Friday, May 23, 2025

Distinguished researcher Dr. Linda Nazar was awarded the inaugural Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship for 2025. Nazar, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Canada Research Chair in Solid State Energy Materials, is a pioneer in battery technology research, including lithium-sulfur and solid-state batteries. 

The Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship provides support to a prominent scholar, granting them time to pursue a novel project in collaboration with a National Research Council (NRC) researcher, leveraging NRC facilities. The grant bestowed upon the winners of the Fellowship will provide Nazar and her colleague, Dr. Yaser Abu-Lebdeh from the NRC, with dedicated time to accelerate progress in research on new and potentially disruptive battery technologies, aligning it with the NRC’s Critical Battery Materials Initiative. 

Their research aims to address challenges in lithium-ion battery technology, which traditionally uses cobalt-containing materials associated with low energy density, high costs, and environmental and socio-economic issues.  

“Our proposed solution is to use nickel-containing materials in combination with other lower-cost materials instead, but nickel-containing materials pose stability challenges that must be addressed,” says Nazar. They will seek to overcome these chemical and technological challenges, enabling the development of higher nickel-containing, cobalt-free materials.  

With Nazar and Abu-Lebdeh’s labs collaborating, they are bringing together experts in solid-state electrochemistry and batteries by mixing those with fundamental expertise with those with a focus on scale-up methods to advance the technology readiness. “The Fellowship will facilitate closer ties between our two labs to enhance our ability to deliver critical results that will contribute to advancing the feasibility and adoption of electric vehicles and other energy storage applications,” says Nazar. 

A Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellow has to be an inclusive collaborator, a barrier breaker or a research leader – Nazar is all three, so it’s easy to see why she was a great choice for the inaugural awarding of this Fellowship. 

Awards recognize excellence in online teaching and course design

Dr. Robin Cohen, Dr. Will Zhao, and Professor Tabatha Dominguez.

A message from the Office of the Associate Vice-President, Academic.

In today’s ever-evolving educational landscape, online teaching has become a staple in the way that our students learn. It presents new opportunities to transform how we engage, include, and inspire our students in the classroom environment. Furthermore, well-designed online courses are no longer simply digitized versions of in-person classes, but rather, are dynamic, intentional learning environments that prioritize accessibility, flexibility, and student-centered pedagogy.

As we continue to navigate the demands of 21^st-century learning, recognizing excellence in online education is more important than ever. With that in mind, the Centre for Extended Leaning and the Office of the Associate Vice-President Academic are proud to announce Dr. Robin Cohen as the recipient of the 2024 Online Teaching Award and Dr. Will Zhao and Professor Tabatha Dominguez as the recipients of the 2024 Online Course Design Award.

2024 Online Teaching Award Winner: Dr. Robin Cohen

The Online Teaching Award is awarded to an instructor who exemplifies a high standard of teaching in one or more of Waterloo's fully online undergraduate- or graduate-level course(s). Dr. Robin Cohen, Professor at the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, was selected as the 2024 recipient of this award due to her unwavering commitment to provide her students with a vibrant online learning environment in which all students felt valued, had multiple opportunities to practice, and opportunities to engage in their learning both synchronously and reflectively. Dr. Cohen's attention not only to disciplinary content but also to building her students’ workplace skills, and the detailed feedback provided to facilitate her students' academic and professional growth and development, made her a well-rounded candidate to receive this award. Congratulations to Dr. Cohen on her achievement. To read more about Dr. Cohen and her commitment to teaching excellence, please visit the Cheriton School of Computer Science website.

