Editor:
Brandon Sweet
University Communications
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Faculty of Engineering announces a new vision for the future
This article was originally published on the Faculty of Engineering website.
In its latest strategic plan, Waterloo Engineering is not only preparing for the future—it’s creating it.
Guided by the long-term vision of Waterloo at 100, the Faculty of Engineering’s 2025–2030 strategic plan, Where Excellence Thrives, calls on the Faculty to go beyond solving real-world challenges and to take a leadership role in developing innovative solutions that benefit the global community.
"This plan is more than a list of goals—it reflects our shared journey toward achieving a bold vision for Waterloo at 100," said Dean Mary Wells. "It captures what makes us extraordinary and amplifies the idea that our potential at Waterloo Engineering is limitless.
Defining the path forward
At the heart of Where Excellence Thrives are four interconnected themes: culture, graduates, knowledge, and campus. Together, they reflect the Faculty’s bold ambition to shape the future and redefine what’s possible. Dr. Maya Przybylski, O'Donovan Director of the School of Architecture, designed the plan’s circular symbol to emphasize the unity and strength that comes from weaving them together.
The vision is ambitious. All undergraduate students will engage in faculty-led research, gaining valuable hands-on experience before graduation—a cornerstone of Waterloo’s commitment to experiential learning. Graduate students will benefit from learning and campus resources designed to cultivate career-defining skills, preparing them to excel in either academia or the broader professional world.
Faculty collaboration will also evolve with the introduction of dynamic “third spaces”—creative hubs designed to inspire innovation and build connections beyond traditional academic settings. And, with an aim to achieve record-breaking funding, the Faculty is more committed than ever to enable ground-breaking advancements for a better future.
The power of listening
Led by Wells and Veronica Michael, the Faculty’s director of integrated planning, the Faculty embarked on an extensive journey of consultation where students, faculty, staff, alumni and industry partners offered feedback on how to make the strategic plan most relevant to real-world problem-solving.
Many strategies—from employee and student surveys, departmental strategic planning retreats, presentations to trusted advisory groups, open consultation sessions and discussions at the Dean’s weekly Coffee & Conversation gatherings—were enacted to ensure every voice was reflected in the final plan.
Alongside Wells and Michael, Waterloo Engineering's chairs, school directors, associate deans and senior staff collaborated closely with their teams to align departmental goals with the Faculty’s overarching aspirations, ensuring everyone felt connected to the vision.
Looking ahead
As the plan is set to begin action, Wells is excited about the Faculty’s future. "This is more than a plan—it’s our commitment to excellence, to our community, and to the world,” says Wells.
“And it renews my promise as dean to ensure that Waterloo Engineering doesn’t just respond to change, but that we lead it.”
Read the full strategic plan document
Meet Freda Shi, a computer scientist who advances grounded language learning and computational linguistics
This is an excerpt of an article originally published on the Cheriton School of Computer Science website.
Freda Shi joined the Cheriton School of Computer Science as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in July 2024. In September 2024 she was named a CIFAR AI Chair and a faculty member at the Vector Institute.
Professor Shi’s research interests are in computational linguistics and natural language processing. She works towards deeper understandings of natural language and the human language processing mechanism, as well as how these insights can inform the design of more efficient, effective, safe and trustworthy NLP systems. She is particularly interested in learning language through grounding, computational multilingualism, and related machine learning aspects.
Her representative work includes grounded syntax and semantics learners, the contextualized bilingual lexicon inducer, and the substructure-based zero-shot cross-lingual dependency parser. She has also worked on searching for evidence of semantics encoded in large language models. Her work has been recognized with best paper nominations at ACL 2019 and 2021, and was supported by a Google PhD Fellowship. She has a PhD in computer science from Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago and a BS in Intelligence Science and Technology from Peking University.
She leads the Computation, Language, Intelligence, and Grounding (CompLING) Lab, a group of researchers who work towards understanding human language with the help of computational methods. As of January 2025, her work has been cited more than 2,750 times with an h-index of 14 according to Google Scholar.
Read the full Q&A with Dr. Shi
Reminder: nomination deadline for Amit & Meena Chakma Award coming up on February 7
A message from the Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE).
The Amit & Meena Chakma Award (AETS) is presented to students who have demonstrated excellence in teaching. Do you know of a teaching assistant, lab demonstrator, or instructor who has shown a commitment to excellence in teaching on campus? You can nominate them for the 2024-2025 AETS award! Nominations are now open and due Friday, February 7.
