News

Most students develop an interest in technology and programming long before they begin their post-secondary education.

The path to becoming a developer, analyst or software engineer does not usually start in a computer science course at university, but in the opportunities available to students outside the classroom. One such opportunity is Hack the North — the annual hackathon sponsored by the Faculties of Mathematics and Engineering — taking place this weekend from Friday, September 17 to Sunday, September 19.

The Cheriton School of Computer Science welcomes Saptarshi Bhattacherya, Alicia Bremer, Andrew Dong, Heidi Hon, Kushal Mujral and Eric Pei — six outstanding first-year students who have distinguished themselves academically as recipients of the prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarship. 

Researchers at the Cheriton School of Computer Science are working on new systems that increase the correctness and reliability of health-related searches.

It’s no secret that our everyday technologies gather personal data. But these increasingly entrenched conveniences, from Internet of Things–enabled smart TVs to online voting systems to crowdfunding platforms, can also perform harmful surveillance.

Knowing how tools track user behaviour and collect personal information is important. Understanding their implications for social inequality within Canada and globally is perhaps even more pressing. What’s more, the challenge demands multiple areas of expertise.

Scarcely a year goes by without smartphone, tablet and computer manufacturers releasing yet another new model. And this never-ending stream of improved digital products means that older devices are often disposed of, whether relegated to a junk drawer or traded-in, recycled, sold or donated to others. But when you dispose of a device, are you certain you’ve securely deleted all of your personal data?

University Professor M. Tamer Özsu has received the 2022 IEEE Innovation in Societal Infrastructure Award, an honour conferred for significant technological achievements and contributions that establish, develop and proliferate innovative societal infrastructure systems through the application of information technology with an emphasis on distributed computing systems.

With exceptional leadership in the field of computer science and his dedication to making computers accessible to a wider audience, James Wesley (Wes) Graham (1932–1999) was known as the “Father of Computing” at the University of Waterloo. Serving as early director of the University of Waterloo’s Computing Centre, Wes had an active role in shaping computer science education worldwide. His experience teaching at Waterloo inspired the creation of software to support education.

The University of Waterloo crushed the competition at the 2021 International Collegiate Programming Contest North America Division Championship held virtually on August 14, 2021, finishing solidly in first place. 

A regional team linked with the University of Waterloo was named among the winners of the global Technovation Girls app development competition.

Aiuto Solutions was awarded the first-ever COVID Economic Recovery prize, recognizing their work to develop an app to connect donors and charities. The app provides a means of forging stronger relationships in the not-for-profit and NGO sectors. The name Aiuto means ‘help’ in Italian. 

Leili Rafiee Sevyeri, a postdoctoral researcher at the Cheriton School of Computer Science’s Symbolic Computation Group, is one of four recipients of the Applications of Computer Algebra Early Researcher Award.