Daily Bulletin, Friday, November 28
Chris Redmond
[1][University of Waterloo]
DAILY BULLETIN
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Friday, November 28, 2003
* _Prof reports on acid rain study_
* _Conestoga College keeps growing_
* _End-of-term art sale and concerts_
* _Pixels in the big picture_
Editor: Chris Redmond cred...@uwaterloo.ca
_[6]Dining over the kitchen sink _
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[PAC main gym]
_The basketball_ Warriors host Guelph tomorrow in the PAC main gym --
women's teams (pictured here) play at noon, men's teams at 2 p.m. Also
making use of the main gym will be the volleyball teams, hosting
Windsor tomorrow night (women at 6 p.m., men at 8 p.m.) and Queen's on
Sunday (2 p.m., men only). Otherwise, the Warriors are out of town
this weekend. The men's hockey team is at Queen's tonight and Royal
Military College tomorrow; the women's hockey team is at McGill and
Concordia; the track and field squad will be at Western for a meet.
Prof reports on acid rain study
_-- by Katie Reid, from the UW media relations office_
The sharp reduction of emissions that cause acid rain has been on
going since the 1970s, and it is one of the best environmental news
stories to occur in Ontario in the past few decades. However, UW
biology professor [7]Roland Hall has discovered that organisms in
lakes aren't recovering as quickly as expected from acid rain damage.
Hall conducted a study funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council and Ontario Power Generation of two lakes in
Ontario's Muskoka District. He and a team of researchers looked
specifically at lake diatoms -- microscopic plants also known as algae
-- and how they were affected by acid rain. This group of algae is at
the bottom of the food chain in lakes, but other organisms and animals
depend on them for energy and nutrients. "It affects every organism
that eats it and the animals that then eat those organisms," Hall
points out.
His team is the first to discover that a phenomenon known as
"drought-induced acidification" can affect communities of organisms in
lakes. "The acidification phenomenon was known, but its effects were
only known on the water chemistry of lakes and streams," Hall said.
"We addressed whether it could exert important effects on organisms at
the base of the food web (namely the diatoms). This is found in lakes
that are bordered by wetlands."
It was discovered that the wetlands store the sulfur deposited by acid
rain and hold onto it until drought periods cause the water table to
drop and the sulfur to be released as sulfate into streams. This
return of sulfate causes lakes to acidify in the same way as acid rain
does and this influx strongly affects the algae.
Of the two lakes studied, one was surrounded by wetlands. There was a
sharp difference found in the algae and patterns of recovery of
lakewater acidity between the two lakes, due largely to the presence
of the wetlands and drought-induced acidification, he said.
"Lakes are not recovering as quickly as expected, despite a
60-per-cent reduction in the amount of sulfur deposited by acid rain,"
he said. This discovery changes the predictions of the recovery period
of lakes from acid rain damage that did not consider drought-induced
acidification. The original predictions were much too optimistic or
even wrong as lakes are taking much longer to recover, Hall said.
Acid rain and wetlands can delay or even reverse recovery of lakes
from the effects of acid rain. This phenomenon is likely to become
even more common because climate modellers predict an increase in the
frequency and intensity of El Niqo events that tend to bring drought
to Ontario, he noted.
Hall and fellow researchers, with additional funding by NSERC, are
continuing the program by expanding it to include a larger range of
lakes that encompass a broad range of wetland cover. "These studies
will be important and should lead to better management decisions that
aim to protect Ontario's lakes and to guide future targets of
emissions to protect the organisms living in lakes under future
climate change scenarios," Hall said.
Conestoga College keeps growing
As Waterloo Region's community college goes from strength to strength
under its recently expanded name, [8]Conestoga College Institute of
Technology and Advanced Learning, some of the credit clearly goes to a
former UW dean, David Burns.
[Burns] Burns _(left)_, who was a mechanical engineering professor and
dean of the engineering faculty from 1990 to 1998, left UW two years
ago to become Conestoga's vice-president (academic) [9]as of January
2002, "with a mandate to move the College forward towards its goal of
polytechnic institute status".
