News

Rick Haldenby, the director of the School of Architecture since 1988, has been reappointed to his position until June 30, 2013. A memo from dean of engineering Adel Sedra reports that Haldenby received strong support in the reappointment process. In order to complete a thorough, international search for Haldenby’s successor, the current nominating committee will continue its work. “The committee’s first step will be to consult with all stakeholders to determine the qualities we should be seeking in a new director,” says Sedra in his memo.

There’s a significant Waterloo Engineering presence in the new $26 million Waterloo Region Museum located on Huron Road in Kitchener. The museum was designed by Toronto architects Moriyama and Teshima with Waterloo architecture graduate Brian Rudy as the project architect. The project was managed by another Waterloo graduate architect, Roger Farwell, of the Walter Fedy partnership. Display’s include the famous Waterloo Pump, co-designed by Alan Plumtree in the Faculty of Engineering in 1978.

Waterloo Engineering has ranked an impressive second in Canada in the 2011 Taiwan Ranking’s engineering field. In the ranking’s engineering subjects Waterloo’s chemical engineering was ranked first and electrical engineering was ranked second. The rankings are conducted by researchers at National Taiwan University and sponsored by the Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT).

“Now is about when we should start seeing trouble with 1990s buildings, with the glass starting to get fogged up, the rubber gaskets and sealants starting to fail,” John Straube, a Waterloo architecture and civil and environmental engineering professor, told a CBC reporter for a special radio and television series investigating the short-term durability and long-term costs of Toronto’s glass-walled condos.

Albert Elliott, VP, HR, Communications, Administration of Total E&P Canada, will discuss the company’s industry partnerships and its role in contributing to a sustainable approach to the future of the Canadian energy mix. Students, faculty members and others are invited to hear Elliott speak Tuesday, November 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the J.R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall.

Do you know an engineering faculty member, graduate, student or someone else under the age of 40 who is making a difference? If you do, consider nominating that person for Waterloo Region Record’s 40 Under 40 awards. Submissions for possible canadidates will be accepted until December 2. Selections will be made by a panel of judges from the Record and the community. 

The University of Toronto is offering an Advanced Skills in Journalism for Engineers program for engineering alumni and engineering graduate students who wish to work in media. The program will provide up to 10 engineers with eight months of mentored experience as freelance business correspondents to major news organizations in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. including: the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Postmedia Network , the Thomson Reuters Foundation, The Financial Times, the BBC and The Washington Post.