The Iron Warrior: Volume 21, Issue 11

UW students, staff, to build then
devour worlds longest sandwich

WATERLOO, Ont. - A team of University of Waterloo staff
and students intends to set a world record by building, and
then devouring, a 500-foot-long (152.4-metre) submarine
sandwich on Saturday, Sept. 9.
The Frosh Week event will seek to establish the
first world record for Longest Sandwich, as recorded by
Guinness World Records, creators of the popular annual
book and television series of the same name.
To capture the honour, the UW team must torpedo
the current Long Sandwich statistic, achieved by
Philadelphia Eagles football team, whose 365-foot, seven-
inch (111.4-metre) cheese and steak sandwich set the
benchmark back in 1998. The Eagles' sandwich is just a bit
longer than a Canadian football field. The UW contender
would extend goalpost to goalpost plus 60 per cent of the
length of another field.
Build a super big sub and set a new record? Sounds
pretty straightforward, says Mark Murdoch, UW's director
of food services and originator of the Big Sub Challenge.
But no, "there's a catch," and, like the winning
sandwich, this is one super-sized glitch. The mega-sub will
require 375 pounds of bread dough, 200 pounds of cold
cuts, 150 pounds of lettuce, 100 pounds of tomatoes, 45
pounds of cheese and two gallons of mayonnaise.
That's just a small grocery delivery by food service
standards, says Murdoch, as more than 25,000 people live,
work, study and eat at UW during the school year.
It will take at least 50 staff and UW students to
create this mega-sub, expected to be devoured by 3,000 or
so students. That's not a large event, by UW standards.
Food services recently catered a barbecue for 4,500 people
and even that big a crowd "isn't the maximum we could
serve," Murdoch says. "We haven't reached our maximum
yet."
The catch is the Guinness judges require that to
qualify as one sandwich, the Big Sub must be made from
one loaf of bread, not several pieces patched together. (A
record for the Biggest Grilled Cheese Sandwich, set by a
Florida group in 1999, was disqualified by Guinness ear-
lier this year because the Florida group used several pieces
of bread that melted together rather than just two, as in a
conventional grilled cheese).
To get one very long bun for the super-
sub, Murdoch and chefs have, as might be
expected at UW, turned to technology.
They've invented a supersized bread oven
designed to fit together in sections.
Currently, smaller models of the design are
in the test-firing stage, says Murdoch, and
"it looks good. We could have the world's
first functional 500-foot bread oven that is
portable (in 10-foot sections)." This means
THE NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO ENGINEERING SOCIETY
volume 24 issue 11 | 5 September 2000
Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together... - Carl Zwanzig
Welcome to UW Engineering, Class of 2005
We Hope Youre Hungry
Jim Fox
UW News Bureau
continued on page 3
O
ver the past three years, tuition fees
for the engineering program here at
the University of Waterloo have sky-
rocketed by well over 30%. Supposedly,
the additional revenue enables the uni-
versity to give more funding to
Engineering programs.

This may be true, but improved
programs, facilities, and
resources will only benefit those who
are able to take advantage of them.