Burns said at that time: "I am a firm believer in a multi-layered
postsecondary system, and I welcome the opportunity to assist the
College in preparing for and achieving excellence in applied-degree
programming, and in the transformation into a polytechnic. I know
industry definitely needs an increasing number of highly skilled and
educated people, and I wish to see Conestoga even more successful in
filling the gap, addressing local industrial needs."
He's second in command at Conestoga behind the college's
front-and-centre president, John Tibbits, who told the _Record_ last
week that "We're planning for 100 years and at the same time we're
figuring out what we want to do tomorrow. . . . I think this will be a
powerhouse institution."
It already takes pride in having been rated Ontario's "number one
college" five years in a row. Conestoga has its main campus in the
Doon neighbourhood of south Kitchener, with branch campuses in
Waterloo, Guelph, Cambridge and Stratford. It was one of the first few
Ontario colleges to be authorized to grant degrees, and now has degree
programs in five fields, including nursing and manufacturing.
The _Record_ article revealed some of Conestoga's current plans:
* Possible purchase of University Heights Secondary School on
University Avenue East, to replace the cramped Waterloo campus.
* An option on a 200-acre site for a major campus near Breslau, east
of Kitchener.
* Expansion of the Doon campus on an adjacent site that lies in the
city of Cambridge.
* Doubling the size of the Guelph campus.
The college reports that full-time enrolment in its post-secondary
programs this fall is 5,863, which is an increase of 4.45 per cent
from last year's figure. (That still leaves Conestoga well behind
Wilfrid Laurier University, which has more than 8,000 full-time
students.)
"The incoming, first-year group of 3,147 is the largest ever at
Conestoga," a news release said. "By academic division, the total
enrolment figures are 1,774 in the School of Business; 1,673 in the
School of Health Sciences, Community Services and Biotechnology; 1,651
in the School of Engineering and Information Technology; and 765 in
the School of Liberal and Media Studies."
It noted: "These figures represent only a portion of Conestoga's
enrolment. In academic year 2003-2004, Conestoga expects to serve
2,500 apprenticeship program students, 400 preparatory program
students, 350 students in skilled trades programs, 34,000 registrants
in part-time, continuing education courses and programs, and 8,000
registrants in customized training activities for businesses,
industries and organizations."
It's a Warrior weekend
Special activities are planned tonight and tomorrow night in the
Student Life Centre, for students looking for a good time that doesn't
involve alcohol. It's one of the regular [10]Warrior Weekend programs,
and this one is billed as "a night of rest and relaxation", though it
doesn't sound exactly restful.
Tonight's plans include guitar lessons, movies in the great hall, a
quiz bowl, a breakdancing demonstration, and hip-hop lessons, as well
as unlimited gaming for $5 all evening in the Campus Cove. Saturday night
there are more movies, and a Residence Idol competition starts at 7:00.
End-of-term art sale and concerts
The fine arts department's miniature art sale and silent auction
starts tonight, after a final preview from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sale hours
are 4 to 9 today (including a reception and silent auction) and 1 to 4
p.m. on Saturday. What's left will be for sale Monday and Tuesday.
Offerings include "hundreds of miniature art works by students, staff,
faculty, alumni and friends of the department priced from $10 to
$100." Tonight's silent auction features "selected larger works
(paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture)". It's all happening in
the back gallery at East Campus Hall.
The music department's performing groups have their end-of-term
concerts this weekend and next week, starting with the Chamber Choir
on Saturday night. Its show, "It Can't Be Christmas Yet", starts at 7
p.m. at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in downtown Kitchener.
Tickets are $10 (students $5).
Sunday afternoon, the Stage Band presents "Good Fellows . . . Great
Sound", at 2 p.m. in the great hall of Conrad Grebel University
College. Again, admission is $10 (students $5).
The Instrumental Chamber Ensembles will give a free concert Monday at
7 p.m. in the chapel at Grebel. And Wednesday at noon-hour, there's
the annual concert and carol sing in the great hall of the Davis
Centre, led by the department's Triple Choirs.
