Hello B-Soc, and welcome back for Spring term! While you were away for co-op the A-Soc students were here in Waterloo, having fun while hitting the books.
Noticeably absent from the crew returning to campus this term is the class of 2012, now ringed and graduated with convocation occurring next month. Following the mayhem of IRS and the reception of their rings, fourth years wasted no opportunity to offer sage advice, touch the TOOL, or simply bang their rings on any loud(ish) surface presented to them.
Winter 2012 also marked the final term of Dean Adel Sedra, now preparing to retire after a distinguished career. In January it was recommended that Dr. Pearl Sullivan succeed Dean Sedra, having been selected from a pool of prominent candidates after a six month application process. The appointment of Dr. Sullivan, our current chair of the Mechanical and Mechatronics Department, has since been finalized, making her the eighth dean of Waterloo Engineering and the first woman chosen for the post. Dr. Sullivan’s five year term will commence on July 1, 2012.
Once again, Waterloo Engineering had a fantastic showing at the annual Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC). Teams from Waterloo won two overall events, Innovative Design and Junior Design, with three additional teams qualifying for the Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC) in Vancouver, and two more teams earned third-place finishes. Team selection for next year’s competition will begin with this summer’s Waterloo Engineering Competition (WEC).
During National Engineering Month (or ‘March’) Waterloo students participated in the creation of a Rube Goldberg Machine. Engineering students from eleven schools across Ontario were challenged to light up the CN tower in purple by creatively linking their designs from all corners of the perovince. The event was organized by the Engineering Student Societies’ Council of Ontario (ESSCO) and the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE).
Also in March, Waterloo Engineering won a bid to run Project Magazine (Promag), a national publication aimed at engineering students, and the official magazine of the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES). Waterloo will replace the University of Western Ontario in the task of constructing all aspects of the magazine’s twice-annual publication, for two years.
Last term there were many additional events which allowed Waterloo students to join forces with other schools and discuss many challenges faced by engineering students and collaboratively generate solutions. Amongst these events was the annual CFES congress, held this year in Whitehorse, the First Year Integration Conference held at McMaster, and the Canadian University Software Engineering Conference held in Montreal.
So, welcome back B-Soc. Now it’s your turn.
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