Thursday, February 8, 2018

Hallman lecturer to talk reducing substance abuse

On Thursday, February 15, the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences presents the latest Hallman Lecture: How did Iceland transform rates of adolescent substance use over a 20 year period? featuring Professor Alfgeir Kristjansson of Reykjavik University.

Iceland began ‘upstream’ prevention initiatives in the mid-1990s and to date they have seen remarkable reductions in the use of cannabis, alcohol and tobacco amongst youth. Professor Kristjansson is part of a team in Reykjavik that has created and implemented one of the most systematic, multisectoral and effective programs in the world. He will address both the ongoing research project and the details of program implementation.

The lecture takes place at 3:00 p.m. Seats are limited. See the Hallman Lecture event page for details and registration.

Professor Kristjansson and local experts will also be presenting a public talk at the Kitchener Public Library Main Branch on the evening of February 15. Register by joining the waiting list for Preventing Substance Use Amongst Youth: A National Success Story for Iceland.

Why wetlands are worth celebrating

The Laurel Creek Conservation Area in north Waterloo.

by Tatjana Milojevic. A version of this article originally appeared on Waterloo Stories.

Friday, February 2 marked the Ecohydrology Research Group’s sixth annual World Wetlands Day (WWD) celebration at the University of Waterloo. This year’s program featured research presentations, three-minute student presentations, a student poster competition, and an evening public lecture. The symposium had over 90 registrants and was attended by researchers from various universities across southwestern Ontario as well as members of the general public. It even got a Twitter-nod from Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger.

“Wetlands are a critical part of our ecosystem that improve water quality, reduce flooding impacts, and absorb pollutants,” tweeted Chagger. “We need to recognize how our actions impact the environment, and work to keep urban wetlands to ensure a clean and safe future.”

Wetlands cover 14 per cent of Canada’s land area, but many are experiencing increasing stress due to climate change. Much of the original wetlands have been altered by changing land use practices (e.g. agriculture and urbanization). Despite the abundance of wetlands in Canada, the number of celebrations of WWD remain surprisingly low. Including the Waterloo celebration, only four celebrations were registered for Canada in 2018.

“Given Canada’s comparative wealth of wetland resources, it is surprising that there are so few World Wetlands Day celebrations,” said Professor Phillipe Van Cappellen, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Ecohydrology and founder of the Ecohydrology Research Group. “The lack of World Wetlands Day participation is really a missed opportunity for academics to share their knowledge with the general public.”

Highlighting the evening was Dr. Jennifer Read, Director of the University of Michigan Water Center, who gave a public lecture titled “Impactful Science Along our Coasts: Supporting and assessing user-focused research in our estuaries, coastal wetlands and Great Lakes”. Dr. Read’s talk emphasized the importance of maintaining engagement with the end-users of scientific research throughout the research process.

The importance of wetlands has been recognized internationally, which resulted in the signing of the Convention on Wetlands (otherwise known as the Ramsar Convention) on February 2, 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. The intergovernmental treaty, which Canada joined in 1981, provides the framework to guide efforts for wetland conservation and sustainable use of wetland resources.

“Wetlands are vital to humans and the environment, providing key ecosystem services. Awareness of their importance is critical to conservation efforts,” said Professor Van Cappellen.

Indeed, wetlands provide valuable ecosystem services worth protecting. For instance, they act as buffers during extreme hydrologic events such as floods, filter sediments and harmful substances, provide natural resources (e.g. wood, peat, and wildfowl), and offer recreational opportunities such as birdwatching.)

Whether it is intergovernmental cooperation, engagement of end-users in scientific research, or public participation in local WWD events, it is clear that the most effective conservation of wetlands cannot be done in isolation, but requires active support from all of us.

If you are interested in participating or assisting in the organization of a future World Wetlands Day event, please contact the Ecohydrology Research Group.

Computer Museum brainstorming session and other notes

The Faculty of Mathematics is sponsoring a brainstorming session to populate displays that showcase the history of computing on Thursday, February 15. Faculty, staff, retirees from across campus are invited to attend. 

The session organizers are looking to collect stories, anecdotes and notes to develop three displays including:

• Slide rules and analog equipment;
• Teaching and computing; and
• Computer research and spin-offs.

"We're collecting artifacts for these exhibits," says a note from the event organizers. "Donations of hardware, software, peripherals and related material including old calculators, manuals, textbooks and notes are welcome."

The session will be held on Thursday, February 15 at 2:00 p.m. in MC 5501. Refreshments will be provided.

Questions can be directed to event organizers Debbie Brown (dabrown@uwaterloo.ca), Scott Campbell (scott.campbell@uwaterloo.ca), Lawrence Folland (lfolland@uwaterloo.ca), and Robyn Landers (rblanders@uwaterloo.ca).

From panels to pilsners, Waterloo is making an impact in Ottawa this week with a pair of events - the first at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum sees Canada 2020 and the University partnering to host a panel discussion about the future of moving discoveries and innovations to the Canadian market. Panelists include Mike Moffatt, director of policy & research at Canada 2020, Dr. Charmaine Dean, vice-president, university research, Jay Shah, director of Velocity and Mihaela Luminita Vlasea, associate research director, additive manufacturing in the Faculty of Engineering. Following the panel discussion is an event hosted by Alumni Relations entitled “Beer + Quantum Physics”, which seeks to make connections between beer and quantum physics through the lens of innovation. Beer + Quantum will feature Martin Laforest (PhD '08), senior manager - scientific outreach at the Institute for Quantum Computing, who will provide a primer on Quantum Physics before guests tour the exhibit. During his talk, alumni will enjoy appetizers and 4 beer samples from a local Ottawa brewery.

Information Systems & Technology is hosting a seminar on Friday entitled “Duo two-factor authentication service.” Speaking will be Jason Testart, Andrew Ward, and Shayne Dyck, who will introduce the Duo two-factor authentication (2FA) service and provide an update on the project, including:

• Timeline for deployment
• Services supported by 2FA
• How 2FA works
• Demonstrations

The seminar takes place at 9:00 a.m. in MC 2009.

Jason Testart is IST’s director of information security services and has served as the University’s information security leader for the last 9 years. Andrew Ward is a member of IST’s Information Security Services team and over the course of nearly 20 years has held various IT roles on campus in IST and the Centre for Extended Learning. Shane Dyck works as an Account Representative for IST Client Services supporting Housing, CECA and Velocity.

This seminar will be webcasted/recorded and questions can be asked during the webcast via the link on the page.