Monday, June 29, 2026

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• Distinguished Waterloo researcher named to Order of Canada
• EDI-R launches a new podcast “Gender Diversity Amplified”
• The time is now to apply responsible quantum innovation
• Monday's notes

Distinguished Waterloo researcher named to Order of Canada

This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

An award-winning researcher from the University of Waterloo whose work in the field of statistics has helped inform public policy for more than two decades was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Mary Thompson, Distinguished Professor Emerita in the Faculty of Mathematics at Waterloo, joins 60 other Canadians included in the list of honourees. The recipients were just announced by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Louise Arbour, Governor General of Canada.

She joined the University in the fall of 1969, where she taught probability and statistics in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. An expert in survey methodology and longitudinal studies, Thompson’s expertise informs the gathering and analysis of complex survey data. A proponent of collaboration between statisticians and researchers in other scientific fields, Thompson has contributed her expertise to work examining disease spread and environmental factors linked to smoking. She has led survey design for the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project since 2002. Based in Waterloo’s Department of Psychology, the ITC Project evaluates the effectiveness of tobacco control policies worldwide.

"I feel deeply honoured by this recognition, and grateful for the opportunities to serve that have made it possible,” Thompson said. “It has been a great privilege to be involved in academic pursuits and public policy research here at the University of Waterloo, and in service to the profession across Canada. My profound thanks to the many students and co-workers who have been part of this shared journey.”

A former chair of her department and acting dean of the Faculty, Thompson also served as the founding chair of the Women in Mathematics committee at Waterloo. She says she has tried to make sure policies and practices are fair to those impacted regardless of gender identity, and advocates consideration of women and other groups not well represented for positions and honours. Thompson was also the first Scientific Director of the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute, which she co-founded.

“The remarkable contributions that Dr. Thompson has made to survey methodology have significantly advanced the way scientists study populations,” said Dr. Charmaine Dean, Vice-President, Research & International and a fellow statistician. “She embodies Waterloo’s commitment to collaborating across disciplines to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges, and it is my great pleasure to congratulate my colleague on this tremendous honour.”

The Order of Canada is one of this country’s highest civilian honours. An investiture ceremony will be scheduled at a later date.

EDI-R launches a new podcast “Gender Diversity Amplified”

A message from the Office of Indigenous Relations and the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism.

The Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism has launched a new podcast series called Gender Diversity Amplified. The podcast covers topics related to gender identity, gender expression, 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion, and gender justice and features conversations with specialists and activists in social work, support services, gender mainstreaming, community advocacy, sociology, psychology, political science, STEM, and other fields of work and research.  

This podcast supports the implementation of the Trans and Non-Binary Equity Strategy (2025–2028) by advancing community education on gender diversity and strengthening 2SLGBTQIA+ community development and sustainability. 

The first two episodes are now streaming on Spotify and Youtube: 

• Episode 1: Inclusion at Pride. 

• Episode 2: Being Indigenous and Being Queer Through Indigenous Ways of Knowing, created in collaboration with the Office of Indigenous Relations. 

More episodes are coming soon exploring topics such as dating, gender transitioning, gender mainstreaming, gender-based violence, ageing, queer employment, and other issues impacting the trans, non-binary, and queer students and employees.  

Dr. Alex Pershai, podcast host and Associate Director of Equity at EDI-R, shared that recording the pilot episode sparked significant interest across campus, with  people reaching out to suggest topics for future conversations. "This was great news because the podcast is intended to be a collaborative educational resource and a space for community building for the various divisions of the university. We hope to engage students, academics and community support specialists from all UWaterloo departments and beyond." 

Have an idea for a future episode or want to share your story? E-mail them to the podcast creators.  

The time is now to apply responsible quantum innovation

This is an excerpt from an article that was originally published on Waterloo News.

Quantum technologies are changing our world.  

Research at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) alone has delivered quantum computing devices that can simulate quarks, a satellite that will soon send a quantum encrypted connection from Earth to space, and quantum sensors that can detect signals as faint as one unit of light. 

Inspired by the late Dr. Ray Laflamme, founding executive director of IQC, a group of young quantum researchers are also looking beyond how quantum science and technology will impact society. They are asking: “How will it be used responsibly?”  

Their research has looked at different quantum strategies globally and measured how Canada compares within the context of a responsible quantum innovation framework, which was co-developed by Laflamme. They identified gaps and strengths in Canada's National Quantum Strategy and proposed ways to fill those gaps.  

Katya Driscoll, IQC master’s student in the Department of Applied Mathematics, says quantum technologies have the potential to influence areas like cybersecurity, communication and society more broadly.   

“With this level of impact, we need to think carefully about how these technologies will be deployed and governed,” Driscoll says. “Since we’re still in the early stages of the quantum era, we have the opportunity to anticipate and minimize risks now rather than reacting to them after the fact.” 

The group’s paper on the topic was work was recently published in Physics in Canada, the magazine of the Canadian Association of Physicists.  

Read the full article on Waterloo News.

Monday's notes

Today, the Chemistry Seminar Series is hosting Ketan C. Kuperkar, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) for Tuning nanoscale self-assembly and morphological transition in amphiphilic blends, at 2 p.m. in C2-361 (Reading Room). The event will be hosted by Professor Jean Duhamel.