Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Order your Treat-A-Grams starting today

A message from the Office of Advancement

Treat-a-Gram is back and better than ever! That’s because this year, we’ve added a special cake pop in honour of Waterloo’s 60^th anniversary!

The online store opens today, and all treats will be delivered February 14. Who knows, your treat could even be hand-delivered by our very own President and Vice-Chancellor Feridun Hamdullahpur.

You can choose from a single cake pop, a “bouquet” of three different cake pops, a gluten-free vegan treat, or a special postcard. Personalize your choice with a heartfelt message to the lucky recipient.

Proceeds will support student wellness initiatives delivered by the Student Success Office, Health Services and Athletics. So come out and support a great cause and treat your friends and colleagues to a delicious Treat-a-Gram!

Premier visits campus for social event tonight

The Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario, will be in Waterloo Region to host a town hall and social where students, faculty, and members of the Waterloo community are welcome to attend today.

Waterloo is one of the Premier’s stops on her week-long tour of Ontario universities to discuss the recent adjustments to OSAP and student financial aid. The town hall will take place at Wilfrid Laurier University’s student concourse area in the Fred Nichols Campus Centre from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The premier will follow up the town hall by attending a social event at the Bombshelter Pub located in Waterloo's Student Life Centre from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. At this time she will be available to mingle, answer questions, and take photos.  

60th anniversary gets a west coast kick-off

As part of the celebrations for the University of Waterloo’s 60^th anniversary year, President and Vice-Chancellor, Feridun Hamdullahpur, was honoured to celebrate 60 years of innovation with 150 alumni, students, and partners in Vancouver on Thursday, January 19.

Hosted by Vice President of Advancement, Joanne Shoveller, the event highlighted the impact Waterloo has had on higher education over the last 60 years, while empowering guests to envision the Waterloo of the future. Guests had the opportunity to hear remarks from David Cory, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing, and faculty member in the Department of Chemistry.

Held at Science World at the TELUS World of Science in Vancouver, BC, the 60^th anniversary celebration also coincided with the launch of the cross-country tour of QUANTUM: The Exhibition. Attendees had the opportunity for an exclusive sneak peek at the interactive exhibition designed by Waterloo’s own Institute for Quantum Computing for Innovation150: a national partnership, offering awe-inspiring experiences for youth, families, and communities for Canada’s 150th year.

The University was proud to bring its west coast community together for this unique experience to champion the last 60 years at Waterloo and 150 years of Canadian innovation. The continued dedication and hard work of our alumni will ensure Waterloo - Canada’s most innovative university - enters its next chapter with confidence and tenacity.

This event was sponsored by Waterloo’s Affinity partner for home and auto insurance - TD Insurance Meloche Monnex. Check out the Vancouver event highlights, photos and share your University of Waterloo memories and predictions with #UWaterloo60.

Remembering Robert Snyder of 'Ma and Pa Snyder'

Retired Professor Robert Andrew Snyder died September 27, 2016. Bob began his employment at the fledgling Waterloo College (now the University of Waterloo) in 1958. As an associate professor, he taught in the physics department, specializing in biophysics. He also served as the first President of the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW).

He took leave from 1965 to 1967 to teach biophysics at the medical department of the University of Western Ontario. (now Western University). 

In July 1967, Bob returned to Waterloo as a Professor in the Department of Physics, where he was instrumental in creating the department's correspondence program. He was also a member of the Society of Cryobiology.

His wife, Mary Snyder, was an assistant professor in the Applied Mathematics department. They co-taught the first year physics calculus classes and became known as "Ma and Pa Snyder" to the students. Mary was the first woman to graduate from the University of Waterloo with a Masters of Science (Applied Mathematics) degree. She began employment at Waterloo in September 1967. She also became the Undergraduate Officer in 1971, advising and timetabling for 280 undergraduates, before computers were involved in the process. 

Robert and Mary retired together in June of 1990. Mary died in July 1996.

Tuesday's notes

TheGROOVE dance classes have resumed on campus in the winter term and are open to all faculty, staff and graduate students. Classes are held:

• Tuesdays, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and
• Wednesdays; 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.

All sessions are held in EV2-2002.

The sessions begin this week and end the week of March 27, 2017.

Participants are asked to wear clothes which are comfortable for moving around (t-shirts, shorts, yoga pants). Shoes are optional, but bring water for hydration, and perhaps a yoga mat for stretching and relaxing at the end of the class.

Any questions can be directed to Cindy Howe (Cindy@uwaterloo.ca).

The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) Public Lecture entitled "Solar + Storage + ioT +LED = $30 Trillion" with Professor Srinivasan Keshav has been moved to Monday, February 13 in DC 1302 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a reception immediately following in DC 1301.

Keshav is an ACM Fellow, Cisco Chair for the Cheriton School of Computer Science, Chair of ACM SIGCOMM and Associate Dean (Graduate) in the Faculty of Mathematics.

The event is free and open to the public.