Tuesday, November 4, 2025

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• Meet Nibi: Waterloo’s supercomputer empowering researchers in science, medicine and technology

• Season’s Eatings: Celebrate with a campus feast

• Religious and Spiritual Days of Observance calendar updated for 2025-2026
• You're invited to The AI generation: Innovation powered by co-op students
• Tuesday's notes

Meet Nibi: Waterloo’s supercomputer empowering researchers in science, medicine and technology

John Morton stands in front of the Nibi supercomputer.

This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.

Deep within the structure of the Mathematics and Computer building (MC) at the University of Waterloo lies one of the most sophisticated and important digital research computing systems in Canada. The newly refreshed system, named Nibi, recently replaced the Graham supercomputer.

The powerful system has more than 700 nodes and 140,000 CPU cores allowing Nibi to undertake countless simultaneous computational jobs. It ranks in the top 500 research computing systems in the world.

“Nibi’s launch represents a defining moment for Canada’s digital research infrastructure," said Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. "It equips our researchers with the advanced computing power they need to push the boundaries of discovery, strengthen our economy, and lead on the global stage. With its cutting-edge, energy-efficient design, Nibi is not only supporting today’s transformative projects, it is laying the foundation for the next generation of Canadian innovation from coast to coast to coast.”

“Nibi is the equivalent of 35,000 desktop computers working in harmony,” according to John Morton (BMath ’94), who is the director of Technology for SHARCNET and the technical lead for the Graham cluster. “Harnessing that power allows for ground-breaking research through batch computing, storage, visualization, GPU acceleration, cloud VMs, DBaaS and more being available to support Canadian research.”

While data centres are known to be huge users of power, the designers of Nibi have sought to use leading-edge technology to reduce cooling costs. The system uses water rather than air to be more efficient and sustainable. Instead of paying to get rid of heat generated by high-performance computing, the heat is captured and repurposed to heat the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre.

To recognize this sustainable approach, designers consulted with local Indigenous communities and decided to name the system Nibi. The name means water in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe).

Nibi provides GPU-equipped nodes each with eight H100 Nvidia GPUs to support large AI models. With more than 25 Petabytes of purely flash-based storage space, Nibi provides increased performance and reliability from previous storage solutions.

"Ontario is home to some of the brightest researchers in the world who are driving Ontario’s key industries forward,” said Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. “Through Compute Ontario, our government is proud to support the University of Waterloo’s innovative supercomputer, ensuring that researchers have the tools they need to make critical advancements in science, medicine, and technology, saving and improving lives across the province.”

Since 2017, Waterloo’s supercomputer has supported thousands of researchers from multiple universities to advance innovation across science, medicine and technology. As a member of SHARCNET, a multi-university consortium in Ontario, Nibi is projected to support more than 4,000 researchers each year.

“At Waterloo, we’re proud to collaborate with our funding and research partners to advance the next wave of Canadian innovation,” says Charmaine Dean, vice-president, Research & International at Waterloo. “Nibi allows researchers across Canada the opportunity to explore and discover what’s possible, and we are pleased to continue Waterloo’s legacy as a computation leader.”

Read the full story on Waterloo News

Season’s Eatings: celebrate with a campus feast

A message from Catering & Event Services.

Make this holiday season one to remember with Catering & Event Services! When you choose on-campus catering, you’re not only treating your team to delicious food and stress-free planning, you’re also investing right back into our campus community. No matter what you’re planning this holiday season, we’ve got all the tasty details covered this November, December and January at newly reduced prices.

Host your holiday party at Fed Hall

Go big this holiday season with a full-service buffet at Fed Hall! Perfect for large groups, our holiday menus are packed with seasonal favourites and festive flair. Conveniently located right on campus, Fed Hall is just a short walk away. Sit back, relax and let us handle the food while you enjoy the company. Available November through January, reserve your spot today.

We’ll bring the celebration to you

Want to celebrate in your own space? No problem! Choose from our Holiday Buffets or our convenient Holiday Drop & Go Options, just $20 per person. Delicious, easy and festive, delivered right to you.

