Each year, the Rotman Summer Institute brings graduate students together with exceptional faculty from around the world to focus on a topic of special interest. The institute will take place Sunday, July 14-Saturday, July 20, on the shores of Lake Huron.
This year’s institute is aimed at fostering an understanding of conceptual issues in the foundations of statistical mechanics. The goal for students is to come away from the course prepared to engage the philosophical literature on the foundations of statistical mechanics at a professional level.
As there isn’t a consensus as to what the correct approach is to understanding statistical mechanics, the institute will be bringing together leading contributors to the philosophical debates to date. Lecture topics will include both introductions to basic issues, and specialized topics.
Faculty for this year’s institute are David Z. Albert (Columbia University), Wayne Myrvold (Western), John Norton (University of Pittsburgh), Jos Uffink (University of Minnesota) and David Wallace (University of Oxford).
Tuition, including meals and accommodations, but excluding travel, is $800. Tuition relief will be available to selected students; if you wish to be considered for this, please indicate in cover letter.
To apply, students should send the following materials to Carol Suter (csuter4@uwo.ca): A cover letter describing current research interests, explaining the relevance of the Summer Institute to these interests; a current CV; and a letter of reference from the student’s supervisor, or a faculty member familiar with their research related to the Summer Institute.
The deadline for applications has been extended to April 30.
Visit the Rotman Institute website, rotman.uwo.ca, for more details.
NEWS AND NOTES
- Western Mustangs swimmer Jennifer Trung has been named one of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Women of Influence for 2013. The award, now in its 10th year, honours female student-athletes who have excelled in their chosen sports and fields of study.
Trung, along with the other Women of Influence, will be honoured at a luncheon in Gravenhurst, Ont. The guest speaker at this year’s event will be Diana Matheson from the Canadian women’s soccer team. - Education professor Aniko Varpolotai has been named among nine winners of the Status of Women Committee Award of Distinction 2012, presented by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations. The award recognizes female academics of great distinction and achievement.
- Planning your estate and not quite sure where to start? Just curious about the process? Western Libraries is celebrating Leave a Legacy month by hosting an information session 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. May 8 in the David S. Chu International Student Centre, Western Student Services, room 2130. Cate Grainger, Harrison Pensa LLB; Dennis Hinschberger, RBC Dominion Securities; and Chris Delaney, RBC Wealth Management, will present sound and timely advice. Space is limited so RSVP to libadmin@uwo.ca by Wednesday, May 1.
- Someone in your office having a baby? Why not let Belly Bets help you with your office pool. The brainchild of Peter Scott, director at Traxion Consulting, a business intelligence solution firm, and Ivey Business School student Lauren Charbon, the two met through a job posting Scott put up at the Career Portal. Charbon was doing work for Scott’s company.
“The goal was to build a fun and interactive website that took the classic ‘office baby pool’ to a new level,” said Scott. “The idea was to let people have some fun in a really easy fashion.”There is no cost for people to create their own pools and Scott said the early word-of-mouth response to the site has been great.
To get started on your pool, visit bellybets.com.