Thursday, April 20, 2023

Remembering Distinguished Professor Emeritus Raymond L. Legge

A message from the Faculty of Engineering.

On Saturday, April 15, the world lost Distinguished Professor Emeritus Raymond L. Legge, a former chemical engineering professor and an irreplaceable member of the Waterloo Engineering community. He was 68 years old.

For over 35 years, Legge’s exemplary scholarship, teaching and service record has helped elevate the University of Waterloo’s reputation as one of the world’s preeminent engineering schools.

Throughout his career at the University of Waterloo, Legge remained an active and involved professor who inspired the next generation of engineering leaders. His teaching excellence was recognized many times, including as a two-time recipient of the Sanford Fleming Foundation Faculty of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award and a three-time recipient of the Faculty of Engineering’s Distinguished Performance Award.

Legge’s dedication to educating the next generation of engineers frequently went beyond the classroom. Serving in several senior administrative roles within the Faculty, Legge significantly shaped Waterloo’s prominent engineering curriculum. He has served on over 50 committees across Waterloo and personally supervised more than fifty doctoral and master’s students – many of whom are now leaders in the engineering profession.

His extraordinary research contributions are equal to his distinguished career as an educator. Legge’s world-class research program at Waterloo is one of the first to be singularly focused on biotechnologies development. His pioneering contributions have advanced many applications of global import, from biosensors to environmental monitoring and remediation, to green bioprocesses and biological water treatment. His 370+ journal and conference publications in these areas have been cited more than 8,250 times.

“Ray was a true gentleman and a wonderful colleague,” said Dean Mary Wells. “He brought class to every situation he was in and had a twinkle that made you want to be around him. I will miss him deeply.”

During this difficult time, the Faculty of Engineering offers our heartfelt condolences to his husband Troy, his family and his friends.

Dr. Legge’s family will receive relatives and friends from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home (171 King Street South, Waterloo). A memorial service will follow on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at 2 p.m.

Full details can be found in his obituary online.  

As an expression of sympathy, memorial donations can be made to the newly established Raymond L. Legge Chemical Engineering Pride Scholarship at the University of Waterloo.

Celebrating French as a second language study bursary recipients

A message from the Department of French Studies.

The Department of French Studies is celebrating the 24 recipients of the Bursary for Postsecondary Studies in French as a Second Language for 2022-2023. Each of these incredible students received a $3000 bursary to assist with their pursuit of bilingualism. This year, the Department of French Studies was able to disburse a total of $72 000 to eligible applicants.

This bursary is funded by L'Association des Collèges et Universités de la Francophonie Canadienne (ACUFC) and was established by the Government of Canada to encourage young English-speaking Canadians to pursue post-secondary studies in French. The objective of this initiative is to increase the national rate of official bilingualism among Anglophones from 7 to 9 per cent by 2036, with a particular focus on providing financial support to students from underrepresented communities or disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

The 24 recipients for the 2022-2023 year are all Anglophone students enrolled in French Honours with an Intensive Specialization within the Department of French Studies. They were selected for their hard work, leadership and dedication to the French language.

“I was very excited to receive the FSL bursary as it is a sign that the government is working to support students in their efforts to maintain the French language and culture in Canada,” says Tessa Hedrick, a French Teaching Specialization major. “The bursary will help me to pay for my studies to become a French teacher so that I can, in turn, teach future generations of students to appreciate the French language and culture through formal education. Merci beaucoup!”

This bursary will play an instrumental role in addressing the shortage of French Teachers across the country, while contributing to the global workforce by providing highly competent, fully bilingual professionals.

If you are curious about developing your French competencies and would like details on eligibility and how to apply, visit our FSL webpage or contact us at frenchundergrad@uwaterloo.ca.

Up Start issues call for applications

A message from Velocity and the Waterloo Commercialization Office (WatCo).

Join Up Start and be guided through the process of commercializing your idea into a venture that will transform an industry and make your mark.

One of the most rewarding experiences anyone can have is bringing technology to market. Up Start is the opportunity for the University of Waterloo community to step out and build a technology company.

Built by Velocity and the Waterloo Commercialization Office (WatCo), student researchers, founders and recent alumni will be funded and have access to resources from both Velocity and WatCo.

Up Start is accepting applications now through May 4 for its Spring cohort. Accepted teams will work closely with Velocity and WatCo advisors to conduct market research, develop a business plan and receive funding to help get them started.

Innovators will be guided through the process of commercializing ideas into a venture that will disrupt the marketplace and create a positive impact on society.

Are you building something big? Feeling like you should commercialize your research? Have you started a company and are looking for someone to help you move faster? We want to hear from you! Apply now.

Sustainable Future Competition takes off

A message from the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA).

The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) has launched the Sustainable Future Competition, which provides non-repayable funding of up to $50,000 to fund the most promising initiatives that will foster sustainable aeronautics led by small- or medium-sized enterprises in Southern Ontario.

Funded by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), this initiative advances WISA’s mission of supporting innovative solutions and fostering an ecosystem that supports a sustainable future for the aviation and aerospace industries.

The deadline for submissions is May 15, 2023 with recipients announced at WISA’s second Annual General Meeting on June 12, 2023. Learn more about WISA, the competition and the submission process at uwaterloo.ca/wisa/pitch.

Remembering the Iced in Black film festival, two decades later

A digital archive was recently launched to celebrate and commemorate a Black film festival that got its start at the University of Waterloo more than 20 years ago.

Iced in Black was the brainchild of honours psychology student and cinephile Nadia Hohn, and was staged with support from the National Film Board, the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group, the Federation of Students, and CKMS 100.3 FM, with the support of the African Students Association, the Association of Caribbean Students, Hindi Movie Club, Universal Black Students Association and the Breakers Club.

"Black Canadian cinema has not received enough attention," Hohn wrote in 2001. "I want to share and celebrate that with people from other backgrounds so they can learn something about it. We have an experience here that's hundreds of years old." 

With increased funding, the festival went on tour in 2002 with stops in Waterloo, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Edmonton, and by 2003, its final year, Iced in Black had spread to 9 cities across Canada, highlighting Black Canadian films and filmmakers.

Iced In Black was the University of Waterloo's first festival that showcased "Canadian Black experiences on film" and helped pave the way for more recent efforts like the Black at Waterloo: Black Film Festival two decades later.

Hohn is now an award-winning author and recently reflected on her Iced in Black experience on her blog.

The digital archive was launched yesterday on National Canadian Film Day by writer and curator Greg Macdougall, who had been involved in the first festival in 2001 as a volunteer. The archive includes a listing of films screened during the festival's run, media articles (including a 2001 issue of the Daily Bulletin), photos and more.

The purpose of the archive is two-fold, Macdougall writes. "One part is a documentation of the initiative, that people can access to know what it was, and to serve as inspiration for what people can do. While ICED IN BLACK served to bring people together to share in Canadian Black culture and history (during Black History Month), the festival itself is now also a part of Black history in Canada."

"The other part is simply as a collection of Canadian Black films, brought together by virtue of their inclusion in the festival, gathered in a way that can promote the individual films, making them more accessible for people to discover."