Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Convocation returns to in-person ceremonies this spring

"After much anticipation, we are pleased to announce that our 2022 Spring Convocation ceremonies will be held in person," wrote President Vivek Goel in a memo distributed to the campus community today. "Keeping our campus community safe remains our top priority."

"We are offering each of our eligible graduates two guest tickets. As in recent years, convocation ceremonies will be livestreamed for those who aren’t able to attend in person."

"Since convocations were celebrated virtually during the pandemic, we are also inviting our 2020 and 2021 alumni back to campus to recognize their monumental achievements through four special in-person ceremonies. Similar to our 2022 graduates, returning alumni will receive a link to our ticketing system where they’ll each receive two guest tickets. These special ceremonies will also be hosted online for those that are unable to attend in person."

"Please note that we will continue to monitor public health guidelines and follow COVID-19 safety protocols in accordance with the University of Waterloo’s policies and procedures," the president writes. "Many staff and faculty are working together to ensure our students and alumni have a memorable experience, one that will be shared both in-person and virtually."

Convocation celebrations will take place on the following days:

Class of 2020 Convocation Celebrations

Saturday, June 11, 2022
10:30 a.m. — Faculty of Arts, Health and Mathematics
1:30 p.m. — Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Science 

Class of 2021 Convocation Celebrations

Sunday, June 12, 2022
10:30 a.m. — Faculty of Arts, Health and Mathematics
1:30 p.m. — Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Science 

2022 Spring Convocations

Tuesday, June 14, 2022
10:00 a.m. — Faculty of Health
2:30 p.m. — Faculty of Environment

Wednesday, June 15, 2022
10:00 a.m. — Faculty of Arts
2:30 p.m. — Faculty of Arts
6:30 p.m. — Faculty of Arts

Thursday, June 16, 2022
10:00 a.m. — Faculty of Mathematics 
2:30 p.m. — Faculty of Mathematics
6:30 p.m. — Faculty of Mathematics

Friday, June 17, 2022
10:00 a.m. — Faculty of Science
2:30 p.m. — Faculty of Science
6:30 p.m. — Faculty of Engineering

Saturday, June 18, 2022
10:00 a.m. — Faculty of Engineering
2:30 p.m. — Faculty of Engineering
6:30 p.m. — Faculty of Engineering

Up-to-date information is also available on the Convocation website. You can email convocation@uwaterloo.ca if you have any questions or wish to express interest in volunteering to be part of this exciting time for the University.

Capstone Design Symposia season begins

A message from the Faculty of Engineering.

The Faculty of Engineering is returning to in-person Capstone Design Symposia starting Tuesday, March 15 with the Systems Design and Biomedical events happening today in Engineering 7.

Members of the University of Waterloo campus community are invited to check out our innovative upper-year student projects in Engineering 7’s Event Space on the second floor.

Please note that while this year’s Capstone events will be held in person, they are not open to the general public. Off-campus guests must be invited personally and escorted by a department representative. All University COVID-19 safety protocols will be in effect throughout the symposia.

New this year, there will be People’s Choice voting, with $500 awarded to the project team receiving the most votes during each in-person symposium. Be sure to cast a ballot at each event for your favourite 2022 Capstone project.

Capstone Symposium dates and times

• Biomedical: March 15 | 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Engineering 7, 2nd Floor Events Space;
• Systems Design:  March 15 | 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Engineering 7, 2nd Floor Events Space;
• Electrical and Computer: March 17 | 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Engineering 7, 2nd Floor Events Space;
• Mechatronics:  March 18 | 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. | Engineering 7, 2nd Floor Events Space;
• Nanotechnology: March 23 | 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Engineering 7, 2nd Floor Events Space;
• Management: March 23 | 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. | Engineering 7, 2nd Floor Events Space;
• Civil, Environmental and Geological: March 24 | 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. | Engineering 7, 2nd Floor Events Space;
• Mechanical: March 25 1:00-5:00 PM | Engineering 7, 2nd Floor Events Space;
• Interdisciplinary: March 25| Virtual Event Only;
• Chemical: March 28 | 1:30-2:30 PM | Engineering 7, 2nd Floor Events Space; and
• Software: March 29 | 4:00-6:00 PM | Engineering 7, 2nd Floor Events Space.

Register now for the 2022 Advisor Conference

A message from the Academic Advising Community of Practice.

Registration is now open for the 2022 University of Waterloo Advisor Conference: Riding the Wave of Change. Please join us online on April 27 and 28 to connect with your campus advising community.

We have all invested time adjusting to changing expectations for students, and our workplace, over another challenging year. At the 2022 virtual conference you can connect, share information, and attend sessions to further develop your advising practice and enhance the vital service you provide to Waterloo students.