The typical fee of $3207.59 for
12 weeks of engineering educa-
tion is a hefty price to pay. Are you
getting your moneys worth? Here are
some ways to get the most mileage out
of your tuition dollars:
Attend your classes
You are paying your instructors
to come and teach you. Why not get
what you paid for? Missing too many
classes is not only a waste of your
money, but also has generally adverse
affects on your learning.
Use your instructors
Again, youve already paid
them for their help. If you ever need
help with your course work, then dont
hesitate to seek out your professors and
teaching assistants.
Use the computers
Waterloo Engineering has great
computing facilities that are available
for your use 24 hours a day. The net-
work is loaded full of all the software
applications that you would ever need.
Use them at will.
Get out there and use things
Dont forget that there are
numerous facilities outside of
Engineering that you are entitled to use
as well (the libraries, for instance). Vast
amounts of clubs, events, and other
activities are available to you at little or
no cost. The more things that you take
part in, the more value you get for your
money.
Everybody pays the same
amount of cash for the privilege of
attending university here. What it all
comes down to is whether or not you
decide to take advantage of all the great
things at your fingertips.
At $3,207.59 per
term, this better
be worth it
Mmm: This could be you on September 9th.
W
elcome one and all to the
Faculty of Engineering at the
University of Waterloo. More impor-
tantly, welcome to the first edition of
the Iron Warrior for the Fall 2000
term. Over the next 12 or so weeks,
another five issues of this esteemed
publication will pass through your
hands and hopefully provide you
with some leisurely reading and
helpful information.
A two-headed monster?
We're sure a lot of you are
probably wondering "What's up with
the two editors?". Well, actually
there's only supposed to be one edi-
tor. Tania Bortolon (with the pretty
smile, above right) is completing her
tour of duty as editor for the Summer
2000 term, while Raymond Ho (the
dorky one, above left) is taking the
reins for the Fall 2000 term. Tania is
on stream B and Raymond is on
stream A. Seeing that Frosh Week
falls in between the transition period
from Summer term to Fall term,
stream B to stream A, we figured it'd
be dandy to do an issue using our
combined efforts so that both streams
would have representation.
Traditionally, the stream A
and stream B publications of the Iron
Warrior have been quite independent
of each other, with little collabora-
tion between the two. Even the lay-
out and masthead designs were
drastically different. There were lit-
erally two versions of the paper that
took turns at publishing their issues
every four months.
New look, new organisation
This issue marks the first
time (as far as we can remember)
that the two streams have worked
together to produce a single publica-
tion. Along the way we decided to
merge the two "factions" of the Iron
Warrior into a single unified publica-
tion. We trashed the old layouts,
designed a new masthead, and creat-
ed a new look that the newspaper
will keep regardless of which stream
is running it (we hope).
So we suppose you could say
that this is somewhat of a momen-
tous occasion. This issue is the offi-
cial unveiling of the "new" Iron
Warrior. We will, of course, still
tweak and tinker with the look of
paper as the term progresses. So
please feel free to holler at us if you
think something should be changed.
In addition, as of April 2000
the Iron Warrior broke financial ties
with the Engineering Society, hence
becoming a separate and indepen-
dent financial entity. We will still
continue to represent the views and
opinions of EngSoc, but will have no
direct financial support from it.
A few words of wisdom
With that said, we now turn
our focus to you, the newest crop of
students enrolled in UW Engineering.
In this issue, you will get lots of
advice on how to make your univer-
sity life more enjoyable. By the end
of the week, youll probably be sick
of listening all the people wanting to
offer you guidance. So we wont
bore you here with too much of our
self-proclaimed wisdom.
All we will say is keep an
open mind and try lots of different
things. Youve come here not only to
be educated in engineering, but also
to be educated in life. Dont miss out
on this chance; seize every opportu-
nity.
Furthermore, dont be afraid
to ask for help if you ever need it, or
if youre ever uncertain about some-
thing. The Faculty of Engineering at
UW is a very closely knit communi-
ty, and everybody is in the spirit of
helping each other out. We are all
family here.
We need help!
The Iron Warrior is produced
entirely by students who volunteer
their time. Each issue represents
dozens of hours of hard work and
dedication. As such, we can never
have enough help! Were always
looking for people who want to do
writing, editing, layout, proof-read-
ing, advertising, graphics, or web
design (to say the least).
If you would like to contrib-
ute to the Iron Warrior in
any way, shape, or form, then
please send an email to iwarrior@
engmail.uwaterloo.ca, or drop by our
of f i ce, CPH- 1323B.
Our General Recruitment
meeting will be held on Thursday
September 14th, at 4 oclock in
POETS (see announcement on page
8 of this issue). See you there.
The Newspaper of the University of
Waterloo Engineering Society
Co-Editors
Tania Bortolon
Raymond Ho
Assistant Editor
Margaret Parkhill
Staff
Ryan Bayne
Jessica Gross
Contributors
David Brush
Kevin Cassidy
Mark Cesana
Victoria Chen
Peter Cresswell
Niki Czerniak
Stu Doherty
Jim Fox
Beth Jewkes
Bill Lennox
Jennifer Motuz
Rosie Pareja
Ian Pollock
Micah Potechin
Eric Powell
Greg Powell
Mary Robinson
George Roter
Mark Schaan
John Sollazzo
sTOOL
Ian Tien
Daniel Tse
First Year Information
Some helpful information and
advice for new students
4
Events
Get out and play some sports,
or run away to the circus
9
Frosh Week Schedule
Your guide to whats going on
this week
16
2 Tuesday, September 5, 2000
Letter from the Editor
Tania Bortolon
Editor-in-Chief
(B)
Raymond Ho
Editor-in-Chief
(A)
The New Iron Warrior
Questions? Comments?
We welcome letters and feedback
from all our readers. Please email
us at:
iwarrior@engmail.uwaterloo.ca
The Iron Warrior is a forum for thought provoking
and informative articles published by the Engineering
Society. Views expressed in The Iron Warrior are
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the Engineering Society.
The Iron Warrior encourages submissions from stu-
dents, faculty and members of the university commu-
nity. Submissions should reflect the concerns and
intellectual standards of the university in general. The
author's name and phone number should be included.
All submissions, unless otherwise stated, become the
property of The Iron Warrior, which reserves the
right to refuse publication of material which it deems
unsuitable. The Iron Warrior also reserves the right
to edit grammar, spelling and text that do not meet
university standards. Authors will be notified of any
major changes that may be required.
Mail should be addressed to The Iron Warrior,
Engineering Society, CPH 1327, University of
Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1. Our phone
number is (519) 888-4567 x2693. Our fax number is
(519) 725-4872. E-mail can be sent to
iwarrior@engmail.uwaterloo.ca
Executive Reports
The Engineering Society kicks
off another busy term
14
highlights
Frosh Week
Listen Up! HeadCOM speaks
<insert lecturing tone of voice
throughout the article>
S
o after all the one way commu-
nication from us to you, the
frosh, in the past few weeks, you
are finally here for a little more
one-way communication. I only
have a few things to say to you
because, as it is, you're going to
hear a lot from Mark and I this
week.
We haven't put this week
together for you guys to get hurt
and have a bad first experience at
Waterloo. That's why we have the
following demands on you young
frosh folk.
1) Have fun this week. It's not
supposed to be boot camp. Granted,
EDCOM may make it look that
way, but that's why we have Huges
and Bigs.
2) Take advantage of your
interaction with the upper year stu-
dents. They may seem a bit fruity
sometimes (i.e. the Aqua leaders),
but they are a wealth of knowledge
on what to expect here at universi-
ty.
3) Be safe and don't do any-
thing you don't feel comfortable
doing. Sure, you may not be com-
fortable with the mental stability of
the Plum and Crimson leaders, but
they have the best intentions.
4) Just so you know, 4 and 2/3
years from now these people in
your frosh year will be the same
people you will be whooping it up
with when you get your iron rings.
Don't wait until then to get to know
them. Why not spend every term as
if it's your last term with these
people. Judging by the combined
brain power of the DOG leaders, it
may definitely be your last term
with them.
5) You only get out what you
put into this week. Attend all the
events for both engineering, and
residence or Off-Campus Dons.
You can't beat all these opportuni-
ties to meet hundreds of new peo-
ple. Avoid Mandarin leaders
though, they smell like citrus.
6) If you already know a bunch
of people, try to meet new ones.
The marigold leaders made the
mistake of not meeting new people
and now they are engineering her-
mits.
7) Respect your fellow engi-
neers, and University of Waterloo
students. We're all here to have the
same fun time. Don't respect Navy
too much or their heads will get too
big and EDCOM will have to take
them down a few notches. 8) Don't
bug EDCOM. We'll bug you :)
(You can bug Key-Lime leaders
though)
So now that you know most
of the ground rules, we shouldn't
have any problems have the best
frosh week ever <don't forget to
insert the lecturing tone while you
read this article>. If you have any
problems please come and talk to
either Jonathan Smegal, Meghan
Ternoway, Mark Cesana, or me.
Even if it's not a problem, just come
say hi.
sTOOL, Co-Headcom
Engineering Orientation 2000
that the Big Sub Challenge "could become an annual
UW event."
Details of the 'secret weapon' oven "are a
secret," says Murdoch, "but anybody who turns out
on Sept. 9 at the event near East Campus Hall will be
able to see how we are doing it."
The Guinness rules state that Big Food
record-holders must be no different than their con-
ventional-sized inspirations. To be recognized, Big
Food contenders must be "totally edible" and judged
"safe for the public to eat," according to Guinness
guidelines.
They also require that both length and edibil-
ity are demonstrated in photos and video and wit-
nessed by independent judges "of some standing
in the community," one of whom must be a sur-
veyor or professional "involved with weights
and measures." Names of the UW Big Sub
judges have not yet been confirmed.
Murdoch got the idea from the annual
Maclean's magazine university ratings, which
does not include a 'great food' category. UW has
done well in the annual survey and tops the list
in the reputational category. "So why not some
sort of record for student food?" Murdoch
remembers wondering. From there, it was just a
matter of checking with Guinness. "The Longest
Pizza had recently been created, so why not the
World's Longest Submarine Sandwich?"
The Eagles' sub is not listed in the
Guinness Book of World Records because it was
the first in the Long Sandwich category. "It's not
in the book because it set the benchmark,"
Murdoch explains. "To gain the record, we have
to beat the Eagles." Initiators of a new category
are also not allowed to surpass the benchmark
they have set and gain the title, he added.
The World's Longest Sub Challenge will
benefit needy students. Donations will go to the
UW Federation of Students Food Bank.
(continued from cover)
Giant sandwich
comes to UW
A
special welcome to all first year engineer-
ing students. We look forward to working
with you to ensure a successful beginning to
your university career. Its new! Its exciting! It
will be a total change in
life style involving end-
less opportunities: meet-
ing new friends,
developing new interests,
developing your critical
judgement, developing
lifelong learning skills, and finding and using
the library! Also, along the way, you will devel-
op the knowledge and skills necessary for a suc-
cessful career.
All of our programs involve an emphasis
on the fundamentals of science and mathemat-
ics. This knowledge is the background neces-
sary for you to develop a solid foundation for
engineering studies. The emphasis in many of
the courses will be on problem solving. A key
element of this is how to identify a problem!
You will learn a great deal more about this pro-
cess in the next four years.
Although you have chosen to study engi-
neering we are well aware that most of you
really know very little about the subject. The
following are a few suggestions about engineer-
ing taken from Engineering Success by P.
Schiavone, Prentice Hall, 1999. The list is by no
means complete.
A subject that reflects our understand-
ing of things around us.
The application of scientific knowledge
to solve practical problems.
The bridge between pure science and
practical application.
The application of scientific principles
to provide goods to sat-
isfy human needs.
Creative problem
solving.
The use of technolo-
gy to perform tasks.
The study of how to
build things.
The study of how things work and how
we can make them work better..
Creating, designing, testing, and
improving systems.
A scholarly, yet practical, study of the
physical applications of human beings technol-
ogy combined with natures laws.
A profession by which you utilize math-
ematical, scientific, and physical knowledge for
the betterment of humankind.
Applying science and math to life.
The application of the simplest and
least costly method to solving a problem.
Being creative and facing new chal-
lenges every day.
You can probably add to this list.
The Warning
Its no secret that engineering at Waterloo
is a very challenging program and that the work
begins immediately! Do not sleep in. Coupled
with the quick start-up is the fact that midterms
will be in seven weeks and finals start in thirteen
weeks. We never said it is easy. Also 50% of you
will be into job interviews within 7 weeks!
It is extremely important that you learn
effective time management skills. No doubt you
have heard all this before
but we believe its worth
repeating.
One of the major differ-
ences between high
school and university is
that your role in the learn-
ing process is much more significant. We do not
take attendance. You are expected to assume
responsibility for your own learning. Information
has to be sought out, often from many different
sources. You will have to deal with many differ-
ent teaching styles and a full timetable of due
dates for labs and assignments.
In addition, you are away from home
and learning how to deal with all of these chal-
lenges in real time. The learning curve is steep!
We suspect that for most of you high school was
a breeze. Now, however, all of your classmates
(all 860 of you) were in the top cohort of their
high school so the competition is significantly
greater.
All of this is a long-winded way of say-
ing that we expect you to ask for help. Do not
hesitate! The first year office is located in CPH
1320. Let us know how you are doing. Do not
wait for the end of term!
Welcome to Year 1 Engineering
Bill Lennox
Year 1 Director
David Brush
Associate Year 1
Director
W
elcome one and all to the University of Waterloo; for most of you,
the place you will call home for the next 5 years of your life. Yep,
this new and bizarre group of buildings will be your shelter; the C&D will
rapidly become an alarmingly large source of your daily diet; procrastina-
tion will be your roommate; your high school girlfriend will give you the
"well, we are very far away now..." line and on more than one occasion,
you will swear that "I'm never going to drink that much again!". Welcome
to university and the best time of your life.
Now, to be honest, not everyone will experience the same things;
some of you will get the full treatment while others may get a much dif-
ferent picture of life at Waterloo. To help you prepare for the coming
term, the Iron Warrior would like to give you a few recommendations and
hints on how to survive and perhaps even prosper at university.
Please note that the Iron Warrior cannot possibly guarantee suc-
cess even with these helpful hints. The best you can do is read them, use
whichever ones you like, and discard the rest. We here at the IW just like
