Thursday, February 12, 2026

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• Nominations open for Research Impact Canada awards
• Grade 10 info night returns
• MacKinnon Dinner will help students find their place in Waterloo’s history

• Waterloo goaltender Mathias Onuska earns Top 8 Academic All-Canadian honours

• Senate election results

Nominations open for Research Impact Canada awards

The University of Waterloo is a member of Research Impact Canada, a pan-Canadian network dedicated to maximizing the impact of research for the public good. Research Impact Canada provides Waterloo students, staff and faculty members with resources and networks to enhance knowledge mobilization.

Nominations have recently opened for awards aimed at staff members and graduate students engaged in knowledge mobilization on campus.

Peter Levesque Award for Knowledge Mobilization Leadership 2026

This award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing knowledge mobilization (KMb) as a profession and is named in honour of Peter Levesque, a pioneer in the field. Among many achievements in his career, Peter founded the Institute for Knowledge Mobilization and launched The Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum. His work in the field has set the stage for much of the subsequent knowledge mobilization work across Canada. 

While there are awards for KMb scholarship and graduate student research, there are no awards recognizing contributions of professional staff to diverse aspects of knowledge mobilization. We’re excited to fill this gap and celebrate those who have dedicated their careers to advancing the field. 

Deadline: Sunday, March 1 at 11:59 p.m.

Prize: This is an award of recognition. There is no cash value associated with the award. 

For more details visit the Research Impact Canada website.

2026 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award for Graduate Students

This annual award celebrates outstanding examples of collaborative, community-engaged research that create real-world impact across Canada and beyond. This award recognizes graduate students of RIC member institutions, regardless of discipline, that conduct research projects following engaged scholarship principles engaged scholarship (“making research with the people who benefit from it”), co-creation of knowledge or integrated knowledge translation efforts. These principles lead to increased awareness of audiences beyond academia or changes in stakeholder actions, practices, guidelines or policies. 

Deadline: Sunday, March 1 at 11:59 p.m.

Prize: This award includes a cash prize of $3,000 CAD for doctoral students and recent doctoral graduates or $2,000 for Master’s students and recent Master’s graduates, as well as invitation(s) to present on your engaged research project, a post on the RIC website featuring your project, and social media posts directing people to the RIC website featuring your project. Apply now.

Contact Nadine Quehl, Senior Manager, Knowledge Mobilization & Partnerships, at nquehl@uwaterloo.ca for details of how to access Research Impact Canada resources.

Grade 10 info night returns

A message from the Registrar's Office.

Grade 10 students and their supporters are invited to learn more about applying to university and what they can do now to prepare. Our university experts will share information on topics like admissions and finances while current students will share what it was like to go from high school to university. Also sharing advice is our keynote speaker, Dr. Siobhan Sutherland, a registered Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor from the Department of Psychology at St. Jerome’s University.

The information shared will be helpful regardless of which universities or programs a student is interested in, and the main event will not focus on Waterloo’s faculties or academic programs, though students looking for this information will be able to connect with campus partners at our information fair or through a live Q&A if watching virtually.

Session details

• Information fair (in person, optional/drop-in): Hagey Hall (HH), 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Drop in before or after the presentation to chat with our staff and students to get your questions answered, learn more about what programs are available, and get a better idea of what is offered at university.
• Presentation (in-person & livestream option, video recording will be shared with all registrants): Humanities Theatre, Hagey Hall (HH), 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. We'll cover topics on studying what you love, admissions, finances, and current student experiences.

Grade 10 Info Night takes place on Thursday, February 19. For details and to register, visit the website.                            

MacKinnon Dinner will help students find their place in Waterloo’s history

A message from the University of Waterloo History Society.

Every department has its rituals, but few become traditions that feel woven into student life. At the History department, the MacKinnon Dinner is one of those rare events -- a moment to pause, gather, and celebrate community amid the rush of university life. This year, as the campus continues to shift and departments reorganize, the Dinner offers an even more important opportunity: a chance to connect students, faculty, and alumni across divides and celebrate continuity in a changing environment.

The MacKinnon Dinner was established in 1984 in memory of Reverend Dr. Hugh MacKinnon, a beloved Professor at St. Jerome's and former History Department chair. Known for his passion for teaching, love of conversation, and dedication to student mentorship, Dr. MacKinnon believed that learning thrived in spaces where curiosity and community could flourish.

More than just a dinner, the event celebrates the shared experiences that make academic life meaningful. Alumni and current students alike often speak of the Dinner with fondness, as it offers a rare chance to meet professors outside the classroom, explore ideas without the pressure of grades, and feel part of a living and thriving academic community, as well as celebrate friendships and mentorships that have shaped us along the way.

