UW Daily Bulletin, Friday, November 28

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Friday, November 28, 2014

* [5]Yesterday
* [6]Archive o [7]Search
* [8]RSS image RSS o [9]Twitter
* [10]About the Daily Bulletin

* Spreading the word; supporting community
* Velocity Fund Winners announced
* Hooykaas named RCGS fellow
* Friday's notes

* Editor:
* Brandon Sweet
* Communications and Public Affairs
* [11]bull...@uwaterloo.ca

Spreading the word; supporting community

Feridun Hamdullahpur. How quickly the cold weather has come upon us!


As I mentioned in the October issue, I spent the first few weeks of November
on a very productive [12]trip throughout Asia. I was pleased to have the
opportunity to deliver a "distinguished lecture" at Pohang University of
Science and Technology (POSTECH) in Seoul, Korea, and also had the pleasure
of meeting with Professor Yongmin Kim, president of POSTECH.


The trip continued into Hong Kong and then to Singapore, where I was pleased
to deliver a keynote speech to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (Singapore).
The assembled crowd was made up of very interested and forward-thinking
business people, and the message from Waterloo was well received.


As I travelled from Korea, to Hong Kong, and then to Singapore, I was
pleased to be able to attend some of our international alumni gatherings. It
was tremendous to see the spirit of this institution thrive on an
international level. Our alumni are hungry for engagement and to participate
in the life of the University of Waterloo - this trip was a terrific
opportunity to learn about their stories and ideas for building Waterloo's
international profile even further.


In the midst of the trip, which ran throughout the course of early and
mid-November, my team and I made it a priority to attend the [13]Remembrance
Day ceremony at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Hong Kong.


Closer to home, our students, faculty and staff came together on a number of
different occasions to support the Waterloo region community.


Kindness and generosity were celebrated throughout November, in the form of
two very special events specifically. During Random Act of Kindness Day on
November 7, the "Kindness Crew", made up of Waterloo students, faculty and
staff, spread goodwill across campus and in the community by way of
meaningful good deeds. A week later, National Philanthropy Day offered a
wonderful opportunity to celebrate philanthropy at Waterloo.


This month we also celebrated the United Way volunteers who worked
tirelessly throughout the month of October to raise funds for our local
Kitchener-Waterloo community, and for the month of November our Warriors
held their "Think Pink" campaign to raise money for breast cancer research.


On this note of charitable giving, I am delighted to confirm that the
University of Waterloo has surpassed our United Way Campaign fundraising
goal of $250,000. Thank you to our entire University community for making
this year's campaign a success.


The generosity - of both spirit and resources - on our campus is stunning,
and sets the stage beautifully for the holiday season.


As my usual month end column will not be published in December, I want to
take this opportunity to wish you all the happiest of holidays, a Merry
Christmas, and a happy New Year.


Sincerely,


Feridun


[14]Back to top

[1128Eyecheck.jpg]
Velocity Fund winners announced

[15]EyeCheck, a company working to provide vision care to millions of people
in the developing world, was the biggest winner at the [16]Velocity Fund
Finals held yesterday in the Student Life Centre's Great Hall.


Founded by graduates of Systems Design Engineering at Waterloo, EyeCheck is
part of the Velocity Foundry. It uses a hardware camera, with which doctors
take images of people's eyes and enables them to provide a prescription in a
fraction of the usual time. Today's win gives them $25,000 plus the
additional $10,000 awarded to hardware or life sciences companies to help
cover additional startup costs. Earlier this month, EyeCheck was named one
of the top 20 inventions of the year by the James Dyson Foundation.


"Most of the funding will be used to build a robust camera that can stand up
to the harsh elements found throughout the developing world," said Daxal
Desai, co-founder of EyeCheck. "It will also help us to gather field data at
several camps in India where hundreds of people line up to get their vision
checked."


During the competition, 10 companies pitched their businesses to a panel of
judges representing the investment, startup and business communities. Judges
weighed innovation, market potential, market viability and overall pitch.


The following three companies were also grand-prize winners of $25,000 and
space at the Velocity Garage and Velocity Foundry:
* [17]Code Connect makes it easy for developers to understand source code.
* [18]HearthStats allows Hearthstone players to easily track wins and
losses and gain insight for future play.
* [19]Perceptiv Labs creates software that allows drones to perceive their
environment, track objects and locate themselves on maps.

"Funding for early stage companies is invaluable. The Velocity Fund allows
us to provide support to startups and invest in their future through
grants," said Mike Kirkup, director of Velocity. "Velocity, as part of the
University of Waterloo, is a leader in the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem
that provides unmatched education, mentorship, networking and additional
resources to local startups."


