Friday, February 11, 2022

Institute for Quantum Computing names executive director

"I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Norbert Lütkenhaus as Executive Director of the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), for a five-year term, starting in January 2022," wrote Vice-President, Research and International Charmaine Dean in a memo to the University's Executive Council earlier this week.

Dr. Lütkenhaus entered the field of quantum information in 1993 as a PhD student at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. His work as a doctoral student laid the foundation for the ongoing security analysis of optical implementations of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), leading to the first complete security analysis of practical QKD. His international leadership in this field is recognized through his election as Fellow of the American Physical Society. 

His research is at the interface between theoretical quantum protocols and practical realizations. His work also develops quantum optical versions of protocols that realize quantum communication and information complexity advantages.

Dr. Lütkenhaus has held research positions in Austria, Finland and Germany. He also has experience in industry, having worked on the first commercial realization of QKD in 2000, authored several patents and co-founded EvolutionQ Inc, in addition to being its Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Dr. Lütkenhaus serves on the advisory boards of several international high profile research networks, conference and workshop series, and also serves as the Vice-Chair of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Industry Specification Group on Quantum Key Distribution. He is also an affiliate member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

"As Executive Director, he intends that IQC advance its leadership profile in quantum research and technology by being at the forefront of quantum education, building strong connections at the national and international level, and educating the workforce and entrepreneurial talent that builds the emerging quantum industry," Dean writes. "IQC will continue to be a welcoming community that nurtures curiosity, teamwork, leadership, and personal development."

"Please join me in welcoming Dr. Lütkenhaus as Executive Director, IQC and congratulating him on his new role," Vice-President Dean's memo concludes.

Waterloo student achieves personal best in Beijing

Madeline Schizas, a student of Urban Planning in Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment, is competing at the Beijing 2022 Olympics and recorded a personal best of 69.60 points in the women’s short program portion.

Madeline is a competitive skater. The 18-year-old from Oakville, Ontario in her recent accomplishment has lifted Canada to fourth from sixth and moved the country into the five-team final round of the figure skating.

"I have been training so consistently and so much,” said Schizas in an interview with CBC. “I skate programs like that a lot at home, and just knowing I have the ability to do it, because I have done it so much, it allowed me to put a performance out when it counted."

She began learning figure skating at the age three and competed for the first time at age six. She was selected as one of Canada’s two entries for the 2021 World Championships.

In other roles, she is a piano teacher and has performed as a stunt double in the Netflix film Spinning Out.

You can catch her skating again in the individual short program on Tuesday February 15 and free skating on Thursday February 17.

Go on CBC.ca to watch her live or by following this link: Olympics Live - Video | CBC.ca.

Photos courtesy of Greg Kolz / Skate Canada.

FAUW announces scholarship funds for students from Six Nations of the Grand River

This article was originally published on the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo's (FAUW) website.

The Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW) is pleased to announce a five-year agreement with the Grand River Post-Secondary Education Office (GRPSEO) to fund scholarships for University of Waterloo students from Six Nations of the Grand River. FAUW will contribute $10,000 each year, to be distributed evenly by GRPSEO among all Six Nations students attending the University that year, in any program, in either part-time or full-time studies.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo for providing scholarship funds specifically for Six Nations of the Grand River post secondary students attending the University of Waterloo,” said Justine Henhawk-Bomberry, Director of Post Secondary Student Services at GRPSEO. “These funds will certainly lighten the financial strain students encounter when attending post secondary and will allow for them to focus on their studies. Supporting student success is definitely the key to empowering Six Nations students through higher education.”

While there are other scholarships available to Indigenous students at the University of Waterloo, generously funded by alumni and corporate sponsors, FAUW is specifically supporting Six Nations students in recognition of the University’s location on the Haldimand Tract, which was promised to the Six Nations in the Haldimand Treaty of 1784, and of the many benefits this location has afforded the University and its faculty. The Association was inspired by such sector-leading examples as the University of British Columbia President’s Office scholarship for students from the Musqueam First Nation and the Haudenosaunee Promise scholarship provided by Syracuse University.

FAUW representatives consulted with Jean Becker, Associate Vice President Indigenous Relations, about the scholarship. “The Six Nations scholarship from FAUW shows their commitment to local Indigenous students and is a step towards addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for universities to close the gap in postsecondary education for Indigenous students,” said Becker. “I am delighted that our faculty has taken this step to support Six Nations students and Indigenous relations at the University of Waterloo.”

FAUW thanks the Office of Indigenous Relations for its advice and support. The Association hopes that this will be one of many new resources for Indigenous students attending the University of Waterloo and will continue to work with GRPSEO and the Office of Indigenous Relations to support Waterloo’s growing population of Indigenous students and employees.

New radar technique can determine if arctic winter roads are on thin ice

A new study found that measuring the time it takes for a radar pulse to travel from a satellite to the sea surface and back again can reveal the thickness of river ice and dates when it is safe to travel on ice roads and bridges in arctic regions.

