Thursday, March 26, 2026

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• Calling all robots: FIRST Robotics competition invades the PAC

• Celebrating the 2025 Co-op Students of the Year

• How you walk could help doctors tell two similar brain diseases apart

• Terror on a train and other tantalizing tidbits

Calling all robots: FIRST Robotics competition invades the PAC

Some of Ontario's brightest high school students will come to campus this weekend for the FIRST Robotics Waterloo Regional Competition, where they will battle head-to-head with student-designed, remote-controlled robots. Thirty-one high school robotics teams from across Canada will compete at the Ontario district competition hosted at Waterloo, putting their engineering and programming skills to the test in this year's game.

The theme for this year’s FIRST Robotics Competition is REBUILT™ presented by Haas where teams will use engineering skills and re-imagine the past through a series of fast-paced, collaborative robotics matches. Teams design, build and program industrial-size robots to compete in a themed game that tests strategy, teamwork and technical skill. Robots collect and score game pieces, navigate obstacles and climb for endgame points as alliances compete to outscore their opponents. Built from scratch, these five-foot-tall, 140-pound robots will compete in high-intensity robo-sports. Local favourites include "Team Dave" from St. David's Catholic Secondary School and the Rebels from Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Robotics.

The action begins tomorrow with practice rounds, opening ceremonies and qualification matches, and will continue Saturday with qualification matches, elimination rounds and the awards ceremony.

The competition runs from Friday, March 27, to Saturday, March 28 and is free and open to the public, so get in on the robotic action! Find out more about the competition.

Celebrating the 2025 Co-op Students of the Year

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

The Co-op Student of the Year Awards recognize Waterloo co-op students whose work terms exemplify innovation and impact. From sustainability to emerging technologies and advancing patient care, this year's award recipients delivered results that extended beyond expectations. Their efforts had real human impacts that demanded thoughtful, innovation initiatives. 

“Each of these students shows what’s possible when talent meets trust and opportunity,” says Judene Pretti, interim associate provost, Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE). “They approached complex challenges with confidence, curiosity and leadership, and their contributions created lasting value for their employers and communities.”  

Congratulations to the 2025 Co-op Students of the Year: 

• Vinayak Bector, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science
• Francesca Girmenia, Faculty of Environment, Environment and Business 
• Allysa Greidanus, Faculty of Science, Chemistry 
• Aiden Sarrafzadeh, Faculty of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering 
• Giang Tran, Faculty of Arts, Global Business and Digital Arts 
• Christina Yang, Faculty of Health, Health Sciences 

CEE celebrated the Co-op Students of the Year at a hybrid ceremony on March 25. The event also celebrated this year’s honourable mentions as well as the Velocity Co-op Problem awards, which recognize students for providing the best analysis of an important problem relevant to a co-op employer or their industry. 

Read the bios of the award recipients on Waterloo News

How you walk could help doctors tell two similar brain diseases apart

A news release from the media relations team.

Doctors often struggle to distinguish early dementia with Lewy bodies from early Parkinson’s disease. The two neurological conditions share many symptoms, including changes in movement, and are frequently misdiagnosed in their early stages. New research from the University of Waterloo suggests that quantifying walking behaviour might be a useful way to tell these diseases apart. 

The study found that people with early dementia with Lewy bodies walk more slowly, take shorter steps and have a lower walking rhythm than people with early Parkinson’s disease. These differences were most pronounced when participants walked while performing a second task, such as counting backward. 

“We compared stepping patterns between individuals with early dementia with Lewy bodies and people with early Parkinson’s disease to see whether walking behaviour could help distinguish the two conditions and found that they can,” said Dr. Kaylena Ehgoetz Martens, a professor in Waterloo’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences and lead author of the study. “The findings highlight the promise of measuring movement in a more detailed manner which could address a significant clinical problem. Because the two diseases look similar in their early stages, patients may receive an incorrect diagnosis, which affects treatment decisions, care planning and expectations for patients and their families.” 

Simple yet quantitative walking assessments, which can be performed in clinical settings, could help clinicians diagnose patients more accurately and at an earlier stage. Earlier diagnosis may allow for earlier intervention, more targeted symptom management and clearer guidance for caregivers. 

While the researchers expected to see differences between the groups, one result stood out.  

“Walking without interference from a secondary task was less effective at identifying differences than walking while multitasking,” Ehgoetz Martens said. “Asking participants to walk while counting backward revealed changes that weren’t as obvious during regular walking. 

