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Note: This document is hosted here for archival purposes only. It does not necessarily represent the values of the Iron Warrior or Waterloo Engineering Society in the present day. 1 THE NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO ENGINEERING SOCIETY volume 24 issue 13 | 31 October 2003 http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/ Municipal Election Keg Parties Kill Bill Soundtrack Coverage Page 8 Page 13 Page 14 IW Exclusive: What Dean Sedra Will Do For You In terms of co-op, very soon a number of new courses will be offered in short Kiran Dhaliwal modules and delivered via the Internet so students can do them during their work terms at no cost. They will be intended to help with professional development (e.g. 2B Electrical leadership, management, teamwork, com- munication skills etc.). Each student uality of education, entrance scholar- would have to take one per co-op term, but Qships and graduate studies are the top it would not be a Credit/ No Credit type of items on Dean Sedra’s agenda for improv- course so no marks would be assigned. We ing the already respectable Faculty of feel this would be a very attractive ele- Engineering at the University of Waterloo. ment of the engineering program at UW When recently asked about his goals and for both students and employers. In fact, expected accomplishments during his some employers have been commenting term, Dean Adel Sedra was happy to that their students have great technical answer all my questions with honesty and skills, but lack some of the important soft great thought. One can tell right off the bat skills we hope to develop. I think this idea that he loves to teach since he proudly dis- will make Waterloo move a step up in the plays the new edition of his co-written quality of the engineering co-op program. textbook, “Microelectronic Circuits”, and There are also plans to offer a new because he will be back in the classroom freestanding Nanotechnology Engineering this winter teaching ECE 331. Dean Sedra program that will be a joint project between Chemical Engineering, Electrical Adel Sedra, current Dean of Engineering will be making improvements to the has an impressive background in research school to attract more grad students and heighten the undergrad program.. and teaching, including most recently the Engineering and the Chemistry depart- role of Provost at the University of ment in the Faculty of Science. It will Toronto. When discussing the future of his have an innovative, exciting curriculum highly involved with this venture are live reasonably and devote their full effort work in the position of Dean, this is what dealing with nanotechnology applications Professor Nathan, Professor Vanelli and to research without worrying about he had to say: from electronics to life sciences. It will be Professor Duever. finances. I helped bring about such a sys- offered to new students, hopefully the next There certainly needs to be more work tem at the University of Toronto and hope KD: What will you hope to improve fall, but there may be some opportunity done in the area of graduate studies in the to do this here as well. on from the last Dean? for current students to take some of the Engineering Faculty. I would like to see an AS: First of all, the last Dean left the courses being developed as we speak. In improvement in funding for graduate stu- KD: Great! Could you tell me what faculty in very good shape, so the chal- order to set this program up we will hire dents and hopefully be able to announce you hope to have accomplished by the end lenge is to take a good faculty and make it 20 new profs and take in some more grad soon that every graduate student will be of your term? excellent. Currently we’re offering an students so there will be a lot of research fully funded for the full cost of her tuition. AS: I hope to hire more good faculty excellent graduate program, but we still happening in the nanotechnology field at This should be at a level that a living Continued on page 11. See “Sedra have plans for major improvements. Waterloo. Some of the professors who are allowance ensures that the student may Announces Plans” Broadening Your Horizons In Five or Fewer Courses ed them all below. The courses are listed teaching when I took it. her, they liked the course, regardless of Christine McCullough alphabetically by course number. Each 3. Regardless of how badly you may workload. A lot of people take PSYCH 2N Chemical bullet represents a response from one per- want to take all music courses for your 101, but the reviews are mixed. It’s an son. Please keep in mind a couple of very CSE’s, you do have some requirements easy decision, it’s pre-scheduled to not important facts while reviewing this sur- you need to fulfill and music course don’t conflict with your engineering courses and hoosing our own classes seems like vey: always cut it. Briefly you need to have one it goes towards your ‘List C’ requirements. Csuch a foreign ideas to us, all we real- 1. This is very subjective. One of the ‘List A’ Impact Course, one ‘List B’ What I would encourage you to do is go ly have to do is pass our current classes respondents gave a good review of a Engineering Economics Course (for most through the calendar to find courses that and we get automatically enrolled in next course about Shakespeare. I know that if I programs this is already scheduled for interest you, see if they would also work in term’s classes. Ah, but there are those pre- had taken that same course I would have you) and two ‘List C’ Humanities and you schedule and fulfill the ‘List C’ cious few chances to have input into your given it a horrible review due to the simple Social Sciences Courses. The ‘List A’ requirement, because there are a lot of education, those things called fact that I hate Shakespeare. It really courses are very specific and can be found courses that do. Don’t restrict yourself to Complimentary Study Electives. It can be depends on what you like, so take that into on page 8:7 of the 2003/2004 the classes that all your classmates are tak- a daunting task trying to choose a course to account Undergraduate Calendar. There is a little ing, take a chance and take a course that put in your already very packed schedule, 2. Courses vary with the professor who more room for exploration in your ‘List C’ may interest only a few people. As you especially when everyone around you is in teaches them. I once took a course in courses. I would recommend you have a will see below, engineers are very well the same situation and can’t offer much in which the prof was teaching for the very look at that section of the calendar before rounded people and there are plenty of the way of feed back about courses you first time. Needless to say he wasn’t very deciding on any CSE. opportunities at this university to pursue might want to take. This is where I step in. good. However, in previous terms, the I want to make one last observation; individual interests, be they Shakespeare, Recently I appealed to all upper-year stu- class was taught by the professor who the classes that got the best reviews science fiction or genetics. dents to tell me about the courses that they wrote the textbook and is internationally seemed to be the ones that were farthest have taken for their CSE’s; did they like recognized for his work in that specific from the norm. What I mean is, when them, hate them and why. I received a field. So I know the course would have someone took a course simply for the fact Continued on page 12. See Fourty-Four good number of responses and I have list- been very different if that prof had been that the course content interested him or Complimentary Studies Electives Jack, please, I’m only an elected official here, I can’t make decisions by myself! - The Mayor in Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas 2 Friday, October 31, 2003 Letter from the Editor An Unfathomable Wealth of Wisdom The Newspaper of the University of Waterloo Engineering Society this piece - the lessons I’m learning from retired for several years and she becomes Joseph Fung her right now are much less grand but still restless with a reserved lifestyle. I was very, very useful. In helping her with her absolutely astounded that he was con- Editor-in-Chief 3N Computer business development (in a website cerned about this before they have even Joseph Fung design capacity) I’m being exposed to a finalized when they’ll actually retire. personality of one with impeccable busi- He’s looking into the possibilities of part- Editor-in-Chief Assistant Editor ness acumen. I’ve been given the oppor- time lecturer positions are the nearby uni- Cindy Bao tunity to watch the development of versity. He’s looking into the local n preparing for this article, I spent some John Olaveson everything from business plans to sales charitable and volunteer organizations. time searching online for inspirational I material. Additionally I’ve been given the He’s even going to the effort of looking quotations and passages to use as either opportunity to poke and prod said materi- up continuing education opportunities in Photo Editor an introduction or a conclusion.