Monday, November 10, 2025

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• Employees will be recognized for years of service
• Celebrate 40 years of Chirped Pulse Amplification with Donna Strickland this week

• Neurofeedback study issues call for participants

• Flags lowered for Professor Wayne Chang, Remembering Eugene Kowalski, and other notes

Employees will be recognized for years of service

Staff and faculty who have reached significant employee milestones will be celebrated later this month at a Years of Service event at Federation Hall. Among them will be a cohort of new hires during the COVID pandemic of 2020, which doesn't feel like it was five years ago (more like 50, amirite?), and those vaunted members of the Class of 1980 who will be celebrating 45 years with the University this year.

The celebration event will take place on Tuesday, November 25, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Federation Hall, with remarks beginning at 4:30 p.m. Speaking at the event will be President Vivek Goel (presiding over his last employee milestone event as president) and Associate Provost, Human Resources Michelle Hollis. Attendees will have plenty of opportunities to network and celebrate together and there will be special photo areas set up around Fed Hall to capture memorable moments.

The honourees are as follows:

5-year milestones (2020)

Mark Allinson, Rachel Anderson, Jennifer Artindale, Laura Ashfield, Elizabeth Askin, Laura Barry, Jean Becker, Amanda Brown, Neil Carnegie, Ana Carvalho, Melissa Cousineau, Jamieson Cox, Amber Cronin, Kristina Cvrkalj, Emma Desousa, Marcio Dinis, Annamaria Feltracco, Janic Fittler, Nancy Foster, Kevin George, Sandra Gibson, Mallory Gilmore, Paul Godin, Ellen (Zhiyu) Gong, Kristin Graham, Nadine Grant, Nicholas Hambleton, Hayley Hess, Scott King, Colleen Kissack, Corinne Kowalik, Anisha Kuppa, Daniel Kwon, Brie McConnell, Philip Miletic, Roberto Antonio Munoz Gomez, Hiu Ching Ngo, Celia Notarandrea, Daniel Opperwall, Easton Page, Valentin Penca, Lisa Pokrajac, Olivia Roth, Alfie Scozzaro, Puneet Sharma, Marianne Simm, Brittany Sonnenberg, Amanda St. Marie, Tim Turay, Carly Turnbull, Megan Vander Woude, Robyn Wilkinson, Rachel Zammit.

10-year milestones (2015)

Rohem Adagbon, Graham Adair, Robin Andrade, Ioan Balta, Theresa Barber, Swati Bodalia, Jessica Boonstra, Stephanie Boragina, Sarah Brown, Adrian Buchanan, Greg Campbell, Lindsay Campbell, Caitlin Carter, Mohammad Shahriar Chandon, Helen (Yun) Chen, Xi Chen, Natalie Chow, Jenny Conroy, Sergio Contreras, Rachel Courtney, Tina Davidson, Sarah de Waal, Claudette DeMaere, Erika Dicsi, Eleanor Doe, Jutte Domdorf, Chandra Engs, Jason Escobar, Jessica Fennema, Claire Fermin, Jonathan Fischbach, Alicia Flatt, Anne Galang, Dylan Gardner, Tracy Glidden, Oana Goli, Janessa Good, Jeff Graansma, Camille Graham, Julie Grant, Kari Griffiths, Ari Grossman, Rhys Gwynne, Elizabeth Haldand, Jenna Hampshire, Melissa Hana, Joel Hartrick, Kelly Heald, Lauren Heaman, Valerie Herteis, Anne-Marie Hiebert, Jonathan Hyde, Nina Ilic, Micaela Kelly, Sirisopha Khankhet, Jessica King, Miguel Knox, Seyra Kraal, Sarah Lau, Eugene Li, Shuhuan Li, Lynn Long, Suzanne Lout, Kathryn MacDonald, Carrie MacKinnon Molson, Shoshona Magill, Sheri Maguire, Nick Maier, Fulu Mao, Claire Mastrangelo, Erica McKellar, Ashley McKnight, Colin McLaren, Brian Moffat, Dana Mohapl, Becky Moore, Robin Morden, Jennifer Murray, Heather Neufeld, Patricia Owens, Felicia Pantazi, Karen Parkinson, Prashant Patel, Pratik Patel, Rose Penner, Diane Perinho, Erin Pritchard, Colleen Richter, Zeljko Ristic, Janet Rodrigues, Todd Romhild, Lorenza Saavedra, Katarzyna Satora, Jeff Schedewitz, Jameson Schildroth, Kelly Schultz, Denis Shantz, Jennifer Shousterman, Nadia Singh, Trevor Smouter, Tracy Solomon, Vincent Sweeney, Matthew Sytsma, Amber Szpular, Mathew Thijssen, Christine Thur, Stephen Tosh, Jan Uhde, Kevin Vandongen, Rachael Verbruggen, Stacey Verhaeghe, Michael Wagoner, Allison Walker, Steve Weber, Subasha Wickramarachchi, Markus Wieland, Lisa Yuhasz, Laura Zikovic, Jessica Zimmerman.