“Ultimately, the goal is to identify individuals sooner, intervene earlier and improve quality of life before symptoms become more severe.” 

The results point to the importance of cognitive load — how attention and movement interact — in distinguishing neurological diseases that can otherwise appear similar. 

The work reflects the University of Waterloo’s Health Futures focus, which brings together researchers across health, engineering and data science to develop practical, technology-enabled approaches to improving care. By translating everyday movement into meaningful clinical insight, the research highlights how accessible tools can support more equitable and accurate diagnosis. 

The researchers plan to expand their approach to other conditions and to people in the earliest, pre-clinical stages of disease, including those known to be at higher risk. 

The study, titled “Differentiating gait behaviours between early-stage dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the journal Gait & Posture. 

Terror on a train and other tantalizing tidbits

A swashbuckling scene from a previous EngPlay performance.

EngPlay is holding their Winter 2026 show this week: a production of Murder on the Ion Express, where "things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous with a set that's falling apart, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines)," says a note from Engineering Wellness. "Heckling is encouraged."

Performances take place on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28 in M3 - 1006. Tickets are $12.00 each or $30 for a group of 3 and can be purchased in PSE and CPH most days or online at the EngSoc website via Square. 

EngPlay, the catchy contraction of "Engineering Play," is a production directed and performed by Waterloo engineering students. Please note that the play's jokes are targeted towards an audience of 18+, and the performance contains bright and flashing lights, loud music, sexually suggestive material, strong language, and violence. Viewer discretion is advised.

Today, the Faculty of Science hosts Dr. Imogen Coe, who will be speaking on Equity as Infrastructure: Recalibrating the foundations of scientific excellence. "Scientific excellence is typically assessed through outputs - publications, grands, citations," says the talk's abstract. "But excellence is produced by systems: by research culture, team dynamics, design choices and institutional incentives. This talk reframes equity not as an add-on, but as core infrastructure that shapes rigour, validity, innovation and impact."

Speaker Imogen Coe is a professor of Chemistry and Biology at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and an affiliate scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and is billed as an award-winning scholar-activist in Canada with respect to the integration of principles of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) into research cultures in science.

The public lecture takes place today from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in QNC 0101. The event is open to Waterloo faculty, staff and students in STEM, and there's still time to register.

Twelve student teams will compete for more than $100,000 in prize money at today's Esch Pitch Competition in the Pearl Sullivan Engineering building. The Capstone fourth-year student teams will pitch to win one of six $12,000 or $5,000 prizes. The competing teams were shortlisted from more than 50 entries representing most programs in the Faculty of Engineering. The project display viewing begins at 12:30 p.m. followed by the pitch competition at 1:30 p.m. Attendees will be able to vote for the Sedra People’s Choice Award, with the winning team receiving an additional $4,500 in funding.

The Esch Awards support creative and entrepreneurial students in the pursuit of research and development and its commercialization for the benefit of Canada.

Also happening today:

The next UWSA Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) Staff Information Session takes place from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. in person in DC 1304.

The Experiences in Political Science Symposium runs from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EC5 1026-1027.

The latest debate organized by the Waterloo Forum takes place at 4:30 p.m. in E6 4022. The topic of debate is "should social media be banned for teens under 16?" Register now.

The Bechtel Lecture in Anabaptist-Mennonite Studies takes place tonight at Conrad Grebel University College and will feature Isaac Villegas, MDiv, speaking on "Who keeps us safe?" Christian Politics of Care.

"Becoming a peace church involves social habits that draw people into the loving-kindness of God, whose justice precipitates a confrontation with the ordinary violence that structure our lives," says the talk's abstract. "This lecture will turn to the Anabaptist tradition for insights into organizing communities of mutual care. Rooted in his experience as a Mennonite pastor, Isaac Villegas will explore what it might mean to live out the possibilities of a chant heard in the streets during protests and demonstrations: “Who keeps us safe?” “We keep us safe!”"

Isaac Villegas is an ordained minister in Mennonite Church USA. He served as a pastor for 16 years. He has also served as the president of the North Carolina Council of Churches and on the executive board of Mennonite Church USA.

The lecture runs from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Conrad Grebel University College Chapel. Admission is free. A reception will follow the lecture. Register now.

The Bechtel Lectures provide the opportunity for representatives of a variety of disciplines and professions to explore topics that reflect the breadth and depth of Mennonite history, identity, faith and culture.