to watch the funny and frolicking mess called Frosh Week unfold.
1. Yes, there is life outside of school
There are going to be 3 types of people you meet in the coming
years: those that work too hard; those that play too hard; and those that
have time for both. Initially, you may find that as you adjust, you are
naturally drawn towards becoming the first type. You'll feel like you're
always behind. Guess what? You are! But then again, so are most peo-
ple. The second type may initially be more tempting than the first but rest
assured, that it is short lived. The bulk of these people will find that after
a while, Ryerson is the only place left that will let them party. The third
type is of course, the best goal. Try your best to keep things in perspec-
tive. Get involved with EngSoc; write for the IW; play sports. At all
times however, keep an eye on the workload and don't let it get out of
hand. Things move pretty quick around here and it doesn't take long for
everything to overwhelm you.
2. Talk to people
Shells were meant to come out of, not to stay inside. The only way
that you are really going to feel at home in university is if you talk to
people. Get to know someone. Make new friends and smile a hell of a
lot. You'll find that having good friends in university will be invaluable.
3. Relax
University can sometimes be called a high stress environment.
Some people never get over the initial feeling of it all being too much to
handle. They never get to relax and enjoy themselves. Try not to be that
way. Take a deep breath. Smile. After all, it's only school. It's not the
end of the world.
4. Learn
You will never have a better time than now to learn. Take advan-
tage of this. Open your mind up. Read a newspaper and question the
world around you. Learn your course material and really understand it.
It has been said that an education is what is left when you have forgotten
all the facts. This is true. You won't remember everything you learn but
what you will retain is the ability to learn and think creatively. This is the
single greatest tool you can take with you from university.
As a final note, now could be the greatest time of your life. All it
takes is an open mind and an easygoing smile to help you have the best
university experience possible. Welcome to the University of Waterloo
class of 2005. Have a blast.
Making the Most out of Your First Year
Peter Cresswell
3B Systems Design
What you can do to enhance your university experience
S
o youve entered the realm of
university and if it wasnt con-
fusing enough to get through your
first weeks youve got to worry
about resumes, interviews and the
ultimate answer to the who is your
hero? question. Welcome to the
wild and wooly world of co-op. Yet
youre hardly alone and youre defi-
nitely not unsupported.
The Federation of Students
is very much interested in your men-
tal and academic health both in your
general studies and in your experi-
ence as a co-op student. To facilitate
this, the Federation has created a
number of outlets to get involved in
your co-op education or to get help.
The Co-op Students
Services Commission (CSS) is run
through the office of the FEDS
Vice-President Education and is
aimed at ensuring that co-op stu-
dents have all of the supports neces-
sary to be successful within the
program.
Some of the top-notch pro-
grams the group runs include the
co-op handbook you should have
received in your frosh kit (also avail-
able at the Fed office in the SLC),
and Watpubs, a chance to network
and catch up with your co-op peers
while on work term.
CSS is aimed at serving you
the student so if you feel there are
unmet needs within co-op, be sure to
let us know.
Additionally, the Feds run a
Co-op Student Advisory Group
(CSAG) which meets regularly with
administration for the co-op pro-
gram to let them know how students
feel. CSAG has tackled a number of
big issues including the ranking pro-
cess, the new co-op building and an
online version of the co-op system.
CSAG is always looking for new
opinions and ideas so come out and
have your voice heard.
Co-op students are also rep-
resented by Co-op Students Council,
a subset of the Federation of Students
Students Council. This group has
engineering representatives who
ensure that you have a say in the
direction of the co-op program here
on campus.
So, in short, theres no rea-
son to be overwhelmed. Co-op can
be a complicated and confusing part
of your education but by taking
advantage of the services available
you can be sure to make the program
both more valuable to you and more
successful for everyone at UW.
For information on any of
these services or anything co-op
related feel free to visit me, Mark
Schaan, the VP Education in the
Feds Office at the Student Life
Centre or drop me a line at
fedpved@feds.uwaterloo.ca. I am
here for you so let me know how I
can be of greater assistance.
Best of luck as you tackle
the myriad details and excitements
of your university career -- co-op
included!
Introducing... The Year 1 Team!
Bill Lennox: Director of Year One
Engineering, year one management, aca-
demic counselling. Hobbies: sailing, hik-
ing, and reading.
Dave Brush: Associate Director, First
Year Engineering, academic counselling.
Hobbies: spending time with family,
reading, walking and basketball.
A message from the
Federation of Students
Mark Schaan
VP Education, FEDS
Don Fraser (E2-1318): year 1 instructor,
one-on-one help with courses. Hobbies:
biking (big time), and travelling.
Karen Dyck: 1st year secretary, can help
with many logistical problems. Hobbies:
reading, camping, and downhill skiing.
June Lowe (E2 - 1318): year 1 instruc-
tor, one-on-one help with courses.
Hobbies: travelling, flying, singing, and
computing.
Linda Bart: Undergraduate receptionist
and secretary - see Linda to set up appoint-
ments for counselling. Hobbies: reading,
computers, and dancing.
Kristine Meier: Engineering Counsellor,
personal counselling including study
skills, time management, and career plan-
ning. Hobbies: gardening, cooking, play-
ing with my daughter, and reading.
Kim Boucher: Associate Director of
Admissions, academic counselling.
Hobbies: camping, downhill skiing,
swimming, and kayaking.
Co-op Student Services
W
hile working away at the com-
puter, with the music playing - in
mp3 format, of course, and being re-
routed through the digital amplifier - the
cell phone rings. At the other end is a
buddy who just recently purchased a
new car and wants to drop by, offering a
test drive. The offer is accepted and
within minutes the bass is pumping with
the neon interior lights pulsing to the
beat. Nothing extraordinary is thought
of the situation - the same thing happens
every weekend.
While working away in the
field, humming a gentle tune, a voice
can be heard calling from the small
shack. The plow is dropped and upon
arrival at the source of the voice, the
news of a brother's failing health is
shared. The parasite has taken too much
of the boy's energy, and will soon take
his life. The sun continues to beat down,
though no sweat is released due to dehy-
dration. Within hours the boy's life on
earth is over. Nothing extraordinary is
thought of the situation - the same thing
happened to the boy's youngest brother.
Which situation sounds the
most familiar? Is there justice within the
contrast of the two scenarios?
To two grads of Waterloo, the
justice could not be seen, and hence
Engineers Without
Borders (EWB) -
Ingnieurs Sans
Frontiers (ISF) came
into existence in 1999.
The organization itself
has achieved interna-
tional recognition and in
merely a short period of
time has grown to include many other
universities across Canada who have
since developed chapters of their own.
It has sponsorship from major
players such as Ontario Power
Generation and has claimed success
with a water purifier project - an attempt
to solve potable water problems faced
by over 2 billion people.
The three-fold focus of the
organization seeks to address three spe-
cific problem areas: a lack of third world
technology, deficiencies in the levels of
first world awareness, and the few inter-
national development opportunities spe-
cifically available for engineers.
The ways in which these areas
are in fact being addressed include three
internship positions in Uganda already
being filled this fall,
the expansion of the
various chapters, an
assortment of
events and educa-
tional opportunities,
and of course a
web-page (www.
ewb-isf.org), to
mention a few.
The first event of Fall '00 will
take place on Monday, September 25th,
7-9pm in EL101. The topic is
Technological Developments in
Developing Countries. It will be fol-
lowed by an informal, social forum for
questions and answers regarding who
we are, what we do, and how others can
get involved. All are welcome, yes even
you frosh, and involvement is not limit-
ed to engineers. Because the individual
chapters are so new (including the
Waterloo chapter), there is plenty of
opportunity to contribute to the cause of
bridging the gap between developing
and developed countries.
An organization such as
Engineers Without Borders may be the
way to educate, contribute, understand,
and make a difference. However, what's
more important than the organization
itself is the people and ideas it consists
of. There is a tremendous opportunity to
change the face of the world, but it takes
concerned, knowledgeable, and capable
people in order for this to happen.
I wrote this article at my com-
puter with the music playing. I only
hope that one day I will be able to con-
tribute to the technological state of the
developing world. And perhaps this
would open the communication lines
between a sick little boy and a life-sav-
ing doctor.
Engineers Without Borders
A Developing World of Difference
Greg Powell
President,
Engineers Without Borders
Organisations
H
ello!!! I'd like to welcome all of you to yet another year of Engineering
education in Ontario. If you are a returning student, welcome back. If you
are a first year joining our community, get ready for the one of the greatest
experiences of your life!
You may not realize this now, but by deciding to study Engineering at
UW you have become part of a much larger group. The Engineering students
at your school are represented by an Engineering Society. As such, you are all
part of a much larger whole; you are all members of the Engineering Student
Societies Council of Ontario (ESSCO).
ESSCO is here to help your engineering societies communicate with
each other, industry and professional organizations. But we can only help to
improve your lives as students if you get involved. "How do I do this?" you
say. By talking to the executives on your Engineering Society and volunteering
some of your time to help out. You can also get involved by attending any of
the conferences that ESSCO helps run throughout the school year. These con-
ferences include the PEO Conference (October at Queen's University),
ESSCofiq (A meeting between Quebec and Ontario Engineering Students in
November), the ESSCO'lympics (McMaster's hosting this one in February)
and the Annual General Meeting (June at Western). We encourage you to try
and attend these conferences and get involved with your education.
If you are a first year student, we offer a unique way to get involved,
the First Year Integration Conference (FYIC). Held in January at Carleton
University in Ottawa, this conference is designed with one specific goal in
mind: educating first year engineering students on the issues and concerns that
are currently facing us. This is an awesome opportunity to interact with other
schools and to get informed on what is happening in your province and the rest
of the country.
Another way to get involved is by signing up on our provincial e-mail
link. This is an excellent tool to communicate with other Engineering students
just like you. To sign up to the link, send an e-mail to
listserv@listserv.uottawa.ca. Leave the subject blank and put the message sub-
ject essco-l in the body of the message. After that, jump into the conversa-
tion! Chances are you can find the answer to any question here!
If you would like to get involved in any way please don't hesitate to
contact your VP External, Micah Potechin, at mipotech@engmail.uwaterloo.
ca. He will be more than happy to tell you about any of the events that are hap-
pening provincially or nationally. You can also contact any member of the
ESSCO executive by visiting our webpage at www.essco.on.ca. Good luck on
your studies for the rest of the year and hopefully I'll be able to see you at a
conference or event coming up soon!
Get Involved with ESSCO
Kevin Cassidy
ESSCO President
I
n this my seventh September at UW, I feel it appro-
priate to impart a little advice to those beginning
their engineering tenure (yes, you, frosh!) at this pres-
tigious institution (yes, UW!). So, what are my creden-
tials, you ask? Well, I've done lots of productive things
on-campus and with my life during university, and I've
done a lot of stupid things ... you can learn from both!
Without further ado, I shall begin:
Marks matter
Despite what everyone has tried to convince
you, your marks don't need to drop 15% from high
school. Good marks give you options, low marks close
doors.
Mmmm ... meatloaf
Never pass-up a home-cooked meal. Mom's
food tastes a whole lot better than residence cafeteria
food.
Read bulletin boards
There is a whole lot of stuff happening on-
campus, and something is bound to interest you, and
you will be sorry if you miss out.
Do stuff
There are over 20,000 students on-campus
who have set-up every club under the sun from the
Juggling Club to the Naturalists Club (I've heard that
both Engineers Without Borders and uwstudent.org are
looking for people). Surely something can pique your
interest (pardon the trans-sentence homonym pun!).
Go crazy
Participate in at least one Scunt after Frosh
Week. Apart from preparing you for the all-nighters
you will be taking before exams, Scunts are great fun
and an awesome time to "bond" with your classmates.
Hit people
Mudbowl is a full-contact football tournament,
sans padding ... need I say more to whet your appetite
for concussions.
Play
Don't sweat it if (or do!) your sporting skills
aren't up to varsity level, there are plenty of intramural
sports leagues from basketball to innertube water polo.
Stay informed
Even if you don't want to run for a position in
student politics, these student leaders actually contrib-
ute to the services and education you will receive at
UW.
WEEF rocks
The Waterloo Engineering Endowment Fund
has provided many pieces of equipment that you will
use throughout your five years at UW. Don't ruin it for
those who come after you.
Go away
I haven't met one person who has regretted
participating in an exchange program or going on an
international work-term, but I have met many who
regret not going. Apart from looking good on you
resume, you will make friends for life halfway across
the world.
Write lots
People are interested to hear what you have to
say, whether editorial or objective, and many on-cam-
pus news sources are interested in your participation
(Iron Warrior, Imprint, uwstudent.org, etc.)
Columns
Seven Years in Waterloo:
Advice from an
Old Fogy
George Roter
The Iron Warrior...
...needs your help!
We have positions available in all areas, including:
layout/editing
photography
writing
finance
web design
advertising
If youd like to help out, please attend the
General Recruitment Meeting
Date: Thursday, September 14th, 2000
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: POETS (across from the CPH foyer)
or send us an email at iwarrior@engmail.uwaterloo.ca
Speaking of old fogies: Engineering Society A, 1970. Weve come a long way in 30 years. See page 15 to meet our
current EngSoc executive members.
We take our beer
SERIOUSLY!
At Weavers Arms, we take our job of providing draft beer to our valued
patrons very seriously. Draft glasses are used for draft ONLY, no other
beverage is ever put in a draft glass. Every glass is chilled to maintain the
cool, clean taste of the twelve brands available on tap. Before we pour a
glass, we rinse it out with chilled, filtered water to maintain the distinctive
flavour of the brand selected. How many other places in Waterloo go to
this much effort to provide you with the coldest, cleanest, absolutely best
draft beer available?
None!
Aron Levitz
4th year Mech Eng
Moosehead
Brian Cepuran
4th year Comp Eng
Kilkenney
Meaghan Halligan
4th year Civ Eng
Keiths
Melissa Bond
4th year Civ Eng
Blue
James Smith
4th year Civ Eng
Sleemans
Jon Smith
3rd year Mech Eng