Visit the Centre for Teaching Excellence’s webpage today and see if your nominee meets the criteria to be awarded the AETS! Submit your nomination form to cte-aets@uwaterloo.ca and nominate your favourite student instructor for this year’s AETS award.
Nomination forms are due the first Friday of February 2025. Contact Maris Weiss for more information about either of this award.
Friday's notes
The Warrior Rec Intramurals registration deadline is coming up on Monday, January 13 at 12 noon. Athletics and Recreation boasts of a new and improved registration system this term. There are over 15 intramural leagues to choose from, including basketball, dodgeball, ice hockey, indoor soccer, indoor Ultimate Frisbee, and more. Find out more and sign up today!
The Office of Indigenous Relations (OIR) is celebrating its 4th anniversary with an Open House on Monday, January 13, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in EC5 4201.
"All are welcome to join us at the office for all or part of the afternoon," says the OIR. "Connect with the OIR team and learn more about our mission, initiatives, and contributions to supporting Indigenous students, faculty, staff and alumni fostering greater awareness and understanding of Indigenous issues and cultures on campus. Come on out and join us for cake and refreshments as we celebrate this exciting milestone."
Information Systems & Technology (IST) has published the latest in the Atlassian Blog Series entitled Customer Not Receiving Notifications? Here’s How to Fix Email Suppression in Jira.
Link of the day
550 years ago: The Battle of Vaslui
When and where
The Student Health Pharmacy (located in the lower level of the Student Life Centre) is now offering new COVID booster shots and flu shots. Call for appointments to register for the vaccination at 519-746-4500 or dial extension 33784. Walk-ins are welcome.
Warriors Game Day Tickets. Purchase your single game tickets or season packages today to cheer on your Warriors this season. Tickets on sale now for Basketball, Football, Hockey and Volleyball. Check out the schedules and purchase today!
Join the Disability Affinity Program mailing list to receive meeting information for the Disability Community Network and the Accessibility Ally Network.
Rx2028 PHROSH Week, Monday, January 6 to Friday, January 10.
Free Try-it Opportunities (Fitness, Clubs & Instructional), Monday, January 6 to Sunday, January 12. Find out more.
Bonhoeffer: Cell 92, Friday, January 10 and Saturday, January 11, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Conrad Grebel Great Hall.
WUSA Welcome Week, Monday, January 13 to Friday, January 17.
Chemistry seminar: From Ions to Oceans: Methods to Address Modern Chemical Analysis Challenges featuring Ross McColloch, Research Scientist, Department of Earth and Sky, University of British Columbia, Monday, January 13, 9:00 a.m., C2-361 reading room and on MS Teams.
Warrior Rec Intramurals registration deadline, Monday, January 13, 12 noon. New and improved registration system this term. Over 15 leagues to choose from. Find out more and sign up today!
Office of Indigenous Relations Anniversary Celebration Open House, Monday, January 13, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., EC5 4201.
Call for posters – Climate Con 2025 extended deadline, Tuesday January 14. Submit a proposal to present at the Student Showcase at this year’s Climate Con 2025 on Friday, February 7. Prizes available. Submit today.
Warrior Athletics and Recreation Open House, Tuesday, January 14, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., SLC/PAC Atrium by Jugo Juice. Find out how to get active and engaged with your fellow Warriors.
NEW - WaterLeadership | Sharing Science: Clear language writing, Tuesday, January 14, 12 noon to 1:30 p.m., United College UTD 164 (GreenHouse room).
Innovation Open House Mixer, Tuesday, January 14, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., SCH Cafeteria.
WISE Public Lecture, “The Dilemma of Energy Transition in Market-Driven Systems: Lessons from the Chilean Context” by Dr. Shahriyar Nasirov (Associate Professor, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (UAI), Chile., Wednesday, January 15, 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Engineering 2 (E2)., Room 2350., In-person and on Zoom. Register today.
You Don't Know What You Don't Know with Ela Smith, three-part workshop hosted by the Office of Indigenous Relations, Thursday, January 16, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., online.
Freedom of Expression and Inclusive Engagement panel discussion, Thursday, January 16, 3:00 p.m. to 4:25 p.m., reception 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., E7-2409.
Waterloo RoboHub Winter Symposium, Friday, January 17, 5:00 p.m., Engineering 7.
