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Thursday's Research Talks explores the evolutionary process of microbes
Attend Research Talks on Thursday and take a look back in time with three Waterloo researchers and an industry expert as they use microbes to understand ancient settings and the evolutionary process.
Please register to attend this panel presentation on January 24 (11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) featuring:
- Alexis Dolphin (Anthropology): Human-environment interactions in past populations
- Andrew Doxey (Biology): Computational prediction of protein functions and evolutionary adaptations
- Kirsten Müller (Biology): Red algae, the evolution of sexual reproduction, and multicelluarlity
- Peter Keech (Nuclear Waste Management Organization): Nuclear waste storage, microbial degradation, and long time scales
Refreshments will be provided.
Research Talks is a regular series hosted by the Office of Research and supported by the Research Support Fund to provide Waterloo staff, faculty, and students with an opportunity to learn about world-class research at Waterloo.
IT Student Advisory Board seeks members
Since the fall of 2017, Information Systems & Technology (IST) has been running an IT Advisory Board to gather feedback from students about IT-related initiatives on campus. IST recruits approximately 18 volunteers every term. The Advisory Board then meets four times each term to provide feedback on IST services and projects.
Since launching, IST has worked with 86 different students, generated over 100 unique ideas, and implemented several suggestions offered by students. The student volunteers are the heart of this project and direct the conversations. They get the opportunity to pick the discussion topics while IST provides a safe, judgement-free space for board members to provide feedback, all of which is carefully considered and acted upon where feasible.
Some of the ideas IST has implemented include:
- Single page website to highlight IT Services for Students
- IST participation in pop-up events on campus, like the Campus Life Fair and Student Life 101
- Distribution of content through poster runs on campus to raise awareness for new services and ITconcerns facing students
- Branded item in all first-year orientation kits to ensure all students were aware of IST and the services available (IST designed post-it notes for 2017 kits)
- Instructional “How to connect to Wi-Fi” graphics have been created and placed at all IST Service Desks and Residence front desk locations
- Redevelopment of IST Help & Support page to make it easier for users to request and find help
Do you know a student who may be interested in joining? Applications for next term are now being accepted! Learn more at https://uwaterloo.ca/ist-advisory-board.
Nominations open for teaching awards
Do you know an excellent professor or student teacher (graduate TA, undergraduate TA, lab instructor, etc.)? Don't miss your opportunity to nominate him or her for the Distinguished Teacher Award (DTA) and/or the Amit and Meena Chakma Awards for Exceptional Teaching by a Student (AETS).
- Nominations for the Distinguished Teacher Award are due on Friday, February 1
Since its inception in 1975, over 150 Distinguished Teacher Awards (DTAs) have been awarded to exemplary Waterloo instructors. The DTA is not limited to faculty members but is open to all those who teach students at the University. The main criterion of the award is a record of excellent teaching over an extended period at Waterloo, usually at least five years.
- Nominations for the Amit and Meena Chakma Awards for Exceptional Teaching by a Student are due on Friday, February 8.
The awards are open to all students who have a formal teaching role at the University of Waterloo. Four awards are given annually in recognition of excellence in teaching of all kinds by registered students.
For more information, visit the Centre for Teaching Excellence in its temporary home in EC3, call extension 33857, or send an email to cte-dta@uwaterloo.ca.
Tuesday's notes
Room with a view: This was the scene at Davos, Switzerland as President Feridun Hamdullahpur met with Thomson Reuters CEO Jim Smith. President Hamdullahpur is in Davos this week for the World Economic Forum. Check out some highlights in the right-hand sidebar.
The Department of Kinesiology is hosting the 11th annual University of Waterloo Brain Bee on Saturday, April 6. It promises to be an exciting opportunity for students to learn about the brain and the importance of brain research and will also provide them with an opportunity to visit the University and to meet some of its students and professors in kinesiology, neuroscience and other areas.
The brain bee is open to high school students in grades 9-12 from Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and surrounding areas and takes the form of a multiple-choice competition with cash prizes for the winners, gift packages, and lots of fun.
Interested students can sign up for the bee by filling out the registration form.
The Faculty of Environment will be hosting Professor Abul Quasem Al-Amin of the Institute of Energy Policy and Research (IEPRe), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) in Malaysia as he delivers a lecture entitled "Low Carbon Society by Introducing Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles in Malaysia: the Prospects and Challenges" on Thursday, January 24 in EV3 1408. Al-Amin is a a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Environment and at the International Business School (IBS), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
The lecture takes place at 1:00 p.m.