Guinness
Charlie Rossi
3rd year Elec Eng
50
Nathan Fish
4th year Civ Eng
Caffreys
Harjot Sidhu
3rd year Elec Eng
Strongbow
Liz Parry
3rd year Syde Eng
Waterloo Dark
Tim Dietrich
3rd year Elec Eng
Carlsberg
Oliver Romaniuk
3rd year Elec Eng
Budweiser
A
big hello to all the Frosh and
welcome back to those of us
still kicking around! There are lots
of plans in the works for athletics
this term and I look forward to see-
ing you all out for the events - as a
participant or just to cheer on your
classmates.
Heres a preliminary sched-
ule of the terms events. Mind you,
these dates can (but hopefully
wont) change...
Sept 24 - Beach Volleyball
Oct 1 - Rugby
Oct 14 - Ultimate
Oct 28 - Wheelchair Basketball
Nov 12 - Mudbowl
Nov 25 - Indoor Volleyball
I hope to squeeze a soccer
tournament in there somewhere,
but no promises! So start thinking
about your teams and well see
which class can truly be called the
champions! Have a great term
everyone.
Sports
Anyone?
Niki Czerniak
Athletics Director
H
ave you ever wanted to run away and join
the circus? Well, here's your chance!
On Saturday, September 23, 2000
EngSoc is holding our Third Annual CircusEng
at the Rotary Children's Center in Waterloo.
The Center is a non-profit charitable organiza-
tion, specializing in helping children with devel-
opmental, physical or communication
disabilities. We need YOU to spend a few hours
playing games, making crafts, storytelling, jug-
gling and entertaining the kids and their parents.
And who has never dreamed of being part of a
circus?
For you first year students this is your
first opportunity to take part in one of the many
great events planned for this fall. It will also
give you a chance to meet senior students and
see how much fun it is to be a part of Engineering
at Waterloo.
If you are interested in volunteering
for CircusEng, email Vin
(n4persau@engmail.uwaterloo.ca) or sign up in
the Orifice (CPH1327) by September 21.
Volunteers will receive a stunning
CircusEng T-shirt, as well as lunch at the event,
and the warm fuzzy feeling that comes after
helping out a worthy cause! Trust me, you'll
have as much fun than the kids will, if not more!
Want to Join the Circus?
Volunteers needed for 3rd annual CircusEng
Margaret Parkhill
Events
From our archives: Frosh 89 show their numbers by stopping traffic on University Ave.
Welcome
Welcome Engineering Frosh! This spe-
cial article for the Iron Warrior will outline the
computing facilities in the Faculty of
Engineering, and will answer some of the most
frequently-asked questions Frosh have about
our computing environment.
Introduction - What This is All About
In this article, well tell you about:
* your UWuserid
* the computing facilities available for your use
* our expectations and suggestions for their rea-
sonable and responsible use
* where to find computing help on campus
* the secret to creating your account, electronic
mail, web pages, etc.
Of course, you could skip right to the part about
creating your account, but if you find yourself
confused, in need of help, or in trouble....
Your Own Uwuserid - A Unique Identifier
When you first enroll at the University
of Waterloo, you are assigned a unique UWuserid
for your exclusive use. This userid is based on
your initials and surname; independent of its
overall length, your userids first eight charac-
ters are unique.
If your initials and surname do not create
a unique userid (i.e. someone else with
the same initials and surname registered
before you), a number is inserted into
your userid to make it unique.
You use this userid, along with a
secret password, to access any accounts
assigned to you while at UW.
Reasonable and Responsible Use - The
Fine Print
Computing Facilities at the
University of Waterloo are intended to
support the research, instructional and
administrative needs of the University.
Most of these resources are shared by a large
population of users and your use of our facilities
can have a big impact on others. You are there-
fore expected to behave in a responsible fashion.
Keep in mind that access to the computing
facilities is a privilege, not a right.
Most users of our computing systems are
considerate of others and are careful to use the
facilities for what they are intended. However,
for time to time, we get complaints about users
who are abusing their privileges. In these cir-
cumstances, the system administrators and the
Associate Dean for Computing have the right to
investigate the situation, and to take appropriate
action. This might include suspending comput-
ing privileges for a period of time or, depending
on the nature of the behaviour, more serious
disciplinary action may be taken such as proba-
tion, suspension or expulsion.
Improper use includes, but is not limited to:
* sharing your account with someone else
* breaking into another persons account
* sending harassing e-mail
* sending e-mail with forged user ID
* using the facilities for private businesses or
non-university volunteer activities
* mailing-for-profit schemes
* any criminal activity (e.g. theft of facilities,
monitoring e-mail)
All users, particularly frosh, are advised
to read the UW Policy of Use of Computing and
Communications Facilities which can be found
through the Engineering Computing home pages
at http://www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~eng_comp/.
The faculty takes very seriously its mandate to
provide high-quality, secure computing for all
its users.
Its worth noting that there are other lim-
its to your usage of the computing resources:
quotas. These affect the amount of time you can
be logged on, the amount of disk space you can
use, and the amount of network traffic you can
generate. These quotas are quite generous, and
are meant to restrict the few people who abuse
limited resources; most users never reach these
limits.
Facilities - Rooms, Resources, Et cetera
Computing in Engineering features:
* the Engineering Computer User Support
Centre (the consulting office or ECUSC)
* Windows-based computing labs (Waterloo
Polaris workstations)
* Unix-based computing (the Engineering Unix
Learning Facility, or engulf)
* Electronic Mail (engmail: accessible while
logged onto your Waterloo Polaris account, or
remotely through telnet and the Web)
* Web pages (www.eng: for learning, self-pub-
lishing, and distribution of written materials)
* Centralized file storage (your same files are
available on all systems, in all labs)
* Printers (both black and white, and colour),
and Scanners
Take a look at the Waterloo Polaris
Users Guide, which is available on-line at
http://www.polaris.uwaterloo.ca/usersguide.
The Users Guide, and Web access to your email
account, are both available from the login
browser of all Waterloo Polaris workstations.
ECUSC - Help is Close at Hand
Engineering Computing operates a con-
sulting office, the Engineering Computer User
Support Centre (ECUSC), located in E2 1308A.
The ECUSC is the focal point for user support
in the Faculty of Engineering and the place to go
if you are experiencing computing problems.
Experienced consultants - full-time staff and
part-time students - will quickly be able to
resolve most of your computing problems.
Windows Machines / Waterloo Polaris - One
Sort of Computing
Your primary computing resource in first
year will be a Windows-based network called
Waterloo Polaris. Waterloo Polaris worksta-
tions run Windows 95 and offer a large variety
of general- and special-purpose software for
your studies at Waterloo.
Waterloo Polaris was developed in
Engineering to support the special and demand-
ing needs of an educational institution such as
UW. Its a local-area network (LAN) that links
together over 800 PCs, and serves more than
6000 users within the Faculty. It is also used
extensively in other faculties on campus, serv-
ing approximately 1800 workstations and 17,000
users. Waterloo Polaris is the largest educational
LAN on campus, and one of the largest in North
America.
Faculty-wide Labs -
Everywhere, for Everyone
The faculty-wide Waterloo Polaris computing
labs are in the rooms on this page. These labs are
usually available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The faculty-wide computing facilities are avail-
able to any UW engineering student, and are
managed by the department of Engineering
Computing.
WEEF Lab -
A Special Place for your First Year
The WEEF lab (E2-1310) is where you
will receive most of your Windows-based
instruction in first year. It is a 92-station multi-
media instructional room solely for the use of
first-year students. It is intended to facilitate
computer-enhanced learning for first-year stu-
dents in an integrated environment. WEEF (the
student-funded and -administered Waterloo
Engineering Endowment Fund) provid-
ed substantial financial assistance to the
Faculty towards completing this lab. In
recognition of this, the room was named
the WEEF lab in 1998.
Departmental Labs - Local Usage and
Special Purpose
In addition to the faculty labs, each aca-
demic department within the faculty
operates Waterloo Polaris labs, which
you are also welcome to use. You will
find out more about these as you become
familiar with your home department. A
complete listing of these labs and their locations
can be found in the Waterloo Polaris Users
Guide.
UNIX Access / Engulf - Another Sort of
Computing
Engulf, a general-use Unix server, is
your second major source of computing resourc-
es in first year. Your account is intended to allow
you to become familiar with the use of the Unix
operating system. Engulf provides you access to
a variety of programming, statistical and scien-
tific computing applications.
When you set up your Waterloo Polaris
account, you can also set up your Unix account
with the same procedure. Once you have created
your Engulf account, you can access it through
your Waterloo Polaris account - through the
Start button, select Programs, then Network
(continued on facing page)
Getting Online
Computing
Engineering Faculty-Wide Computer Labs
Building Room Lab Name Stations
Carl Pollock Hall CPH-2367 GAFF 30
Davis Centre DC-3583A Pulley 20
Engineering Lecture Hall EL-108 Helix 30
Engineering 2 E2-1302 Wedge 32
Engineering 2 E2-1308 Wheel 20
Engineering 2 E2-1310 WEEF 92
(first-year lab use only)
UW Engineering is home to
an impressive collection of
computing facilities. Heres
how to get started.
Beth Jewkes
Associate Dean for Computing
(continued from previous page)
Software, and then choose X-Server. There are
also some X-terminals in the GAFF lab CPH
2376, which can be used to connect to Engulf.
Electronic Mail - Keeping in Touch with the
World at Large
When you set up your Waterloo Polaris
account, an e-mail account will automatically be
generated on the faculty e-mail server, engmail.
Most people use the e-mail package called
Eudora on Waterloo Polaris to access their
engmail account. Eudora is preconfigured to let
you send mail right away, but before you can
read mail, you need to tell it your Waterloo
Polaris password. (Eudora stores this password,
so you wont be asked for it again.) Note that
you cant use Outlook for email, but you can use
Netscape if you want to configure it.
Check the Waterloo Polaris Users Guide
for other important information about accessing
your e-mail from your home PC.
Web/Home Pages - Everyones a Publisher
Once you are comfortable with your
computing environment, you can set up your
Web page and show it to the world. Your default
home page index.html is located in your pub-
lic_html directory.
These email and web addresses will
remain active and accessible the entire time you
are an undergraduate at UW, whether you are
on-campus or off on a work-term.
Centralized File Storage - One System to
Store Them All....
Engineering uses a dedicated file server
for user file storage. Youll quickly discover
how handy this is since you can access your files
from any Waterloo Polaris lab. The central
server maintains snapshots of recent versions
of your files (up to two weeks old).
To retrieve a file with Windows, use the
Windows Explorer to view the directory where
the file was located, then select Tools/Go to...
and enter ~snapshot. You can also use Start/
Run... and enter the full directory name, fol-
lowed by \~snapshot: e.g. N:\project\~snapshot.
On Unix, you can retrieve a copy of the file by
changing to the .snap-
shot subdirectory of
the directory where
the original file was
stored.
Magnetic tape
backups are periodi-
cally made of all your
files; the ECUSC can
help if you need
something older, or
more extensive, than
the online snapshots.
Printing and
Scanning - Input,
Output, and
Throughput
Laser-printed out-
put is available in
each lab. Guaranteed
quality black-and-
white and colour
printing is filed in
CPH 2367 (the GAFF
lab). When you set up
your Waterloo Polaris
account, a laser print-
ing account is auto-
matically set up. More
information on other
printing services can
be found on the
E n g i n e e r i n g
Computing Web page
http://www.eng.uwa-
terloo.ca/~engcomp
and in the Waterloo
Polaris Users Guide.
Bl ack- and- Whi t e
Printing - The Basic
Page
Self-serve laser
printing is available
in the general com-
puting labs, at a cost
of 8 cents per page.
The lab printer, locat-
ed in a cage or behind
a hole-in-the-wall, is
configured to be the
default printer when
you log on.
Guaranteed Quality Output - Filed and
Sorted
There is a special locked-in-a-room-by-
itself, untouched-by-other-human-hands printer,
laser@office, in CPH 2367 (the GAFF lab). Its
output is filed several times per day in that lab.
There is no additional charge for this guaran-
teed-quality-output printer.
Colour Printing and the Release Monitor -
When Monochrome isnt Enough
Colour printing ($1.00 per page) is also
filed in the GAFF lab. Because of the higher-
cost (and potential for greater loss), you have to
perform a special release of these print jobs.
The release monitor is located in CPH 2367
(the GAFF lab), and output from this printer is
filed there as well.
Adding Printing Money - When your E-wallet
is E-mpty
Your printing account is created with a
small balance to get you started; after that,
youre on your own.
To add money to your printing account,
use the Watcard swipe facility outside the
ECUSC (E2-1308A). With each swipe, you
transfer $5 from the Watcard to the laser printing
account. (If you need to add some money to
your Watcard, you can do so at any Food
Services outlet, Copy Centre, or the Turnkey
Desk in the Student Life Centre.)
Note that there is more than one swipe
station on campus. In general, each of them
adds money to a different printer accounting
system, so be careful.
Scanners - From Printed Page to Electronic
File
There are two scanners for creating elec-
tronic versions of flat graphics. One is in the
GAFF (CPH 2367, 24hrs/7days), and the other
is in the ECUSC (office hours only).
Creating your Account - Getting OnLine
One of the first things you will likely
want to do is to get your computer and e-mail
accounts set up. Assuming that youre regis-
tered and your fees are paid, itll be easy.
During Frosh week, one of the frosh leaders will
take you into the WEEF lab and guide you
through an automated account generation pro-
cess we call scratch. If youve used the scratch
program from off-campus (available since
August 21, 2000 at http:/www.eng.uwaterloo.
ca/accounts), then you will be able to use a fea-
ture of the scratch program to confirm the name
of your existing accounts.
The scratch program will give you your
user ID and a server name, e.g. jdoe@wedge,
and will ask you to set a password. You only
need to use this full account address the first
time you log on, after which you can log on
anywhere with just your user ID, e.g. jdoe. If
you have any trouble getting logged on, please
go to the consulting office in E2-1308A.
Thats Enough for Now!
Thats the basics of what you need to
know to get started. You will get more informa-
tion about computing from an Engineering
Computing staff member early in the term and
you can drop into the ECUSC in E2-1308A if
you are experiencing difficulty. In the mean-
time, welcome to the Faculty of Engineering,
and happy computing!
Computing
W
hat happens when GM passes out free
alcohol and Chevrolet Silverados to a
bunch of engineer-
ing students? The
2000 Ethanol
Vehicle Challenge
(EVC) is the only
answer you should
have been thinking
of. The EVC is an
international competition that was held in May,
in which 16 universities and colleges from
across North America competed to convert 1999
Chevrolet Silverado full size pick-up trucks to
run on E85, an 85%/15% mixture of ethanol and
gasoline.

