Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Eric Mazur to deliver Presidential Lecture on June 8

Harvard professor and teaching innovator Eric Mazur will visit campus on Friday, June 8 and deliver a Presidential Lecture on innovation in teaching and learning.

Professor Mazur is the Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics and Dean of Applied Physics at Harvard University. Mazur is a prominent physicist known for his contributions in nanophotonics.

In education he is widely known for his work on Peer Instruction, an interactive teaching method aimed at engaging students in the classroom and beyond.

President Feridun Hamdullahpur will provide opening remarks, and Professor Mazur's lecture will be followed by a Q+A session.

The event takes place at Federation Hall on Friday, June 8 at 2:00 p.m. Doors open at 1:45 p.m. Register to secure your seat at the event today.

The event will also be livestreamed.

Mazur previously visited campus in 2010.

Photograph by Eliza Grinnell, Harvard University, 2012.

Campus emergency notification system test coming

A message from Information Systems & Technology

A test of the University’s emergency communication system is scheduled for Tuesday, May 29 between 7:45 and 8:15 a.m. Test activation and deactivation messages will be sent using the below channels:

• Tweets to @UWaterloo and @WatSAFEapp
• WatSAFE mobile app
• The ‘UW Emerge’ on-screen pop-up for desktops and laptops
• Skype for Business Instant Messages
• Portal alerts and push notifications

Your feedback on how these channels operated, specifically the newly added Portal alerts and push notifications option, is appreciated (helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 44357)

In the event of a real emergency during this test, please contact Police Services at 519-888-4911, or ext. 22222.

Be sure to install the WatSAFE app on your device to receive this test message, and more importantly, to stay informed of campus emergency situations. Visit the WatSAFE website for more details.

Wood-boring beetle infestation a pain in the ash

More Canadian cities will experience damage from the emerald ash borer than previously thought. As a result of climate change and fewer days of extreme cold, the beetle may eat its way further north than originally estimated.

Kim Cuddington, a professor of biology at the University of Waterloo, led the team that produced a probability map for North America showing where the emerald ash borer is likely to kill trees.

“We ran specific predictions to help Canadian cities decide if they need to make plans before they’re affected,” said Cuddington. “Calgary is likely to experience damage, as are Thunder Bay, Prince George and Winnipeg. Edmonton and Saskatoon are less likely, but they should remain vigilant.”

So far, the wood-boring beetle has wiped out tens of millions of ash trees and will likely cost municipalities $2 billion. Still, people expected Canada’s extremely cold temperatures to stop the species’ rapid migration.

“This should be a wake-up call for how we think about invasive species,” said Cuddington. “We need to develop preemptive measures as well as mitigate potential impacts. By the time we see the damage, it’s almost too late.”

According to previous studies, prepupae can survive in temperatures as low as -34ºC. Cuddington and her group confirmed the temperature found under the bark where the insect overwinters is warmer than the outside.

“We took a different approach from traditional range maps and charted the statistical probability of under-bark temperatures being above this lethal limit for at least six years,” said Cuddington. “That’s just long enough for the insect to kill its host tree.”

This is one of the first studies to couple an extensive empirical data set with measures of climate variability using a mechanistic modelling approach. Cuddington says researchers need to think more carefully about how a changing and unpredictable climate relates to the biology of an invasive species and their risk of doing damage, both economically and ecologically.

The research appears in the journal Biological Invasions.

Senate meets today and other notes

The University's Senate meets for a rare Tuesday meeting today (thanks a lot Queen Victoria). Among the agenda items at this afternoon's meeting:

• Motions to approve a number of academic plan changes in the Faculty of Mathematics, including changes to extended withdrawals and absences;
• A motion to edit the undergraduate calendar's sections relating to drop/add deadlines effective 1 September 2019;
• A motion to approve Marios Ioannidis (chemical engineering) as the COU Academic Colleague for a one-year term beginning June 30;
• A motion to create an Admissions Pathway agreement between the University of Waterloo Department of Economics and the School of Economics at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE);
• A motion to change some academic plans within the Faculty of Arts;
•  A motion to delegate Senate's authority in approving the roster of graduands for June Convocation to the Executive Committee, which will approve them on June 4;
• A motion to change the name of the Drama and Speech Communication program to the “Department of Communication Arts,” effective September 2018; and

• A motion to change the name of the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre to the "Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business" within the Faculty of Engineering and grant it formal status as an academic unit.

A reminder that Waterloo International is hosting three information sessions on international travel safety and security, beginning Tuesday, May 22. These info sessions are hosted by the Working Group on International Travel Issues (WGIT).

Anyone wishing to attend an information session should complete a registration form. For those not able to attend, a short survey will also be available until Wednesday, June 6. Please email safetyabroad@uwaterloo.ca to receive it.