Holiday lunch out

Looking for a quick festive escape? Join us at Fed Hall on December 17 or 18 for a holiday buffet lunch open to everyone. Gather your colleagues, friends, or classmates and soak up the holiday cheer. Check out the lunch buffet menu: Holiday Menus.

This season, let Catering and Event Services make your celebration delicious, easy and memorable. After all, the best holiday memories are made around good food and great company, and we’re here to deliver both.

Contact us

Ready to start planning? Get in touch with our team today to book your holiday event or request a quote:

Email: catering@uwaterloo.ca
Phone: (519)-888-4567, ext. 84700
Website: uwaterloo.ca/catering-event-services/catering/contact-us-catering

Religious and Spiritual Days of Observance calendar updated for 2025-2026

A message from the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-R) Office.

The Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-R) Office has released the updated Religious and Spiritual Days of Observance Calendar through the end of 2026. The calendar highlights commonly observed religious, spiritual, and cultural dates recognized across our University of Waterloo community.

This resource is designed to help plan ahead by identifying potential scheduling conflicts related to exams, classes, meetings, or events. While the list includes many significant observances, it is not exhaustive. The absence of a date on the list does not mean that an observance is ineligible for accommodation.

 Students requiring academic accommodation can complete the Religious Observance Self-Declaration Form in Quest to inform instructors of potential conflicts.

Use this calendar to plan with inclusion in mind, helping everyone engage fully in university life. For questions or inquiries about the observance list or accommodation process, please contact complete the intake form on the EDI-R website.

You're invited to The AI generation: Innovation powered by co-op students

A message from Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the workplace and co-op students are at the forefront. Join us for insights from students and employers who are using AI to solve real-world problems, streamline workflows and spark innovation.

What you’ll gain:

• Fresh insights from students using AI on the job
• Employer perspectives on empowering students for innovation and efficiency
• How to determine human vs. AI attributes in your recruitment process
• Practical ideas to bring AI-powered solutions to your workplace

See innovation in action. Join us online on November 19, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Register today.

Tuesday's notes

First, here are some images of Halloween-related activities on campus last Friday.

The Systems Design Engineering department hosted a Halloween potluck. Thanks to Amanda Brown for the photo.

Human Resources also held a departmental event on Friday. Thanks to Mark Lisetto-Smith for the photo.

Did your department or unit celebrate Halloween last week? Send a photo to bulletin@uwaterloo.ca. 

Waste not, want not: Join the Sustainability Office today from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. in E2 2350 for a Lunch & Learn with Region of Waterloo Waste Management. "In March 2026, the Region of Waterloo will be changing to cart-based collection for garbage and organics," says a note from the Sustainability Office. "Come learn about the switch to carts, see the carts in person, and ask all your cart-related questions!" Registration is required. Learn more and register on the lunch & learn event webpage.

The 2025 Hagey Lecture takes place tonight in the Humanities Theatre from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and will feature Dr. Edward Doolittle speaking on "Indigenous Mathematics: Foundations." Dr. Doolittle is Associate Professor of Mathematics in the Department of Indigenous Knowledge and Science at First Nations University of Canada. No registration is required for tonight's public lecture.

"The Balsillie School of International Affairs is seeking inputs in a survey that seeks to collect data and analyze the gaps, challenges and priorities in Canada's tech sector policies," says a note from the BSIA. "The survey is designed to put together a convergent analysis by drawing responses from the policy, industry and research communities. The BSIA is uniquely positioned as an academic institution connected with not just any one group of stakeholders, but a wide advocacy network comprising of industry, policy, think-tanks and research communities, that will benefit from this report."Take the survey now. The survey closes on Monday, November 10.

Finally, just a reminder that tomorrow is Take our Kids to Work Day and there will be programming for grade 9 students (Future Warriors all, no doubt) from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Science Teaching Complex (STC) Main Commons 1001. The day provides hands-on sessions as well as time for students to shadow their mentors and spend time in the workplace. Put your kids to work!