The vehicles were compared in areas
such as emissions, fuel economy, cold
starting ability and driveability. The University
of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT)
entered their black Silverado and proudly
returned home with a very close second place
overall finish. UWAFT is gaining experience in
accomplishing a lot with very little, achieving
first in 1997 for converting a Dodge Dakota
truck to run on propane and second in 1998 for
converting a Chevrolet Malibu to run on E85.
A competition has not yet been planned
for 2001 but there are rumours for a 2002 com-
petition involving converting a full size
Oldsmobile Bravada or GMC Suburban to a flex
fuel vehicle that will run on either pump gaso-
line or E85. In the mean time, UWAFT is not
sitting still. They are continuing to work on
projects involving the development and imple-
mentation of alternative fuel technologies and
strategies.
Examples of current projects include
developing a hydrogen production system to aid
in cold starting of alternative fuel vehicles,
developing the controls and hardware to enable
a flex-fuel system which can operate on any
mixture of gasoline and E85, designing catalytic
converter systems to decrease overall emissions
to Californias Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle
(ULEV) standards and developing methods of
reducing emissions at start up.
The list of projects is quite extensive,
with areas in mechanical, electrical, chemical,
systems, controls, etc.
It is a great team that allows you to have
fun while gain-
ing hands-on
experience with
applicable real
world problems
and technology.
UWAF T
is always inter-
ested in new members, regardless of experience
level. The level of involvement is up to the
member and can include simply attending the
meetings to stay informed, helping out the team
projects, taking on a project of your own, or
anything in the middle.
If you want to find out more on UWAFT
or are interested in becoming involved with
UWAFT, please feel free to check out the web-
site at www.eng.uwaterloo.ca
/~uw_aft/intro.html, have a look at the display
case in the main hall in E3, or drop an email to
Eric Powell at epowell@engmail.uwaterloo.ca.
Waterloo Not Afraid to Get
Down and Dirty in the 2000 EVC
S
tar Wars, the Terminator, Star Trek... each
has its own rendition of what the future
might have in store. One commonality they
share is the vision of an autonomous robot. We
all know that those are just the movies... theyre
not really representative of reality... its Science
Fiction.... Until now!
The Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group
(WARG) is an undergraduate student research
project whose mission is to create a fleet of
autonomous vehicles. Besides being able to
navigate obstacles, the flying fleet will be able
to co-operatively work towards a predefined
goal - namely, to find and identify casualties,
survivors and possible hazards in a disaster area.
This objective, set out by the International
Aerial Robotics Competition, was originally
seen as lofty, perhaps even unachievable.
However, WARG has nearly attained all of these
objectives. For that reason Waterloo has ranked
among the top schools in the world at this com-
petition, with awards in Most Innovative
Systems Design, Best Technical Presentation,
and Best Journal Paper.
The brainchild of Dave Kroetsch (at the
time, a 1A Computer Engineering student),
WARG has taken off (no pun intended) since its
initial conception. Combining the fields of
Systems Design, Computer and Mechanical
Engineering, the group is striving to soar to
ever-higher heights of robotic excellence. The
vision soon developed - to fly
their helicopters, unmanned,
into a disaster area and to have
them identify people and
objects that they fly over. This
requires the development and
use of control, vision and artifi-
cial intelligence systems for
these autonomous robots.
Since its conception, a
plethora of individuals, of vari-
ous skill levels have been drawn
together for this common pur-
pose. It is not unusual, for
instance, to see first and forth
year students work side by side,
discussing how to design vari-
ous aspects of the project.
In my own experience, as a student who
has just completed first year, I found WARG not
only to be a fascinating and stimulating activity,
but also to be an incredible opportunity. The
senior members of the team were always very
accommodat i ng
and never hesitat-
ed to answer my
q u e s t i o n s .
Programming for
them, although
challenging, has
been extremely
r e w a r d i n g .
Technical aspects
aside, I got the
opportunity to
meet and work
with some incredi-
ble engineering students.
At WARG it would seem that the sky is
no longer the limit. For information on how to
get involved with WARG, check our website at:
http://ece.uwaterloo.ca/~warg
Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group
John Sollazzo
2A Computer
Eric Powell
2001 UWAFT
Teams
UW Alternative Fuels Team grabs second place
T
he Midnight Sun Solar Race
Team welcomes CacheFlow
Canada, our newest gold level
sponsor at $25,000. The Midnight
Sun team designs and constructs
systems, the same thing we do in
industry, remarked Ian Telford,
President of CacheFlow Canada.
CacheFlows interest in the largest
student project on campus is to
increase its presence at UW, par-
ticularly Systems Design
Engineering, in an effort to obtain
knowledgeable co-op students.
They are located a stones
throw away from the University of
Waterloo and specialize in web
appliances specifically designed to
improve web-page response time
and overall Internet quality-of-ser-
vice.
Last Thursday, the team
prepared Midnight Sun V for a visit
to CacheFlow where Telford pre-
sented the project with a cheque for
$25,000. The generous donation
will go toward the construction of
Midnight Sun VI, our next genera-
tion solar car. Our upcoming races
include American Solar Challenge
from Chicago - L.A, July 2001 and
World Solar Challenge from
Darwin to Adelaide, November
2001. For more information, visit
our website:
www.midsun.uwaterloo.ca.
Contact Info:
Victoria Cheng
Administrative Director
Midnight Sun (x2798)
vcheng@midsun.uwaterloo.ca
F
ormula SAE is an international engineering
design competition contested by close to
130 universities from around the world. The
competition provides a means for students to
apply acquired knowledge to a practical situa-
tion. The premise of the competition is for the
students to design, build, test and race a proto-
type Formula style racecar in a single aca-
demic year.

