Volume M8, Issue No. 10, March 21, 2011

Intercom is published regularly and serves to inform Vanier staff and teachers of notices and special events. It is posted on the Vanier College Website and distributed electronically. Submissions should be sent to intercom@vaniercollege.qc.ca. Submissions should be in WORD, and sent as an attachment. No formatting or bullets. Deadline: 4:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding publication.

Semaine de la Francophonie au Cégep Vanier Du 21 au 25 mars 2011

Lundi 21 mars Lancement d’un concours de poésie pour tous les étudiants. Composez un poème sous le thème : « Agir en français », dans lequel vous utilisez les 10 mots de la Francofête : Accueillant, agapes, avec, chœur, complice, cordée, fil, harmonieusement, main, réseauter. Vous devez envoyer votre poème par MIO à Marie-Hélène Gratton avant le 28 mars. Mardi 22 mars 10 h à 12 h : Jeux linguistiques au laboratoire informatique de français. CLÉO C-409. Pour information, contactez Avery Rueb par MIO. 16 h à 17 h 30 : Conférence de monsieur Gil Courtemanche, écrivain et chroniqueur au journal Le Devoir, intitulée « Agir en français au Québec ». Amphithéâtre B-221 Mercredi 23 mars 12 h 15 à 13 h 15 : Dictée pour tous les étudiants. Local C-418. Pour information, contactez Sabine Brunet par MIO. 12 h 15 à 13 h 15: Conférence de monsieur François Aird, directeur de Cedrom-Sni, intitulée « La création d’Eureka ». Local N-326 16 h à 18 h: Film Le peuple invisible de Richard Desjardins et Robert Monderie. Documentaire sur le peuple algonquin du Québec. Il y aura une discussion après le film. Local C-418 Jeudi 24 mars 10 h à 12 h: Jeux linguistiques au laboratoire informatique de français. CLÉO C-409. Pour information, contactez Avery Rueb par MIO.

17 h à 18 h: Conférence de madame Catherine Awad, MBA Internship advisor à l’Université McGill, intitulée « L’importance du français dans le monde du travail ». Local C-418 Vendredi 25 mars 16 h à 18 h : Film C.R.A.Z.Y. de Jean-Marc Vallée. Fiction rock’n’roll montrant la vie d’une famille dans les années 1970 et 1980. Il y aura une discussion après le film. Local C-418 * Mercredi 30 mars 12 h 15 à 13h 15 : Les nombreux prix seront remis aux gagnants des concours et aux participants. CLÉO C-409 De nombreux prix à gagner! Toutes les activités et conférences sont offertes gratuitement! Participez en grand nombre! Pour de plus amples informations, contactez Stéphane Giroux ou Catherine Duranleau par MIO.

Stéphane Giroux, French Department Guest Lecture on Renaissance Women The Liberal Arts Program is proud to present a guest lecture by Nicholas Terpstra, Professor in History and Renaissance Studies, University of Toronto.

Did Women have a Future in the Renaissance? Wednesday, March 23rd, 10:30-12:00 PM, in the Auditorium (A-

103) One of Canada’s leading historians and an award-winning lecturer, Professor Terpstra will be sharing the results of primary research in the archives of Florence and Bologna, and looking into the lives of Renaissance women, with a view to addressing the differences between women in high culture and women in ‘daily life’. All are welcome to attend.

Frédérique Denis, Liberal Arts

Recycling Update #2: New Bins and Common Misconceptions New recycling bins have arrived at Vanier and will soon be adorning the second floor of A, B, C, D ,E, F and K as well as the ground floor of the « N » building. The advantage of the new system is it gives the user three easily identified and adjacent choices as to where to put their waste product: Paper and Cardboard, Glass-Metal-Plastic and other matter which is destined for the landfill. Here are some of the common explanations that we have been giving as we talk about recycling: All plastics are recyclable but the process needs to have markets for its end product. In Quebec we recycle all plastics except #6. Solid plastic objects have a number within the recycling symbol.