This year’s theme, “Us as Archives: Student Life and History in Waterloo Academia,” invites attendees to see themselves as part of the University’s ongoing story. Archives are not just rooms of dusty documents -- they are living spaces where memory is preserved, and meaning is made. By framing students and alumni as archives in their own right, this year's theme encourages reflection on how everyday moments, clubs, essays, and friendships contribute to the evolving history of the university.

Guiding this reflection is Dr. Michelle Atkin, Associate Librarian at St. Jerome’s University Library, who will deliver the keynote address. Her work in the Library Archive highlights the intersection of preservation, storytelling, and student life, offering insight into how our own experiences may one day become part of the broader narrative of Waterloo’s academic community.

The 43^rd MacKinnon Dinner will be held on Friday, March 13, in the St. Jerome’s University Atrium. Tickets go on sale February 11 and are available until March 3. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged. Reserve your spot on the MacKinnon Dinner website.

Join the History Society and the History Department for an evening of good food, conversation, and connection. Celebrate the legacy of Dr. MacKinnon, reflect on your own journey, and become part of a community that continues to thrive across generations. For the full story of the Mackinnon Dinner and more on why this tradition matters, read the full article on Orange Juice at the ASU.

Waterloo goaltender Mathias Onuska earns Top 8 Academic All-Canadian honours

Mathias Onuska poses with a goalie stick and his Top 8 Academic All-Canadian ring. Photographer: Michael P Hall.

This is an excerpt of an article originally published on the Athletics and Recreation website.

Mathias Onuska doesn’t shy away from the hardest job on the ice or in the classroom.

The University of Waterloo men’s hockey goaltender has built his game around the kind of moments that make most players uncomfortable, the ones where everything slows down and the outcome seems to sit on one stick, one shot, one read.

“I personally enjoy having the pressure, like I would prefer it,” Onuska said. 

“I just like that I have the ability in some capacity to help my team win and kind of control the game a bit in that way.” 

That mindset has translated into a season that put him among the elite in Canadian university sport and into recognition as a 2024-25 U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian.

A third-year Honours Health Science student, Onuska posted a remarkable 96.7 per cent academic average, earning recognition as one of Waterloo’s top undergraduate student-athletes for a second consecutive year.

On the ice, he delivered a year that reshaped expectations. Onuska led the nation with a .941 save percentage and posted a 2.18 goals-against average, earning both OUA and U SPORTS Goaltender of the Year honours. His performances helped drive Waterloo’s success throughout the season and culminated with the Totzke Trophy as the Warriors’ men’s athlete of the year.

Ask him how he does it, how he balances late practices, travel, recovery and exams and Onuska turns the spotlight away from himself. “Honestly, there’s not really a secret,” he said. “I’ve been really fortunate to be in the environment that we have on our team. Our entire team really cares both academically and athletically.” 

That culture, he said, creates accountability. “We make sure that we’re accountable to one another and a lot of Sundays after games are spent doing school.” The same steady approach shows up in how he describes his style in the crease. Not flashy or frantic, but controlled. “I play really calm in the net,” he said. “I’m really good at being able to square up to shots and read the play.” 

That calmness wasn’t something he stumbled into by accident. Onuska grew up in Waterloo, the youngest in a family that was always active. “We were always playing sports together,” he said of his siblings. “We’d be playing soccer, basketball in the driveway or anything.” It was there, chasing the pace set by his older brother and sister, that he learned to compete and learned the value of trying to keep up even when it wasn’t easy. “Being the youngest really just pushed me to want to keep up with them,” he said. 

Hockey started early, too. He said he began playing around five or six, often jumping into the net while his brother wanted shots in the driveway. “My older brother was a player. He would want to play in the driveway, and I’d play goalie,” he said. By the time he reached high school, he believed bigger levels might be possible. “Once it was kind of entering high school, I thought maybe I’d be able to move on to something like the OHL,” he said. 

He did. Onuska was drafted and later signed, spending time in the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights and Windsor Spitfires before returning home to pair high-performance hockey with high-performance academics. 

Coming back to Waterloo was more than a hometown choice. Onuska said he was drawn to the university’s reputation and to the standard set within the Warriors program. “Waterloo was obviously a great school, and I was really comfortable with the city,” he said.  “And how much Brian Bourque, the Head Coach of our program, is respected, I thought that it would be a perfect fit for me to get a great education at the school.” 

Read the full story on the Athletics website.

Senate election results

A message from Gen Gauthier-Chalifour, University Secretary.

On behalf of the University of Waterloo Senate, I am pleased to announce the results of the Senate faculty member elections for terms beginning in the 2026-2027 governance year. Thank you to all candidates who allowed their names to stand for election, and to those who took the time to cast their votes.  Participation in university governance is an important form of service to our institution, and your willingness to serve our community in this way is greatly appreciated. Please note that terms are scheduled to begin September 1, 2026.

The results for the 2026 Senate Election can be found on the Secretariat website.