The competition requires that the proto-
type be mass marketable for the non-
professional, weekend Solo II competitor. The
vehicle must, therefore, be built for maximum
performance and reliability at minimum cost
and maintenance. The Formula SAE competi-
tion is held every May at the Pontiac Silverdome
and is hosted jointly by Daimler, Chrysler,
General Motors and Ford.

Practicing automotive and race engi-
neers judge each entry based on both
static and dynamic events. Static events include
engineering design, manufacturing cost analy-
sis, and marketing presentations. Performance
events include acceleration runs, skid pad tests,
Solo II (autocross) events and an endurance/
fuel economy event. UW FSAE specifications
include a Honda CBR600F3 engine, which
accelerates the car from 0-100km/h in under 4
seconds. Dry weight is 443Lb (200kg), and cor-
nering loads are 1.4G around the 50ft skid pad.
In the 2000 competition, 104 teams
from universities throughout North America
and from as far away as Japan, Puerto Rico,
Mexico, and the UK arrived at the competition.
This competition saw 20 Canadian teams, a
record high. The 2000 UW FSAE Team per-
formed well in both dynamic and static events,
and qualified for the design finals. They returned
to Canada bearing many awards, placing 1st for
Powertrain Development, 3rd for Cooling
System, 7th for Design, and 11th in endurance.
Waterloo placed 7th overall as the top Canadian
team with the University of
Toronto right on their tailpipe
in 8th place. Overall, the
competition was a success for
the 2000 team, with no major
setbacks and two Canadian
teams finishing in the top ten.
Team 2001 is now
ready to take on the challenge
of designing and building a
new car to place 1st overall at
the next competition. In addi-
tion to refining our current
component designs, a new
composite chassis is being designed to reduce
weight and increase stiffness.
We are looking for new enthusiastic
members from all years and disciplines to join
the team and be part of the 2001 effort. The sky
is the limit when thinking about projects, and
new ideas are welcome. If interested, email
fsae@engmail.uwaterloo.ca or call x.5904.
FSAE is located in E3-2107 drop by anytime for
a chance to see our latest technology first hand.
Formulae SAE Hits the Road
Midnight Sun Announces New
Sponsorship of $25,000
H
ey guys!! Welcome to one of
the most prestigious universi-
ties in North America!! Being in the
most exciting and challenging facul-
ty shows that you are eager to see
what Waterloo students can achieve.
We are the midnight sun
solar car team - the largest project
undertaken on campus. Here, we
have many great minds working
together harmoniously to construct
our sophisticated, innovative,
Midnight Sun VI solar car. Fun? For
sure! Moreover, we are actually
competing with the rest of the world
when we participate in the American
solar challenge and even the World
solar challenge being held next year.
How could you resist having
a look at our thrilling toy? Yes, we
will display it around the campus
during the frosh week. And keep an
eye on Ring Road; the car may pass
by you sometime! Please check out
the display boards in Village 1,
Student Life Centre, EL and E2 for
the exact schedule of our events.
Interested in joining us? We
will be more than delighted to have
your involvement! Designing an
electrical circuit, 21st-century frame
design, programming controlling
devices, energy optimization, heat
transfer and distribution, fluid factor
control - all these areas, and even
physically assembling the car, need
to be filled. We guarantee you'll have
a remarkable experience in sharing
our success.
Hope you guys have a good
first week and wish you all the best
studying in Waterloo!
Victoria Chen,
Admin Director, Midnight Sun
Daniel Tse
Midnight Sun
Join the Midnight Sun Team
T
he hardest part of writing an article for the
Iron Warrior is coming up with an opening.
As such, we have decided to skip the opening,
and delve right into the heart of the article. This
will spare us the agony.
To help illustrate what the VPX of the
Engineering Society can do for you, we will put
on a newspaper version of a play that we like to
call Outside Ring Road. The players will be
Waterloo A VPX, Micah Potechin, and
Waterloo B VPX, Tania Bortolon. For the
purposes of this play, imagine that we are play-
ing ourselves, but if you choose to re-enact any
part of it, feel free to play whichever part makes
you feel most comfortable.
Understandably, none of you are as yet
particularly familiar with whats inside Ring
Road. Nonetheless, the biggest part of our job
is to communicate between Waterloo engineers
and the entities that exist external to us.
Micah: Why do I have to have the first line in
this play?
Tania: Because Im at the keyboard. Got a
problem with that? And besides, you smell
rather foul.
Micah: The shower queen has spoken.
Tania: Okay, this is the point where we segue
into an informative part of the play... kind of like
Single And Sexy.
Micah: Speaking of Single and Sexy, Im off to
the Women in Engineering conference.
Tania: Shi Dawg; I hear those chicks put out!
Micah: Actually Tania, theres a bit more to it
than that. But I like the way you think.
Tania: How do I get me to one of these week-
ends?
Micah: Lucky for you, youve got a spot
reserved for you. Everyone else who wants in
on the action has to apply through you and I.
Tania: So we get the final say on who goes to
these shindigs.
Micah: Conferences.
Tania: Shucho mouth!
Micah: Im going to ignore that... there are a lot
of conferences throughout the year, and any
engineer can join us at them.
Tania: Weve got the Women In Engineering
conference in October and ESSCoFIQ in
November. I wonder if the frosh know what else
is going on.
Micah: Well this is the ideal forum to tell
them... so what are you waiting for?
Tania (Aside): Hey Frosh, its just you and me
now... chimp boy isnt listening. Thats why this
is an aside. Conferences are a great way to meet
people, from Waterloo as well as from other
universities across Canada. You dont need any
experience, just enthusiasm and an open mind.
Micah: And conferences are free to attend.
Keep an ear out for upcoming conferences, and
dont hesitate to ask either of us if you want to
know more about one.
Tania: Hey! This was supposed to be an aside.
Micah: Maybe if you werent so boring, I
wouldnt have had to cut in.
Tania: As you can tell, I am the nice VPX and
Micah is...
Micah: The brains of the operation.
Tania: I will ignore that so that we can wrap up
this quasi-play and get on with our lives.
Micah: We dont only do conferences, but they
are the biggest part of the VPX job.
Tania: We are also in charge of community
activities like Shadow Day and the Christmas
Parade.
Micah: You can reach me at
<mipotech@engmail>.
Tania: Those of you starting with 8 months of
school will see me in January. In the meantime,
you can reach me at
<tmbortol@engmail>.
Micah: So... how do we end this?
Tania: You just stop typing, putz.
Micah: Ill just stop typing then.
H
owdy Class of 2005. And so it
begins, a whole new chapter in
your lives... another feather in your
cap... another card in your deck... a
sharp knife to go in your drawer... I've
mixed up a few expressions, but you
get the point. What better way to
embark on this exciting time in your
life then to attend Engineering at the
University of Waterloo, and we're real-
ly excited to have you here.

