Friday, January 30, 2026

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• NSERC launches Discovery Grants Impact Questionnaire
• Test of the emergency notification system coming Monday
• Faculty and graduate student Senate nominations have closed
• Remembering Distinguished Professor Emeritus Bruce Hutchinson

NSERC launches Discovery Grants Impact Questionnaire

A message from the Office of Research.

As part of Canada’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the national research ecosystem, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) has introduced the Discovery Grants Impact Questionnaire (DGIQ), which officially opened on January 12, 2026. This new initiative is designed to help NSERC build a more comprehensive evidence base demonstrating the long‑term value of discovery research across the country.

The DGIQ will gather key information on how Discovery Grant–funded projects contribute to developing highly qualified talent, advancing innovation, and strengthening national and international research networks.

Participation timeline

Beginning the week of January 12, NSERC will invite researchers whose Discovery Grants concluded in March 2024 and March 2025 to complete the questionnaire. In future years, all DG recipients will be asked to participate following the end of their grant cycle. While voluntary, broad participation is essential to ensuring the impacts of discovery research are clearly visible and compelling at both institutional and national levels.

Why it matters

Aggregated results will help NSERC articulate the national value of discovery research and will provide institutions, including ours, with stronger evidence to showcase the achievements and impact of our research community.

We encourage all eligible researchers to participate and invite units to help share this message. Your engagement supports a stronger, evidence‑based case for the continued importance of discovery‑driven research in Canada.

Test of the emergency notification system coming Monday

On Monday, February 2, the emergency notification system (ENS) provided by Regroup will be tested on a campus-wide basis. 

The test will include the following communications channels: 

• SMS/text 
• Email
•  X (formerly Twitter) 
• Regroup Mobile (safety app) 
• Desktop Alert 
• Campus Safety webpage 

Please ensure that you have:

1. downloaded Regroup Mobile to your device and follow the login and recommended settings steps,
2. ensured your cell phone number is up to date either in the app if you are staff, or in Quest if you are a student,
3. downloaded and installed the Desktop Alert tool onto your computer if your computer is not managed by the University.

If you have any questions about the upcoming test, or about how to make sure Regroup’s app and desktop alert are installed properly on your devices, email ens@uwaterloo.ca.

Faculty and graduate student Senate nominations have closed

A message from the Secretariat.

Thank you to those that put their names forward as candidates for Faculty and Graduate Student Senators. Nominations have now closed. 

 The following vacancies are acclaimed:

• Engineering (One Vacancy): Christopher Nielsen
• Mathematics (One Vacancy): Martin Karsten
• Science (One Vacancy): Chris Yakymchuk

To view candidate statements for the remaining vacancies that will have an election, please visit the Current Nominations and Elections website.

Voting will commence at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 3and run until February 10 at 4:30 p.m. All faculty members and graduate students will receive an online ballot from SimplyVoting on February 3 at the commencement of voting. If you do not receive a ballot, or for questions, please contact elections@uwaterloo.ca.

Remembering Distinguished Professor Emeritus Bruce Hutchinson

This article was originally published on the Faculty of Engineering website.

Waterloo Engineering is mourning the loss of Professor Emeritus Bruce Hutchinson, a respected teacher and early builder of the Faculty’s civil engineering program. Hutchinson passed away on December 23, 2025, at the age of 91.

Born in Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia, Prof. Hutchinson grew up in a family that prized work ethic, ambition and adventure. He graduated from Canterbury Boys’ High School and earned his civil engineering degree from the University of Sydney in 1956. Early in his career, he worked as a soils engineer with the New South Wales Department of Public Works, including work connected to the Eucumbene Dam in the Snowy Mountains.

Prof. Hutchinson came to Canada in 1957 to pursue an MSc in civil engineering at Queen’s University, travelling across the country by ship and train before settling in Kingston. During this period, he met his future wife Mary, a medical illustrator, beginning a partnership that would span 66 years.

Canada became the place where Prof. Hutchinson found his vocation as a lecturer and researcher. He completed his PhD at the University of Waterloo in 1965 and became instrumental in the development of Waterloo’s civil engineering school. Over a 32-year career at the University, he held several leadership roles within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, including associate dean and chair. Following his retirement in 1996, he was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus.

While his academic and administrative contributions were significant, Prof. Hutchinson’s enduring legacy was his impact on students. In 1990, he received Waterloo’s Distinguished Teacher Award, a recognition he regarded as his most cherished accolade. Former students consistently described a professor who challenged them to meet high expectations while remaining deeply invested in their growth and professionalism.

“Many of Bruce’s former students and colleagues remembered the same qualities year after year: he pushed his students as hard as he pushed himself and his willingness to help and talk with students had no boundaries,” said Dr. Carl Haas, former chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “He led by example and instilled honesty, dedication, responsibility and professionalism. For many of us, that’s what made him an exceptional role model and why his influence at Waterloo stayed with people long after they left campus.”

Prof Hutchinson’s influence at Waterloo ultimately extended beyond the classroom in a particularly personal way. His children and grandchildren went on to become alumni of the department and Faculty he loved, a family legacy shaped by the same commitment to learning and community he brought to campus.

Beyond his work in academia, he and Mary built a rich life in Waterloo, centred on their restored yellow brick home where family, friends and colleagues gathered. In retirement, they devoted their energy to a rural property in Grey County, cultivating gardens, tending forests and continuing creative pursuits in woodworking, painting and illustration.

Prof. Hutchinson is survived by his wife Mary, their three children and five grandchildren.