15-year milestones (2010)

Abdelaziz Aboueleinin, David Aldwinckle, Anne Allen, Brian Bailey, Tom Barber, Kirsten Budd, Tara Charlton, Andrew Dale, Lisa David, Tonya Elliott, Nicholas Fuller, Jason Giles, Hiruy Haile, Michelle Hollis, Margaret Johnston, Ivan Jurakic, Thomas Kelly, Alissa Koenig, Mark Kuntz, Chris McClellan, Sue McGrath, Megan McLellan, Mark Meinzinger, Mark Merlau, Jennifer Morgan, Nadine Quehl, Jennifer Ranford, Jeannie Redpath-Erb, Jessica Reid, Jane Russwurm, Rodello Salandanan, Carolyn Ann Seely-Morrison, Ayse Sevim, Howard Siu, Michelle Smith, Allison Stewart, Marilena Strambu, Lisa Walsh, Steve Weiss, Jamie Wheeler, Justin Yates, Jennifer Yuen, Mingqian (John) Zhang.

20-year milestones (2005)

Naji Alamrony, Trevor Beatson, Jody Berringer, Charles Boyle, James Bruder, Ersal Cahit, Michael Carbage, Brent Clerk, Jennifer Connolly, Rochelle Costa, Grace Guihua Dong, Lee Elkas, Nigel Henriques, Dana Herriman, Alison Hitchens, Heidi Janssen, Eric Jardin, Diane Johnston, Stacey Lavery, Natasha Lawrence, Elena Machado, Bianca Man, Elaine Martin, Mark Morton, Gordon Nairn, Carrie Nickerson, Joe Pimentel, Birgitte Schneebeli, Lakshmi Shankar, Elizabeth Skibicki, Peter Stirling, Jonathan Sutherland, Nicholas Szyngiel, Kerry Tolson, Margaret Ulbrick, Susanne Vesely, Maris Weiss, Roberta Wilson, Wenyan (Linda) Zhang.

25-year milestones (2000)

