University Relations welcomes back Nick Manning as Associate Vice-President, Communications

Nick Manning joins Waterloo today as Associate Vice-President (AVP), Communications.

As AVP Communications, Manning will be responsible for accelerating connections and co-ordination across campus to build new models for excellence and innovation within University communications.

Formerly the Chief Communications Officer at Waterloo Region District School Board, Manning’s professional career spans both public and private sectors. Manning has served in several senior communication roles at the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom, Research in Motion/BlackBerry, and as Director of Media Relations and Issues Management at the University of Waterloo. Manning is a Journalism graduate of the University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom.

We know Nick looks forward to working again with campus colleagues and introducing himself to those who he has not yet worked with.

Gardner talks about All Those Explosions

by Susan Fish.

A lab explosion in Engineering 3. Sightings of werewolves, demons and vampires in KW. Destruction of well-known Waterloo Region landmarks.

No, it isn’t a bad dream brought on by midterms. Instead, these are among the events in the new science fiction book by UW graduate James Alan Gardner (BMath ’76; M Math ’78).



All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault (MacMillan, Tor, 2017) is the first in Gardner’s The Dark and the Spark series, set in a world where vampires, werewolves and demons revealed themselves in the early 1980s, offering Dark Conversion (I.e. immortality) to anyone who could afford it. By the present day, the 1% are all Darklings, while the same powers accidentally transform unwitting average people—like the four UWaterloo students who stumble into Engineering 3 just before the explosion—into superheroes.



While Gardner studied math and worked for most of his career writing computer documentation, he began writing as a child, and wrote fiction and fan fiction during work terms in cities where he knew no one. Last year he moved to writing fulltime, spending three or four hours each morning writing before editing other writers’ work in the afternoons.



All Those Explosions is his ninth novel, but the first set in Waterloo. As for why Waterloo, Gardner says, “I know Waterloo and UWaterloo well and so it was easy to create the setting.” He chuckles. “It also gives me the chance to gradually destroy the scenic landmarks of the Kitchener-Waterloo area.” Gardner has finished a second book in which more landmarks are leveled, and has set his eyes on the destruction to be wrought in our community in book three.



On a more serious note, he says, “As much as my book is comedy—in the vein of Terry Pratchett—I try to ask questions about what the real science behind superheroes would be. My Masters was in black holes, specializing in relativity, and I’ve written stories that directly use materials from that, and in general bring a scientific outlook to my writing.” He adds, “My main character is a geology student and the geology courses I’ve taken over the last few years at UWaterloo were invaluable in creating a convincing protagonist.”



And just as we may not be aware that there are vampires and demons in our midst, so too we may not realize that we are home to an illustrious science fiction writer. Robert J. Sawyer says of Gardner, “Jim, with a shelf full of awards of his own, is simply the finest short-story writer the Canadian science-fiction and fantasy field has ever produced as well as being our most innovative novelist.” All Those Explosions may be among the award-winning novels: it is currently under consideration for a Leacock Award.



To find a copy of All Those Explosion Were Someone Else’s Fault, go to the Waterloo Reads section at the Dana Porter library, purchase a copy at the UWaterloo bookstore or go to the Macmillan website. For more information about James Alan Gardner, check out his website.

IST releases new learning platform for students

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST)

IST is pleased to announce that the Lynda.com learning platform is now available to all University of Waterloo students. The new campus-wide license (which now includes undergraduate students) provides unlimited access to over 6,000 online courses, taught by industry experts, ranging from business and photography to software development and design.

This expanded access was the outcome of efforts between eCampusOntario and LinkedIn, who lead an initiative on behalf of the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) to provide all students, faculty and staff within Ontario Colleges and Universities with access to Lynda.com.

How to access Lynda.com

Go to Lynda.com. Click Sign in link in top right corner. Click Sign in with your organization. Enter www.uwaterloo.ca and click Continue. You will be redirected to the University of Waterloo sign in page (CAS). Enter your WatIAM ID and password and click Log in.

For more information, please see the Lynda.com service page in the IST Service Catalogue.

The return of Nutrition Month: myth vs. fact; and other notes

By Sandra Ace, Health Services.

Almost half of all Canadians find it challenging to eat a balanced diet. To help address this, Dietitians of Canada organizes Nutrition Month every March to provide guidance aimed at making it a little easier for people to choose and prepare nourishing, enjoyable meals. This year’s theme is Unlock the Potential of Food. Check out Nutrition Month resources here, which help to show how food has the potential to fuel our bodies, inspire healthy habits in children, prevent chronic diseases, promote healing and bring families and friends together.

This month I’ll explore some timely, misunderstood or controversial topics that you may have heard about, read about or wondered about. Be sure to check my Daily Bulletin submission weekdays through March 29. You are welcome to forward comments to Sandra Ace, Health Services Dietitian, at sace@uwaterloo.ca.

Your T2202A tuition tax receipt for terms in 2017 is now available on Quest. Go to Student Centre, click on Finances, then on Tax Receipts. Your charitable donations receipt for endowment fund contributions made in 2017 is also available on Quest, if you did not request refunds for those feed during the year.

Organizational & Human Development (OHD) is pleased to announce that registration is open today for the 11th annual Waterloo Staff Conference taking place on April 5 & 6, 2018. Registration closes Monday, March 26. For questions about the conference, please contact: Mark Lisetto-Smith, Coordinator, Communications & Events, Organizational & Human Development mark.lisetto-smith@uwaterloo.ca Ext. 38257

CANCELLED EVENT: Please advise that the Lectures in Catholic Experience featuring Douglas Cardinal, architect, "Organic Architecture and the Indigenous Worldview," scheduled Friday, March 16 (formerly scheduled Friday, March 2) at 7:30 p.m. in St. Jerome’s University, Academic Centre Vanstone Lecture Hall has been cancelled.