One of the many great things
about engineering at Waterloo
is the excellent community spirit we
have. One of the goals of the
Engineering Society is to help foster
this community. You'll have two main
cards you can play here at university.
The serious, academic, studious card,
and the fun, party, relaxing card.
EngSoc will show you easy ways to
play both of those cards. Through
Orientation, and through your first few
weeks of school, you'll soon learn all
great things we do here.
In the spirit of Ian's article, I
would like to offer some advice for
your time here at Waterloo:
1) Take this opportunity to
become a sponge, and absorb as much
new information and experience as
you possibly can. University is not all
about the academics. Take advantage
of the endless number of clubs, events,
and services that are provided here at
Waterloo by both the Engineering
Society, and the University as a whole.
2) Over the next five years you
will experience a lot of new things.
Fortunately, there are 840 or so other
people on the exact same ride, so don't
be afraid to ask for help. The journey
will be tough sometimes, but the
rewards are priceless. We're all here
for the same reason.
3) Don't forget to stop every once
in a while and smell the coffee, or
flowers, or whatever you want. Time
is going to fly, and before you know it
you'll be donning your iron ring think-
ing to yourself "Where did the time
go?".
That's all I have to say for
now. I really look forward to meeting
many of you through frosh week,
and at least half of you in the winter
when you switch to the B-Society.
Until then, happy trails, and good
luck on your first term.
From the Desk of the President
To B-Soc, or not to B-Soc
The VP External: links to the outside world
EngSoc
Winners don't do drugs
especially not crack
F
rom the home office in Sioux City,
Iowa, here are the Top Ten Reasons
for coming to Waterloo Engineering:
Number 10 - Parents threatened to cut
off my allowance.
Number 9 - So I could deal smack on
my co-op terms.
Number 8 - Not enough gas to make it
to Windsor.
Number 7 - Got fired from McDonalds
for assaulting the assistant manager.
Number 6 - Ever kill a man just to
watch him die?
Number 5 - Calculus makes me horny.
Number 4 - I thought it was in Belgium.
Number 3 - OUAC screwed me over.
Number 2 - I like choo-choos.
Number 1 - Sweet Macin the Hotties.
Ha ha. Seriously though,
youre all in for the time of your life.
Four years and eight months, starting
right now. You will sleep less, party
more, and work harder than ever
before
Youll start lifelong friend-
ships, meet fantastic people, and be
absolutely blown away by how much
there is to learn. Time will fly by like
sand through your fingers and when
its time to leave youll turn around
and say where did it all go? So if I
may, allow me to pass on some advice
that I was given many moons ago:
A) Dont grow up too fast. Take
some chances, take some risks. You
dont have to sign up for nude arctic
bungee jumping lessons, just have the
conviction to do what you want.
B) Be cool, like the Dalai Lama.
The Im-a-winner-Youre-a-loser par-
adigm doesnt exist outside of high
school. Drinking a beer in three sec-
onds doesnt make you cool, staying
home on a Friday night doesnt make
you anti-social. People come in all
sorts of flavours. Love all, serve all,
save the planet.
Work. Its not a big deal: you
have something to do, you work at it
until its done. Keep up with school
and everything will be groovy. This
advice was handed down to me by a
twenty-eight year-old balding mutual
fund salesman in Edmonton, Alberta
three weeks before I arrived at
Waterloo. Hope it helps.
Ian Tien
President (A)
Whats an EngSoc? -Ian Tien
Ian and Stu are the respective Presidents of the University of Waterloo
Engineering Society A and Society B. Engineering Societies A and B are active
on alternate terms.
The Engineering Societies represent the interests of engineering stu-
dents at large and run services such the exam bank, the Coffee and Donuts
store, the Novelties store, the Engineering Society student office photocopiers,
and the POETS lounge. The societies also run events such as semi-formals,
charity fundraisers, and sporting events.
The Engineering Society student office is often referred to as the ori-
fice. If someone says grab me in the orifice what they mean is meet me in
the Engineering Society student office. Unless of course theyre not in engi-
neering, in which case what they mean is grab me in the orifice.
Stu Doherty
President (B)
Micah Potechin, VPX (A)
Tania Bortolon, VPX (B)
Stu Doherty
3B Systems Design
sadohert@engmail
Tania Bortolon
3A Civil
tmbortol@engmail
Rosie Pareja
3A Civil
rpareja@engmail
Mary Robinson
3B Chemical
ma2robin@engmail
Mark Mollison
3ACivil
mamollis@engmail
H
ey everybody! Hopefully everyone is enjoying their
first couple weeks here at UW. First year can be a
lot of fun, but pretty daunting academically. Youve got
your books and schedule, but theres a lot more to your
academic life here than that.
What we can do for you
UW Engineering students are lucky. Maybe
thats not the right word because we work for it, but
unlike most other faculties we can do the following
things: 1) work with our profs to make sure we dont
have all our projects/labs due at the same time, 2) evalu-
ate our profs teaching style and the courses, and have
this input affect their tenure and salary, 3) sit down with
our department administration and faculty to work out
any problems or just touch base. Because most other
programs dont have classes that stay together, this just
doesnt happen, but in Engineering it does, and its the
VP-Educations job to make sure this all happens
smoothly.
Weve got a lot of services to help you out as
well: Resume critiques will be happening all term, sev-
eral Interview Workshops will be offered throughout the
term, and keep your eyes open for Internal Conferences
which will teach you skills like UNIX, soldering, basic
vehicle maintenance, shop skills... the skys the limit!
There is a Resume guide on the VP-Education desk as
well, that can be signed out.
Theres more to academics than just your profes-
sors and your classes though. Outside the faculty but
within the school, the Cooperative Education (CECS)
department will affect each of your lives six (hopefully
not more!) times in the next five years. The Co-op
Students Advisory Group (CSAG) is composed of any
student who is interested in having a say in the co-op,
plus all of the VP-Education types from the FEDS and
other faculties.
Co-op Student Services (CSS) is another group
that organizes things like WatPubs and the co-op student
information site (http://coopstudent.uwaterloo.ca). They
welcome anyone who would like to get involved. Go to
the Orifice and check out the Education board to find out
where and when they meet.
There are several other academic activities that
are open for student involvement. The Federation of
Students has a VP-Education who represents the whole
campus to outside groups such as CASA, OUSA and the
provincial government. There are many initiatives that
go on with the FEDS that need volunteers and confer-
ence delegates, so email Mark Schaan (fedvped@feds.
uwaterloo.ca) and ask him how you can get involved.
Know Your Role
Each class elects academic reps in the first week
of class. These are people who will be representing you
to your professors and to the first-year office twice dur-
ing the term. They will bring up any issues with the pro-
fessors - whether its that they are teaching too slowly,
people need more help with certain concepts, etc., and
work with the professors to make sure that everything
goes well. Its a great way to get to know your professors
and to get involved in the academic process. This process
continues throughout your academic career, and begin-
ning in 2A you may have a class professor to represent
you to your department. (Not all departments are the
same right now, but thats one of our top priorities).
There are several EngSoc education director-
ships, and many of them still need people to help out
(dont worry, you wont be on your own), so if youd like
to get involved come by the Orifice and leave Jenn a note
(shes on-stream this term.. if youre 8-stream, youll
meet Mary <ma2robin@engmail> in January).
If you have any questions, or if youd like to get
involved in anything, email Jenn <jmotuz@engmail> or
come by the Orifice (CPH 1327). Were looking forward
to meeting you!
H
i frosh. Im the A-Soc Vice-
President of Internal Affairs,
or VPI, for the fall semester. My
job is to make sure that there are
plenty of activities throughout the
term appealing to everyones tastes.
There are directors for the different
events, and I work with them to get
things going, and provide support
along the way.
Over the course of the term
the Engineering Society, which you
all are a part of, runs many differ-
ent events. There are athletic
events such as MudBowl, wheel-
chair basketball, and indoor soccer
tournaments. There are also social
events like our term pubs, Scunts,
and various road trips.
Some big things to look
forward to this fall include our 3rd
annual CircusEng September 23rd,
where we put on a circus for the
kids at the Rotary Childrens Centre
in Waterloo. Were looking for
volunteers for this event, so drop
by the Orifice in Carl Pollock Hall
for more information.
As you can see, theres a lot
to do. If youre interested in get-
ting involved, talk to your frosh
leaders, or stop by the Orifice any-
time. Enjoy 1A!
Meet Your Engineering Society Executives...
Society A
P
R
E
S
I
D
E
N
T
V
P

