Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Canadian Team Mathematics Contest today

Waterloo's Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC) will be hosting a challenging, collaboration-based mathematics contest for high school students today.

Over two hundred of this country’s promising high school students will gather to compete at Waterloo in the Canadian Team Mathematics Contest, accompanied by their teachers. Hundreds of other students will be participating at their own schools around their world.

Each team will be given a set of problems and asked to collaboratively solve them in a short period of time. Since the students range in age and grade, part of a team’s strategy is to assess each team member’s strengths and tackle the problems accordingly.

In the high-energy Relay event, each team member answers a different challenging question in turn. The catch is that the answer to one team member’s question must be received, and correct, in order for the next team member to complete their question.

The CTMC is organized by the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC), which aims to increase enjoyment, confidence and ability in mathematics and computer science among students and teachers in Canada and internationally. Through contests, face-to- face workshops, online resources, and publications, the CEMC provides curricular and enrichment support to elementary and secondary schools.

The enthusiasm, friendly competition and drive for excellence at the CTMC are palpable. The model of the CTMC echoes a little-known aspect of careers in mathematics and computer science. Many researchers in these fields collaborate with each other, and with experts in fields such as medicine, forensics, environmental science and the like. The CTMC gives students the experience of working together on challenging mathematics problems: because, after all, there is strength in numbers.

In 2015, the top team at the Canadian Team Mathematics Contest was from Waterloo Collegiate Institute. Will WCI re-gain its title this year? Today, we'll find out.

Library receives Excellence Canada Silver

The Library is pleased to announce that it has attained Silver certification in Excellence Canada's Excellence, Innovation and Wellness (EIW) program. The entire department was engaged with this initiative and close to 50 library staff members actively participated in the year-long effort to review and make improvements in six key areas: leadership & governance, strategy & planning, service, people engagement, process & project management, and partners & suppliers.

This is the Library’s second EIW certification with Excellence Canada. In 2014, the Library piloted the integration of the EIW Standard for the University at the Bronze level.

“The Library’s Bronze efforts were primarily about highlighting the things we already had in place, because we had a solid foundation,” says Sharon Lamont, Director of Organizational Services, who led the initiative for the Library. “Silver required a lot more from us. We needed to address our weaker points and also make some improvements in areas where we felt we were already strong.”  The results were tangible. As part of the Silver process, library staff developed a single service standard for across service areas, consolidated library-specific HR information and materials, improved key processes, and participated in training to increase their capacity in the areas of process improvement and project management.

The Library celebrated their Excellence Canada Silver certification during an all-staff meeting last week.

When asked what’s next for the Library and Excellence Canada, Sharon responded that the Library will take a break from certification efforts as the University shifts its focus to a university-wide scope, but will roll further opportunities from their Silver work into the Library’s annual planning and priority-setting process.

Integrating the EIW Standard across the University is a key objective under the Strategic Plan’s Robust Employer-Employee Relationship theme. The EIW Standard provides a framework for continuous improvement that emphasizes innovation, wellness, social responsibility, leadership involvement, and a commitment to good governance, among other things. For more information on this initiative, see the Excellence Canada at Waterloo website.

Engineering students pitch playground proposals

Teams of first-year civil engineering students at the University of Waterloo will pitch designs for a new playground structure to a tough audience tomorrow — the elementary school kids who will eventually give it a workout.

The assembly at Keatsway Public School in Waterloo is part of a novel process that will culminate at its annual fun fair in June with a vote on the best structure to build in an area of 360 square metres and with a budget of up to $75,000.

Ten teams will present their ideas to students during an assembly in the gymnasium Tuesday. The children will then vote on their favourite three, which will appear on posters at the fun fair so that parents, teachers and other members of the wider school community can pick the ultimate winner, which could be in place next year.

Rania Al-Hammoud, a civil and environmental engineering lecturer at Waterloo, organized the project after she heard about a fundraising effort for a new play structure. After approaching the school’s principal with the idea, Al-Hammoud assigned 140 students in her mechanics class to design a structure using components from Canadian playground companies and input from the kids themselves.

“My students loved it,” she said. “They told me they got ideas from the school kids that they would never have thought of in a million years.”

The assembly takes place from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Keatsway Public School's gymnasium on Tuesday, April 4.

The project is worth 15 per cent of students’ final marks, plus a three-per-cent bonus for the top three teams.

Remembering Carl Gall

Retired Chemical Engineering Professor Carl Evert Gall died on March 20.

Gall joined the University in August 1964 as an assistant professor. Gall was involved with computer control and applications of mathematics to chemical processing. In February 1966 he was named associate professor.

While at Waterloo, Gall played a pivotal role in developing computer technology for engineering education through a partnership with Hewlett-Packard.

A man of science with a love of the arts, Gall was active in the local theatre community both on and off campus as an actor and director. 

He retired in January 1993 after nearly 30 years with the University. He was predeceased by his wife Elaine.

Transit strike averted; other notes

The Region of Waterloo has announced that Unifor local 4304 voted to ratify its agreement with the region, thus averting a transit strike, which had scheduled to begin on Wednesday morning. Check out 570 News or the CBC for more information. Let the good times (and the buses) roll! 

"How about 3 weeks in Beijing for less than $800?" asks the Renison International Office. And they mean everything: return airfare, a double room in residence, a topped-up meal card for university cafeterias, excursions to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, calligraphy, Chinese language and culture classes, and more.

So what's the catch, you might ask? Well, participants in the RIO's program would be expected to socialize with Chinese students evenings and weekends, tell them about Canada, ask them about China, make new friends, and help them improve their English. That's about it.

This language and culture opportunity is open to Waterloo undergraduate students who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents. 10 Waterloo students and 4 Renison instructors will work with 30 Chinese students during the three-week program that runs from July 7 to 31. 

If you are interested or have questions about the opportunity, send an email to rio@uwaterloo.ca.

The University Club will be offering a Staff Conference buffet special this week with a menu that features salads, butter chicken, tilapia moquecca, chana masala, and an assortment of desserts. The buffet lunch is available on Wednesday, April 5 and Thursday, April 6 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Reserve a table now by sending an email to theclub@uwaterloo.ca.

Associate Provost, Graduate Studies Jeff Casello has announced that Lynn Judge will be returning to campus and to the role of Director, Graduate Academic Services in the Graduate Studies Office until April 2018, filling in for current director Sarah Hildebrandt, who is on leave until next April. Judge started in the role on Monday.

"Many of you know Lynn, who was the director for many years prior to her retirement and Sarah's arrival in 2014," wrote Casello in an announcement to the GSO. "Please join me in welcoming Lynn back and thanking her for taking on this important responsibility."