Thursday, July 9, 2026

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• Waterloo students refuel a beloved tradition
• Waterloo wins four international CASE Circle of Excellence Awards 
• Adjunct prof honoured for service to global engineering community 

Waterloo students refuel a beloved tradition

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

On a Saturday morning in the spring of 1977, about 60 University of Waterloo students from the Faculty of Engineering pushed and pulled a 48-seater school bus 3.4 miles through the streets of Kitchener-Waterloo (KW) to raise money for a local charity.

The ten or so students pushing from the back soon had their fill of engine fumes (the bus was running for the brakes to work) and joined the others pulling from the front. Pulling rather than pushing was a far safer, healthier and fun way to go but somehow the name Bus Push, rather than Bus Pull, stuck.

That first event raised money for Big Sisters of Kitchener-Waterloo and finished with a reception at Market Square. The Ridgid Ensemble, a student band, played from the front of the procession. Regional police kept the traffic moving. Cars hooted in support. Passersby donated change and enjoyed a laugh. The total collected along the route that day came to $36.25.

University of Waterloo Libraries. Special Collections & Archives. Kitchener-Waterloo Photographic Negative Collection. GA68-1987-87-565.jpg

Waterloo Engineering alum Peter Baltais (BASc ’78) was on the Waterloo Engineering Society (EngSoc) executive team back then and edited the student publication Enginews. He helped organize that inaugural Bus Push and remembers the pace.

“We calculated the average speed to be somewhere around three miles an hour, which meant we finished ahead of schedule,” Baltais says. “We miscalculated our own speed and arrived ahead of the reception party so settled in at the local bar. We were all in a very good mood.”

University of Waterloo Libraries. Special Collections & Archives. Kitchener-Waterloo Photographic Negative Collection. GA68-1979-79-257

The event, which drew coverage from local television and the campus press, was considered enough of a success that the next EngSoc team ran it again the following year. And then the one after that. And so, an annual tradition was born.

Read the full story on Waterloo News.

Please note traffic on Ring Road will be rerouted during the event today from 12 to 2:30 p.m. Route 30 will also be impacted during this time.

Waterloo wins four international CASE Circle of Excellence Awards 

The University of Waterloo has received four 2026 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards, earning international recognition for excellence in marketing, communications, fundraising, and professional education.  

Presented annually by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the Circle of Excellence Awards recognize outstanding achievement in advancement services, alumni relations, communications and marketing in higher education. This year’s competition attracted more than 4,185 entries from institutions in 33 countries, with winners selected through a rigorous peer-reviewed process.  

The awards celebrate creative and impactful work that strengthens institutions, engages communities, and advances higher education. This year, Waterloo received two Gold Awards, one Silver Award and one Bronze Award: 

• Gold: Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment’s Find Your Path at Waterloo campaign. 

• Gold: WatSPEED’s Introduction to Machine Learning online workshop. 

• Silver: Advancement’s Gloria Baylis Foundation Invests $20M in Waterloo Engineering stewardship video. 

• Bronze: Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment’s You+Waterloo domestic viewbook. 

Waterloo's award-winning work is recognized alongside projects from institutions including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Carnegie Mellon, Cambridge, the University of Toronto, McGill and UBC, placing Waterloo among a distinguished group of globally recognized institutions.  

"These awards reflect the extraordinary creativity and craft of our teams across the University," says Michael Dorr, Associate Vice-President, Marketing and Brand Strategy. "From welcoming prospective students, to stewarding transformational philanthropy, to helping professionals build the skills they need to navigate a rapidly changing world.  Kudos to everyone involved!" 

Gold: Find Your Path at Waterloo  

The Gold Award recognized Find Your Path at Waterloo, an integrated undergraduate recruitment campaign developed collaboratively by Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment, Creative Studio and colleagues across the University. By combining redesigned print publications with an interactive digital experience, the campaign reimagined how prospective students explore academic programs, simplifying program discovery and helping students make informed decisions about their academic futures.  

Gold: Introduction to Machine Learning  

WatSPEED's Gold Award recognized Introduction to Machine Learning, a free one-hour online workshop that introduced participants to the fundamentals of machine learning through expert instruction, a live Python demonstration, and an interactive Q&A session. The workshop drew more than 400 registrations and helped connect professionals with continued learning opportunities at Waterloo, demonstrating the value of accessible, practical AI education. 

Silver: Gloria Baylis Foundation Invests $20M in Waterloo Engineering  

The Silver Award recognized the Faculty of Engineering’s stewardship video Gloria Baylis Foundation Invests $20M in Waterloo Engineering. Created to accompany the announcement of the Gloria Baylis Foundation's transformational gift, the video celebrates the legacies of Gloria Baylis and former Engineering dean Pearl Sullivan through compelling personal storytelling. 

Bronze: You+Waterloo Domestic Viewbook  

The Bronze Award recognized the You+Waterloo domestic viewbook, developed collaboratively by Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment, Creative Studio and partners across the University. Combining thoughtful design, custom illustration and student-centred storytelling, the publication helps prospective students explore academic pathways while complementing the University's digital recruitment experience. 

Together, the awards reflect the breadth of Waterloo's advancement and communications work—spanning student recruitment, fundraising, lifelong learning, and professional education. They demonstrate the University's commitment to creating meaningful experiences that connect with prospective students, alumni, donors, professionals, and partners while extending the impact of Waterloo's teaching, research, and innovation on the world stage. 

Adjunct prof honoured for service to global engineering community

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

An adjunct professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has been honoured by the world's largest technical professional organization for his service to the global engineering community.

Dr. George Shaker will receive the 2026 Service Award from the Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S), part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He was recognized for his leadership in strengthening the Society's global engagement, member and student support and industry participation.

Shaker, an adjunct professor in the department since 2014, directs the Wireless Sensors and Devices Lab (WSDL) at Waterloo and is also chief scientist at Spark Technology Laboratories. His research spans electromagnetics, antenna systems, intelligent radar and the Internet of Things, with a focus on technologies that support safer, healthier and more connected communities, from in-cabin child-presence detection to non-contact eldercare monitoring.

As past chair of AP-S's Travel Grants subcommittee, he expanded the program from roughly 10 awards a year to more than 100 and introduced new funding clusters for recipients from African nations and Latin America. He also serves as vice-chair of the Technical Committee on Autonomous Systems for IEEE's Microwave Theory and Techniques Society. He currently holds three additional roles within AP-S: inaugural chair of its Technical Committee on Environment, Sustainability, and Societal Impacts, chair of its Membership and Benefits Committee and the Society's representative to the IEEE Sensors Council.Shaker will be presented with the award at the 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting in Detroit, Michigan, from July 12 to 17.