Editor:
Brandon Sweet
University Communications
bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Register for the Budget Information Forum on April 2
"Please join us at an upcoming virtual Budget Information Forum on Wednesday, April 2," wrote President and Vice-Chancellor Vivek Goel in an email circulated to employees yesterday.
"We will detail the University’s current financial position and what proposed finances look like for next year as part of our three-year plan to return to a balanced budget," President Goel writes. "Our recommended operating budget will be presented to Senate and the Board of Governors for their review and approval in mid-April, and we would like to share what will be considered by these bodies with you in advance for awareness."
Register for the budget information forum
"We know you have many questions, and your concerns are important to us," Goel writes. "In the past, we have had more questions than we could answer during our time together and so for this forum, we’re asking that you submit questions in advance during the registration process. We’ll take a look at all of your questions and group them together according to larger themes so we can address as much as possible during this information forum."
The budget information forum takes place Wednesday, April 2 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. online via Microsoft Teams.
"After the event, if you have specific questions related to your unit, we encourage you to reach out to your leader as budget-related decisions will vary based on the needs of those departments. You can also continue to send questions, suggestions and ideas to budget@uwaterloo.ca and our team will strive to get back to you."
Warriors shut out Pandas in quarter-final victory
"The Waterloo Warriors made a statement in their opening match of the 2025 Miller Waste U Sports National Championship, delivering a stunning 3-0 upset over the favoured Alberta Pandas," says an article published on the Athletics and Recreation website. "Entering the tournament as OUA silver medalists, the Warriors faced a formidable challenge against the Canada West champions in the quarter-final. With the Dan Snyder Memorial Arena packed with supporters, the energy was electric, setting the stage for a dramatic showdown."
The Alberta Pandas, who upset UBC to win the Canada West championship, were the top seed heading into the 2025 Miller Waste Systems U SPORTS Women's Hockey Championship. The host Warriors were seeded 8th.
Read the full article on the Athletics website.
The Warriors will next face the Concordia Stingers in the semifinals on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
Tickets are currently on sale on at usportstickets.ca. All 11 games from the event will be broadcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms in English. In French, the games will be carried on Radio Canada's digital platforms, with Sunday's gold medal game being aired on TVA Sports.
Tri-Agency requests feedback on Open Access Policy draft
A message from the Library.
The Tri-Agencies implemented an open access policy in 2015 requiring research funded by the NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR and published in peer reviewed journals to be made open access within 12 months of publication.
The Libraries support this current Tri-Agency open access policy via UWSpace and self-archiving supportalongside publisher agreements that cover open access publication fees.
The Tri-Agencies have recently shared a draft of a new open access policy, with a proposed implementation date of January 1, 2026, that would require:
- Award recipients must deposit their research article in a Canadian institutional repository at the time of publication, even where the article is freely available on the publisher website.
The version deposited may be either the version of record (VoR) or author-accepted manuscript (AAM) and must be deposited under an open license (Creative Commons or equivalent).
- Authors must retain rights over the dissemination of any peer-reviewed research article arising from agency-funded research.
The Tri-Agencies are looking for feedback on the draft from the research community by March 31, 2025. If you have feedback, please share via their form.
Lights out in the Student Life Centre on Sunday
On Sunday, March 23, the Student Life Centre and Health Services will go dark due to an electrical shutdown affecting the two buildings.
The outage will last from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. "All normal source power will be off, emergency power will be operating, elevators and accessibility lifts will be off," reports Plant Operations.
The SLC will be open and unlocked but will only have emergency power. Internet access will also be spotty if available at all. During the power shutdown, only the Ring Road, Turnkey, Brubakers and Centre Expansion Doors will be open, and all other doors will be exit-only.
Thankfully, most businesses in the SLC are closed on Sunday already, so the impact of the shutdown is limited.
Flock Stop will be closed from Saturday, March 22 at 9:00 p.m. until Sunday, March 23 at 6:00 p.m.
WUSA reports that the Turnkey Desk will be staffed with limited service, even in the darkness. Study rooms, etc. will not be available. Turnkey@DC will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 23.
UW Food Services reports that Tim Hortons SLC will be closed for the day.
The CIBC ATMs in the building will also be offline and inaccessible.
New funding set to accelerate Canada’s quantum industry capabilities
By Naomi Grosman. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.
A research project led by Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) faculty Dr. David Cory, professor in the Department of Chemistry, has received $1 million to advance quantum metrological standards.
