Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Environment 1 electrical shutdown begins

Where were you when the lights went out?

If you work or study in Environment 1, the answer is, "somewhere else" from August 6 to 24 as the building is closed to faculty, staff, and students during a planned infrastructure upgrade that involves a full electrical shutdown of the building. 

General use labs are available as follows:

• EV2-1011​
• EV2-1004

Open student study spaces are available as follows:

• EV2–2001
• EV3–3402​
• EV3-4402​

Anyone with questions is invited to contact Neil Carnegie, facilities and space planning specialist at ncarnegie@uwaterloo.ca.

For more information check Environment's shutdown page.

Fees Arranged deadline approaching

It's that time of year again - students should be checking their bill for the fall term and arranging their fees because the due date to become Fees Arranged for Fall 2018 without a late fee is August 22, 2018. 

Arranging your fees

There are two ways to become Fees Arranged:

• Paying the entire Term Balance: Students and their families may be interested to know that they can use Aeroplan miles or TD Travel Rewards points to pay tuition;
• Paying Later by using the Promissory Note process if you wish to leave a balance owing on your student account equal to your approved financial aid (including funding showing as Anticipated Aid on your student account) and only pay the remaining balance. Follow the step-by-step instructions.

Students who do not become Fees Arranged will not have their financial aid deducted from their balance owing, including all University and external scholarships, bursaries, awards, GRS and OSAP funding. In addition, other provincial government student loan and grant funding will only be released once a student is "Fees Arranged" for the term.

For students receiving OSAP, this year OSAP funding will be sent directly to the University to pay your fees when your enrolment is confirmed (beginning one week before classes start). OSAP students will need to complete a Promissory Note using the OSAP amount under “Anticipated Aid” on Quest to become “fees arranged”.

If your OSAP funding is not posted yet, you can attach a screenshot of your official “Funding Summary” (not the estimate) from your OSAP account. Any OSAP funds remaining after your fees are paid will be deposited in your bank account.

The "What's my Net Tuition" button at the bottom of your fee bill will help you find out what your net tuition is for the upcoming term.

"If there is a balance owing on your account prior to August 17, the due date applies," says a note from Student Financial Services. "If fees are first posted to your student account on or after August 17, you have ten business days from that date to become Fees Arranged without a late fee. If you are not Fees Arranged by October 31, you will be withdrawn from your program."

Anyone with questions can contact Student Financial Services by emailing sfs@uwaterloo.ca or find helpful information on the Finance - Student Financial Services website.

2018 Golden Jubilee Research Excellence Award winners named

This article was originally published on the Faculty of Mathematics website.

Three faculty members have been awarded the 2018 Faculty of Mathematics Golden Jubilee Research Excellence Award. Jason Bell, Luke Postle, Daniel Vogel are each awarded $2,500. This honour is conferred to early or mid-career faculty members who have made outstanding research contributions, was established in 2017 to mark the 50^th anniversary of the Faculty of Mathematics. 

The award is based on the quality of a candidate’s research over the past five years or for an influential paper published within the past five years as assessed through its quality and impact.

The three winners will receive their awards in the fall at the annual Faculty Reception.

“Congratulations to the awardees,” said Raouf Boutaba, associate dean, research. “Our faculty owes much of its reputation to the scholarly accomplishments of its professors. All three awardees have made exceptional contributions to their fields."

Bell, a professor in the Department of Pure Mathematics, has published about a wide range of mathematics including algebra, combinatorics, number theory and dynamics, with 15 papers in 2017. His most recent work is a joint project on the growth of algebras with Efim Zelmanov, a Fields Medal winner. 

A member of the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, Postle’s research in structural graph theory, has earned him a strong international reputation through his use of a very broad and innovative range of tools to solve old and deep problems in combinatorics. Postle has made significant contributions to important and long-standing open problems in graph colouring.

An Associate Professor with the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, Vogel’s research focuses on human-computer interaction in combination with computer graphics and visual art to develop better experiences for people using computers. Vogel is a member of the Human-Computer Interaction Research Group.