During the VFF event, an additional 10 teams of University of Waterloo
students competed for three new prizes of $5,000 and access to Velocity
workspaces. In previous competitions, the amount was $1,000.


The winners of the Velocity $5K are:
* [20]Ansik, the maker of a mechanical reinforcement for worn out
gas-charged struts called ShockLock, won Best Pitch.
* [21]Reno, an innovative charging technology that uses body heat to
charge devices won $10,000 after winning both Most Innovative and
People's Choice.

The judges for the Velocity Fund $25K competition were Ted Livingston of
Kik, Mike McCauley of Google, Karamdeep Nijjar of iNovia Capital and
Jean-Sebastien Cournoyer of Real Ventures.


The judges for the Velocity Fund $5K competition were Wayne Chang of the
Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre at Waterloo, Geoff
Malleck of Waterloo and Steve McCartney of Communitech.


[22]Back to top

Hooykaas named RCGS fellow

Professor Amanda Hooykaas (BES '06, PhD '13) was recently inducted into the
[23]College of Fellows of [24]The Royal Canadian Geographical Society
(RCGS).

Hooykaas is a field course developer and an adjunct faculty member of the
University of Waterloo. She teaches courses ranging from human geography to
environmental literature, to conservation and parks management, and aims to
spend the majority of this summer leading senior undergraduate courses
beyond the classroom both in Canada and in the United States.


The College of Fellows is the governing body of the RCGS and brings together
individuals who share the Society's abiding commitment to Canada, who
support its mandate of making Canada better known to Canadians and the
world as well as its educational mission of expanding geographic knowledge
and literacy. Fellows include Jim Balsillie for his support of arctic
research, artist Robert Bateman, Cree Chief Ovide Mercredi, and Dean of the
Faculty of Environment Professor Jean Andrey.


[25]Back to top

Friday's notes

The IST Service Desk (CHIP) will be closed today from 12:00 p.m. to 4:30
p.m. as it completes its move to its new digs in East Campus 2. During this
time, services will be unavailable. Client Services and Instructional
Technology and Multimedia Services staff will also be moving on the
afternoon of November 28 and will not have immediate access to email. Anyone
requiring assistance should send an [26]email or call extension 84357.

Saturday, December 6 is the The National Day of Remembrance and Action on
Violence Against Women that recognizes the 1989 École Polytechnique tragedy.
[27]An on-campus remembrance event is scheduled to take place the morning of
Friday, December 5 in the Sedra Student Design Centre in Engineering 5. The
event is open to the public, but [28]registration is required.


Warrior home games this weekend include:
* Women's Volleyball vs. Guelph - Friday, November 28, 6:00 p.m.
* Men's Volleyball vs. Guelph - Friday, November 28, 8:00 p.m.
* It's not technically a home game, but the Women's Hockey team will be
playing Laurier on Saturday, November 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Check the [29]Varsity Sports schedule for a complete list of home and away
games.


Here's a final reminder that Quest will be down and unavailable starting
today at 4:30 p.m. until Monday December 1 at 8:30 a.m. as it undergoes a
scheduled upgrade.


And if you're heading to the Dana Porter Library this weekend, bundle up:
There will be reduced heating in the Dana Porter Library and Needles Hall on
Saturday, November 29, 2014 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. due to work on new
building construction nearby.


"Depending on outside weather conditions that day, temperatures in Porter
Library could be lower than normal and may vary considerably depending on
your location in the building," says a statement from the Library. "Please
take these temperature fluctuations into account when planning your visit to
Porter Library."


[30]Back to top

[31][1124Activism_003.jpg]

[32]#beenrapedneverreported: a Canadian journalist's honesty sparks an
international movement.

Link of the day

[33]Buy Nothing Da--[34]seriously though it's Black Friday

When and where

Campus Tech Black Friday Headphone Sale, Friday, November 28, 9:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m., Campus Tech, SLC.

Campus Blood Donor Clinic, Friday, November 28, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.,
Student Life Centre multipurpose room.

Chemical Engineering seminar featuring Kyla Sask, PhD, "Surface Modification
of Polymeric Biomaterials to Improve Interfacial Interactions." Friday,
November 28, 11:30 a.m., E6-2024.

Biology Seminar Series featuring Thomas Merritt, Canada Research Chair in
Genomics and Bioinformatics, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
Laurentian University, "All flies are not created equal (not even fruit
flies): the biology of genetic variation," Friday, November 28, 2:30 p.m.,
QNC 1501.

