The University of Waterloo will graduate its first class of students in two aviation programs this week.
WATERLOO, Ont. (Monday, June 13, 2011) - The University of Waterloo will graduate its first class of students in two aviation programs this week, as well as award thousands of other degrees and diplomas, including 11 honorary doctorates during spring convocation.
A total of 3,940 undergraduate and 804 graduate students will graduate at ceremonies to be held Wednesday through Saturday (June 15-18) in the physical activities complex.
Waterloo will graduate eight students, including one woman, in the two programs of science and aviation and geography and aviation. Launched in 2007, the innovative programs provide a solid foundation for careers in the aviation and aerospace industries.
"The University of Waterloo and the Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre are pleased with the success of our first graduating class," said Ian McKenzie, director of aviation at Waterloo. "Aviation and aerospace industries demand a new breed of specialists who have a comprehensive academic background to help them understand complex aircraft systems and well-developed analytical, critical thinking and decision-making skills."
One convocation highlight:
• On Thursday, June 16, Jean-Philippe Collard, a renowned French pianist, will play two pieces on a nine-foot Steinway Grand Piano at a ceremony for graduates in the faculty of arts, beginning at 2:30 p.m. Collard, an honorary doctorate recipient, will give the special performance as his convocation address.
He will play Chopin "Sonata nr 2 in B flat minor,opus 35" First movement (Grave-Doppio movimento) for seven minutes 35 seconds, and Last movement (Presto) for one minute 45 seconds.
Other honorary doctorates will be given at the following ceremonies:
• Applied health sciences and environment, Wednesday, June 15, 10 a.m. Kaitlyn Whelan will give the valedictory address. A total of 717 students will graduate.
- Karla Henderson, a professor at North Carolina State University who revolutionized leisure studies research, will receive an honorary doctor of science degree and address graduates in the faculties of applied health sciences and environment, starting at 10 a.m. in the physical activities complex.
Henderson is widely regarded as the dominant scholar in examining leisure and gender, as well as leisure and people on the margins of society. Henderson has a lengthy relationship with Waterloo's recreation and leisure studies department. She has published more than a dozen books, four dozen book chapters and about 150 peer-reviewed papers.
• Science, Wednesday, June 15, 2:30 p.m. Daani Sarma will give the valedictory address. A total of 753 students will graduate.
- Anne Dell, a professor of carbohydrate biochemistry at Imperial College London, will receive a doctor of science degree and address convocation. Dell is an international leader in studying the structures and activities of complex polysaccharide molecules through the application of mass spectrometry.
Her research has made a considerable impact on biological, analytical and physical chemistry. Over the years, Dell's innovative work has led to many technical advances with implications for a fundamental understanding of the roles of carbohydrates in healthy and diseased organisms.
• Arts (first session), Thursday, June 16, 10 a.m. Kieng Iv will give the valedictory address. A total of 597 students will graduate.
- Lawrence Hill, an award-winning Canadian writer who focuses on African Canadian and African American experience, will receive a doctor of letters degree and address convocation. Hill's work encompasses contemporary novels and historical fiction, non-fiction and autobiography, as well as a documentary film script on the black experience in Canada. His 2007 novel, The Book of Negroes, is widely recognized not only as a brilliant work of fiction, but also as a respectable piece of historical scholarship.
• Arts (second session), Thursday, June 16, 2:30 p.m. Elizabeth Carol Watkins will give the valedictory address. A total of 595 students will graduate.
- A prolific recording artist in France, Jean-Philippe Collard will receive a doctor of letters degree. He has received critical acclaim as one of the world’s leading performers of French composers Gabriel Fauré and Camille Saint-Saëns. Besides his performance of French music, Collard is renowned for his interpretations of Schumann, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky. Collard’s rich musical legacy has been captured through nearly four dozen recordings with some of the world’s greatest orchestras.
• Mathematics (first session), Friday, June 17, 10 a. m. Steven Karp will give the valedictory address. A total of 322 students will graduate.
- Shing-Tung Yau, the William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University, will receive a doctor of mathematics degree and address convocation. A worldwide leader in geometric analysis, Yau's celebrated proof of the Calabi conjecture in 1976 ignited the fledgling field, which is one of today’s most active and fruitful areas of mathematical research. Yau also strongly supports training new generations of researchers and promoting women in mathematics.