The project is jointly funded through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada's Alliance Quantum grants and the National Research Council of Canada, supporting the implementation of the National Quantum Strategy (NQS). The strategy aims to address important challenges in quantum science, while supporting the development of quantum technologies including algorithms and encryption, communications, computing, materials and sensing.
Cory is working with IQC research associate Dr. George Nichols, IQC faculty Dr. Guo-Xing Miao, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dr. Labanya Ghosh, postdoctoral fellow, and graduate student Yawen Peng at the University of Waterloo.
The project aims to develop quantum standards and measurement tools with the same performance as current ones but with much lower experimental overheads. Low temperatures and other requirements currently limit the tools’ use in national labs and specialist research centres.
While the quantum industry is poised to be an early adopter of these new standards, the project’s advancements can have wide-ranging applications in telecommunications and nuclear industries, and other fields requiring high-precision measurements.
“Quantum metrological standards derive their precision from universal constants, giving them robustness and fidelity unachievable by classical devices. We are developing quantum voltage, mass and temperature measurement tools using advanced fabrication techniques and novel superconducting materials that operate at higher temperatures than existing quantum devices,” says Cory, Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate and the principal investigator for the Canada First Research Excellence Fund in Transformative Quantum Technologies (TQT). “By making quantum standards more widely accessible, this project will enable the ultra-precise measurements on which new quantum technologies rely, accelerating Canada’s growing quantum industry.”
The NQS, launched by the Government of Canada, aims to amplify Canada’s significant strengths in quantum research, grow its quantum-ready technologies, companies and talent and solidify Canada ’s global leadership in this area.
For more than two decades, IQC members across seven University of Waterloo departments, have been a world leader in quantum research, and this latest funding enables researchers to further support the NQS mandate.
University of Waterloo acknowledges the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
FIRST robotics and other fun files on Friday
Teams of teens and their thinking machines began arriving at Waterloo yesterday for the FIRST Robotics Waterloo Regional Competition, which runs today and tomorrow in the Physical Activities Complex. The competition brings teams of Ontario's brightest high school students to the Waterloo campus to battle head-to-head with student-designed, remote-controlled robots. Built from scratch, these five-foot tall, 140-pound robots compete in high intensity robo-sports.
The theme for this year’s FIRST Robotics Competition is "REEFSCAPE."
"The action of this competition is fun for the whole family!" says a note from Engineering. "Drop in for a few matches or stay for the whole day. More information is available online. Registration is not required.
Check out the full agenda.
From gearworks to clockworks: Conrad Grebel University College Student Council is presenting the first Canadian production of The Clockmaker's Daughter at the Conrad Centre for Performing Arts in Kitchener on Friday, March 21, Saturday, March 22, and Sunday, March 23.
"Set in late 1800's Ireland, master clockmaker Abraham Reed, after the loss of his daughter, accidentally creates a mechanical girl that comes to life and names her Constance," says a note from Conrad Grebel University College. "Despite her life-like appearance, he tells her to remain hidden from the outside world, but her curiosity leads her to escape her confines. The tale follows her as she discovers what it means to be human."
Check out this behind-the-scenes article on the Conrad Grebel website for more information about the musical.
"Velocity and Future Cities Institute would like to invite you to the inaugural Future Cities Innovation Challenge Finals happening on March 21 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Innovation Arena located in Downtown Kitchener at 280 Joseph St.," says a note from Velocity.
"Come celebrate the top eight teams who have made it this far as they take the stage to deliver their polished three-minute pitches to a live audience and judges. There is $20,000 in cash prizes up for grabs!"
The judging panel includes:
- Berry Vrbanovic - Mayor of Kitchener, City of Kitchener
- Frank Cairo - Co-founder and CEO at Caivan
- Rory Nisan - Deputy Mayor, City and Regional Councillor at City of Burlington and Region of Halton
- Tina Marano - Associate, Strategy & Business Development Leader, Canada/Future Communities Lead Canada at GHD
Learn more about this exciting innovation challenge and register in advance online. There are only four spots left so grab them while you still can!
Tomorrow, Saturday, March 22, is World Water Day, with the theme of "Save our Glaciers." Today, the Water Institute will be hosting a special event today from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Student Life Centre (SLC) Black and Gold Room.
Information Systems & Technology (IST) has published the latest in the Atlassian Blog Series today entitled Understanding the New "Work" Terminology in Jira.
Lastly, a reminder that campus will be abuzz with activity on Saturday, March 22 as thousands of future students, their families and supporters will be visiting the University for March Open House. Sessions will be held at the main campus and satellite campuses.
