News

Most aviation accidents are caused by human error. Human factors, such as eyesight, fatigue, decision-making, all pose challenges to air travel safety.

Leveraging institutional strength in psychology, kinesiology and vision science, research members of the University’s new Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) are working to offer evidence-based solutions to reduce pilot error. By building this comprehensive foundation of interdisciplinary research expertise, pilot training will be strengthened, and air travel will be safer for all passengers.

Congratulations to Professor Guy Poirier of the Department of French Studies who has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). He joins distinguished Canadians who have made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life.

This week Professor Imre Szeman assumed the role of the Green Party of Canada’s senior Climate Critic, a role within the party’s Shadow Cabinet for Environment and Climate Change. It is not an elected position but one that allows Szeman and other experts in the shadow cabinet to voice critical perspectives on Canada’s climate present and future.

Congratulations to Professor Dillon Browne on winning an Ontario Early Researcher Award (ERA) for his project, Promoting Children's Mental Health in Ontario: A Whole Family Approach to Research and Practice. Browne is a clinical psychologist specializing in childhood mental health through a family systems lens. He also holds a CRC in Child and Family Clinical Psychology and runs the Whole Family Lab in the Department of Psychology. 

Countless hours attending seminars, writing exams, TAing, RAing, teaching courses, conducting research and participating in the dissertation defense have led to this exciting moment—degree completion. On behalf of the Faculty of Arts, congratulations to our newest cohort of Doctors of Philosophy!

This week the Faculty of Arts proudly celebrates our undergraduate class of 2021 who will receive a total 1,354 bachelor's degrees, diplomas and certificates on Saturday, June 19, during our virtual convocation ceremony. As part of our celebrations, we warmly congratulate the distinguished undergraduates receiving special awards and honours. 

Big congrats to four Arts graduate students whose short research videos made the 2021 GRADFlix finals. That's not all. During last week's livestreamed Showcase of the top 25 video submissions from across the University, the top three winners include two of our students: Anna Murynka (MA candidate, Psychology) took first place for her video “Mediums for self-help" and Ben Szoller (PhD candidate, Religious Studies) placed third for his video “Catholic social and ecological teaching in Canadian farming communities.”

The Department of Economics is proud to introduce a new graduate option, the Graduate Diploma (GDip) in Computational Analytics for the Social Sciences and Humanities (CDASH)

The Government of Canada has just announced the newest group of Canada Research Chairs (CRC), including two from Waterloo’s Faculty of Arts. Alana Cattapan, a professor in Political Science, is a tier two CRC in The Politics of Reproduction. Logan MacDonald, a professor in Fine Arts, is a tier two CRC in Indigenous Art. Congratulations to both outstanding scholars on their distinguished career achievement!

Organized by the Master of Public Service Policy & Data Lab and GEDI and sponsored by the Waterloo Cybersecurity & Privacy Institute, last week's Data and Privacy During a Global Pandemic conference brought together experts from the social and physical sciences, computer science, engineering, and statistics, including president-designate for the University of Waterloo, Dr. Vivek Goel.