If it’s anything but “6” put it in the Glass-plastic-metal container. Glass and metals recycle, just avoid sharp objects with consideration for the people manipulating our waste. Soft plastics are also recyclable, but the ones that make a crinkling sound when you crumble them (like the bag inside a cereal box) are not recyclable as they are #6. Un-rinsed plastic, metal and glass containers are recyclable (they will get washed in the process) but for the health and smell of our space, please do rinse them. Paper and cardboard products that are soiled with food waste are not recyclable. Crumpled paper should go in the recycling, but avoid crumpling as it makes it hard to use the other side of the sheet. Cardboard boxes go into the big green bins, but please break and fold them to save space and work for someone else. Last tip: it’s OK to tell people that they should recycle (just look at the student mall to see what happens when no one says anything about anybody else’s behavior!), just remember to be strategic in your approach. We will hopefully transfer the whole system to new containers in the next few years, we just need everyone on board to make the system a success! Our goal is to go from the 20% recycling rate we have now to 50% within three years. As you likely know, recycling is the third of the three Rs. Remember that “reduce” and “reuse” are more important solutions to our environmental woes than recycling. The key is to use less matter at the source; recycling is at best a partial solution to our over-consumption of resources. But it is a necessary step in the right direction. We need your participation for us to be able to move toward sustainability. Recycling at Vanier: it’s your choice but it’s our future.

Richard Dugas, Student Services In the News Check out Loi 101 au collégial - Améliorer plutôt le français dans les cégeps Anglophones, an article written by French teachers Philippe Gagné and Eric Lozowy that ran in Le Devoir on March 15, 2011.

Marguerite Corriveau, Vanier Communications

Film Screening: Shake Hands with the Devil In the context of the 18th annual Symposium on the Holocaust and Genocide, Vanier College will be screening Shake hands with the Devil (2007), a dramatized account of General Romeo Dallaire's frustrations in the face of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. We have access to this movie for the whole week of April 4th - 8th

, courtesy of the VCSA, and the schedule of showings can be matched to meet teachers' class needed.

If you wish to bring your students to view this film during the week of April 4th, please contact me ASAP at caplann@vaniercollege.qc.ca to arrange scheduling.

Neil Caplan, Special Project

Confidentiality at the Printshop In order to protect the confidentiality of documents and mail in the PrintShop (B-121) and Mail Room, please wait to be served at the counter, and do not help yourself to completed print jobs and mail. To be doubly ensure confidentiality for items such as exams:

• Ask for an envelope to enclose confidential material being submitted for reproduction, or

• Hand such confidential material directly to a Production staff member, or

• Send electronic copies of material to be copied to: printing@vaniercollege.qc.ca

o Add : Dept., Number of Copies Required, Back to Back, Staples

Thank you for your cooperation. Please note completed jobs are bagged with a covering blank for added protection.

Bev Chandler, Vanier Communications

Reminder 2010-2011 Teaching Excellence Award Please note that the deadline to submit nomination forms and all supporting documentation for this year’s Teaching Excellence Award is Friday, April 29, 2011. All documents have to be submitted to the 2010-2011 Academic Council’s Subcommittee on Recognition of Teaching Excellence, c/o Academic Dean’s Office, Room F-220. Nomination forms are available on the College website by clicking on Teachers or Staff. Copies are also available at the Faculty Deans’ offices, the Academic Dean’s office, Student Services and the V.C.T.A. office. All nominations and selection deliberations are kept strictly confidential.

Wanda Kalina, on behalf of the 2010-2011 Academic Council’s Subcommittee

on Recognition of Teaching Excellence

Employee Recognition Awards Nominations Deadline March 30, 2011 The deadline to submit nominations for the 2010-2011 Employee Recognition Awards is March 30, 2011. Nominations are being sought for the following awards:

ABCD Award Academic Coordinator Front Line Award Innovation Award Team Project Achievement Award

Nominations must be in writing, not exceeding 500 words. Each nomination must be supported by three nominators including one person who is identified as the lead nominator. Nomination forms, criteria and instructions may be found here. For more information contact Annabelle Kennedy at ext. 7533 or via email at kennedya@vaniercollege.qc.ca

Annabelle Kennedy, Vanier Communications

APOP_Net Talk: The ICT Profile for College Students Our, I.T. Pedagogical Advisor/I.T. Rep Marleigh Greaney, will be the speaker at the next Net Talk on Wednesday, March 23rd from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM on APOP_online. Marleigh Greaney is ready to share her knowledge on what is the ICT Profile that our for College students need to have when they graduate. She will explain the different technical skills that our students need. Many colleges are in the midst of analyzing this Profile and several have begun to implement the Profile in select programs. We will also look at a few ways in which the Profile is being used throughout the college network. Finally, we will begin a discussion where participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences, concerns, questions and more. You can register free of charge to APOP Net Talks, look for the link in ProfWeb.

Marielle Beauchemin, Office Systems Technology,

Micropublishing and Hypermedia

Clarification: Academic Dean Email Address To contact the Academic Dean Martine Gauthier via email, please one of the following addresses:

martine.gauthier@vaniercollege.qc.ca

or

academicdean@vaniercollege.qc.ca Use these email addresses to prevent sending correspondence intended for our Academic Dean to French teacher Mélanie Gauthier accidently.

