Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Donna Strickland wins Nobel Prize in Physics

University of Waterloo Professor Donna Strickland is one of three scientists to win this year's Nobel Prize in physics for her work to develop short and intense laser pulses that have many industrial and medical applications.

Strickland, an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in physics in 55 years, the first Canadian woman to do so, and the first University of Waterloo faculty member to win a Nobel Prize while affiliated with the University.

Strickland shares the award with American Arthur Ashkin of Bell Laboratories and French physicist Gérard Mourou of École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, and the University of Michigan. Strickland and Mourou split one half of the prize share "for their method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses," according to the Nobel committee, while Ashkin receives one half of the prize "for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems."

"I got the Nobel Prize for my very first paper, and it was my PhD thesis," says Strickland. "It was great to have had the opportunity to work with one of the pioneers of ultrafast lasers, Gérard Mourou. It was a small community back then. It was a new, burgeoning field. I got to be part of that. It was very exciting.”

Strickland joined the University of Waterloo in 1997. She is a past winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship.

Black and gold has gone red

A message from the United Way campaign.

Campus is ‘going red’ today to celebrate the launch of the university’s 2018 United Way campaign.

We can’t wait to see the photos come in from across campus with pops of red, so don’t forget to share them with us on Twitter or Instagram with the #UWUnitedWay hashtag - your engagement is the key to our campaign success!

To help us kick off our fundraising month, we asked members of the campus community to share why they support the campaign. We hope you’ll also consider supporting United Way and make a donation via e-Pledge (payroll deduction is available).

Our campus community really comes together throughout the month of October and we know that on-campus teams will share in a bit of fun while also helping us meet our fundraising goal of $270,000. Keep an eye out for auctions and bake sales, Halloween costume contests, cook-offs, and head-shaving challenges! New this year, and taking place today, is Busker Fest. Student performers like Lyle Kam and The Little Berlin Band will be set up across campus; show your support by making a donation. All of their proceeds will go towards our United Way campaign goal.

Make sure you check out campus-wide events as they’re posted throughout October, or connect with your area’s volunteer rep to find out what’s planned for your unit. Don’t have an area volunteer rep? It’s never too late to get involved. Learn about the roles and sign up on our website.

Library Fall Fair takes place today

The annual Library Day fall fair is taking place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at all University of Waterloo Library locations.

Each year during Canadian Library Month, the Library takes a day to celebrate students, faculty and staff. Activities will be taking place in the Arts quad in front of the Dana Porter Library, the Great Hall outside the Davis Centre Library, and at Musagetes Architecture Library and the Witer Learning Resource Centre.

There will be popular carnival games like giant plinko and ring toss, library-themed activities like book spine poetry, lots of food and a photo booth activity featuring a life-size cardboard cutout of President Feridun Hamdullahpur.

There will also be an opportunity to support the University of Waterloo's United Way fundraising campaign.

Check out the Library Day website for more details.

Indigenous Speaker Series features Lee Maracle

The Indigenous Speakers Series presents award-winning writer Lee Maracle with choreographer Bill Coleman.

Lee Maracle is a member of the Stó:lō Nation, grandmother of four, and mother of four. She was named to the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canada's literary landscape and for her influential voice in cultural relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. As “one of Canada’s bravest literary voices,” Maracle’s works include the novels Ravensong, Bobbi Lee, and Sundogs, the short story collection, Sojourner's Truth, a poetry collection Bentbox, and non-fiction I Am Woman. She is also the editor of numerous poetry works and has published in dozens of anthologies in Canada and the USA. In her recent book, My Conversations with Canadians, Maracle reflects on the countless questions asked by Canadians over her writing career, “all of them too big to answer, but not too large to contemplate.” Join the event organizers for a conversation with Maracle about subjects such as citizenship, racism, Indigenous rights, segregation, law, prejudice and reconciliation.

In addition, choreographer Bill Coleman and sound artist Phil Strong will join Lee Maracle on stage to create a performance integrating Maracle’s story telling with sound and dance. Coleman is the recent recipient of the Canada Council’s Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts, recognizing the highest level of artistic excellence and distinguished career achievement by a Canadian professional artist. Coleman has performed internationally with world-renowned companies and created a singular body of work that unites distant worlds in celebration of “home”—the natural and cultural environment, community, and the physical body itself.

The Indigenous Speaker Series highlights the voices of Indigenous artists, writers, activists, and leaders offering Waterloo students, faculty and staff opportunities to learn from and engage with Indigenous issues. This talk is sponsored by the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre, the Faculty of Arts, the Departments of History, and the Department of Communication Arts.

All are welcome to this free event. The talk begins at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday October 3 in Modern Language’s Theatre of the Arts. Maracle will be available after the talk for a book signing. 

New e-commerce options and other notes

To improve service for students and alumni, more products have been added to the University of Waterloo’s e-commerce site. In addition to transcript and proof of enrolment requests, replacement or duplicate diplomas can be also be ordered, as well as Letter of Permission and Alumni Letter Request for Transcript Assessment. This project has been a joint initiative between Finance, IST, GSPA, the RO, and the Student Service Centre.

The University Club is getting into the Thanksgiving spirit with its annual Thanksgiving Luncheon Buffet, scheduled for Thursday, October 4 and Friday, October 5 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. To make a registration call the Club at extension 33801.