Monday, April 4, 2016

Velocity Fund winners straighten up and fly right

Pegasus Aeronautics recieve their winning $25k cheque from Mike Kirkup, director of Velocity.

Pegasus Aeronautics, a hardware company seeking to extend the airtime range of drones using advanced hybrid powertrains, was among the big winners at the Velocity Fund Finals held Thursday in the Student Life Centre's Great Hall.

Founded by four Waterloo students and graduates from the Mechanical, Electrical, and Mechatronics Engineering programs, Pegasus Aeronautics seeks to use its hybrid powertrain technology to keep drones in the air longer and make unmanned aerial vehicles a viable option for industrial operators. In addition to winning a $25,000 prize, Pegasus also won the top hardware prize of $10,000.

“Drones are the perfect way to remove people from dangerous tasks, and to help save companies money,” said Matt McRoberts, co-founder and CEO of Pegasus. “Our technology solves a need that has been hindering the industry from its inception by removing the limitations that batteries place on drone flight time. Winning the Velocity Fund Finals will allow us to execute our plan to accelerate our beta testing phase in order to bring our product to market sooner.”

During the competition, 10 companies pitched their businesses to a panel of judges representing the investment, startup and business communities. Judges considered innovation, market potential, market viability and overall pitch.

The following three companies were also grand-prize winners of $25,000 and will receive free workspace at the Velocity Garage: Fiix, a platform to connect customers with affordable, skilled mechanics, Landmine Boys, who built a specialized robot to defuse land mines without an explosion or human interaction, and Okey, an app that logs you into your digital accounts when there is close proximity to your mobile device, to save time and improve security.

The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell visited the University of Waterloo on Thursday, March 31, meeting with faculty, students, and staff in a tour that included the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre, the Student Life Centre, Environment 3, St. Paul's University College, and Federation Hall.

The Lieutenant Governor's campus tour involved a visit to the Institute for Quantum Computing and a lunchtime discussion about the Quantum Valley.

She also attended the Velocity Fund Finals competition in the Great Hall of the Student Life Centre, meeting members of student teams.​

The Lieutenant Governor attended a meeting with representatives from the Federation of Students, then participated in a panel discussion with members of the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Environment. 

She also attended an Environment and Business reception and poster display, and spoke with students from St. Paul's GreenHouse.

The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell is Ontario's 29^th Lieutenant Governor and was appointed in 2014.

Students, share your feedback for Watcard cash

Time is running out for undergraduate and graduate students to participate in the Canadian Undergraduate Student Survey (CUSC) and the Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (CGPSS). 

In early February, students were contacted via e-mail and were asked to provide feedback about their undergraduate and graduate and professional school experience at the University of Waterloo.

The CUSC survey aims to obtain information about student satisfaction with programs, services and overall experience, and the results will be used to inform improvements to various program and student services. 

The purpose of the CGPSS survey is to improve teaching, learning, graduate student services, programs, student support and overall campus life for current and future graduate students.

Students that submit their survey responses will receive $5 added to their WATCARDs and will be automatically entered in a draw to win a $500 student award. 

The surveys will be open until 11:59 p.m. this evening, April 4. Following the survey, summary results will be available on the Institutional Analysis & Planning website.

Undergraduate and graduate students should check their @uwaterloo e-mail accounts for the survey invitation. 

Snowy notes as lectures draw to a close

The uprising starts here: Robots square off in the Physical Activities Complex Friday during the three-Day FIRST Robotics competition.

Let it snow! Waterloo Region was under a special weather statement yesterday as things got ugly out there Sunday evening and overnight. The University's main campus is open today, but take care if you find yourself on a slippery slope.

On Friday, April 8, the Departments of English Language & Literature and Fine Arts and the Faculty of Engineering are hosting a unique "double bill" of digital art at 44 Gaukel Street in downtown Kitchener, home of the Critical Media Lab and the XDM Program.

Students of  Lois Andison and Brandon DeHart's Tech Art course are presenting "Techsthetic," a collection of interactive artworks resulting from a collaboration between Fine Arts and Engineering.

In addition, the XDM MA program presents "CODED BODIES," its annual exhibition, featuring several digital "objects-to-think-with" and a guest appearance by local Kwartzlab artist Bernie Rohde.

The event, which takes place Friday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., will serve as a closing party for the Tech Art show and as an opening for the XDM exhibition. All are welcome.

Both exhibitions have walk-in hours: Techsthetica runs from Wednesday, April 6 to Saturday, April 9 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Coded Bodies runs Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Human Resources is reporting that retiree Mary Kapron died March 12. Mary began her employment at St. Jerome’s University in September 1965. She held the position of Administrative Assistant until she retired in May 1994.