Editor:
Brandon Sweet
University Communications
bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Welcoming new Warriors to Orientation
A message from the Student Success Office.
Tomorrow, we begin welcoming more than 9,600 new undergrad and grad students to Waterloo. Here are the highlights:
- August 29 to August 31: International students get settled and learn about life in Canada at International Orientation
- August 29 to September 1: Campus residence move-in days
- August 30, 31 or September 1: Parent and Supporter Orientation runs in the Village 1 (V1) Great Hall
- September 1: Waterloo Orientation kicks-off for all undergraduate students with Warrior Welcome
- September 2 to 3: Faculty programming begins
- September 3: Graduate Orientation welcomes grad students in Physical Activity Complex (PAC), Student Life Centre (SLC), Health Expansion Building (EXP), and Graduate House (GH)
- September 4: Drop-in events continue for new undergraduate students as classes begin; and
- September 7: Orientation wraps up with an action-packed Black and Gold Day
- September 7: All Waterloo students are invited to the first on-campus concert event in over a decade. Tickets on sale now for WUSA x UWaterloo presents Dillon Francis
If you stumble upon a student looking a little lost, or if you’re curious about what’s planned for the week, take a peek at the open Orientation schedule in Portal.
Orientation at Waterloo is a partnership between the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), the Graduate Student Association (GSA), the Student Success Office (SSO) and all six faculties.
United College golf tournament a hole-in-one for outdoor amenities project
By Rebecca Wagner.
Alumni and friends recently teed-off in support of the 15th annual United College golf tournament at Springfield Golf & Country Club, raising a record amount in support of the College’s outdoor amenities project.
Construction of the outdoor amenities, which will include an outdoor pavilion with a fire pit and barbeque, a basketball court/pickleball court/skating rink, is expected to wrap up mid-September, in time for the incoming cohort of students to enjoy.
Funds raised at the tournament will enhance the amenities and the student experience by allowing for the purchase of furniture and equipment such as Muskoka chairs, pickleball equipment, picnic tables, skates, and ice rink equipment, making the United College Green an even more inviting place for students across the University to build lasting connection and community.
Thank you to the approximately 150 alumni, staff, students, and friends who came together to make the golf tournament a huge success. Thanks to their hard work and generosity, United College is approximately $28,000 closer to turning the outdoor amenities dream into reality and shaping the College’s next 60 years of student success, social connection, and community.
See you on the United College Green.
Following curiosity in different directions
By Karen Kawawada. This is an excerpt of an article that originally appeared on the School of Optometry & Vision Science's website.
Dr. Trefford Simpson’s career in optometry didn’t get off to the most promising start. As a teenager in Johannesburg, South Africa, his primary interest was playing soccer. He applied to optometry school, among other programs, just because it seemed interesting. And, initially, he didn’t get in.
Then, as he was trying to decide on next steps, Simpson got a telegram saying a vacancy had arisen in the optometry program at the Witwatersrand College for Advanced Technical Education.
It was the beginning of a long and productive career in which Simpson would eventually be cited more than 10,000 times, ranked among the top two per cent of most-cited scientists and named a Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).
A professor at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science for more than 30 years, Simpson is winding down his full-time career at the end of August. He leaves a varied legacy of scholarship as well as a reputation for superb teaching and mentorship.
As a young man, though, Simpson didn’t love optometry school. In fact, he briefly considered leaving. After graduation, he completed his compulsory military service, partly as an “okay” military optometrist. Then, to forestall going into private practice, he went to the University of Houston in Texas for a master’s degree.
“The University of Houston changed my life,” says Simpson. “The notion that I could actually have a career as a vision scientist was astounding.”
Dr. Trefford Simpson in his lab.
To fulfil the conditions of his student loan, Simpson returned to South Africa after his master’s. However, it was a tumultuous time. Pressure was building internally and externally to do away with apartheid, but the government was digging in its heels. As opponents of apartheid, Simpson and his wife decided they couldn’t stay, so they returned to Houston for Simpson to do a PhD.
Following his PhD, Simpson and his young family – by this time, he had twin sons – went to the University of Toronto for a postdoctoral fellowship. Then, in 1994, he came to the University of Waterloo, initially as a research assistant professor.
One discovery Simpson made outside the lab: he was born the same day as the University of Waterloo, on July 3, 1957. It must have been meant to be.
Over the years, Simpson has followed his interests into varied fields of vision science. As a PhD student, he initially researched the aging of the human retina. However, for various reasons, that project didn’t work out, so he had to pivot. His new topic became how humans judge direction.
“The way you judge direction from one eye isn’t the same as the way you judge direction from the other eye, so the brain deals with that by putting the ego’s centre right between your two eyes,” explains Simpson. “That’s not a new insight. A seminal paper was published in 1792 and I did my thesis defence in 1992. What I did was work on empirically demonstrating these rules and how the eyes work together to coordinate vision.”
During his postdoc, Simpson worked primarily on visual neuroscience – specifically, the effects of multiple sclerosis on the visual system.
When he came to Waterloo, Simpson initially researched how binocular vision – how the two eyes work together – affects contact lens wear. It was in one sense a homecoming – when he was an undergraduate optometry student, Dr. Desmond Fonn taught the class about contact lenses. Fonn later founded the Centre for Contact Lens Research, now the Centre for Ocular Research and Education (CORE), at the University of Waterloo.