Upcoming office closure
The Office of the Ombudsperson will be closed from Tuesday, March 25 to Wednesday, April 2.
Link of the day
When and where
The Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey is now open. Graduate students should check their @uwaterloo email for a link to participate. Students who submit their responses will receive $5 on their WatCard as well as a chance to win one of ten $150 shopping sprees. The survey is open until April 25.
The privately-run 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.
Future Cities Innovation Challenge, Monday, March 10 to Friday, March 21.
UPSTART 25 Student Work Festival, Wednesday, March 19 to Saturday, March 22.
2025 Miller Waste U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship, Thursday, March 20 to Sunday, March 23, Woolwich Memorial Centre, Elmira. Volunteer opportunities available. Buy your tickets today!
Grebel Student Musical: The Clockmaker's Daughter, Friday, March 21 to Sunday, March 23, Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts, Kitchener.
NEW - FIRST Robotics Ontario District University of Waterloo event, Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22, Physical Activities Complex.
World Water Day 2025 – Save our Glaciers!, Friday, March 21, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., SLC Black and Gold Room.
Knowledge Integration Global Futures Capstone Exhibition, Friday, March 21, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., St. Jerome’s University, Siegfried Hall Residence Wellness Centre Gym.
Mechatronics Engineering Capstone symposium, Friday, March 21, 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., Engineering 7.
NEW - March Open House, Saturday, March 22, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., University of Waterloo campuses.
Knowledge Integration Global Futures Capstone Exhibition, Saturday, March 22, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., St. Jerome’s University, Siegfried Hall Residence Wellness Centre Gym.
NEW - Warriors Women’s Hockey U SPORTS Semifinal vs. Concordia Stingers, Saturday, March 22, 4:00 p.m., Woolwich Memorial Centre, Elmira. Buy your tickets today!
All Beethoven: Orchestra@UWaterloo, Sunday, March 23, 7:30 p.m., Knox Presbyterian Church, 50 Erb St. West. Free admission.
Understanding PCOS and Endometriosis: Taking Charge of Your Reproductive Health, Monday, March 24, 12 noon to 1:30 p.m.
Management Science & Engineering Capstone symposium, Monday, March 24, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m., Engineering 7.
Mechanical Engineering Capstone symposium, Monday, March 24, 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Student Design Centre Engineering 5.
Chemistry Seminar: Probing Materials at the Nanoscale: a Journey in Tip-Enhanced Spectroscopy featuring François Lagugné-Labarthet, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Western University, Tuesday, March 25, 11:00 a.m., C2-361 Reading Room.
Software Engineering Capstone symposium, Tuesday, March 25, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m., Engineering 7.
Indigenous Speakers Series presents katherena vermette, Tuesday, March 25, 3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., Theatre of the Arts.
Master of Taxation, Virtual Information session, Tuesday, March 25, 4:00 p.m.
NEW - Waterloo Womxn + Nonbinary Wednesdays: Learn to Lift, Wednesday, March 26, 12 noon to 1:00 p.m., PAC Studio 1.
NEW - Mates x EDI-R Slime Making: Unleash Your Inner Slime Master!, Wednesday, March 26, 12 noon to 2:00 p.m., SLC lower flex space.
Community Well-Being Farmer's Market, Wednesday, March 26, 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., E7 1st floor.
i-Capstone Symposium, Wednesday, March 26, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Engineering 7.
4Repair event, Wednesday, March 26, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., E7 1401. Bring your items for small fixes; we’re working toward a more sustainable world one repair at a time!
University of Waterloo Knowledge Mobilization Community of Practice, “Telling Your Impact Story” with Dr. Dawn Henwood from Clarity Connect, Thursday, March 27, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Contact Nadine Quehl to request a Teams invitation or for more information.
Interdisciplinary Workshop on Health Futures, Thursday, March 27, 10:00 a.m., Toby Jenkins Building.
Norman Esch Capstone Pitch Competition, Thursday, March 27, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Engineering 7.
Science in the City - Quantum, Thursday, March 27, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Schooner Street Brewery, Waterloo.
A Time & A Place: UWaterloo Chamber Choir, Friday, March 28, 7:30 p.m., St. John the Evangelist Church, 22 Water Street, Kitchener. Tickets available at the door, $5 students/$10 general.
Warriors Figure Skating End-of-Season Showcase, Saturday, March 29, 2:00 p.m., Columbia Icefield Rink.
NEW - Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) Seminar: Part 2, Tuesday, April 1, 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., QNC 0101.
NEW - Master of Taxation, Virtual Information Session, Tuesday, April 1, 4:00 p.m.
