Friday, June 17, 2022

Convocation continues with Science today

The Faculty of Science will celebrate today as more than 1,100 graduands cross the Convocation stage in two ceremonies. 998 undergraduates, 61 master's, and 40 PhD candidates will receive their degrees.

The first Science ceremony starts at 10:00 a.m.

Robert Lemieux, Dean of the Faculty of Science, will present Robert Mann for the conferment of the title University Professor. Professor Robert Mann is a member of the Physics and Astronomy department and works on gravitation, quantum physics, and the overlap between these two subjects. He is interested in questions that provide us with information about the foundations of physics, particularly those that could be tested by experiment. 

Brian Dixon, Professor, Canada Research Chair in Fish and Environmental Immunology, will present Virginia Ann and John William Heath for admission to the degrees of Doctors of Science, honoris causa. Dr. Virginia Ann Heath completed a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of British Columbia, and Dr. John William Heath completed his Bachelor of Science at McGill. Both then completed MScs and MDs in clinical medicine at McGill. After postgraduate medical training in Halifax, Winnipeg, and Vancouver they set up a practice in Campbell River, B.C. and participated in many clinical research studies. In 1985, they established Yellow Island Aquaculture on Quadra Island, B.C., which quickly became a centre for aquaculture research, with numerous publications, including contributions in Nature and Science. They received the 2013 NSERC Synergy award for collaborative research and they have hosted numerous Waterloo students.

Virginia Ann Heath and John William Heath will address convocation.

Marya Talha will deliver the valedictory address.

The second Science ceremony convenes at 2:30 p.m.

Robert Lemieux, Dean of the Faculty of Science, will present Lyndon Jones for the conferment of the title University Professor. Jones is the Director of the internationally recognized Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE). He is a world-leading expert in contact lens technology, with research interests that primarily focus on the interaction of contact lens materials with the ocular environment, dry eye, myopia control and the development of materials for ocular drug delivery.

Stan Woo, Director, School of Optometry and Vision Science, will present William Bobier for conferment of the title of Distinguished Professor Emeritus. Professor Bobier completed his Bachelor of Science degree at Queen’s University and then an Optometry degree at the University of Waterloo. After one year of private practice in Optometry, he returned to Waterloo to complete his Master of Science, then, moved to the University of Cambridge for his PhD. He joined the School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo as a faculty member in 1987 and rose to be become director. Bobier retired in December of 2019, after a distinguished 29-year career within the School. He remains active in research and graduate student supervision.

William Bobier will address convocation.

Aisosa Ohiegbomwan will deliver the valedictory address.

A number of awards will also be handed out to excellent students during the two ceremonies today.

Aviv Shaya Padawer-Blatt will receive the Governor General's Academic Silver Medal.

Taylor Lynn Virgin will receive the Alumni Gold Medal Award.

Convocation concludes with Engineering ceremonies today and tomorrow

The Faculty of Engineering will have four Convocation ceremonies spread over today and tomorrow as the University's largest crop of graduands—more than 1,940—cross the stage Friday and Saturday. 1,418 undergraduates, 454 master's, and 91 PhD candidates will receive their degrees.

The first Engineering ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. tonight.

Dominic Barton, Chancellor, will present Feridun Hamdullahpur for the conferment of the title President Emeritus. Feridun Hamdullahpur served as the sixth President and Vice-Chancellor of the University from 2010 to 2021. He has been an engineer, educator and leader over the span of his more than 35-year career in research and higher education. A professor of mechanical engineering, Hamdullahpur holds a PhD in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Istanbul.

Feridun Hamdullahpur will address convocation.

Adel Sedra, Dean of Engineering Emeritus, will present Douglas Fregin for admission to the degree of Doctor of Engineering, honoris causa. Douglas Fregin has been a leader in the telecommunications industry for over 35 years. He co-founded Research In Motion (RIM), which launched the world’s first smartphone (the BlackBerry 5180). In 2013, he co-founded Quantum Valley Investments, driving the Region of Waterloo to the forefront of the global quantum technologies industry. He has donated millions towards educational and research programs at the University of Waterloo, enabling the establishment of the Waterloo Undergraduate Program in Nanotechnology (2005), the Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology (2009), and the Mike & Ophelia Quantum-Nano Centre (2012). He received a Technical Emmy Award with Kodak and the National Film Board of Canada, and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his achievements. In 2016, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.

Mary Wells, Dean of Engineering, will introduce Steve Lambert, Professor, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, to address convocation. Professor Stephan Lambert completed his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 1982, received his master’s degree from Queen’s University in 1984, and returned to Waterloo to complete his doctorate. He joined Waterloo’s Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering Department as an Assistant Professor in 1988. For 15 years, his group developed models to predict and ultimately reduce fatigue, fracture, and stress corrosion cracking in Canadian pipeline infrastructure. His recent work has advanced the design of load-bearing automotive components using forged magnesium alloys. He was the Design Processes Theme Lead within the AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence (2004-2015), the Waterloo NSERC Chair in Design Engineering (2004-2016), and the Canadian Task Leader for Fatigue in the Magnesium Front End Research and Development Project (2006-2012). He has been the Faculty Advisor for Waterloo’s Formula Motorsports team since 1996.

Chukwunonso Moneme will deliver valedictory address.

The second Engineering ceremony begins at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 18.

