Friday, July 13, 2018

Cue up some geometry lessons with Math's elliptical pool table

MathSoc president Jason P’Ng and Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics Stephen M. Watt unveiled North America’s first elliptical pool table.

On Tuesday, July 10, MathSoc president Jason P’Ng and Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics Stephen M. Watt unveiled North America’s first elliptical pool table. After a few words from Dean Watt and P’Ng, the MathSoc president squared off against the dean, winning the first game played on the table.

Full of cupcakes with pink icing and Four All ice cream, students played in a tournament for the next 1.5 hours.

This unusual pool table was developed by Alex Bellos, a British journalist who covers sports and mathematics. His book, The Grapes of Math, required research that led him to be interested in the form of the ellipse and he decided to build a pool table using the shape.

He then developed a set of rules for a two-player game called Loop (yes, pool backwards). The rules are simple: there are 4 balls: 1 cue ball, 1 black and two colours, one for each player. If you sink your colour, and then the black, you’ve won.

If you’re ever in the MC Comfy Lounge and want to give it a try, here are some tips:

• If you remember your geometry, an ellipse has two focus points.
• Know where the focus point is – it will help you determine exactly where to hit the coloured ball.
• Remember the random variables – resistance, friction, irregular surface and how hard you hit the ball – so hit it with just the right amount of force.

Canadian Academy of Engineering honours Waterloo faculty, alumni

New Canadian Academy of Engineering fellows inducted in June 2018.

This article originally appeared on the Waterloo Engineering website.

Waterloo Engineering professors and graduates were inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) on June 18.

The new fellows include faculty members Fakhri Karray, electrical and computer engineering, Susan Tighe, civil and environmental engineering, John Yeow, systems design engineering, and adjunct professor Mary Wells, mechanical and mechatronics engineering. 

Also inducted were Waterloo Engineering alumni Catherine Booth (BASc ‘ 88, SD, MASc  ’90, ManSci), Jim Estill (BASc ‘80, SD), Fraser Forbes (BASc ‘82, MASc ‘84 Chem),  Dianne Freeman (BASc, ’92, Civil), Josephine Hill (BASc ’91, MASc ’92, Chem) and David Ross (BASc ’91, Comp).

CAE President Eddy Isaacs inducted a total of 57 new Fellows and two new International Fellows into the academy during its annual general meeting and symposium held in Calgary.

“The new fellows are engineers of outstanding abilities and of widely varying backgrounds, from industry and academe and government,” said Isaacs during the ceremony. “What they all have in common is the demonstrated desire and ability to go beyond the normal practice of engineering and contribute in exemplary ways towards their fields and to their communities."

Founded in 1987, the CAE is the national institution through which Canada's most distinguished and experienced engineers provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to Canada.

IST's East Campus 2 Service Desk to close in August

Information Systems & Technology has announced that the EC2 location of the IST Service Desk will be permanently closing following spring term final examinations. The location will close on Monday, August 13, 2018.

The closing, says the note from IST, relates to the current low usage of the EC2 location, and is being done in order to optimize customer service provided at the other service desk locations.

The only service unique to the EC2 location is the scanning of Scantron cards for mid-term and final examinations.

Scanning will be available during the mid-term exam period at EC2 by appointment only. To make an appointment for scanning of mid-term exams, please visit the Scantron appointment page.

"At this time, there are no planned changes to this service for final exam periods," says the note from IST.

Those seeking service after August 13 can visit the other IST Service Desks for IT support. Check out IST's Help & Support page for information on locations and contact information.

Anyone with questions is invited to contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 44357 or submit an RT at rt@rt.uwaterloo.ca.