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Submission guidelines
Road trip! Prof maps shortest route to 50,000 sites
If your road trip philosophy is "always read the plaque," then you might be hitting the brakes often if you follow Professor William Cook's map of nearly 50,000 historical sites.
Cook, a professor in the Faculty of Mathematics, led an international team that has found the shortest-possible route to visit 49,603 of the sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States.
An expert in the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP), Cook says the best route to go to all and return home is 350,202 kilometres long. The National Register of Historic Places lists more than 90,000 sites. Cook selected 50,000 of them. The program removed duplicates, such as landmarks or bridges shared between different states.
“Our goal was not to plot life-defining vacations for history buffs,” said Cook. “Rather, we use the travel problems as a means for developing and testing optimization methods, which can help find the most efficient routes for delivery trucks that bring packages to your door, to schedule production runs in factories and various other applications in industry, science and commerce.”
The project ran on 300 computers since March, which translates to 178 computing years to solve the problem. It includes 250 times more stops than any road-distance example solved previously by other research groups and builds on the team’s recent calculation of the shortest route to nearly 25,000 pubs in the U.K.
2017 staff conference issues calls for proposals
Organizational & Human Development (OHD) is inviting proposals for workshop sessions for the 10th annual staff conference taking place on April 5 and 6, 2017.
"Session proposals should be for a stimulating or interactive learning experience focused on professional and/or personal development of employees at the University of Waterloo," says the OHD announcement. "The workshop or presentation should include discussion items, activities, and/or other methods of engagement, along with clear learning objectives or outcomes. If you have an idea for a workshop or presentation, we would love to hear from you!"
Potential Workshop Themes for 2017 include:
- Leadership
- Team Building/Working in Teams
- Leading Change
- Wellness
- Process Improvement
- Mental Health
- Communication
- Leveraging Technology / Innovation
- Supporting Students
- Community Outreach and Engagement / Corporate & Social Responsibility
- Sustainability
- New or Forthcoming Initiatives for Employees
- Waterloo’s 60th Anniversary / Institutional History
- Others suggestions are welcome
If you are interested, preview the submission guidelines and sample form (PDF) to assist in drafting your proposal and to be aware of important information and expectations.
Once complete, please use the online form to submit you session proposal for the 2017 Conference.
For questions about the conference or submitting a proposal, please contact Mark Lisetto-Smith, Coordinator, Communications & Events, Organizational & Human Development, (519) 888-4567 ext. 38257.
Echo of the Unknown and other notes
There's still time to take in a multi-channel video installation at the University of Waterloo Art Gallery. Echo of the Unknown stems from artist Janet Biggs's memories of her grandfather's struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Centering on the four-channel video installation Can't Find My Way Home, the exhibition addresses the challenges of maintaining a sense of self in the face of physical and psychological extremes. Footage of the artist exploring the Merkers crystal cavern is contrasted with a neurologist doing research in a lab, and an older gentleman wandering the aisles of a gem and mineral show. By drawing parallels between mineral formations in the cavern, those generated in a petri dish, and those found at a convention, Biggs elicits the complex skein of memory, and its loss.
The exhibition closes Saturday, December 17. Admission is free.
On Monday, December 12, the term loan date changed from January 15, 2017 to May 15, 2017. Library Patrons can start renewing their books any time for the Winter term.
Human Resources has announced that Denise Paquette has retired from her position as Library Clerk in the Library, effective December 1, 2016. Congratulations Denise!