Daily Bulletin, Thursday, May 11
Chris Redmond
[1][University of Waterloo]
DAILY BULLETIN
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Thursday, May 11, 2006
* _'Angel' firm in Accelerator Centre_
* _Prominent curator takes UW job_
* _Drops in the daily drizzle_
Editor: Chris Redmond cred...@uwaterloo.ca
_[6]International Fast Day Against Malaria _
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[Colourful cranes linked in garlands]
_When he finished_ his year as vice-president (internal) of the
Federation of Students at the end of April, Lawrence Lam headed off on
a trip to Japan, and offered to take some of the paper cranes that
were folded at UW [7]in March as part of the Yume Peace Project for
Hiroshima. "I had no idea that two big boxes of cranes were
collected!" says Lam. Some of them had to be shipped, but he did bring
"a few bunches" personally to the [8]Children's Peace Monument at
Hiroshima.
'Angel' firm in Accelerator Centre
With the Accelerator Centre on UW's north campus scheduled to open
next week, Infusion Development is moving in and ready to help the
next generation of entrepreneurs with advice and cash.
Says an announcement from the company: "In recognition of the
innovative ideas and great entrepreneurial ambitions of University of
Waterloo students, Infusion Development has come home. [9]Infusion
Development, a New York and Toronto based IT consultancy founded and
operated by UW graduates, has returned to Waterloo to foster the next
generation of entrepreneurs.
"[10]Infusion Angels (IA), a recently created division of Infusion
Development, is a group of investing 'angel' partners focused on
finding and funding ideas from Waterloo students and alumni. IA's goal
is to identify, fund, and help grow concepts into full fledged,
revenue-oriented companies with the ultimate goal of dominance in a
given market, sale to larger, publicly-traded entities, or a public
offering."
It will be one of the tenants in the Accelerator Centre, a building in
the Research and Technology Park dedicated to "accelerating" new
high-tech businesses. The Accelerator Centre, at the corner of Hagey
Boulevard and Frank Tompa Drive, has announced its opening
celebrations for May 18.
Says Alim Somani, co-founder of Infusion Development and a partner in
Infusion Angels: "We chose to focus the fund on the University of
Waterloo because, as a company run and staffed by UW alumni, we enjoy
special understanding and relationships with the UW community. Mostly,
we are excited that the fund and our partnership with the Accelerator
Centre will allow us to elevate our relationship with the University
of Waterloo and its students.
"There's a real entrepreneurial buzz in the Waterloo region and, as
alumni, we're in a unique position to tap into that."
The company says it will provide equipment, office space, reception,
accounting, and other administrative support at the Accelerator
Centre. "Furthermore, IA will provide sales, business, and related
training/support to its portfolio companies, handle PR, and facilitate
introductions to key clients and influencers in relative industries.
In short, IA will provide all of the requisite business infrastructure
around a funded concept."
One reaction comes from economics professor Larry Smith. "I've always
been impressed by the number and quality of entrepreneurs I see in my
classes each year," he's quoted as saying, "but it's really great to
see that private sector companies from outside of Waterloo are finally
starting to notice and take advantage of the innovative people and
ideas that are here."
IA is interested in investing in the areas of software product
concepts (application and infrastructure), novel electronic designs,
electronic consumer products, radio/wireless applications, and
bioinformatics, among others. "In general, Infusion Angels is
interested in novel, commercializable concepts of any kind, including
theoretical areas such as mathematical analytics or unique algorithmic
approaches."
Prominent curator takes UW job
The UW art gallery has a new curator-director who will start work next
week, says Bruce Taylor, chair of the department of fine arts, where
the multi-site gallery is based.
Taking on the job is Andrew Hunter _(right)_, a well known figure in
Canadian gallery circles. He follows Carol Podedworny, who [11]left UW
earlier this year to become director of the McMaster Museum of Art in
Hamilton.
Says Taylor: "Andrew Hunter has produced historical and contemporary
exhibitions, publications and writings for public museums across
Canada, in the United States and Europe. He has become widely known
for his creative narrative engagements with museum collections, his
collaborations with contemporary artists, and his innovative approach
to writing about art and history. Born in Hamilton, Hunter has been
based in Dundas (since 1997) where he has worked as an independent
curator, artist, writer and designer of books."
A list of [12]his projects touches on everything from a Group of Seven
exhibition at the McMichael Gallery, northwest of Toronto, to
"Fishermen's Memorial" at the Museum of Modern Art in Dubrovnik,
Croatia. He has also produced exhibitions at the Winnipeg Art Gallery,
the National Gallery of Canada, Harbourfront and other galleries.
His upcoming projects include Jumbo! (Museum London) Dark Matter:
Remembering the Great War (Confederation Centre Art Gallery, touring),
Dominion City (with the cartoonist Seth, Confederation Centre Art
Gallery, touring) and This Is Montreal! (The Leonard & Bina Ellen Art
Gallery, Concordia University).
Hunter has held curatorial positions at the Art Gallery of Hamilton,
Kamloops Art Gallery and Vancouver Art Gallery and has been adjunct
curator with the Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum and the
McMichael Canadian Art Collection. He has published numerous essays on
his curatorial work, and his book _Cul-De-Sac_, a reflection on
Canadian landscape painting, was published by the University of
Lethbridge in 2004.
[13]The UW art gallery has multiple exhibition spaces in East Campus
Hall, the home of the fine arts department, as well as UW's original
gallery in the lobby of the Theatre of the Arts, Modern Languages
building. The gallery exhibits touring and original shows as well as
selections from the university's permanent art collection and work by
students.