Pixels in the big picture
The Hallowe'en "Trick or Eat" campaign organized by the Meal Exchange
group brought in _8,115 pounds of food_ for local and regional food
banks, "greatly exceeding the official goal of 5,000 pounds",
organizers have announced. "This year's campaign surpassed all of our
expectations," says Anne Pathammavong, crediting donors in
neighbourhoods near UW as well as some 185 students from UW and
Wilfrid Laurier University who went out collecting.
The _Federation of Students_ has announced the schedule for its annual
elections -- seems as though Chris Edey and his colleagues on the Fed
executive just arrived yesterday, but in fact their terms are half way
through already. Nominations for the 2004-05 executive will open
January 8 and close January 27, says Feds staffer Brandon Sweet.
Nomination forms are available at the Federation office at the west
side of the Student Life Centre. The campaign period will run January
28 through February 7, and voting is scheduled for February 10-12.
The Information Systems and Technology department (IST) is offering
_computing courses in December_ as part of the Skills for the Academic
e-Workplace program. The courses are offered to faculty, grad
students, and staff with instructional responsibilities. Courses
include Lecturing with PowerPoint, Parallel Computing with OpenMP,
Equations with Word and PowerPoint, Concept Mapping with CMAP.
Information about the courses, along with a registration form, can be
found [11]on the web.
The biology department held a ceremony yesterday to present this
year's _Ram and Lekha Tumkur Memorial Graduate Scholarship_, which
honours the names of two children of UW biologist Nagraj Tumkur who
were killed in the 1985 Air India crash over the Atlantic. The
scholarship, worth $1,000, goes to a master's level student on the
basis of "academic achievement, research potential, experience and
financial need"; this year's winner is Suchita Nath.
A delegation from Finland's _University of Oulu_ is visiting UW today.
. . . The _Touring Players_ present a kids' show, "More Munsch
Madness", in the Humanities Theatre at 10:00, 11:45 and 1:30
today. . . .
_Electrical power_ will be shut off in the early hours of Monday in
the north campus buildings (the Icefield, two day care centres and the
Brubacher House) and in a cluster of buildings on the central campus:
the Tatham Centre, South Campus Hall, the Grad House, Carl Pollock
Hall, Doug Wright Engineering, Engineering II and III, the Dana Porter
Library and Needles Hall. People working in those buildings are warned
to shut down their computers as they leave tonight, or over the
weekend, to avoid damage at restart time on Monday around 7:30 a.m.
_WHEN AND WHERE_
_Staff association craft sale_ winds up, 9:00 to 3:00, Davis Centre
lounge -- wood crafts, Christmas ornaments, greeting cards, ceramics,
quilts; also a raffle.
_"Cellular Mechanisms_ for Brainstem Control of Movement", seminar by
Rejean Dubuc, Universite du Quebec ` Montreal, Friday 11:30, Lyle
Hallman Institute auditorium.
_"Globalization_ and the Rise of the Micro-Multinational", seminar
sponsored by Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology,
noon, Needles Hall room 1101.
_Curling Club_ bonspiel all day Saturday -- last-minute information
uw_bo...@yahoo.com.
_Big Sugar_ plays Federation Hall Saturday evening, tickets $16 from
Federation of Students office.
_CKMS 100.3 FM_ "Power Pledge Drive" all day Sunday -- "chance to
support community radio and get great gifts".
_Gneiss monolith_ in the CEIT lobby marks its anniversary with photo
showing in the museum, CEIT lobby, Monday 11:30 to 1:30.
CAR
_________________________________________________________________
[12]Communications and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
(519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca | [13]Yesterday's Daily Bulletin
Copyright ) 2003 University of Waterloo
References
1. http://www.uwaterloo.ca/
2. http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2003/nov/27th.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.sinkie.com/
7. http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/biology/faculty/hall.html
8. http://www.conestogac.on.ca/
9. http://www.conestogac.on.ca/jsp/news/2001/20010907.jsp
10. http://www.warriorweekends.uwaterloo.ca/
11. http://www.ist.uwaterloo.ca/cs/courses.html
12. http://www.communications.uwaterloo.ca/
13. http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2003/nov/27th.html