...where the Universe is our laboratory.
The Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics (WCA) looks to the cosmos to solve the greatest mysteries of the universe. Here, world-class researchers and students come together in an atmosphere of curiosity, creativity and collaboration; exploring our cosmic origin to truly understand the physical processes at work in the Universe. From black holes to cosmology, we aim to understand what lies beyond the Earth. The possibilities for new discovery are limitless.
News
A decade of cosmic discovery
After 10 years of observing the shapes of 61 million distant galaxies, the UNIONS (Ultraviolet Near Infrared Optical Northern Survey) collaboration is sharing data that provides strong evidence supporting the standard model of cosmology that the universe is dominated by dark matter and dark energy.
This is the first survey of this scale conducted in the Northern Hemisphere. By measuring how gravity from dark matter distorts the appearance of the galaxies across the northern sky, an effect called weak gravitational lensing, the collaboration has revealed how matter is distributed across the Universe. Dr. Mike Hudson leads the UNIONS weak lensing team.
Banting Postdoctoral Fellow joins Waterloo to advance exoplanet research
Banting Postdoctoral Fellow Emily Deibert has joined the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics to advance research on planets beyond our solar system.
Will Percival receives New Frontiers in Research funding
Will Percival has been awarded funding through the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) 2025 Exploration Competition for research into Dark Energy. Over the next two years, Percival and his interdisciplinary team will adapt methodological expertise from the fields of biostatistics and computational statistics and apply these tools to cosmological data.
Exploration grants through the NFRF are intended to support high-risk, high-reward research. They support projects that push boundaries into new and exciting areas by bringing disciplines together and exploring new concepts that, while bold, have potential for significant impact.