_WHEN AND WHERE_
_Safety orientation_ for employees 2 p.m., Davis 1302, repeated May
18, 10 a.m., Davis 1304. WHMIS training May 18, 2 p.m., Davis 1304.
_Health informatics research seminar:_ John Yeow, systems design
engineering, "Micro/Nano Devices for Biomedical Applications," 12
noon, Davis Centre room 1304.
_'Co-op Japan'_ presentation for students interested in spending a
work term in Japan, 4:30, Tatham Centre room 1208.
_Information systems and technology_ professional development seminar:
Manfred Grisebach, "Windows Vista", Friday 8:45 a.m., IST seminar
room.
_'Catholic Voices_ in the Media and the Public Square', third
Catholics in Public Life conference hosted by St. Jerome's University
and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, Friday and Saturday.
Opening panel with Catholic journalists, Friday 7:30, Siegfried Hall,
admission free. Details [14]online.
_Spring yard sale_ at Columbia Lake Village, Saturday 8:00 to 11:00.
_Non-Violence Fair and Concert_ in Waterloo Park, Saturday: peace walk
12 noon, fair 12:00 to 4:00, concert 5:00 to 10:00, details
[15]online.
_Alumni networking workshop_ in Toronto, Monday 6 p.m., details
[16]online.
Drops in the daily drizzle
Gardeners who are smiling with relief at today's rain have another
reason to smile: it's the day of UW Blooms, an annual fixture just as
the gardening season begins. Originally a one-person initiative, it's
now sponsored by the [17]UW Recreation Committee, which organizes
activities of all kinds aimed at faculty and staff members. UW Blooms
provides an opportunity to trade or give away _seeds, plants, plant
pots,_ anything to do with gardening. Even if you have nothing to
bring in, you can still pick up free things, organizers say. The event
officially runs from noon to 4:00 today at the multipurpose room of
the Student Life Centre. I'm told that after cleanup time, lots of
items will be left there for possible pickup, especially by
night-shift staff.
An "international spouses' group" has been meeting regularly at the
community centre in Columbia Lake Village, since CLV is home to many
of UW's students from other lands, especially at the graduate level,
and their families. They're having a special event this afternoon -- a
trip to "a special, nearby village", namely St. Jacobs, home of
boutiques, theatres, the peanut store, and -- thanks to the current
construction work on the Highway 85 expressway -- traffic jams. "All
_spouses of international students or professors_ are most welcome, no
matter where they live," organizers say. Last-minute information might
be available at demat...@uwaterloo.ca. The group will meet again May
25 at 1 p.m. for a potluck meal.
Organizers of this year's Keystone Campaign celebration event on June
8 are asking those coming to the event to consider potential
_teammates for a special Scavenger Hunt_. Says John Heckbert of the
development and alumni affairs office: "Not all attendees at the event
are required to participate in the Scavenger Hunt, but for those who
do, six people are required to fill each team. Those on each team will
be given a variety of clues that will lead them to different sites at
the event. We encourage teams to recruit people with a bit of
knowledge about UW's history. Prizes will be distributed to the teams
who complete the challenge, and the grand prize winning team will
receive a complimentary team lunch at the University Club on a date of
the team's choosing." Advance registration: phone ext. 7747 or e-mail
kmcg...@uwaterloo.ca.
Ravi Mazumdar of UW's electrical and computer engineering department
is one of a group of three researchers who won the Best Paper award at
the recent 25th Conference on Computer Communications of the IEEE
Communications Society, held in April in Barcelona. More than 1,400
papers were eligible for the award. Title of the winning paper is
"Delay and Capacity Trade-offs in _Mobile Ad Hoc Networks_: A Global
Perspective". Co-authors of the paper are Ness Shroff of Purdue
University and Gaurav Sharma, who had been a doctoral student under
Mazumdar when he too was at Purdue.
Finally . . . the cleaning of watermains in central areas of the city
of Waterloo is continuing, and is scheduled to touch on the main
campus shortly. "There _may be some discoloured water_," says Rick
Zalagenas, UW's director of maintenance and utilities. Advice from the
city's Utilities Section: "If necessary, you may continue to use your
water at all times during this cleaning program. However, if you
notice that your water is starting to discolour, you should
discontinue use, wait approximately one hour, then allow a hard, cold
water tap to run for a minimum of 5 minutes and a maximum of 10
minutes until the water is clear. We recommend that you do not drink
discoloured water. . . . Please keep in mind that we are conducting
this maintenance activity on the watermains to reduce the number of
incidences of discoloured water in your area." The work is expected to
get to the south campus tomorrow, and the Columbia Lake Village and
R&T Park area on Monday. A map and details are available [18]on the
city's web site.
CAR
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[19]Communications and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
(519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca | [20]Yesterday's Daily Bulletin
Copyright © 2006 University of Waterloo
References
1. http://www.uwaterloo.ca/
2. http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2006/may/10we.html
3. http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/previous.html
4. http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/bulsearch.html
5. http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/aboutus.html
6. http://www.worldswimformalaria.com/en/20/IFAM.aspx
7. http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/bulletin/2006/mar/17fr.html
8. http://www.city.hiroshima.jp/shimin/heiwa/monument.html
9. http://www.infusiondev.com/
10. http://www.infusionangels.com/
11. http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/bulletin/2006/jan/16mo.html
12. http://www.ffwdweekly.com/Issues/2001/1101/art1.htm
13. http://www.artgallery.uwaterloo.ca/
14. http://www.sju.ca/CIPL.html
15. http://www.nonviolencefestival.com/
16. http://alumni.uwaterloo.ca/alumni/services/workshops/
17. http://www.uwrc.uwaterloo.ca/
18. http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=1216
19. http://www.communications.uwaterloo.ca/
20. http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2006/may/10we.html