NEW - Transparency in animal research with Dr. Michael Brunt, Thursday, April 3, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Please register to attend.
NEW - Quest will be down for scheduled maintenance, Saturday, April 5, 6:45 a.m. to 12 noon.
PhD oral defences
Statistics & Actuarial Science. Xintong Li, "Resilient Machine Learning Approaches for Fask Risk Evaluation and Management in Financial Portfolios and Variable Annuities." Supervisors, Dr. Ben Feng, Dr. Tony Wirjanto. Thesis available from MGO - mgo@uwaterloo.ca. Oral defence Friday, March 28, 1:00 p.m., online.
Recreation and Leisure Studies. Amy Matharu, "The Weight of Leaving: Gender, Identity Shifts, and Health Challenges in the Post-Competition Lives of Women Bodybuilders." Email Health Graduate Administration for a copy. Oral defence Monday, March 31, 8:30 a.m., EXP 1686.
Applied Mathematics. José Polo Gómez, "Measurements of quantum fields with particle detectors." Supervisor, Dr. Eduardo Martín-Martínez. Thesis available from MGO - mgo@uwaterloo.ca. Oral defence Monday, March 31, 11:30 a.m., QNC 2101.
Applied Mathematics. Tales Rick Perche, "The Information Locally Stored in Quantum Fields: From Entanglement to Gravity." Supervisors, Dr. Eduardo Martín-Martínez, Dr. David Kubiznak. Thesis available from MGO - mgo@uwaterloo.ca. Oral defence Wednesday, April 2, 3:00 p.m., QNC 2101.
Chemical Engineering. Sara Sadr, "Engineering Aerotolerance and Quorum Sensing into Clostridium for Use as a Live Biotherapeutic Product against Solid Tumor." Supervisors, Dr. Marc Aucoin, Dr. Brian Ingalls. Thesis available via SharePoint - email eng.phd@uwaterloo.ca to request a viewing link. Oral defence Thursday, April 3, 1:00 p.m., E6 2022.
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:
- Needles Hall electrical shutdown, Friday, March 21, 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., electrical shutdown will affect all normal power within the building to accommodate metering installation.
- Student Life Centre and Health Services shutdown, Sunday, March 23, 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., All normal source power will be off, emergency power will be operating, elevators and accessibility lifts will be off.
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Quantum-Nano Centre, Biology 1 and 2, Health Services, Science Teaching Complex fire alarm testing, Monday, March 24, 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
- Hagey Hall (original building and School of Accounting and Finance) electrical and domestic cold water shutdown, Tuesday, March 25, 12:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.,electrical shutdown will affect Hagey Hall addition and chillers, shutdown will start from 2:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. for the School of Accounting and Finance, chillers will be offline until 11:00 a.m., domestic cold water shutdown will start from 12:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m., domestic hot water will still be available during this time.
- Douglas Wright Engineering Building hot and cold water shutdown, Wednesday, March 26, 3:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., domestic hot and cold (soft) water shutdown to accommodate metering installation.
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Bright Starts daycare, Toby Jenkins Building, School of Optometry, Columbia Icefield fire alarm testing, Wednesday, March 26, 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
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B2, B1, ESC, Dana Porter Library DI water shutdown, Wednesday, March 26, 7:00 a.m. to 12 noon, these buildings will not have DI water during the shutdown.
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UWP Waterloo South, Woolwich South, Beck Hall fire alarm testing, Wednesday, March 26, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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Engineering 2, Engineering 3, Arts Lecture Hall domestic cold water shutdown, Thursday, March 27, 12:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., domestic cold water will be shut off while a new isolation valve is installed.
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Hagey Hall - (original building) electrical shutdown, Thursday March 27, 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., electrical shutdown will affect all normal power within the building to accommodate metering installation.
- Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology Building (PAS) electrical shutdown, Friday, March 28, 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., electrical shutdown will affect all normal power within the building to accommodate a metering installation.
- East Campus Hall, Engineering 5, 6, 7 fire alarm testing, Friday, March 28, 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
- Willam Tutte Way roadway and pathway from Ring Road to Math 3 closure for crane erection, Friday, March 28, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., all adjacent pedestrian pathways will need to be closed for safety during the crane erection process.
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Wilmot South, Wellesley South, Eby Hall, Claudette Miller Hall fire alarm testing, Friday, March 28, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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Physics domestic cold water (hard) shutdown, Monday, March 31, 12:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., domestic cold water (hard) shutdown to accommodate metering installation, domestic hot water will still be available during this time.