Anuja Bajaj, Gordon Boerke, Gerard Boychuk, Stephanie Bromley, Ksenia Bronicki, Douglas Brown, Daniel Brown, Nelson Carrillos, Lori Case, Snezana Castela, Darren Charters, Daniel Davison, Joseph De Juan, James Diamond, Brian Dixon, Steve Drekic, Anja Drygala, Karen Dubois, Bernard Duncker, Monica Emelko, Eric Fillion, James Forrest, Martha Foulds-Carey, Kevin Funston, Jennifer Gaunt, Samantha Gibbon, Gwen Golden, Nelia Gomes, Robert Gorbet, Anne Grant, Jason Greatrex, Bertrand Guenin, David Hammond, Jim Howard, Julia Joza, Holger Kleinke, Eric Kubica, Chin Heng Lee, Kesen Ma, Scott MacFarlane, Jennifer Mackie, James Martin, Brenda McQuarrie, Dan Mercer, Kirsten Muller, Kshirasgar Naik, Sami Nakhoul, Jennifer Nicholson, Stephen Nickerson, Jennifer Nowack, Tamer Oszu, Shaz Rahaman, Tracy Ranville, James Rush, Glenda Rutledge, Mahendran Sangaranarayanaiyer, Guoxiang Shen, Siva Sivoththaman, James Skidmore, Kristin Snell, Sheree Solomon, John Thistle, Lin Tian, Sarah Tolmie, Lisa Tomalty, Gwen Troutner, Ian VanderBurgh, Susan Whyte.

30-year milestones (1995)

Mark Byerley, Alan Douglas, Pamela Fluttert, Angela Googh, Christine Hanton-Fong, Derek Koehler, Lillian Liao, Lauri MacLeod, Daniela O’Neill, Xuemin Shen, Peter Speek Jr., Stean Steiner, Connie van Oostveen.

35-year milestones (1990)

Suzanne Burdett, Karen Davidson, Gerry Doyle, Richard Elgood, Jake Fisher, Karen Fleet, Geoffrey Fong, Geoffrey Hayes, Wendy Irving, Sabine Kawalec, Xinzhi Liu, Rick Loney, Kirsten Morris, David Rudolph, Magdy Salama, Mark Sobon, Costas Tzoganakis, Carolyn Vincent, Leona Voss, Tanya Yoworski.

40-year milestones (1985)

Michael Chong, Yvonne Ertel, Steven Forsey, Agnes Kolic, Neil Randall, Valerio Rynnimeri, Lisa Weber, Dorreen White.

45-year milestones (1980)

Lorraine Albrecht, Janet Bender, Andrew Cooper, Richard Hecktus, Carol Olheiser, Frank Safayeni.

Congratulations all on your employment milestones!

Invitees have been sent invitations via email and registration closes on Tuesday, November 11. If you're an honouree or an honouree's manager and have questions about your invitation, email community.relations@uwaterloo.ca.

Celebrate 40 years of Chirped Pulse Amplification with Donna Strickland this week

Join the Faculty of Science for a special evening celebrating the 40^th anniversary of Nobel Laureate Dr. Donna Strickland’s CPA, a milestone marking her extraordinary journey in science and innovation. This event is more than a celebration. It’s a unique opportunity to get to know Dr. Strickland, hear about her personal and professional journey, and gain insights into the path that led to her groundbreaking work in physics.

The evening will include reflections on her career, and an engaging Q&A session with your questions. Submit your questions for Dr. Strickland when you register.

The event takes place on Wednesday, November 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Balsillie School of International Affairs' CIGI Auditorium in Uptown Waterloo.

Neurofeedback study issues call for participants

A message from the Human-Computer Interaction and Health Lab.

A research team from the University of Waterloo is inviting children aged 7 to 13 diagnosed with ADHD — along with one parent — to participate in a fun and meaningful research project. The study, titled “Co-Designing a Neurofeedback Training Game for Children with ADHD,” explores how interactive technologies can better support attention training when children themselves help design them.

What is this study about?

Neurofeedback is a type of attention training game that helps children learn to regulate focus by observing their own brain activity. However, most existing games are developed without input from the children who will use them. This can lead to experiences that feel boring, frustrating, or unhelpful. Our goal is to change that by working directly with children with ADHD as co-designers — learning from their ideas, preferences, and creativity to inspire more engaging future tools.

What will participants do?

Each child and their parent will join two one-hour workshops with two researchers. In Workshop 1, children will learn fun, introductory knowledge about the brain and try a neurofeedback activity — for example, using their focus to control a light. In Workshop 2, children will design their own attention-training game and share their ideas through drawing, storytelling, or playing with prototypes. Parents may remain in a nearby space or stay with their child. No medical or diagnostic information will be discussed with children.

