Monday, July 24, 2023

Velocity students step into the spotlight

By Angelica Marie Sanchez. This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.

On July 19, the University of Waterloo community came together to support seven finalist teams as they pitched their business ideas for a chance at one of four $5,000 grants, and one $500 grant for People’s Choice Award. 

This spring term, Velocity received more than 80 applications covering a wide range of industries. Of those selected 23 semi-finalist teams, seven innovative startups — EmpathEase, Entangled Vision, EyesoBio, Nitron, Pragmatica, Quinproc and Swish — presented their business ideas in front of a panel of judges in the Theatre of the Arts, Modern Languages building.  

“It was great to host the event at such an amazing venue at the Theatre of the Arts,” said John Dick, director of Velocity campus. “Every term, I am blown away by the ideas that Waterloo students are working on and the impact they could have on some massive problems. Pitching your ideas in front of an audience of strangers is no easy task and all the students were truly outstanding today." 

Anyone can do this; students just must start. It’s thrilling to see students go from zero to pitching a unique solution that has the potential to solve big problems. 

Finals panel of judges  

• James Lowman, co-founder and CEO of Cauchy Analytics;

• Amber French, co-founder of Catalyst Capital Inc.;

• Ramneek Singh, associate of Student Venture Fund.

Velocity $5K pitch competition finals

Four finalist teams take home the Velocity $5K grants 

EyesoBio is a biotechnology company which uses innovative devices for eye product testing. Its novel technology provides high level accuracy and rapid high-throughput screening of drugs, therapeutics and biomaterials.  

“The current research for [eye disease] treatments are low, expensive and relies on annual testing,” explained Kaya Wong, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Chemistry.  

“But the difficulties of doing clinical trials have increased since COVID-19, and this year, the FDA will no longer require animal testing before clinical trials. That means in the future, we will rely more and more on self-study to determine if the experimental eye products are safe and effective.” 

This is where EyesoBio comes in. Their advanced technologies deliver a hand-size device which enables researchers to test material in the eye mimicking environments, providing standardized results on safety and effectiveness. 

“The support from Velocity is going to accelerate our prototype development and help file our professional patent, customer acquisitions and marketing,” Wong said. “We are confident that we can transform high product testing and bring [this device] home to the hundreds of millions suffering from eye diseases. We are EyesoBio – your one stop solution for eye product testing.” 

Read the rest of the article on Waterloo News

Participants needed for weight loss study

The Metabolism, Exercise Training and Sex Differences (METS) lab in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo is seeking sedentary, overweight males and females aged 18-45 years for a research study investigating whether the addition of two nutritional supplements to an exercise regime can improve the effects of exercise training on ‘high-quality weight loss’.

For more information, read the full Daily Bulletin article from August 8, 2022 regarding the launch of this ongoing research study.

If you are interested in participating in this study or have any questions, please contact Jennifer Wilkinson, Department of Kinesiology at 905-414-7897 or j7wilkin@uwaterloo.ca.

Monday's notes

"Rock Your Thesis: Revise and Submit is starting July 28!" says a note from the Writing and Communication Centre (WCC). "The third in the three-part “Rock Your Thesis” series, this workshop will equip you with the skills you need to revise your thesis or dissertation draft and plan to submit and defend it." Use the hashtag #waterloowrites on social media to find out more.

The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) has announced that Chris Hadfield will be returning as the keynote speaker at the Sustainable Aeronautics Summit 2023, which will be held on October 23, 2023.

Referred to as “the most famous astronaut since Neil Armstrong,” Colonel Chris Hadfield  became a household name as the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station. A heavily decorated astronaut, engineer, and pilot,  Hadfield’s many awards include the Order of Canada, the Meritorious Service Cross, and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.  

Hadfield is also a bestselling author of four books, an acclaimed musician, and the host of two internationally acclaimed television series, including National Geographic’s  One Strange Rock.   

An honorary member of WISA's advisory committee, Commander Hadfield gave the keynote address when the University launched its aviation program in 2007 and joined Waterloo's Aviation program as an adjunct professor in 2013 for a three-year term.