E
X
T
E
R
N
A
L
V
P

I
N
T
E
R
N
A
L
V
P

E
D
U
C
A
T
I
O
N
V
P

F
I
N
A
N
C
E
P
R
E
S
I
D
E
N
T
V
P

E
X
T
E
R
N
A
L
V
P

I
N
T
E
R
N
A
L
V
P

E
D
U
C
A
T
I
O
N
V
P

F
I
N
A
N
C
E
Ian Tien
3B Computer
itien@engmail
Micah Potechin
4A Systems Design
mipotech@engmail
Ian Pollock
4A Mechanical
irpolloc@engmail
Jennifer Motuz
4A Mechanical
jmotuz@engmail
Sunny Sodhi
2B Systems Design
gsodhi@engmail
Society B
EngSoc
Jennifer Motuz, VPEd (A)
Mary Robinson, VPEd (B)
Your VP Education is Here to Help
Hello from your
VP Internal
Ian Pollock
VPI (A)
W
elcome to UW. By joining the
Engineering department at the
University of Waterloo, not only have
you embarked on the most exciting
journey of your life, but you have also
become a member of the Waterloo
Engineering Endowment Foundation
(from here on referred to as WEEF).
You may have noticed on your
tuition statement that you paid $75 for
a voluntary student donation. This $75
goes to WEEF. The money is added to
our principal (which currently stands
at $3.6 million). We invest that money
and every year we spend 5% of the
principal on lab equipment, student
projects and other projects that improve
undergraduate engineering. Whether
you donate or not, you will benefit
from WEEF contributions.
You will notice immediately
that WEEF has donated a large amount
of money to the upgrading of our com-
puter facilities and the first year lab
appropriately named the WEEF lab.
Over the past 10 years, WEEF has gen-
erously given to such student initia-
tives as the Midnight Sun solar racecar
team, the Formula SAE team, the
Concrete Toboggan team, the Waterloo
Aerial Robotic team and many more.
Because you will be inundated
with a massive amount of information
this week, I will not bore you with the
fact that this is the 10th Anniversary of
WEEF or that WEEF has spent over
$1.7 million improving undergraduate
engineering or that we have the highest
student participation rate out of all the
endowments on campus or that we will
be spending another $180,000 this
year or that anyone (professors, lab
technicians, and students) can put in a
proposal and receive funding from
WEEF.
I encourage you to learn more
about the benefits of WEEF. This
foundation is the best investment you
can make into your education. Not
only is the donation tax deductible but
it immediately benefits you. Your
tuition goes towards professors sala-
ries, administrative costs, capital costs,
maintaining the university, facilities,
and other things that never really effect
you personally. There is very little
money left over for equipment
upgrades and lab
improvement. That is
the beauty of WEEF...
we have no red tape.
You donate your
money and we use it
wisely to improve
YOUR education.
If you want to
learn more about
WEEF, check out our
webpage at http://www.eng.uwaterloo.
ca/~weef/ or if you have any questions
or concerns feel free to drop by our
office in E2 or email us at weef@eng-
mail. I have been the WEEF director
for the last 28 months and I would be
glad to answer any of your questions.
If Im not available just talk to the
assistant WEEF directors, Stephanie
Sweet Cheeks Thompson or John
Cuddles Cuddihy. Thanks, and
enjoy your first year.
The Waterloo Engineering Endowment Fund:
What it is, and how it affects you
EngSoc
Mark Cesana
WEEF Director
Engineering Orientation 2000
Frosh Week Schedule
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