Participants will receive $25 per workshop (up to $50 total), including support for transportation such as parking or public transit.

Eligibility and safety

This study is approved by the University of Waterloo’s Research Ethics Board (#47191). All personal information and questionnaire responses will remain strictly confidential. To ensure the study is safe, appropriate, and enjoyable for all participants, children must meet the following requirements:

• Children aged between 7 and 13.
• Confirmed diagnosis of ADHD by a qualified health professional.
• A parent or legal guardian who is available to accompany the child during the session.
• Children with co-occurring conditions (e.g., ASD, ID), neurological needs, or those currently experiencing medication side effects are not eligible.

A parent or legal guardian must accompany the child throughout the visit.

If you are interested in taking part or would like more information, please complete our short screening questionnaire. Eligible families will receive a follow-up email from bella.chen@uwaterloo.ca to schedule the workshop. Thank you for supporting this important research!

Flags lowered for Professor Wayne Chang, Remembering Eugene Kowalski, and other notes

Chang (bottom right) acts out his signature phrase 'the future is bright' with his students on the steps of Engineering 5.

Flags on campus will be lowered today in memory of Professor Wayne Chang of the Faculty of Engineering, who passed away on October 30. Dr. Chang received a Bachelor of Science from Waterloo in Physics in 1987 and joined the University as a lecturer in 2012 at the Conrad Centre for Entrepreneurship and Business. In celebration of Wayne's life and legacy, members of the community are welcome to make a gift to the University of Waterloo's Wayne Chang Memorial Fund. The Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business is gathering memories, reflections and condolences for a public memorial page. Share yours by emailing the Conrad School.

Waterloo retiree Eugene Stanley Kowalski passed away on November 5. Born in Poland, Kowalski immigrated to Canada in 1960, working for a paving company for 19 years before joining the University of Waterloo as a custodian in Plant Operations in 1979. In 1988, he was appointed as a group leader in the Physical Activities Complex and Campus Centre (now the Student Life Centre) area. 

Eugene Kowalski and other members of the Custodial staff sit in the stands in the Physical Activities Complex.

Kowalski retired from the University in 2002 after 23 years of service to the University. 

A visitation will take place on Tuesday, November 11, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Henry Walser Funeral Home in Kitchener. The funeral Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Church at 66 Shanley Street in Kitchener on Wednesday, November 12 at 11:00 a.m.

The Orchestrating Listening Research Project (ORLI), in collaboration with United College’s Human Rights Program and Indigenous Studies, is hosting a knowledge exchange conversation entitled “Enforced Disappearances in Colombia and Indigenous Missing Persons in Canada” on Thursday, November 13.

“This knowledge exchange conversation aims to foster a dialogue among Canadian and Colombian initiatives, scholars, lawyers, students, activists, and artists addressing the issues of enforced disappearances and missing persons in Colombia and Canada,” says a note from organizers. “It focuses on how legal definitions and frameworks in each country shape institutional understandings and responses to the issue. It also explores how art can amplify the voices of families of the disappeared/missing and raise public awareness.”

Speakers include:

• Mohawk lawyer Kimberly Murray, former federal Independent Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves. 
• Colombian lawyer Luz Marina Monzón, former Director of the Unit for the Search of People Deemed Missing (UBPD).
• Colombian artist Constanza Ramírez, founding member of the Association “Otras Voces.”

Serving as discussants will be Sara General, Director of Indigenous Studies, United College at the University of Waterloo, and Luis C. Sotelo Castro, Director of the Acts of Listening Lab at Concordia University. 

Moderating the event will be Nancy R. Tapias Torrado, Assistant Professor of Human Rights at United College.

The event takes place in-person in United College’s Alumni Hall and online from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Register for the in-person or online event.