Thursday, August 30, 2018


Explore places, patterns and plans at Doors Open 2018

Doors Open Waterloo Region is holding its 16th annual event on Saturday, September 15 and is inviting the whole community to join in at 34 locations across the region.

Several buildings with strong University connections will be part of this weekend's open house event, which gives community members an opportunity to tour sites that are often not regularly open to the public. Best of all, admission is free.

The theme in 2018 is Places, Patterns and Plans, highlighting the planned and built environment.

This year Doors Open Waterloo Region is partnering with Startup Open House at six of the high-tech sites. Job seekers, investors, and curious neighbours can rub shoulders with innovative local founders and discover what startup culture is all about.

University-connected locations include:

The Accelerator Centre

The Accelerator Centre.

Located in the David Johnston Research + Technology Park, the Accelerator Centre, built in 2006, is one of the top performing startup accelerators anywhere, providing award-winning programming, mentorship and other resources to entrepreneurs. The building's tour will highlight how it was an early innovator of environmentally sustainable design.

The Brubacher House Museum

The Brubacher House museum.

Built in 1850 and located beside Columbia Lake, the Brubacher House is now a museum where visitors can explore the history of the Brubacher family, other Mennonite settlers and earlier Indigenous inhabitants beside. Enjoy guided tours of the multi-level Pennsylvania-German farmhouse, a video created by the Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario, and a special 3:00 p.m. talk about the long history of this rapidly changing landscape.

The talk will be delivered by Waterloo historian Ken McLaughlin and is entitled "The Brubacher House: Historic Icon on an Ultra-Modern Campus."

University of Waterloo School of Architecture

The University of Waterloo School of Architecture.

Formerly the Riverside Silk Mill, built in 1919, the Cambridge School of Architecture moved into the renovated space in 2004. Much of its industrial atmosphere, spacious interior and spectacular town and river views were enhanced during its transformation into a satellite campus of the University.

44 Gaukel

44 Gaukel Street building.

​Kitchener’s combined arts and technology hub began as a partnership between Accelerator Centre and ArtsBuild Ontario and was home to the University of Waterloo's Critical Media Lab. See how this former Canada Post depot has been repurposed into an innovation centre, housing tech companies, studio space and an art gallery

Since 2003, more than 300 sites in Waterloo Region have opened their doors to more than 150,000 visits during Doors Open. Most buildings will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with exceptions. Check the Doors Open website for full details.

Get warmed up for the Reunion 2018 Fun Run

A family runs at the Fun Run.

A message from Alumni Relations.

It’s that time of year again! Bring your running shoes, costumes and high spirits for another amazing year of the Fun Run at Reunion 2018. The run will once again take place on Ring Road and is open to all ages across the entire community.

The first 500 registrants will receive a free race t-shirt. We’re excited to show you our awesome new celebration area this year in the Arts Quad and we have some great finisher medals for each participant! See all the details and registration info on the Fun Run website.

MC power shutdown extended

IST is reporting that the timeline for the MC power shutdown has been extended:

  • The power will be shut down in the MC building from Tuesday, August 21 until Friday, August 31.
  • Network core redundancy will be restored on Friday, August 31 and base infrastructure for servers will be gradually restored.
  • The servers in MC and services are expected to be fully restored by end of day Tuesday, September 4.

Plant Operations will be announcing the dates and times for the additional building outages. Please note, the network will be unavailable within these buildings during the outages.

Questions? Contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 44357. 

Link of the day

40 years of Lego Minifigs

When and where 

Single & Sexy Premiere Performance, Friday, August 31, 10:45 a.m., Physical Activities Complex.

International Orientation, Friday, August 31 to Sunday, September 2.

International Orientation - Parent and Family sessions, Saturday, September 1, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Orientation 2018, Sunday, September 2 to Saturday, September 8.

Parent and Family Orientation, Sunday, September 2 and Monday, September 3.

Labour Day, Monday, September 3, most University operations closed.

Co-operative work term begins, Tuesday, September 4.

Graduate student orientation, Tuesday, September 4.

Research ethics system training, Tuesday, September 4, 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., MC 1078. For all upcoming sessions, please visit the Research ethics system webpage.

Lectures begin, Thursday, September 6.

Music Department Ensemble Auditions for Fall 2018, Thursday, September 6 to Friday, September 21, Conrad Grebel University College.

Feds Welcome Week, Monday, September 10 to Friday, September 14.

LGBTQ+ Making Spaces workshop, Monday, September 10, 2018, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., STC 2002.

Coping Skills Seminar - Challenging Thinking, Monday, September 10, 4:00 p.m., HS 2302.

Research ethics system training, Wednesday, September 12, 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., MC 1078. For all upcoming sessions, please visit the Research ethics system website.

Doors Open Waterloo Region, Saturday, September 15, multiple locations on campus.

Public Lecture featuring Ken McLaughlin, "The Brubacher House: Historic Icon on an Ultra-Modern Campus." Saturday, September 15, 3:00 p.m., Brubacher House Museum.

Peace Week, Monday, September 17 to Saturday, September 22.

Tri-Agency Scholarships (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR), Monday, September 17, 10:00 a.m., NH 3407.

Alleviating Anxiety Seminar, Monday, September 17, 1:00 p.m., HS 2302.

Communication for the workplace, Monday, September 17, 1:00 p.m., SCH 228F.

Coping Skills Seminar - Strengthening Motivation, Monday, September 17, 4:00 p.m., HS 2302.

Research ethics system training, Tuesday, September 18, 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., MC 1078. For all upcoming sessions, please visit the Research ethics system webpage.

Developing Your Compassionate Mind, Tuesday, September 18, 1:30 p.m., NH 2447.

Healthy Workplace Committee Brown Bag Lunch and Learn, Helping Your Child Succeed at School, Wednesday, September 19, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., EC5-1111. Space is limited, so please register to attend.

PhD oral defences

Civil & Environmental Engineering. Mohammad Komijani, "Simulation of Hydraulic Stimulation: Acoustic Wave Emission in Fractured Porous Media Using Local and Global Partition-of-Unity Finite Element." Supervisor, Robert Gracie. On display in the Engineering graduate office, DWE 3520C. Oral defence Tuesday, September 11, 8:00 a.m., E2 2323.

Earth & Environmental Sciences. Gabriel Bacca-Cortes, "Coupling Reactive Transport and Travel Time Modeling at the Watershed Scale." Supervisor, Philippe Van Cappellen. On deposit in the Science graduate office, PHY 2013. Oral defence Tuesday, September 11, 9:00 a.m., STC 2002.

Electrical & Computer Engineering. Walied Alharbi, "Flexibility Provisions from Energy Hubs for Sustainable Energy Systems." Supervisor, Kankar Bhattacharya. On display in the Engineering graduate office, E7 7402. Oral defence Tuesday, September 11, 9:30 a.m., EIT 3145.

Management Sciences. Ahmad Tanehkar, "Delay of Payment and Consumer Behaviour." Supervisors, Frank Safayeni, Selcuk Onay. On display in the Engineering graduate studies office, DWE 3520C. Oral defence Tuesday, September 11, 10:00 a.m., CPH 3623.