

The event takes place at Federation Hall on Friday, July 21 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., with remarks and the official unveiling starting at 3:30 p.m. A reception and information session to follow.

Michael Worswick named SAE Fellow

SAE International has announced that Waterloo Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering Professor Michael J. Worswick has been elected as a 2016-17 SAE Fellow. He was one of 22 fellow inductees recognized during ceremonies at the recent SAE World Congress Experience in Detroit.

Professor Worswick was recognized as an SAE Fellow for his field research in structural crash worthiness, high-strain-rate material behavior, and sheet forming for auto weight reduction. Worswick holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Light Weight Materials Under Extreme Deformation: Forming and Impact.

"Dr. Worswick conducts collaborative research with automotive companies across the sector, including numerous car companies and automotive parts and material suppliers," says his award citation. "He has published more than 100 papers in refereed journals and has more than 300 conference publications and industrial reports. He is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Impact Engineering and an associate editor of the International Journal of Material Forming. He was the founding director of the Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineers."

SAE Fellow is the highest grade of membership bestowed by SAE International. It recognizes outstanding engineering, scientific and leadership accomplishments by an individual that have resulted in meaningful advances in automotive, aerospace, and commercial vehicle technologies. The program, established in 1975, recognizes an average of 20 recipients worldwide each year.

Thursday's notes

The Library has posted a story about how some of its staff members participated in the annual United Way Day of Caring in June. Read the full story on the Library's website.

Human Resources has reported that retiree Nada Kovac died on January 14, 2017. Kovac started at Waterloo in September 1981 as Food Services Assistant in Food Services and retired in July 1996 under the Special Early Retirement Program (SERP). She was predeceased by her husband, Steve, in April 2016.