Agenda highlights:

Eternity Martis, award-winning Toronto-based artist and author of They Said This Would be Fun: Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up, will provide a keynote address on the topic of “What does it mean to be a student (and woman) of colour on a Canadian university campus today?”  

Concurrent sessions include:

• Leveraging physical activity and play to support students, presented by Donna Rheams, Sr. Manager Active Living and Wellness, Athletics and Recreation.
• Maintaining good and supportive boundaries with students, presented by Amanda Cook, Director, Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office and Meaghan Ross, Sexual Violence Response Coordinator, SVRPO
• And so much more!

All staff who advise undergraduate or graduate students in academics, career or another capacity are encouraged to attend. Register by April 15 in Portal.

Lecture looks at a life worthy of living

The Dis/Ability in German Literature series, jointly organized by the Waterloo Centre for German Studies (WCGS) and the Germanic & Slavic Studies Department (GSS) continues this week with A life worthy of living: Kolmar's Susanna by Professor Alec Cattell of Texas Tech University.

"Join Dr. Cattell for an interactive virtual discussion about Gertrud Kolmar's last surviving literary work, the novella Susanna," says the lecture's background information. "After exploring the social and political context in which Susanna was written, the conversation will turn to Kolmar's mode of representing the protagonist as a person with a disability as well as the ways in which she negotiates disability myths and deploys disability rhetorics to inspire readers to read stories about disability ethically."

The event takes place on Thursday, March 17 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. online. For more information and to register, please visit the Eventbrite page.

This series of talks focuses on Dis/Ability Studies both within and beyond German Studies. Organized by Professor Michael Boehringer as part of his Disability in German Literature course, the presentations cover critical disability studies, myths and rhetorics of disability, German literature, and a public reading and discussion. All talks are free and open to the public and will be hosted on Zoom.

Delivering sight-saving drugs better, for longer

By Angie Docking. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

Finding efficient and comfortable methods for the delivery of drugs to the eye remains a significant challenge for vision scientists — and one that University of Waterloo researchers at the Centre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR) are undertaking in real time.

Under the leadership of Waterloo’s Dr. Lyndon Jones, researchers at Hong Kong’s Centre for Eye and Vision Research are working hard to answer the age-old question: how can we create effective, non-invasive drug solutions for our eyes?

Improving drug delivery to the front of the eye

Because of the tear drainage system, our eyes are naturally adept at removing foreign substances, making eye drops notoriously inefficient, says Dr. Chau-Minh Phan, a lead researcher for CEVR’s drug delivery platform.

“After application, they drain away from the ocular surface quickly. They can overspill. And a large proportion of the drop is absorbed into surrounding blood vessels, steering the medicine away from the front of the eye, where you want it to be most active,” Phan says. Estimates indicate that a person will only absorb about 5 per cent of the medicinal properties from eye drops currently on the market.

From 3D printing to light-activated materials, researchers at CEVR are on the cusp of developing a range of technologies that will enable drug delivery in a time-controlled manner using ocular inserts and contact lenses. Instead of applying multiple drops a day, patients would simply apply an insert at the base of their eye or wear a drug-releasing contact lens for up to a week.

“When your sight is on the line, you want to know you’re getting the best treatment,” Phan says. “The slow-release systems we’re building will increase treatment efficacy while also improving the patient experience."

Replacing eye injections with laser technology

To date, delivering medication to the back of the eye has been the biggest challenge facing ophthalmologists treating eye disease.  

Intravitreal injections — a shot of medicine into the vitreous, a jelly-like fluid at the back of the eye — are currently the gold standard for treating posterior eye disease. Not only does this type of treatment invoke fear in many patients, but Phan says there is also serious risk of infection.

“In most cases, injections need to be repeated frequently — every three months or less for patients with diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Every time they receive a shot, a patient may experience complications”.

Researchers at CEVR, including Waterloo professor and Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland and professor Melanie Campbell, have zeroed in on an innovative new laser technology that would eliminate the need for AMD patients to receive on-going intravitreal injections.

The leading cause of vision loss in older adults, AMD happens when an abnormal amount of blood vessels grow and leak beneath the retina, causing blurry vision. Using this first-of-its-kind laser technology, practitioners would be able to non-invasively eliminate excess blood vessels to effectively slow the progression of the disease.

Bringing together global talent

Now a year into their work at Waterloo’s hub for global vision research, Dr. Jones says creating the ocular drug delivery research program at CEVR has opened the door to work with incredible talent from all over the world.

“It's been exciting to see the extraordinary pool of talented researchers we’ve been able to assemble at CEVR,” Dr. Jones says.

“With every new collaboration comes new ideas and skills and the opportunity to change the way we’re delivering treatment to millions of patients for the better.”