Friday, August 20, 2021

Joanne Shoveller named president designate of International Business University

Joanne Shoveller, the University’s outgoing Vice-President, Advancement, has been appointed President Designate of the International Business University (IBU). She will join the IBU as its President and Vice-Chancellor on January 1, 2022.

Shoveller has served as Vice-President, Advancement at Waterloo since 2017. In March 2021, the University announced that she would be stepping down from her role as Vice-President, Advancement at the end of this year. The search for her successor is well underway and a transition plan is in place. 

Based in Toronto, IBU is a private, not-for-profit institution specializing in business education, and received the approval of Ontario’s Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board (PEQAB) and the Minister of Colleges and Universities in 2020 for a university title and the first of its programs, a Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) in International Management and Technology. The university is launching its programming in September 2021. Shoveller succeeds Tim McTiernan, IBU’s inaugural president, who is retiring after leading IBU’s founding.

Shoveller’s appointment is the capstone of a 30+ year career in post-secondary education administration. Prior to serving as Vice-President, Advancement at Waterloo, she led the advancement team at France’s INSEAD Business School and was Vice-President, Advancement at the University of Guelph. Previously, she spent 17 years at Western University in a number of progressive roles, including a two-year posting in Hong Kong.

“Many thanks to Joanne for her dedicated service to the University of Waterloo,” wrote President Vivek Goel in a memo circulated to the University’s Executive Council yesterday. “We congratulate her on this appointment and wish her success in this new role.” 

Shoveller completes her five-year term as Vice President, Advancement on December 31, 2021.  

Study supports widespread use of better masks to curb COVID-19 indoors

This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

A new study is highlighting a need for widespread use of better face masks and the importance of good ventilation to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 indoors.

Engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo performed experiments using a mannequin to simulate a seated person breathing in a large room. The studies showed a significant buildup over time of aerosol droplets – exhaled droplets so tiny they remain suspended and travel through the air – despite the use of common cloth and blue surgical masks.

“There is no question it is beneficial to wear any face covering, both for protection in close proximity and at a distance in a room,” said Serhiy Yarusevych, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering and the leader of the study. “However, there is a very serious difference in the effectiveness of different masks when it comes to controlling aerosols.”

Click the image to see a video made by Waterloo Engineering researchers showing how much aerosol-laden exhalation flow escapes unfiltered when wearing (left to right) no mask, a KN95 mask and a surgical mask. Video link.

Previous research has found that aerosols dispersed by infected people are a source of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, even outside the two-metre social distancing zone widely recommended by public health officials.

The study showed that most common masks, primarily due to problems with fit, filter about 10 per cent of exhaled aerosol droplets. The remaining aerosols are redirected, mostly out the top of the mask where it fits over the nose, and escape into the ambient air unfiltered.

By contrast, higher-quality, more expensive N95 and KN95 masks filtered more than 50 per cent of the exhaled aerosols that can accumulate indoors and spread the COVID-19 virus when inhaled by other people.

Yarusevych, principal investigator in the Fluid Mechanics Research Lab, said the much greater effectiveness of N95 and KN95 masks versus cloth and surgical masks makes a compelling case they should be worn in indoor settings, such as schools and workplaces, as much as possible.

“A lot of this may seem like common sense,” he said. “There is a reason, for instance, that medical practitioners wear N95 masks – they work much better. The novelty here is that we have provided solid numbers and rigorous analysis to support that assumption.”

Experiments also quantified the impact of ventilation systems, which circulate and replace air in rooms, on the accumulation of aerosols. Even modest ventilation rates were found to be as effective as the best masks in reducing the risk of transmission.

Ideally, Yarusevych said, the evidence shows that high-quality masks and proper ventilation should be used in combination to mitigate the threat posed by indoor aerosol accumulation as much as possible.

The study, Experimental investigation of indoor aerosol dispersion and accumulation in the context of COVID-19: Effects of masks and ventilation, appears in the journal Physics of Fluids.

Yarusevych collaborated with Sean Peterson, also a Waterloo professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, and engineering PhD students Yash Shah and John Kurelek.

Plinio Morita receives Ontario Early Researcher Award

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

Plinio Morita, a professor in the School of Public Health Sciences, has received an Early Researcher Award (ERA) from the Ontario government for his project, Mobilizing IoT-Based Health and Environmental Data for Increased Public Awareness. He was one of 11 recipients at the University of Waterloo.

Valued at $140,000, the award goes to the province's most promising researchers in the first five years of their academic careers. The ERA will support Morita’s recent research project, which focuses on improving access to real-time air pollution and heatwave surveillance data collected using IoT technologies.

"As an early career researcher, this award provides me with resources to support underserved populations, allowing me to focus on the social good of our research," said Morita. "The funding provided by the ERA will support students working in collaboration with UNICEF Mongolia, who are trying to understand the hyperlocal effects of air pollution on children's health and to help create AI-based alert systems for the population."

Since current surveillance data ecosystems are outdated, complex and provide limited insights into individual exposure rates to pollution and heatwaves, Morita’s research project will use IoT technologies to enable public health officials in Ontario and Mongolia to monitor hazards in real-time and increase the awareness of the greater public to extreme events.

The Ontario government is providing more than $70.4 million through the ERA to assist research and innovation across Ontario colleges, universities, research institutions and research hospitals. The ERA support will allow Morita to build a research team and develop technology using user-centered design, participatory co-design, rapid analytics and machine learning. The awards were announced earlier this summer.

The Library expands access to collections across the province; other notes

"Omni, the Library’s catalogue, is expanding its services," says a message from the Library. "Since 2019 Omni has provided access to search the collections of Laurier and University of Guelph, in addition to Waterloo’s own. Now Waterloo staff, students and faculty can seamlessly search for and request items from 16 partner institutions across Ontario free of charge, a collection of nearly 23.5 million resources."

Learn more about this expanded service.

A reminder to take the equity survey

If you haven’t completed Waterloo’s Equity Survey, an email reminder with a link to participate arrived in your inbox this week!  By participating, you are contributing to Waterloo’s vision of a more equitable work and learning environment for all. It only takes about five minutes to complete and the demographic information you provide will create a complete picture of who is among our campus community, creating opportunities for positive change now and in the future.

To complete the survey, search your Waterloo inbox for the subject line "Take Waterloo’s Equity Survey Today." In this email you will find a link to participate that is unique to you.

To learn more visit the Equity Survey information webpage.

There's still time to enter the Beyond the Bulletin Podcast 100^th Episode Contest. The Taliban got to Kabul in a matter of days, not weeks, exceeding expectations, and history prof Geoff Hayes tells us about the reasons and the implications. The University clarifies its position on COVID-19 vaccination status of people coming to UWaterloo properties. Campus Housing needs volunteers to help with residence move-in. And the busy vaccine clinic at the Health Sciences Campus closes.

You could win a $100 gift card for W Store. We’ll announce the winner in the podcast's special 100^th episode, which goes live on Friday, August 27. 

There is also an anonymous survey that pops up after the quiz. Completing it will help us keep Beyond the Bulletin relevant for our audience and, who knows, it may help us attract new listeners as well. The contest closes on Monday, August 23 at 12:01 a.m. Check out the contest rules for more information.

As always, thanks for listening.