Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Bridges conference connects mathematics and arts

The annual Bridges Conference, a celebration of mathematics and art at the University of Waterloo, will be hosted this year by the Faculty of Mathematics at the end of July.

This conference brings together an interdisciplinary group of mathematicians, scientists, artists, educators, musicians, writers, computer scientists, sculptors, dancers, weavers, model builders, and many others in an atmosphere of mutual exchange and inspiration. 300 participants from six continents will gather in Waterloo from July 27 to 31.

The conference organizers are pleased to announce that they have opened up three of the conference events to the campus and local community, free of charge:

• The UW Art Gallery is hosting an exhibition of local artists whose work connects to math from July 27 to 30 at the UWAG in East Campus Hall.
• The Grand Philharmonic Choir will perform pieces that explore the relationship between math and music on July 29 in the Humanities Theatre.
• A “family day” math-art expo will feature hands-on math-art fun for all ages – from colouring to model building, as well as a short film festival, and poetry reading on July 30 in the Davis Centre. There will be fun for all ages from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Anyone looking for further information is welcome to contact Amy Aldous at aaldous@uwaterloo.ca.

In Fort McMurray, a student explores pharmacy care

7 hours north of Calgary, the northern lights are easily visible in Fort McMurray.

By Alana Rigby

In Canada, Alberta is looked on as the leading province for pharmacy practice. All Albertan pharmacists can order lab tests and initiate therapy for minor ailments, and those with additional authorization can prescribe independently for most prescription-requiring drugs. These are all services Ontario pharmacists can’t provide.

Doctor of Pharmacy student Chris Voss wanted to see Albertan pharmacy practice in action. For his first co-op term, January-April 2017, he only applied to jobs in Alberta.

“I’d worked at a community pharmacy in Ontario for three years,” explained Voss. “I wanted to see something different. For me it was an adventure, driving across the ‘great white north’ to this place where pharmacists have so much autonomy.”

Voss landed a work term at Dave Hill Pharmacy in Fort McMurray. In May 2016 Fort McMurray made headlines worldwide as a devastating wild fire forced the evacuation of the town and surrounding areas. Dave Hill Pharmacy was the only pharmacy to stay open during the evacuation, providing medical supplies and toiletries to firefighters, police, the oil sand companies, and civilians during the chaotic time.

Left: now a historic building, the original Hill Drugs was run by Dave Hill’s grandfather in 1934. Right: The pharmacy delivery vehicle that Voss drove.

“Not a lot of family doctors came back after the fire. This left a big gap in care for patients. With only about 25 family doctors in town, you can imagine how difficult it was for patients to get a doctor’s appointment.”

Given this need, the wide scope of pharmacist practice was especially beneficial. At Dave Hill Pharmacy, there was always at least one pharmacist with the additional prescribing authorization working at a time. They could also refer patients for lab work or to pharmacist-run clinics where they received support for chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension.

Voss lived most of his life in Waterloo, so a co-op term in northern Alberta was quite a change – there were some days when the thermometer read -40 degrees. Despite that, he wants to go back next term.

“It was a fantastic experience. I’m already applying to Alberta for my next co-op. It’s where I want to work when I graduate.”

Velocity Fund Finals tomorrow

The 19^th Velocity Fund Finals will take place this Thursday, July 20^th from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. University of Waterloo students and alumni will pitch their innovative startups for the chance to win funding to grow their businesses, and to receive workspace in the Velocity Garage, the largest free startup incubator in the world.

Ten companies will compete for four prizes of $25,000, and judges will present one winning company with an additional $10,000 for the top hardware pitch. Another 10 startups will compete for one of three awards of $5,000.

The judging panel for the Velocity Fund $25K competition includes:

• Seth Bannon; Founding Partner, Fifty Years
• Dianne Carmichael; Chief Advisor of Health Tech, Council of Canadian Innovators
• Eric Migicovsky; Visiting Partner, Y Combinator
• Tomi Poutanen; Co-CEO, Layer 6 AI

The judging panel for the Velocity Fund $5K competition includes:

• Tobiasz Dankiewicz; Co-founder, Reebee Inc.
• Kane Hsieh; Investor, Root Ventures
• Karen Webb; Principal, KWebb Solutions Inc.

Check out the list of Velocity Fund finalists on the Velocity website.

The pitch competition will take place in the Student Life Centre, Great Hall. The $5K competition starts at 11:00 a.m., and the $25K competition starts at 1:00 p.m., with the event wrapping up at 3:00 p.m. 

Register to attend online. Can’t make it in person? There is also a live stream.