2024 Online Course Design Award Winners: Dr. Will Zhao and Professor Tabatha Dominguez

The Online Course Design Award recognizes exemplary undergraduate or graduate-level courses that meet or exceed the Quality Guidelines for University of Waterloo Online Courses. This year, Dr. Will Zhao, Assistant Professor of Organization and Human Behaviour, and Tabatha Dominguez, Definite-Term Lecturer at the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, have been selected as the recipients of the 2024 Excellence in Online Course Design Award for their course DEI 612: Working in Teams. Their course stood out as an outstanding example of asynchronous online learning that equips students with real-world, transferable skills through a clear and structured design. At the same time, the course thoughtfully incorporates synchronous opportunities—such as Tea-Time sessions, supplemental seminars, and peer fireside chats—to foster meaningful social engagements while preserving the flexibility students need in fully online contexts. DEI 612 demonstrated strong alignment with universal design principles and the Teaching Effectiveness Framework and was particularly innovative by incorporating the use of generative AI as a team coach, offering students, as described in the nomination, “practical experience using AI tools to enhance communication and decision-making.”

How to nominate an instructor or colleague for an Online Teaching Award

The 2024 competition for the Online Teaching and Online Course Design Awards demonstrated the breadth of teaching excellence in online courses at Waterloo. The 2024 competition saw an incredible turnout in nominations with the adjudication committee choosing the three recipients from the longest list of short listees to be considered for these awards. Nominations for this year’s awards, which include the Fall 2024, Winter 2025, and Spring 2025 academic terms are now open and must be submitted by August 31, 2025, to be considered. For more information, please visit the Online Teaching and Design Awards webpage.

Microsoft 365 storage data quotas will be reduced starting in June

Photograph by Panumas Nikhomkhai.

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST).

Microsoft has recently implemented a substantial reduction in cloud storage allocated to Higher Education institutions worldwide. As a result, the University of Waterloo must reduce the overall amount of storage used across campus to align with Microsoft’s policies. This change will impact all University employees, students, alumni, retirees, and generic accounts. Revised storage limits will vary between these groups.Email notifications will be sent to each audience outlining the details of the change.

Timeline for implementation

The new storage quotas will be implemented for students, alumni, retirees, and generic accounts beginning the week of June 23. Implementation dates for employees are planned for August 2025.

What's the impact of this change?

The new storage limits will be implemented for Microsoft OneDrive, SharePoint, and email (Outlook). Individuals will need to ensure the amount of data stored within M365 remain below the new quotas. An error message will appear when logged in to your M365 portal (portal.office.com) if you are approaching/over quota with advice on how to free up space. 

It's important to note that exceeding these limits may affect the ability to edit, store, and/or send files to/from these apps as well as sending and receiving email.

New storage data quotas and implementation dates

Audience	Outlook (email)	OneDrive	SharePoint	Teams	When the change takes effect
Employees	50GB	100GB	1TB	1TB	Beginning August 19, 2025
Students (undergraduate and non-employed graduate)	25GB	25GB	N/A	N/A	Beginning June 23, 2025
Alumni	25GB	N/A	N/A	N/A	Beginning June 23, 2025
Retirees	25GB	N/A	N/A	N/A	Beginning June 23, 2025
Generic accounts with A1 licence	25GB	100GB	N/A	N/A	Beginning June 23, 2025
Generic accounts with A3 licence	50GB	100GB	N/A	N/A	Beginning June 23, 2025
Generic shared accounts	50GB	N/A	N/A	N/A	Beginning June 23, 2025

Support resources

• See how much space you’re currently using and steps to free up space 
• See a list of FAQs regarding the change to storage limits 
• Submit questions via the IST Help Portal 

Parking lot Q closed for EV Challenge this weekend

On Saturday, May 24, the University of Waterloo will host the Waterloo High School Electric Vehicle (EV) Challenge on the University's East Campus. Student teams design, build and drive their own electric race cars in an endurance competition, with races in the 12- and 24-volt car classes, and a wide range of awards for the top-ranked teams.

As the race is taking place in Parking Lot Q, the parking lot will be closed from the evening of Friday, May 23 until the event's conclusion on Saturday, May 24.

"For those requiring parking during this period, please use any ungated parking lots on campus," says a note from Sustainable Transportation to parking pass holders.

The rain date for the competition is Sunday, May 25.