Read the full story on the School of Optometry & Vision Science's website.
Upcoming office closures
The Science Undergraduate Office will close today at 2.30 p.m. for the remainder of the day.
All Campus Wellness locations will be closed on Thursday, August 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. due to an all-staff meeting.
Link of the day
Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games
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.
Warriors Game Day Tickets. Purchase your single game tickets or season packages today to cheer on your Warriors this season. Tickets on sale now for Basketball, Football, Hockey and Volleyball. Check out the schedules and purchase today!
To Be Honest: The Musical premiere performance, Wednesday, August 28, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Physical Activities Complex (PAC) Gymnasium. Registration encouraged.
To Be Honest: The Musical premiere performance, Thursday, August 29, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Physical Activities Complex (PAC) Gymnasium. Registration encouraged.
International Orientation, Thursday, August 29 to Saturday, August 31.
To Be Honest: The Musical premiere performance, Friday, August 30, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Physical Activities Complex (PAC) Gymnasium. Registration encouraged.
First-year Orientation, Saturday, August 31 to Saturday, September 7.
Labour Day, Monday, September 2, most University buildings and operations closed.
Co-operative work term begins, Tuesday, September 3.
NEW - Knowledge Gathering and Sharing Consultation Sessions: 2SLGBTQIA+ employees (staff and faculty), Tuesday, September 3, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., virtual. Register.
Fall term lectures and classes begin, Wednesday, September 4.
NEW - First Year Fair, Thursday, September 5, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., SLC green space.
NEW - WUSA Welcome Week, Monday, September 9 to September 13.
2STNBGNC+ (undergraduate) students: Wednesday, September 11, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., in person. Find out more.
Deadline to register for Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) "Getting Ready to Facilitate Online Courses: TA Training – Fall 2024" course, Monday, September 16.
2STNBGNC+ (graduate) students, Tuesday, September 17, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., in person. Find out more.
2STNBGNC+ (graduate) students, Thursday, September 19, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., virtual. Find out more.
2STNBGNC+ (undergraduate) students, Thursday, September 19, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., virtual. Find out more.
2STNBGNC+ (undergraduate) students, Thursday, September 19, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., virtual. Find out more.
Positions available
On this week's list from the human resources department, viewable on the UWaterloo Talent Acquisition System (iCIMS):
- Job ID# 2024-12071 - Classroom Demonstrator & Outreach Coordinator - Physics & Astronomy, USG 7
- Job ID# 2024-12358 - Energy Engineer - Plant Operations, USG 11 – 13
- Job ID# 2024-12229 - Geospatial Technology Specialist - Environment Technology and Instructional Support, USG 9
- Job ID# 2024-12170 - Director, Waterloo International - Waterloo International, USG 15
- Job ID# 2024-11946 - Safety Abroad Officer - Waterloo International, USG 9
- Job ID# 2024-12345 - Financial Analyst - Print + Retail Solutions, USG 6
- Job ID# 2024-12331 - Assistant Baker - Food Services, CUPE
- Job ID# 2024-12333 - Employee Relations Coordinator - Food Services, USG 7
- Job ID# 2024-12256 - Graduate Advisor and Program Coordinator - Kinesiology and Health Sciences, USG 6
Secondments/Internal temporary opportunities
- Job ID# 2024-12351 - Coordinator, Occupancy and Data - Campus Housing, USG 7
- Job ID# 2024-12204 - Indigenous Student Wellness Navigator - Campus Wellness, USG 9
- Job ID# 2024-12279 - Intake Specialist - Campus Wellness, USG 8
- Job ID# 2024-12294 - Online Learning Consultant - Centre for Extended Learning, USG 10
Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo opportunities
https://uwaterloo.ca/careers/current-opportunities/affiliated-and-federated-institutions
Upcoming service interruptions
Stay up to date on service interruptions, campus construction, and other operational changes on the Plant Operations website. Upcoming service interruptions include:
- MC to QNC Pedestrian Bridge temporary closure, Monday, June 17 to Friday, September 27, no access to bridge between QNC to MC due to construction.
- ESC loading dock crane operation, Monday, August, 26 and Tuesday, August, 27, between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
- Toby Jenkins Building fire alarm testing, Wednesday, August 28, 2024 between 7:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.
- Research Advancement Centre and Research Advancement 2 fire alarm testing, Wednesday, August 28 between 7:30 a.m. and 8:15 a.m.
- UWP-Waterloo Court, UWP-Woolwich Court, East Campus 1 fire alarm testing, Wednesday, August 28 between 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
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Biology 1 Electrical service shutdown, Thursday, August 29, between 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.
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Biology 1, Biology 2, Health Services, Quantum Nano Centre, Science Teaching Centre fire alarm testing, Friday, August 30, between 7:30 a.m. and 8:15 a.m.
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Arts Lecture Hall, Hagey Hall Humanities, Psychology, Tatham Centre fire alarm testing, Wednesday, September 4, 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
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East Campus 1, East Campus 2, East Campus 3 fire alarm testing, Wednesday, September 4, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
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School of Pharmacy, Integrated Health Building, Avril Building fire alarm testing, Friday, September 6, 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
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University Club, Bauer Warehouse fire alarm testing, Friday, September 6, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.