Editor:
Brandon Sweet
University Communications
bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Athletics is bringing Homecoming back
A message from Athletics and Recreation.
We are thrilled to announce the long-awaited return of the University of Waterloo Homecoming! After more than a decade, we are bringing back this cherished tradition to unite our community in a day filled with excitement, games and spirited competition. This re-brand will be replacing Alumni Black and Gold Day.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 21, 2024 when your Waterloo Warriors will face off against the Laurier Golden Hawks during the Homecoming marquee event in a thrilling match that promises to keep you on the edge of your seats. It's not just a game; it's a celebration of our resilience, unity and unwavering spirit.
Join us as we come together to create unforgettable memories and support our team with passion and enthusiasm. Homecoming festivities will include:
- Pre-game activities: Gather with fellow fans, alumni and friends to kick off the excitement with food, music and camaraderie.
- Family-friendly activities: Enjoy a range of activities for all ages, from games to photo booths and more.
This Homecoming is not just about the game; it's about celebrating our Warriors spirit and the bonds that unite us as a community. Whether you're a current student, alumni, a faculty member or a dedicated fan, this is your chance to be part of something special.
Stay tuned for more details and updates as we countdown to this momentous event. Let's paint the town black and gold as we cheer our Waterloo Warriors to victory!
Introducing the Trans Community Corner
A message from the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Office.
All Two-Spirit, Trans, Non-Binary and Gender Non-Conforming (2STNBGNC+) University of Waterloo students, faculty, and staff are invited to join our community corner.
On Wednesday, April 3 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Office will be holding space to connect, build community, provide support and care, and celebrate our Trans community at UW. Care packages will be available to all who attend the event and will also be made available at the following pick up locations post event:
- Campus Wellness | Counselling Services - pickup from the 2SLGBTQ+ student support counsellor
- Student Success Office - pickup from the Student Equity and Community Manager
- EDI-R Office - pickup from the Community and Engagement Manager
- RAISE Office
- Glow Centre Office
- Women's Center Office
Register today to attend the event or indicate where you would like to pickup your care package.
Earth Sciences prof launches scholarships for students in need
By Fram Dinshaw. This is an excerpt of an article that originally appeared on Waterloo News.
As a young and ambitious oil rig worker, Maurice Dusseault was a university dropout who got his hands dirty on a northern Albertan rig drilling holes thousands of feet into the earth in search of this precious commodity.
Dusseault is a professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences who has not only established awards, but also contributes to several others, partially inspired by his own hardscrabble beginnings. The Dusseault Bursary in Geology supports students in need from the faculties of Science and Engineering.
With four decades of teaching, running three active companies and some lucrative patents under his belt, Dusseault feels that supporting the next generation of geologists and engineers – especially those facing challenging circumstances – is vital. Skyrocketing rental prices and other high costs of living can negatively impact students as they worry about how to pay for their education.
“Excellence deserves to be rewarded, and that’s why need and merit are the main criteria for these awards,” he added.
Read the full story on Waterloo News
Celebrating the career of Alan Binns
A message from Jacinda Reitsma, Vice-President, Administration and Finance.
Alan Binns (“Binnsy”), Director, Special Constable Service is retiring from the University of Waterloo after a longstanding career with Special Constable Service for over 30 years.
A familiar face on the Waterloo campus, Alan began working at the University in 1991 as a patrol officer after a career in the military and law enforcement in the United Kingdom.
Prior to his appointment as Director, Alan was Investigations Coordinator and Administrative Sergeant, responsible for investigating a wide range of cases, and overseeing VIP security and special event security on campus.
Alan was appointed to the position of Director, Special Constable Service in 2017 where he was responsible for communications, operations, administration, and management of the Special Constable Service.
After a long and successful career, Alan shared that it has been an honour to serve the University of Waterloo and to be entrusted with a leadership position. Waterloo appreciates Alan’s ability to make meaningful personal connections across campus and for his commitment to our UW community for so many years.
Please join me in thanking Alan for his many contributions to the University and wishing him all the best for his retirement.
Games Institute to host interdisciplinary symposium on April 19
A message from the Games Institute.
On Friday, April 19, interdisciplinary researchers at the Games Institute (GI) will come together to discuss and demo their interactive and immersive projects for the University community during the research symposium “Disrupting Disciplinary Divides for Digital Futures”.
The team’s combined expertise tackles real-world problems facing Indigenous communities, healthcare workers, children with speech difficulties, mothers facing homelessness, citizen scientists, and more using immersive interactive technologies such as social virtual and extended reality, machine learning, interactive training tools, and feminist design. Registration is open now and lunch is provided.
Registration closes on April 12.
Link of the day
When and Where
The Student Health Pharmacy (located in the lower level of the Student Life Centre) is offering flu shots with no appointments needed daily from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Call 519-746-4500 or extension 33784 for more info. COVID shots will be available on appointment basis only. You can register online at studenthealthpharmacy.ca.
Waterloo Warriors Youth Camps. Winter, March Break and PD Day camps available for boys and girls ages 5-18. Baseball, Basketball, Football and Multi-Sport and Games camps available. Register today!