Quest down for upgrade, Friday, November 28, 4:30 p.m. to Monday, December
1, 8:30 a.m.

Bridges Lecture featuring Helen Bretzke (Drama and CS) and Peter Taylor
(Math), "How To Hold a Beautiful Thing," Friday, November 28, 7:30 p.m.,
Siegfried Hall, St. Jerome's. [35]Details.

Gloria Deo featuring the UW Chamber Choir, Grebel Chapel Choir, and the
University Choir, Saturday, November 29, 8:00 p.m., St. Peter's Lutheran
Church, Kitchener. Admission $10/$5 for students and seniors, available at
the door.

How Sweet It Is: UW Jazz Ensemble concert, Sunday, November 30 at 2:00 p.m.,
Great Hall, Conrad Grebel University College. $10/$5 students & seniors,
tickets available at the door, reception to follow.

Instrumental Chamber Ensemble Concert, Sunday, November 30, 7:30 p.m.,
Conrad Grebel University College Chapel. Free admission, reception to
follow.

Bookstore Concourse Sale, Monday, December 1 and Tuesday, December 2, 9:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., SCH Concourse.

IQC Colloquium featuring Peter Zoller, "New Frontiers of Quantum Simulation
with Atoms and Innsbruck," Monday, December 1, 2:30 p.m., QNC 0101.
[36]Details.

WatRISQ Industry seminar featuring Dan Rosen, Managing Director, Risk and
Analytics, S&P Capital IQ, "Re-Thinking Scenarios: The Global Economy,
Conditional Scenarios and Your Portfolio," Monday, December 1, 4:00 p.m., DC
1304.

Gender & Equity Scholarship Series featuring Hilary Bergsieker, Tuesday,
December 2, 11:30 a.m., PAS 3025. [37]Details.

Transpacific Field of Dreams, Tuesday, December 2, 1:30 p.m., REN 2102.
[38]Details.

Retirement celebration for Nel Cheeseman, Tuesday, December 2, 3:30 p.m., TC
2218. RSVP to [39]Pat Graf by Friday, November 28.

Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (I.B.M.B.) Graduate Student
Seminar Series featuring PhD Graduate Students Prof. German Gomez Rios,
"Strategies for the Direct Coupling of SPME to Mass Spectrometry " and
Nathaly Reyes Garces, "High-throughput Quantification of Prohibited
Substances in Plasma and Blood Using Thin Film Solid Phase
Microextraction", Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Tuesday,
December 2, 3:30 p.m., C2-361. [40]Details.

Retirement celebration for Nel Cheeseman, CECA, Tuesday, December 2, 3:30
p.m. - 5:30 p.m., TC 2218. RSVP to [41]Pat Graf by Friday, November 28.

Social Innovation Showcase, Wednesday, December 3, 4:00 p.m., St. Paul's
Alumni Hall. [42]Details.

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women event,
Friday, December 5, 10:30 a.m., Sedra Student Design Centre, Engineering 5.
[43]Details.

Chemical Engineering Seminar featuring Yang-Tse Cheng, Chemical and
Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky, "Understanding Coupled
Mechanical-Chemical Degradation Mechanisms for Improving the Performance and
Durability of Lithium Ion Batteries," Monday, December 8, 10:00 a.m., E6
2024.

Successful Aging seminar featuring Dr. Alison Chasteen, University of
Toronto, December 12, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., location TBA.

PhD Oral Defences

Pure Mathematics. Robert Garbary, "On the local positivity of line bundles
on algebraic surfaces." Supervisor, David McKinnon. On display in the
Mathematics graduate office, MC 5112. Oral defence Thursday, December 4,
10:00 a.m., M3 2134.

Kinesiology. Rebecca Brookham, "Quantifying and Predicting Upper Limb
Capability and Dysfunction of Breast Cancer Survivors." Supervisor, Clark
Dickerson. On display in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, BMH 3110.
Oral defence Thursday, December 4, 10:00 a.m., BMH 3119.

Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering. Sergey Bogdanov, "Fatigue Life
Prediction Based on the Advanced Fatigue Crack Growth Model and the
Monte-Carlo Simulation Method." Supervisor, Gregory Glinka. On deposit in
the Engineering graduate office, PHY 3004. Oral defence Friday, December 5,
9:00 a.m., E5 3006.

Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering. Evdokia Popova, "Crystal Plasticity
Based Numerical Modeling of Dynamic Recrystalization in Magnesium Alloys."
Supervisor, Kaan Inal. On deposit in the Engineering graduate office, PHY
3004. Oral defence Monday, December 8, 9:00 a.m., E3 4117.


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