Around this time of year, some first year students (and others too) start to realize that they actually don’t know how to effectively study, learn material, and prepare for tests. The memorization and rote learning strategies that may have been OK for high school usually don’t work well at the university level. It’s not too late to change however, and there are various resources available to help, including at our Student Success Office. There are some that are more engineering-specific, such as the following one I found a few years ago. Continue reading
AIChE Fellow Frances Arnold Is One of Three Winners of 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry | AIChE
Nice to see a Chemical Engineer receive a Nobel prize, for work on random mutagenesis for industrial enzyme selection and improvements. My PhD work was in enzyme applications, though not this particular area.
Dr. Arnold’s research has produced methods now routinely used to create new catalysts. Her work has led to new enzymes for pharmaceuticals, sustainable biofuels, and other environmentally friendly products.
Source: AIChE Fellow Frances Arnold Is One of Three Winners of 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry | AIChE
Canadian among trio awarded Nobel Prize in Physics | CBC News
Congratulations Prof. Strickland!
Donna Strickland, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, became the first woman in 55 years and the third ever to win the Nobel Prize in Physics, sharing it with a scientist from the U.S. and another from France for their work in laser physics.
Source: Canadian among trio awarded Nobel Prize in Physics | CBC News
Building Science Symposium 2018 – Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy
Looks like an interesting event for anyone involved in building design and management. The Agenda includes a brief overview of our new Architectural Engineering program.
Source: Building Science Symposium 2018 – Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy
Architectural engineering students start learning by doing – Waterloo Engineering
Students in our new program, off to a quick start on group design-build projects.
Students in new program challenged to work in groups to brainstorm, design and build furniture using cardboard, plaster and their collective creativity
Source: Architectural engineering students start learning by doing – Waterloo Engineering
Engineering Failure Rates-Redux
Here’s an update on a popular old post, with some new data and comments.
I’m never quite sure why people ask about failure rates, or what they are expecting. Do they want to hear that the failure rate is high, so they are convinced it’s a tough (and therefore good) program? Or maybe they don’t want the failure rate to be high, because they are concerned that they won’t be successful? I’m not sure what the motivation for the question is, but anyways let’s examine failure rates. Continue reading
11 Surprising Things to Keep On Your Resume – Glassdoor Blog
Some interesting ideas in this article. Although written for permanent job seekers, it could also be very applicable to co-op students and high school students applying for university programs. Some of those things are what can make you stand out from the crowd, in my experience on the hiring and admissions side.
Stand up comedian? Competitive athlete? Find out what surprising skills should stay on your resume.
Source: 11 Surprising Things to Keep On Your Resume – Glassdoor Blog
Chances for 2019
Since I’ve left the Admissions role I’m not going to post my traditional graphic of chances for the upcoming cycle, BUT let me introduce you to a new Waterloo engineering admissions-focused blog where you can find it: The Road to Engineering
Follow that blog for updates on current Waterloo Engineering admissions news, suggestions and updates, including some information about the upcoming Ontario Universities Fair.
Applying to University Should be Like Applying for Jobs
As high school students return to class, here is some key advice for those planning to apply to university or college. I strongly suggest that when applying to a post-secondary program, it should be treated like applying for a job or career. There should be some significant self-reflection and “selling yourself” to the university. The self-reflection part is derived from Prof. Larry Smith’s book, which I have briefly reviewed before. It’s very important to know why you’re doing something before doing it. The “selling yourself” part builds on this, and can be illustrated with an example that is a composite of stuff we see for Engineering applications. For this example, let’s consider two hypothetical applicants to Mechanical Engineering, both with similar grades (say low 90’s) and similar other activities. Each applicant writes something in their Admission Information Form, along the lines of the following… Continue reading
German Baking
Waterloo Region has a long history of German immigration and influence since its initial settlement, leading to place names like Berlin (now Kitchener), New Hamburg, Baden, and local events like Oktoberfest. Around the area you can find various places with German-style cuisine and products including at the bakery featured in this local news video link: https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1477166 From personal experience, their Christmas Stollen bread and chocolates are highly addictive. But what does this have to do with chemical engineering? Continue reading
A Professor in Waterloo Engineering 