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Waterloo, Ontario

Tom 4 744
August 23 2005
0
University of Waterloo The most significant destination would be the University of Waterloo, the birthplace of Maple as well as many other significant inventions including the the famous programming languages WATFOR and WATFIV, the WATCOM series of software, and the first electronic version of the Oxford English Dictionary. It is also known for the largest Faculty of Math in the world -- over 3000 undergrad majors in math. There are equal numbers of engineers and scientists as well. It also pioneered the co-op education program in Canada and is one of the largest programs of its type in the world. We like to think of ourselves as the MIT or Stanford of the North. Within the university, there are no "Must see" sights but some interesting ones are MC Math and Computer building where a lot of technology was born (they still have a cavernous room that used to hold the gigantic mainframe computers), Federation Hall -- the largest student pub in Canada with a capacity of about 3,000, Environmental and Information Sciences building that has a free science museum, and an endless supply of the ugliest art sculptures known to humankind. Get details from www.uwaterloo.ca. In addition, other notable destinations are, Wilfrid Laurier University: The "other" university is down the street from its larger peer. WLU is more known for its liberal arts and business programs. It's also the home of the annual Maple Conference. An interesting note is that WLU used to be Waterloo Lutheran University but when schools became state funded, the government insisted removing religious references ... fortunately, Canada has a Prime Minister with a convenient initials. www.wlu.ca Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics: a scientific think tank established by local entrepreneur Mike Laziridis (inventor of the RIM Blackberry mobile device) is in an amazing new building on a very pleasant park location in downtown Waterloo. Nice walk from the universities. They also offer good public lectures. www.perimeterinstitute.ca. Maplesoft: easily the most successful math company that Canada has ever produced. Our worldwide headquarters is in the northern technology business district, in a beautiful, modern, perfectly non-descript high-tech office building. You can visit though there may not be much to see. During lunch on Thursdays, the hot dog vendor comes by to sell cheap hot dogs and sausages ... mmmm. 615 Kumpf Dr. Directions The university area technology corner: UW spun off many technology companies. In addition to Maplesoft, others include RIM, OpenText, MKS, Desire2Learn, and Watcom (acquired by Sybase). The corner of Phillip St. and Columbia St. West (near UW) is a hotspot for these companies. Not a heck of a lot to see but a concentration of tech generally means great, cheap restaurants. Don't expect to find fashionable boutiques here. Wordsworth Bookstore: not exactly a math place but is a quaint, independent book shop where the staff actually read and can recommend good regional authors. Nice walk from the Perimeter. 100 King St. South, www.wordsworthbooks.com. Princess Cinema: specializing in art and foreign films, this modestly priced (and modestly comfortable) cinema is a great place to catch a film that you don't understand. There are lots of pubs, restaurants, and cafes in the vicinity as well. www.princesscinemas.com. Oncle Hans celebrates yet another Waterloo Oktoberfest! Oktoberfest: if you want to meet mathematicians and discuss graph theory don't come to the world's second largest Bavarian beer festival (second only to Munich). For a magical two weeks in October every hockey arena in our city turns into a beer hall with thousands of cheap Bavarian style hats, pork food products, polka music played by bands who do Metallica covers during other parts of the year, and countless drunken people shouting German phrases that they have no hope of understanding or pronouncing correctly. Ich bin ein Waterlooner! www.oktoberfest.ca.

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