Warriors Youth Summer Camps. Basketball, Baseball, Football, Hockey, Multi-Sport and Volleyball. Register today!
Chemistry Seminar featuring Dr. Erin Johnson, Professor, Herzberg-Becke Chair in Theoretical Chemistry, Dalhousie University, “London dispersion in density-functional theory and application to molecular crystal structure prediction,”Tuesday, April 2, 2:30 p.m., C2-361 Reading Room.
Future Cities Institute launch, Wednesday, April 3, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Federation Hall.
Trans Campus Community Corner, Wednesday, April 3, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., East Campus 5 4th floor – EDI-RO office. Register today.
RAISE x Definity Networking Event, Wednesday, April 3, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., EV3.
Global Engagement Seminar 2024 Desmarais Family Summit, Wednesday, April 3, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., United College Alumni Hall (UTD 201).
CrySP Speaker Series on Privacy featuring Kathrin Hövelmanns, Eindhoven University of Technology, “Fujisaki-Okamoto — a recipe for post-quantum public key encryption,” Wednesday, April 3, 2:00 p.m., MC 5501 and Zoom.
Research Impact Canada’sDr.RIC, featuringpresentations and perspectives from two of the funders in the RIC network: The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans, and the Weston Family Foundation, Wednesday, April 3, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.Please contact Nadine Quehl to register.
Home Routes folk concert: Crys Matthews, Wednesday, April 3, 7:00 p.m., Brubacher House, North Campus.
Waterloo RoboHub Spring Symposium, Thursday, April 4, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Engineering 7.
Waterloo RoboHub Spring Career Fair, Friday, April 5, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Engineering 7.
Pivot-RP virtual training workshop for faculty members, postdocs and graduate students, Friday, April 5, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., MS Teams. Please register to participate in the workshop.
NEW - Dean’s Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture featuring Sanjeev Khanna, Henry Salvatori Professor of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, “The Sublinear Lens and the Matching Problem,” Friday, April 5, 1:00 p.m., DC 1302 and Zoom.
Chamber Choir Concert: In the Night We Shall Go In, Friday, April 5, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, Kitchener. Tickets are $5 students/$10 general admission.
Equitable Recruitment and Selection, Monday, April 8, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., online.
University Senate meeting, Monday, April 8, 3:30 p.m., NH 3407 and online.
Planning your research trajectory: Strategies for Success for researchers in the first three years of a tenure-track appointment, Wednesday, April 10, 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon, J.R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall – RCH 301. Please register to attend.
Map the System Campus Finals, Wednesday, April 10, 12 noon to 2:00 p.m., GreenHouse space, United College. Register now.
Board of Governors meeting, Tuesday, April 16, 1:30 p.m., NH 3407 and Zoom.
IQC Public Lecture featuring Dr. Rajibul Islam, “Open Quantum Computing, One Atom at a Time,” Wednesday, April 17, 7:00 p.m., QNC 0101.
The Foundation: Building Inclusive Research Teams, Thursday, April 18, 10:00 a.m. to 11: 00 a.m. Register here.
NEW - Games Institute (GI) research symposium, “Disrupting Disciplinary Divides for Digital Futures”, Friday April 19, East Campus 1.
NEW - Earth Day Campus Clean-up, Monday, April 22, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., supplies available at DC Green.
2SLGBTQIA+ Fundamentals for Faculty and Staff, Thursday, April 25, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
PhD oral defences
Germanic and Slavic Studies. Richard Barnett, "Pedagogical Approaches for Encouraging Interaction Awareness and Interactional Competence in University-Level Second-Language Learners." Supervisors, Dr. Barbara Schmenk, Dr. Emma M. Betz. Thesis available upon request from the Faculty of Arts, Graduate Studies and Research Officer. Oral defence Monday, April 15, 9:30 a.m., PAS 2464 and hybrid.
Electrical & Computer Engineering. Yiju Zhao, "A Multi-level Simulation of Nanotransistor at Cryogenic Temperature." Supervisors, Dr. Lan Wei, Dr. Youngki Yoon. Thesis available via SharePoint. Email eng.phd@uwaterloo.ca to request a viewing link. Oral defence Monday, April 15, 1:00 p.m., EIT 3142.
Economics. Zhuojing Zhang, "Essays on Empirical likelihood for Heaviness Estimation, Outlier Detection and Clustering." Supervisor, Dr. Tao Chen. Thesis available upon request from the Faculty of Arts, Graduate Studies and Research Officer. Oral defence Wednesday, April 17, 9:00 a.m., remote.
Electrical & Computer Engineering. Shamak Dutta, "Resource Constrained Linear Estimation in Sensor Scheduling and Informative Path Planning." Supervisor, Dr. Stephen Leslie Smith. Thesis available via SharePoint. Email eng.phd@uwaterloo.ca to request a viewing link. Oral defence Wednesday, April 17, 9:30 a.m., EIT 3142.
Applied Math. Mengyao Zhang, "On Convergence Analysis of Stochastic and Distributed Gradient-Based Algorithms." Supervisors, Dr. Jun Liu, Dr. Xinzhi Liu. Thesis available from MGO - mgo@uwaterloo.ca. Oral defence Wednesday, April 17, 1:30 p.m., M3 4206.