• Mathematics (second session), Friday, June 17, 2:30 p.m. Sarah Sun will give the valedictory address. A total of 534 students will graduate.
- Bruno Buchberger, a key computer scientist in the area of symbolic computation, will receive a doctor of mathematics degree and address convocation. Buchberger's seminal paper, Gröbner Bases: An Algorithmic Method in Polynomial Ideal Theory, united the power of logical theorem proving and computer algebra. He founded the Journal of Symbolic Computation, the premiere scientific journal in the field. Buchberger also persuaded colleagues and companies to establish the Softwarepark Hagenberg, one of the most successful technology parks in Austria.
- Ian McPhee, co-founder of Waterloo's first spinoff company, WATCOM, will receive a doctor of mathematics degree. McPhee, a Waterloo math graduate, has provided leadership in Canada's software business and the high-tech sector in Waterloo Region. He co-founded WATCOM with the late Wes Graham in 1981. WATCOM, now a division of Sybase, is called iAnywhere and remains a Waterloo-based company. He has also served as chair of the Accelerator Centre in the David Johnston Research and Technology Park and as chair of the centre's entrepreneurship council.
• Engineering (first session), Saturday, June 18, 10 a.m. Jay Shah will give the valedictory address. A total of 671 students will graduate.
- George Baird, a highly acclaimed academic, architect, and theorist, will receive a doctor of engineering degree and address convocation. Baird, who has achieved international stature in contemporary architecture, has called for the dominance of public space and for buildings that defer to the city as a community rather than as isolated monuments. He most recently served as dean of the University of Toronto's faculty of architecture, landscape and design. Baird has also written influential books in post-modern architecture.
- Robert Magee, a leading business executive, will receive a doctor of engineering degree. A Waterloo graduate in chemical engineering, Magee has made significant contributions to the automotive industry. He became president of Woodbridge Manufacturing in 1995, and president and chief executive officer of Woodbridge Group in 1999. Under his leadership, the Canadian-owned multinational manufacturing company has made significant contributions to the field of green chemistry and engineering.
• Engineering (second session), Saturday, June 18, 2:30 p.m. Calvin Chan will give the valedictory address. A total of 555 students will graduate.
- Jamal Deen, a McMaster University professor and senior Canada research chair in information technology, will receive a doctor of engineering degree and address convocation. A highly accomplished researcher, inventor and scholar, Deen's work has helped McMaster become a major centre for innovation and cutting-edge research in opto-electronics. He is a fellow of the IEEE, the Royal Society of Canada and the American Physical Society.
- John Keating, a top business executive, will receive a doctor of engineering degree. Keating has made significant contributions to the space and satellite industry in Canada and around the world. Since 2002, he has served as chief executive officer of COM DEV, a leader in satellite space technology. Over the years, Keating has nurtured the engineers of tomorrow. Each year, Waterloo's electrical and computer engineering graduate students present their research at a meeting of the NSERC/COM DEV Industrial Research Chair, where Keating provides encouragement and inspiration.
During convocation ceremonies, Waterloo will present distinguished professor emerita titles to retired professors Anne Zeller, of anthropology, and Mary Thompson, of statistics and actuarial science.
As well, distinguished professor emeritus titles will be conferred on retired faculty members: Robert Kerton, a former dean of arts and an economics professor; Angus Kerr-Lawson, of philosophy and pure mathematics; Stanley Burris, of pure mathematics; and Victor Quintana, of electrical and computer engineering.
Waterloo will also award the title, honorary member of the university, to two retired employees: Denise Angove, nursing supervisor and sexual harassment officer in health services who launched Single and Sexy, a groundbreaking original play on sexuality performed by drama students during first-year orientation; and Robert Truman, director of the institutional analysis and planning department, which is responsible for enrolment forecasting, income/expenditure modelling and performance methodologies.
About Waterloo
The University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's Technology Triangle, is one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities. Waterloo is home to 30,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students who are dedicated to making the future better and brighter. Waterloo, known for the largest post- secondary co-operative education program in the world, supports enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. For more information about Waterloo, visit www.uwaterloo.ca.
Contact:
John Morris, Waterloo media relations, 519-888-4435 or john.morris@uwaterloo.ca
Waterloo news release no. 35