Many northern communities in Canada rely on the network of ice roads built on frozen lakes and rivers to transport goods and for food security. However, the sustainability of these roads is at risk due to climate warming causing shorter ice seasons and thinner ice. 

Researchers from the University of Waterloo, in collaboration with colleagues from France and Russia, used the technique called radar altimetry, which also helps in understanding the ways frozen rivers enhance interconnection and supplies to various cities with ice covers. River ice is a major component of the planet’s ecosystem that plays a key role in the functioning of the aquatic system and affects the operation of hydropower stations as well as construction and navigation. 

“Many remote villages that are linked in summer to supply centres only via expensive aircraft or boat transport can directly access the primary land transport arteries built on frozen ground and lake or river ice,” said Claude Duguay, professor of Geography and Environmental Management at Waterloo. “The value of the ice roads is the highest for the icy regions where the construction of permanent bridges is restrained by the presence of permafrost and its destabilization.”

The researchers used data from two altimetric satellite missions, Jason-2 and Jason-3, to develop and validate algorithms for retrieving river ice phenology dates and ice thickness over an area encompassing the lower reaches of the Ob River in Siberia, Russia.

Comparing the dates of the altimetry-derived melt start with those of the ice state flags provided by gauging stations, the researchers found that the manual routine of their algorithm accurately detected the start of ice thermal degradation.

The study shows that various factors can affect the radar return echoes and consequently the accuracy of the river ice thickness retrievals in arctic regions.

“One of the main advantages of satellite altimetry compared with imaging synthetic aperture radar is the relative ease in processing the measurements over the large hemispheric-scale domain,” Duguay said.

The algorithm they developed for the ice phenology dates can be applied to other rivers, lakes and bogs because it is independent of the availability of on-site observations.

The study showed that the obtained empirical relations between the on-site data and satellite backscatter measurements are similar for different river segments, especially for the long river reaches.

The study was recently published in The Cryosphere, an international scientific journal of European Geoscience Union.

Friday's notes

Athletics and Recreation is reporting that Varsity games are back. "Come watch your Women’s and Men’s Volleyball teams take on Guelph this Saturday, February 12, at PAC as we celebrate Senior Night, Employee Day as well as commemorate Think Pink," says a note from Athletics.

The women's game starts at 1:00 p.m. with the men's game starting at 3:00 p.m. Free tickets are available for Staff and Faculty, sponsored by Homewood Suites St. Jacobs. Email warriorstickets@uwaterloo.ca for coupon code. Reserve your tickets today.

"You can also check out the Women’s Hockey team as they take on Laurier, also on February 12, at CIF," says a note from Athletics.

Tickets are available online.

Speaking of Think Pink events, the Think Pink Golf Simulator Tournament is taking place on February 12 and 13 in the PAC. Tickets are $35 per person and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. The registration deadline is 12 noon today, so get your tickets while you still can. Sign up here.

Think Pink Glow in the Dark Zumba will take place on February 17 at 6:00 p.m. in PAC Studio 3. This event is free and donations will be accepted. Sign up here.

From January 12 to February 28, Waterloo will be joining other U SPORTS schools across the country to participate in the 2021-2022 Think Pink Shoot For The Cure initiative. Waterloo Warriors have raised a total of $252,449.12 over the last 13 years.

More information about the Think Pink campaign is available on the Athletics website.

The next Battle of Waterloo will take place on February 18 as Warriors Basketball takes on Laurier at 6:00 p.m. The event also commemorates Mike Moser Day, Employee Day, Think Pink, and Residence Day. Free tickets are available for staff and faculty sponsored by Homewood Suites St. Jacobs. Purchase your tickets today.

The next Master of Taxation Virtual Information Session will take place on Saturday, February 12, 9:00 a.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the MTax advantage. To register visit www.mtax.ca.

Looking into next week, GSA-UW presents Safe Love Week 2022, which runs from Monday, February 14 to Friday, February 18.

The next entry in the Cheriton School of Computer Science Distinguished Lecture Series, "AI for Social Impact: Results from Deployments for Public Health and Conservation," will feature Milind Tambe, Professor of Computer Science, Harvard University, on Tuesday, February 15 at 1:30 p.m. online via Zoom.

"With the maturing of AI and multiagent systems research, we have a tremendous opportunity to direct these advances towards addressing complex societal problems," Professor Tambe writes. "I focus on the domains of public health and conservation, and address one key cross-cutting challenge: how to effectively deploy our limited intervention resources in these problem domains."

"I will present results from work around the globe in using AI for challenges such as HIV prevention, maternal and child care interventions, and as well as for wildlife conservation. Achieving social impact in these domains often requires methodological advances."

Milind Tambe is the Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science and Director of Center for Research in Computation and Society at Harvard University; concurrently, he is also Director “AI for Social Good” at Google Research India.

Check the lecture series website for the Zoom link and login information.