Mary Wells, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, will introduce Karim Karim, Associate Vice-President, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship, to address convocation. Karim S. Karim received his BASc in Computer Engineering in 1999 and his PhD in Electrical Engineering in 2002, both from the University of Waterloo. He was briefly an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University before returning to Waterloo in 2008, where he is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Associate Vice President, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship. Professor Karim has published over 100 journal articles, 150 conference papers, and has 80 patents related to large-area electronics and digital X-ray imaging solutions. He co-founded KA Imaging in 2015, which commercialized the world’s first portable large area spectral X-ray detector. The product was recently endorsed by the World Health Organization for developing countries. Professor Karim is a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Veraj Paruthi will deliver the valedictory address.

The third Engineering ceremony starts at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 18.

Mary Wells, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, will present Flora T.T. Ng for conferment of the title Distinguished Professor Emerita. Professor Flora T.T. Ng joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 1987, after nearly a decade working with the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology, where she rose to assistant director, research programs. At Waterloo, her group is internationally recognized for innovation in catalytic processes and “green” chemistry. She has co-authored more than 250 journal and conference papers, delivered more than 100 invited talks, and supervised over 140 undergraduate and graduate students. She held a University Research Chair from 2006 to 2013 and was appointed a University Professor – Waterloo’s highest academic honour – in 2008. She is a former president of the Canadian Catalysis Foundation and a Fellow of both the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) and the Royal Society of Canada.

Mary Wells, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, will present Raymond Legge for conferment of the title Distinguished Professor Emeritus. Professor Emeritus Raymond Legge’s record of scholarship, teaching, and service to the Department of Chemical Engineering and the University of Waterloo is exemplary and extends more than 37 years. He has made groundbreaking contributions to the development of biosensors, environmental monitoring and remediation, green bioprocesses, and water treatment and monitoring. Deeply committed to improving engineering education, Legge has served on more than 50 committees within his department and across the university, including several undergraduate task forces. In his roles as associate chair, associate dean, and assistant vice-president, Graduate Studies he has helped shape the engineering curriculum and elevate Waterloo to one of the most prominent engineering schools in the world. During his career he taught more than 7,000 students and received the Sandford Fleming Foundation Teaching Excellence Award on two occasions.

Christine Moresoli, Associate Dean, Co-operative Education & Professional Affairs, will present Valerie Davidson for admission to the degree of Doctor of Engnieering, honoris causa. Valerie Davidson is a Professor Emerita in the University of Guelph’s School of Engineering, where she was a faculty member for 24 years. During this time, she developed innovative courses in bio-process and food engineering, and was a recipient of the Provost’s Award for Innovation in Teaching. Her group developed ground-breaking, fundamentals-based, engineering models of complex food processing systems to improve product quality and safety. Davidson recently consulted for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to develop tools for food safety decision-making. For over three decades, Professor Davidson has been an exceptional citizen within the engineering community and a dedicated champion of diversity in the profession. While serving as NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, she founded the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering (ONWiE), now a pan-Canadian collaboration that inspires the next generation of engineers. In 2016, she received the Ontario Professional Engineers’ Award for Citizenship.

Valerie Davidson will address convocation.

Chukwunonso Moneme will deliver valedictory address.

The fourth Engineering ceremony takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 18.

Paul Fieguth, Associate Dean, Resources and Planning, will present Keith Hipel for conferment of the title Distinguished Professor Emeritus. In his over 40 years at the University of Waterloo, Professor Hipel has established a distinguished record of scholarship, teaching and service. He is an international authority in the field of environmental systems engineering, with profound impacts on the management of water, energy, and natural resources. His contributions to engineering education include co-supervision of 87 graduate students, founding of three highly successful exchange programs with leading universities in Japan, and serving as chair of the Board of Governors of Renison University College. Hipel has received 67 national and international honours, including election to Officer of the Order of Canada, President of the Academy of Science within the Royal Society of Canada, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He is also an international Member of the US National Academy of Engineering and Killam Prize Laureate.

Lisa Aultman-Hall, Chair, Systems Design Engineering, will introduce Paul Fieguth, Associate Dean, Resources and Planning to address convocation. Paul Fieguth received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and graduate engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He joined Waterloo’s Department of Systems Design Engineering in 1996, where he has been Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies and Department Chair. Presently he is Associate Dean for Resources and Planning. As co-Director of the Vision and Image Processing Lab, he has contributed major advances to statistical signal and image processing, hierarchical algorithms, data fusion, machine learning, and the interdisciplinary applications of such methods. As an educator, he has helped develop a deep understanding among engineering students on the impact of complex systems in many areas of engineering decision making. He is the author of three textbooks, a 2010 text on Statistical Image Processing & Multidimensional Modeling, a 2021 text on Complex Systems, and an upcoming text on Pattern Recognition.

Ellen McGee will deliver valedictory address.

A number of awards will also be handed out to excellent Engineering students during the four ceremonies today and tomorrow.

Amy Tai will receive the Alumni Gold Medal.

Kennedy Peter Strong will receive the Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education Gold Medal.

For the classes of 2020 and 2021 it was the art of celebration

By Aiju Chau. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

This past weekend, over 4,000 alumni returned to campus to participate in a traditional convocation ceremony.

In recognition of their unique experience at Waterloo, local artist Nicole Beno was commissioned to create an art piece that symbolized the unique memories, knowledge and friendships of each alumnus.

The keepsake was presented to each alumnus after they walked across the stage, and contains the signature of the artist with a unique print number.

For those unable to attend the celebrations this weekend, we have made a digital version of the keepsake available as a PDF download. The piece is meant to be printed 8" x 8". Standard 8x8 picture frames can be used with this piece.

Check out the full story on Waterloo News for more examples of the artwork.