Bev Chandler, Vanier Communications

13th Annual Big Band Benefit Concert to Celebrate Vanier’s 40th Anniversary On Monday, April 11th, Oliver Jones will not only return as host of this year’s Big Band Benefit Concert, but will also be the guest artist with the J.L. Big Band conducted by Christopher Smith. The show will open with the Vanier College Big Band directed by Jocelyn Couture and will close with a special Vanier Alumni Big Band to mark Vanier’s 40th anniversary. There will be a reception at 6pm in the Student Mall prior to the concert which will begin at 7:30pm. There is a special ticket price of $10 for the Vanier community and alumni, $5 for students, with general admission remaining at $20. Tickets can be purchased at F-224 and at the PrintShop (B-121). There will also be door prizes. Do join us for this celebration.

Nadia Turbide, Music Department

Valedictorian Nominations Deadline March 28, 2011 The deadline to nominate a graduating student (A10, H11, and projected E11) for valedictorian is March, 28, 2011. We are looking for a valedictorian who will “make us proud”; specifically one that is:

• Academically strong: approximately an 80% average • Positive about Vanier, • Articulate, • Comfortable speaking in public, • Broad experience at Vanier

If you know of a suitable candidate, please send his or her name (I.D. number if possible but not necessary) and a few lines about the nominee, to:

Valedictorian Selection Committee C/O Bev Chandler, Vanier Communications. chandleb@vaniercollege.qc.ca

Suitable candidates will be asked to a selection interview. Nominators are always advised of the outcome of the Selection Committee deliberations. Thank you for your assistance in choosing a valedictorian for the Vanier College Class of 2010-2011

Bev Chandler, Vanier Communications Gold for Men’s Cheetahs Basketball Team ! Led by a tremendous 34-point performance from Jerome Blake, our AAA Men's Basketball team rallied from a 48-41 half-time deficit to register an incredible Gold Medal victory over the Lethbridge Kodiaks at the CCAA Nationals on Saturday evening. Congratulations to Coach Andy Hertzog, the entire coaching staff, and the players for this incredible victory. Fill game details and photos are available on the Athletics home page.

Denis Lafontaine, IT Support Services

AquAdventure courses from the 29th of March to the 17th of May 2011. Registration: March 14-28, 2011 Mon & Thurs 8:30am-6:30pm, Tues 10:00am-5:00pm, Wed & Fri 8:30am-4:30pm Vanier College – Sports Complex: Room G-106 (at the pool) 821 avenue Ste-Croix, Montréal, QC H4L 3X9 N.B. Before registering, please make sure there are still place available in the courses by calling Jessica at 514-744-7500 ext: 8237. We accept the following payment methods: Interact, Visa & Master Card

Course name Course Description Date, time and cost

Aquaform Age: 18 and over

This aqua fitness course instructed with music will help you shape your muscles and increase your cardio. The activity takes place in the shallow end.

Tuesday 5:00pm-6:00pm 8 lessons x 1 hour = $85

Adults stroke improvement Levels: Beginner, intermediate and expert Age: 18 and over

In this course you will learn or improve your swimming strokes: front and back crawl, elementary back, butterfly all according to your swimming level.

Tuesday 6:00pm-7:00pm 8 lessons x 1 hour = $85

Diving Lessons Level: Beginner Age: 8-12

Your child will learn 3 styles of: front and back jumps, front and back dives and front and back flips.

Tuesday 7:00pm-8:00pm 8 lessons x 1 hour = $95

Kayaking Level: Beginner Age: 18 and over

You will learn 4 basic strokes, self rescue techniques: Eskimo rolls, T-Rescues and more. The price of registration includes rental fees for all the required equipment (kayak, spray skirt and paddle).

Tuesday 8:00pm-10:00pm 8 lessons x 2 hours = $150

*Parking is available at the Sports Complex on the Vanier College Campus ($4/visit) *

MONDAY, MARCH 21

10:00 - 11:30 (Auditorium, A 103) “Stardust” Don Hetherington, Dean of Science and General Stud-ies, Vanier College Where do the atoms, the stuff of which our bodies are made, come from? Were they forged in the Big Bang at the beginning of time or by some other process? How did they get to be part of the earth and then part of your body? In looking for the answer to these questions, we will travel back and forth in time and enquire into the intimate details of the lives of the stars, not the stars of Hollywood, but the stars in our galaxy. You might be surprised by some of the answers. 11:00 - 14:00 (Student Mall)

