Friday, August 15, 2025

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• Get to know David Hawthorn, the new Chair of Physics and Astronomy

• Renison Learning Support Project releases report, recommendations

• Friday's notes

Get to know David Hawthorn, the new Chair of Physics and Astronomy

By Vanessa Parks. This article was originally published on the Faculty of Science news site.

David Hawthorn is stepping into the role of Chair for the Physics and Astronomy Department, and he’s ready to hit the ground running. He was officially appointed July 1, taking over from Robert Hill, who served as Interim Chair after Brian McNamara completed his second four-year term at the end of 2024.

Hawthorn sees a bright future for Physics at Waterloo. Learn more about the new Chair in his own words.

What made you want to take on the role of Chair in Physics and Astronomy?

Most academics are drawn by aspirations to teach and focus on their research, and don’t dream of becoming a department chair. But as you work to be a good citizen in your field and over time contribute in small ways, some of us find the work fulfilling and are given the opportunity to take on larger responsibilities, like the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies. When I was asked if I was interested in the Chair role, I saw it as an opportunity to continue to give back, and now here I am.

Tell me about your time as Associate Chair, Graduate Studies. What did you like about the role, and what challenges did you have to overcome?

We have one of the largest physics graduate programs in the country, so just dealing with the sheer numbers of students presented challenges. How do you treat everyone as individuals but also effectively manage things and not get overwhelmed? That requires attention to the details of how we distribute money, set up policy, how we communicate, and how we manage things.

I took on the role at a turbulent time. We had to contend with COVID and a number of key staff retirements, and we managed to successfully navigate these changes. After three years, I looked back and could see positive change. This experience gave me confidence to move into the Chair role.

What has drawn you to academic service?

I think it’s important that people step up and do these jobs. The university operates on a model where faculty are primarily responsible for teaching and research, but we’re also part of this engine that keeps the whole place functioning. It’s critical that people who are actively engaged in research and teaching are also involved in decision-making and figuring out ways to improve how we operate.

What are your priorities as Chair of Physics and Astronomy?

First, I want to think about our approach to hiring new faculty. Hiring needs to be strategic. We need to focus on specific research areas and find ways to continue to attract the best possible faculty here at Waterloo.

I also hope to expand on our existing successes. Our undergraduate cohort in Physics and Astronomy has grown to be in the top six in North America in terms of size, and the reputation of the department has steadily risen to the top as well, placing first in Canada in the 2024 Academic Ranking of World Universities. We want to build on this momentum and ensure we continue to attract the best students. Additionally, I want to further leverage our already productive relationships with partners like the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

And last but not least, I want to work on enhancing the on-campus experiences of students, staff, and faculty, particularly post-COVID. There have been gains, but there’s more that can be done. We have to be deliberate about facilitating this rather than assuming it will happen naturally. I think this involves low-cost updates to our physical spaces as well as a focus on events that can provide students with impactful experiences as a complement to their studies.

Renison Learning Support Project releases report, recommendations

A message from Renison University College.

In winter 2025, Renison Student Experience and Housing launched the Renison Learning Support Project.This initiative strives to develop a deeper understanding of the needs and wants of the Renison student community as it relates to learning support.

To do this, Renison engaged with students through in-person, group-based consultation sessions, as well as through an online survey. Overall, the consultation sessions and survey feedback informed the development of three key action items that the Renison Student Experience and Housing team will work towards implementing for the upcoming 2025/2026 academic year.

• Action Item 1: Increase awareness of the learning support services available to students in the Renison community through enhanced peer-mediated communications and programming that assists with "service navigation;"
• Action Item 2: Foster opportunities for structured and unstructured peer-led learning support at Renison; and
• Action Item 3: In consultation with the Student Affairs Advisory Committee, explore opportunities to enhance common spaces at Renison and improve access to learning tools to better support student learning

Learn more about the project and read the final report on the Renison Student Experience and Housing website. 

Friday's notes

As the weekend begins, spare a thought for those students writing their final exams on the last day of the final examination period tomorrow. Saturday is also the in-person exam day for online courses. Unofficial grades will begin to appear in Quest on Tuesday, August 19, which is also the deadline for fall term students to get "Fees Arranged" - either by paying their fees in full or completing the Promissory Note.

Today is also the 80^th anniversary of Victory in Japan Day, or V-J Day if you prefer, which brought the six-year Second World War to a close. History professor Geoffrey Hayes has supplied some thoughts on this milestone anniversary.

"The decision to drop the atomic devices over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 has long dominated our understanding of war’s end in the Pacific," Dr. Hayes writes. "Canadians at the time were just relieved to see the war’s end." 

"Canada’s commitment to a role in the Pacific was not a popular decision with the troops. When Mackenzie King’s government offered those in Europe a quick trip home, and one month’s leave in exchange for Pacific service, some 36,000 troops responded. Many were betting that the war in the Pacific would end before they had to go. They won the bet. One Canadian warship, HMCS Uganda, was mid-ocean when the government ordered a vote to clarify the crews’ terms of service. The crew elected to return home. Robert Hampton Gray did not. The native of Nelson, British Columbia died on 9 August 1945 engaging Japanese warships in Onagawa Bay. Gray was reportedly the last Canadian to die in the Second World War, and the last Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross." 

"For the families of those Canadians sent to Hong Kong in 1941, war’s end brought anticipation and sadness. For some it meant a reunion with ill-treated prisoners of war; for others, like the Mitchell family of Winnipeg, came the grief of finally discovering that their missing sons, William and Eric, were gone. UW doctoral graduate Mark Sweeney has detailed the work of Lieutenant Colonel J.A. Bailie, himself a Hong Kong prisoner of war, who organized the burial of his comrades in Yokohama, Japan, and Sai Wan Military cemetery in Hong Kong. Sweeney’s work has also detailed how Canadians helped prosecute war crimes trials against Japanese troops in Hong Kong.  His work not only uncovered the horrendous conditions of prison life so many endured, but also the imposing legal challenges prosecutors still face in war crimes cases."

"We should not forget too those 22,000 people of Japanese origin who were evacuated from the Canadian west coast in 1942." Dr. Hayes writes. "We should remember how the government sold much of their land and possessions, and even sent in 1946 some 4,000 people to Japan. The war’s end brought a complex legacy."

Information Systems & Technology (IST) has published the latest in the Atlassian Blog Series entitled Unlocking Efficiency: New Enhancements to Jira Service Management’s Change Calendar.