Tuesday, March 22, 2016

World Water Day: you might get wet

To mark UN World Water Day, the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University are co-hosting the 7^th Annual Graduate Research Fair and Water Celebration. This event is a celebration of water, showcasing water research at both universities. This year, the University of Waterloo is hosting the event.

Beginning in 2010, the Water Institute and the Laurier Institute for Water Science, along with their graduate student groups, Students of the Water Institute-Graduate Section (SWIGS) and Center for Cold Regions and Water Interdisciplinary Network of Students (CCRWINS), have worked with students, government, community groups, industry and NGOs to hold this annual event.

The theme of this year's World Water Day celebration is "Water and Jobs."

The event includes a keynote address by Linda Gowman (CTO, Trojan Technologies) entitled "Water Challenges: Calling on all Talent" and a panel discussion on employment opportunities featuring Bev Mollard (Ontario Clean Water Agency), Robert Pockar (Matrix Solutions), Krystyn Tully (Lake Ontario Waterkeeper), and Simon Courtenay (Canadian Water Network, and professor at Waterloo). There will be exhibits from students and representatives from the water sector. 

In addition, the Library is hosting a water-themed exhibit drawn from archival collections in their display cases on the first floor of the Dana Porter Library until March 31.

More details about the schedule of events can be found on the event website. Drop by the Centre for Environmental and Information Technology atrium today and make a splash!

Undergrad e-mails moving away from @uwaterloo.ca domain

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST).

With the move to a new cloud-based e-mail service for undergraduate students, and after a comprehensive review of existing functional, technical, and security configurations for existing e-mail services, Information Systems & Technology (IST) will be implementing a change whereby undergraduate student and alumni e-mail accounts will be separated from staff, faculty and graduate student e-mail accounts. This change requires that student e-mail addresses move to a new mail domain i.e. away from the current @uwaterloo.ca domain.

All student e-mail accounts will be aliased for a period of time (approximately 18 months), meaning e-mail sent to their @uwaterloo.ca address will continue to be delivered to their new e-mail account. After this 18-month period, e-mail sent to the old @uwaterloo.ca domain will no longer be received; messages sent to students must be sent to the new e-mail domain.

Choosing the new domain

IST invites the student community to have a say in what the new email domain will be by providing suggestions in one of the following ways:

• Reddit: Visit the University of Waterloo subreddit and reply to the thread “Help IST select a new UWaterloo undergraduate student cloud email domain name”.
• Web form: Submit suggestions using our online web form.

Suggestions should follow one of two formats:

1. Use of subdomain: userid@suggestion.uwaterloo.ca
   1. Where 'suggestion' follows the '@' symbol and is separated from the rest of the domain with a '.' or period.
2. No subdomain: userid@suggestionuwaterloo.ca
   1. Where 'suggestion' and the rest of the domain flow together

Questions or comments? Please submit to the IST Service Desk by sending a message to helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca.

#AskAPharmacist: Dementia and side effects

This is the latest in a series of posts from the School of Pharmacy celebrating Pharmacist Awareness Month.

Does someone in your family have dementia? Assistant Clinical Professor Tejal Patel specializes in neurological conditions, and she shares some information on dementia development and prevention.

Dr. Nagge also responds to a Ramipril question and talks side effect management. See the #AskAPharmacist playlist for his response.

More pharmacy questions and answers are coming next Thursday.

Nominations open for Online Teaching Awards

This year, the University of Waterloo is introducing the Online Teaching Awards, an award that recognizes teaching excellence specifically in fully online courses and programs. 

The Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) is administering this new award, and this week, online students will see a news item appear in their online course site in LEARN indicating that they can nominate their instructor for the award.

Nominations are open from Monday, March 21 to Friday, March 25. If you had a great online course experience this term, consider nominating your instructor for the Online Teaching Award. 

Research Talks event on the politics of food security

Current approaches to the role of trade in food security policy often become reduced to a binary understanding of the options: either opportunity or threat.

Join Canada Research Chair Jennifer Clapp of the Global Food Politics Group (GFPG) at noon on Friday, April 1 for the next session of Research Talks, entitled Trade: opportunity or threat for global food security? 

Professor Clapp will examine food security and environmental sustainability to address policies with global political, social, economic, and ecological impact.

The series, hosted by the Office of Research, celebrates research and provides an opportunity for staff, faculty, and students to learn more about some of the life-changing research underway at Waterloo.

Please register as seating is limited and registration will close when room capacity is reached. Feel free to bring your lunch – light refreshments will be provided. 

Equestrian Club makes hay and other notes

The UW Equestrian Club competed at the Ontario University Equestrian Association finals on the weekend, winning the Team Spirit Award while several of the riders won ribbons in their divisions. 

The equestrian team competes in the province's West zone, with competitions starting in October and riders qualifying for 8 spots in the final in each division.

Here's the latest Nutrition Month "Myth vs. Fact" supplied by Health Services Nutritionist Sandra Ace:

Myth: Mushrooms are a “filler” food with no nutritional value.

Fact: On the contrary, these tasty fungi have a lot going on nutritionally. They are a good source of a number of nutrients, including B complex vitamins, selenium, copper and potassium. Mushrooms are the only non-animal source of naturally occurring Vitamin D. While the evidence is still far from conclusive, researchers are investigating potential health benefits, including the role that some components found in mushrooms may play in cancer prevention.

Since they are low in calories, sodium and cost, mushrooms make an excellent extender for ground beef. Simply chop fresh mushrooms finely and use to replace part or all of the ground meat in your favorite recipes. For more details on how to make the “Better-For-You-Blend”  or for information on how to choose, store or prepare these versatile gems, check out Mushrooms Canada.

There are potential health risks associated with ingesting wild mushrooms, so unless you’re an expert, stick to cultivated mushrooms available from your local supermarket. You’ll find a great variety available year-round, grown in Ontario or maybe even at a local farm.