McGill WOW Science Labs Who would have thought you could use Jello-O and music to study Snell’s Law? The McGill WOW Lab did! Come and check out their three-dimensional science and math teaching technologies in the Student Mall, including bouncing bubbles, rainbow in a jar and a generator made with marbles. Science can be fun and edible! 14:30 - 16:00 (Math & Science Centre, F 540) “CRIME AND DETECTION: The story of forensic sci-ence” Ariel Fenster, McGill University

Sherlock Holmes solved criminal cases only with the help of his magnifying glass and his sense of observation. Today the police can make use of a vast array of scientific techniques from computer fingerprints analysis to DNA profiling. This lecture presents the history of and the tech-nology behind forensic science. This provides the back-ground for a critical examination of some famous cases ranging from the story of the Poison Umbrella to the Patricia Stallings Affair.

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 10:00 - 11:30 (Auditorium, A 103) “Biodiversity: Facing Up to the Growing Crisis ” David Fletcher, Green Coalition This presentation will discuss the extraordinary biological diversity that has arisen within the biosphere, the critical danger it now faces from human activity and what the progression of a major extinction event will mean for the future. Special attention will be given to the loss of species, the reduction of genetic diversity and the degradation of eco-systems in Canada, in Québec and, particularly, in the Montréal region. The Sugar Maple Bitternut Hickory Biocli-matic Domain, an ecologically distinct region of southwest-ern Québec will be featured; here the province’s richest concentration of species but also the greatest population density and pressures for development are centered. The presentation will conclude with a look at what initia-tives are afoot to address the conservation shortfall in the Montreal region and across Canada, as well as the com-mitment undertaken by United Nations member countries at Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010, to protect biodi-versity planet-wide. 12:00 - 13:00 (Auditorium, A 103) “How to Ace a Test Without Even Trying It” Ivan T. Ivanov, Vanier College How are counterfactuals defined in the general philosophi-cal literature? Counterfactual reasoning has been

used extensively in modern physics and has given rise to a number of linguistic, but not physical, “paradoxes”. This lec-ture will consider the Bomb Detector of Elitzur and Vaidman and more recent experiments based on their idea of interac-tion free measurement. Such experiments have shown it is possible 1) to image an object without exposing it with light or

particles, or 2) to employ a computer to deliver the output of a program even if you don’t run the program. The common theme is counterfactuality: the fact that an event might have happened enables one to obtain some information about that event, even though it did not actually take place. 14:30 - 15:30 (Auditorium, A 103) “Visual Aspects of Symmetry” David Harpp, McGill University

The concept of symmetry is a fundamental and unifying

theme in science, nature and our modern society. The impor-

tance of this concept ranges from mathematics to paintings

and architecture. This presentation examines a variety of

these topics with an emphasis on the visual arts, music and

nature. Extensive use of pictures will enhance this visual

approach to the subject. A straight-forward section on the

use of symmetry in chemistry will be included.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23

10:30 - 11:30 (Math & Science Centre, F 540) Science Pictionary!

Come watch as three teams of students display their fine

artistic talents and use their science knowledge to battle it out

for the title of Pictionary Champions!

Science Coffeehouse For this special event, the Math & Science Centre will be transformed into a cozy coffeehouse venue. Science stu-dents and faculty will be showcasing their musical and artistic talents and an art and photography exhibit will be displayed around the Centre. Baked goods will be on sale as a fundrais-ing event for the 2012 international Science trip. 16:00 - 17:00 (Math & Science Centre, F 540) “Robo Sapiens” Stephen Cohen, Vanier College Over the past 10 years, the kinds of technological changes that have transformed the world have been both subtle and virtual, like that of the social networking phenomenon. I believe that the next 10 years will bring more dramatic changes, due in large part to the growth of certain engineer-ing fields, particularly those of biomedical and robotics. Most people are unaware of the unbelievable research being con-ducted in these fields worldwide, and will be quite shocked when they begin to permeate society. This talk will focus on

the state of the art of biomedical and robotics engineering, and the intriguing evolutionary repercussions that could result as the two fields grow and begin to mix.

THURSDAY, MARCH 24 10:00 - 11:00 (Auditorium, A 103) “The Awesome Power of Immunity ” Christine McCusker, McGill University Most of us are unaware of the number of pathogens around us daily. This is partly because we do not have to think about it. The immune system can be seen as a very adept security company, tirelessly working to keep harmful foreign sub-stances out of the body. Nevertheless, this structured system can be flawed, resulting in serious negative effects. In this seminar we will discuss aspects of what your immune

system can do to protect you from harm and talk about what happens when things go wrong. 11:00 - 14:00 (Student Mall)

Technology Exhibit

>“Walking machine” École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) The Walking Machine club is a scientific organization composed of undergraduate and master’s students from several disciplines: electrical engineering, me-chanical engineering, software engineering and automated production. Since 2009, our club has been participating in the Eurobot robotics cup: the competition last year brought together over 150 teams from around the world. To participate, teams must make an autonomous robot that will perform a task, based on a new theme announced each year. Each year, our robot faces challenges that are totally different: playing golf, building temples or gathering food are examples.