Warriors Men’s Hockey vs. Lakehead, Friday, January 17, 7:00 p.m., CIF Arena. Think Pink, Employee Day sponsored by Homewood Suites St Jacobs. Buy your tickets today!
Warrior Rec Instructional Programs registration deadline, Monday, January 20, 12 noon. Dance, Martial Arts, Skating, Skipping and Climbing lessons available. Find out more and register today.
Master of Taxation Virtual Information Session, Tuesday, January 21, 4:00 p.m.
WaterTalk featuring Dr. Daniel Jaffee, Professor of Sociology, Portland State University, “Unbottled: Plastic Water, Inequality, and Water Justice,” Thursday, January 23, 12 noon to 1:00 p.m., Zoom.
Chemical Engineering Graduate Studies Fair, Friday, January 24, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., E7 1st Floor Ideas Clinic.
Warriors Volleyball vs. Toronto, Saturday, January 25, (W) 2:00 p.m., (M) 4:00 p.m., Carl Totzke Court, PAC. Think Pink, Camps and Minor League Night. Buy your tickets today!
Warriors Women’s Hockey vs. Guelph, Sunday, January 26, 2:30 p.m., CIF Arena. Think Pink, Camps and Minor League Day, Alumni Day. Buy your tickets today!
PhD oral defences
Computer Science. Nicole Sandra-Yaffa Dumont, "Symbols, Dynamics and Maps: A Neurosymbolic Approach to Spatial Cognition." Supervisors, Dr. Chris Eliasmith, Dr. Jeff Orchard. Thesis available from MGO - mgo@uwaterloo.ca. Oral defence Monday, January 13, 9:00 a.m., E7 2343.
School of Public Health Sciences. Julia Russell, "Exploring the Wellbeing and Food Security of Ethical Vegans through the Human and More-than-Human World." Supervisor, Dr. Kelly Skinner. Email Health Graduate Administration to request a copy. Oral defence Monday, January 13, 9:00 a.m., BMH 3119 and hybrid.
Geography and Environmental Management. Yixin Chen, “Transition to electric vehicles: the importance of macro and micro influences on spatial and temporal patterns”.Supervisor, Dr. Jean Andrey. Available upon request from the Faculty of Environment, Administrator, Graduate Studies. Oral defence Tuesday, January 14, 1:00 p.m.
Geography and Environmental Management. Jodi Koberinski, “Imagining Shared Food Futures: Limits of Settler Colonial Knowledge Systems”.Supervisor, Dr. Steffanie Scott. Available upon request from the Faculty of Environment, Administrator, Graduate Studies. Oral defence Wednesday, January 15, 1:00 p.m.
Upcoming service interruptions
Stay up to date on service interruptions, campus construction, and other operational changes on the Plant Operations website. Upcoming service interruptions include:
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Mathematics and Computer Building (MC) ramp closure, Tuesday, January 7 to Friday, January 10, south entrance ramp and stair located in room 1107 will be closed for deliveries, barrier-free access via PAC/SLC bridge. All other exit stairs and entrances will be open.
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Modern Languages electrical shutdown, Sunday, January 12, 8:00 a.m., lasting for four hours, elevator will be off, emergency power will be operational.
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Engineering 2 and 3, Davis Centre, Math & Computer fire alarm testing, Monday, January 13, 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
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Aberfoyle - BioRem fire alarm testing, Monday, January 13, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
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Fire Research Facility fire alarm testing, Monday, January 13, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
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Biology 2 electrical panel shutdown, Tuesday, January 14, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., power will be off in rooms 150,247,247A, 249, 249A-D,354,354A-C.
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Carl Pollock Hall, Douglas Wright Engineering, South Campus Hall, Rod Coutts Hall, Grad House fire alarm testing, Wednesday, January 15, 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
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General Services Complex, Commissary, Central Plant fire alarm testing, Wednesday, January 15, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
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CIF, Brubacher House electrical shutdown, Friday, January 17, 5:00 a.m., all electrical power to the buildings will be off for one hour.
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Douglas Wright Engineering Building (DWE) electrical shutdown, Tuesday, January 21, 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., 120/208-volt non-essential power will be offline for approximately 1.5 hours to remove wiring from light fixtures and rework. Receptacles, Wiremolds, and Lights will be offline during the duration of the shutdown. Emergency lighting will remain operational