>“SAE Baja vehicle” École Polytechnique SAE Mini-Baja is a prototype of a single-seated all terrain vehicle capable of surviving the worst possible driving conditions. This vehicle is entirely designed and built by engineering students at École Polytech-nique de Montréal. The team, composed of roughly twenty students, has the mission to design, build, assemble and test the prototype to ultimately partici-pate in the competitions organised by SAE, the Soci-ety of Automotive Engineers. The vehicle must re-spect all the rules and regulations imposed by SAE and must absolutely be propelled by a Briggs&Stratton engine of 10 HP.

>“SAE Racing Team” McGill University

The McGill Racing Team is a group of students from various faculties who every year design and build a new prototype race car to participle in the Formula SAE competition in Michigan. Our latest prototype, the MRT-12, is powered by a gasoline engine that produces 50 hp thanks to a completely repro-grammed engine control unit giving the car both a wide power band and remarkable fuel efficiency. With a total weight of only 180 kg, this car is truly exceptional in terms of handling and power to weight ratio.

>“Steel Bridge” École Polytechnique The École Polytechnique de Montréal Steel Bridge team is a technical society formed by students who compete every year in the United-States at the Stu-dent Steel Bridge Competition organized by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The challenge is to build and to assemble a steel bridge which meets criteria and requirements that are different every year. Last year's bridge is a twenty-foot deck bridge. The bridge weighs about 650 pounds and can support more than 2500 pounds.

>“Robotics Team” Vanier College The Vanier Robotics team consists of dedicated students who aim to excel at the CRC Robotics Competition. This is a 4-part, multifaceted competi-tion, which includes the building of a robot, kiosk, the creation of a video and a website. It is a great oppor-tunity for students to learn about web design, video

production and construction. Every year, the team competes with about 20 high schools and CEGEPs in Montreal. Teams are judged based on their per-formance at the competition, their creativity and sportsmanship.

12:.00 - 13:00 (Auditorium, A 103)

“How to Stop a Killer Asteroid!” Santiago Paiva and Timothy Polyzos, Vanier Students On Friday, April 13, 2036, mankind will face its great-est challenge up until now: an asteroid impact. The big dilemma on humanity's shoulders is how to stop such an object from colliding with the Earth. Santi-ago Paiva and Timothy Polyzos, Vanier Science students, will propose possible solutions to our un-certain future. The end of our world as we know it may be coming sooner than you believe. 14:30 - 15:30 (Auditorium, A 103) “SHARED REALITY: Towards perceptually con-vincing computer-mediated environments ” Jeremy Cooperstock, McGill University

Telepresence is concerned with providing users the sensory experience of being in another location. However, most so-called "telepresence" systems offer little more than high-resolution displays. Despite the hype, such systems generally fail to deliver a convincing level of co-presence between users and come nowhere close to providing the sensory fidelity or supporting the expressive cues and manipulation capabilities we take for granted with objects in the physical world. Shared Reality was coined as a metaphor for the ideal, in which distributed users could experience the sensations of a remote environ-ment, and also collaborate with each other as if physically sharing the same space. This talk de-scribes several applications of our research in acqui-sition, signal processing, data transmission, and display technologies including support of extremely large display environments, remote medical training, multimodal synthesis of ground surfaces, and Ultra-Videoconferencing.

FRIDAY, MARCH 25

11:45 - 12:45 (A407, A476, A516) Science Laboratory Launch! The Science Department is pleased to invite you to the official launching of the newly renovated Biology, Chemistry and Physics Laboratories. Visit the individ-ual labs and speak to teachers and lab technicians over coffee and snacks about the improvements made.

14:00 - 17:00 (Student Mall) Science, on tourne! Engineering Competition in the Student Mall This year’s challenge is to build a vehicle that will independently make the most round trips in 10 min-utes with the fewest human interventions. Come and see the variety of engineering designs and cheer on the competitors as we put their devices to the test!

Science Week DISPLAYS

MSC (F540) - “Quantum Theory: Expressed in Art”

MSC(F540) - “Photography & Art Exhibit”

F Carrefour - “Everyday Science”

Library Display Case - “Vanier Math and Science

Teachers”