Events

An enduring appeal of interactive entertainment media such as video games is that they invite the user to co-create the on-screen experience. More than an invitation, these experiences demand near-constant attention from players—and do so on myriad dimensions, including cognitive (problem-solving), emotional (affective reactions), apparatus (control or interface intuitiveness), exertional (physical activity) and social (attending to social agents). Individually and combined, these sources of demand are mediators for understanding the relationship between formal features of interactive media and intended (or unintended) outcomes of usage.

This presentation will present and review an interactivity-as-demand model based on prior and ongoing research into video games and virtual reality technologies, with specific implications for game design and player psychology.

Speaker Bio: Nick Bowman (PhD, Michigan State University) is an Associate Professor of Emerging Media at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. His research focuses on the uses and effects of interactive and immersive media, with specific interests in social media, video games, and metaverse technologies. He has published more than

125 peer-reviewed manuscripts and co-authored more than 200 competitively selected conference presentations. He is the editor of Journal of Media Psychology and associate editor for Technology, Mind, and Behavior. Recently, he completed a term as the Fulbright Taiwan Wu Jing-Jyi Arts & Culture Fellow and the National Chengchi University in Taipei, where he was researching the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social demands of virtual reality experiences, including video gaming and digital advertising campaigns. He is a lifelong gamer, part-time mechanic, and an excited-yet-skeptical futurist.

What if we could make complex social and cultural questions playable? And what if we could do so through interactions with familiar digital interfaces set in alternative presents and near futures? The work I will discuss sits at the intersection between the design traditions of speculative and critical design on the one hand, and the philosophies and best practices of game design, playful media and interaction design on the other. It turns out, though, that an arranged marriage between these traditions produces unusual offspring. In this talk, grounded in examples including outsourcing religious tolerance to technological solutions, Indigenous Hawaiians undertaking space travel, matrimonial websites from the near future, and flirtatious AI chatbot therapists, I make the case for paratopian design, which is neither utopian
nor dystopian, but proposes paradigm shifts that invite us to reconceptualize and reconsider the building blocks of "here" & "now".

This event is part of the “ADE for Game Communities: Enculturing Anti-Racism, Decolonization, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ADE) in Games Research and Creation” series from the ADE Committee of the Games Institute, University of Waterloo, and is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Rilla Khaled is an Associate Professor of Design and Computation Arts at Concordia University in Montréal. She directs the Technoculture, Art and Games (TAG) Research Centre. Her work focuses on how playful media can improve daily life, and spans designing award-winning games, creating speculative prototypes of near-future technologies, working with BIPOC communities to materialise inclusive futures, establishing foundations for recoverable, materials-based game design research, and articulating boundaries for experimental uses of AI.

Join us for a special milestone marking the 10th Anniversary of the University of Waterloo Water Institute Collaborative Water Program (CWP)! It's time to celebrate 10 remarkable cohorts of CWP graduates from the most interdisciplinary water graduate program in Canada.

The Water Institute and the Collaborative Water Program team are delighted to organize this anniversary celebration welcoming our alumni back to Waterloo,
offering a platform to exchange your experiences and insights from the water sector and beyond. Be part of this exciting gathering and get ready to reminisce and forge new connections at the upcoming event!

The anniversary celebration program includes:

Welcome

Nandita Basu
Director, Collaborative Water Program
Canada Research Chair in Global Water Sustainability and Ecohydrology
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth and Environmental Sciences

CWP Alumni Panel

Rob De Loë
Facilitator, Director Emeritus, Collaborative Water Program
Professor & Associate Dean, Research
Faculty of Environment, School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability (SERS)

Catherine Brown
Knowledge Mobilization Specialist, Ducks Unlimited, CWP Cohort 2 (2014/15)

Sabrina Bedjera
Policy Analyst, Natural Resources Canada, CWP Cohort 3 (2015/16)

Thadshayini Chandrakumaran
Associate, Miller Thomson, CWP Cohort 3 (2015/16)

Frederick Cheng
Postdoctoral Fellow, Colorado State University, CWP Cohort 3 (2015/16)

Chris Muirhead
Water Resources Engineer | Integrated Water Management Service Line Coordinator, GHD, CWP Cohort 4 (2016/17)

Laina Timberg
Indigenous Community Relations Specialist, Metrolinx, CWP Cohort 8 (2020/21)

Keynote Address

Bruce MacVicar
Director Emeritus, Collaborative Water Program
Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Tony Maas, Senior Policy Officer, Office of the Prime Minister of Canada

Special Announcement

Mark Servos
Director Emeritus, Collaborative Water Program
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Water Quality Protection
Faculty of Science, Department of Biology

Closing remarks and adjournment

Dustin Garrick
Director Designate 2024-25, Collaborative Water Program
Associate Professor & University Research Chair
Faculty of Environment, School of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability

Reception

The evening reception offers a chance to unwind and connect with fellow alumni, CWP faculty, and current students over refreshments and appetizers. Do not miss this special anniversary celebration filled with knowledge sharing, networking, and reminiscing.

We can't wait to welcome you back to Waterloo!

Friday, November 3, 2023
3:00 – 5:00 p.m. (Program)
5:00 – 7:00 p.m. (Reception)
SLC Black and Gold Room
University of Waterloo

Join the Conrad School for this breakfast session as we celebrate Women in Entrepreneurship Day. Our early-morning fireside chat will include incredible women entrepreneurs working to improve health care for women. Hear what they're doing, learn about some of the challenges they face and what they see in store for the future.

Enjoy some coffee, breakfast and networking to start your day.

Agenda:

7:30am: But first, coffee. Grab a coffee and ease into conversation.

8:00am: Fully fuelled, sit down and hear from women entrepreneurs in the women's health space. It's also a chance for you to ask our expert panelists questions.

9:00am: Networking and possibly enjoy a second cup.

This panel highlights emerging scholars in Asian/American games studies.

Panelists will present recent and/or ongoing work, sharing a glimpse of the emerging research questions animating the field. Topics include He’s analysis of NPC discourse, particularly the phenomena of NPC streaming, as an Asiatic form, Ganzon’s examination of Filipino political activism in digital games that extend public and community spaces, and Howard’s inquiry on 'region locking' in online games as racial practices.

This event is part of the “ADE for Game Communities: Enculturing Anti-Racism, Decolonization, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ADE) in Games Research and Creation” series from the ADE Committee of the Games Institute, University of Waterloo, and is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Speakers:

Dr. Sarah Christina Ganzon is an Assistant Professor of Gaming, Media and Communication at Simon Fraser University. Her research revolves mostly around the areas of game studies and digital fandoms. Recently, she finished her thesis on otome games in English, and otome game players. She holds a PhD in Communication Studies at Concordia University and an MA in English Literature from Cardiff University. Prior to starting her doctorate, she taught courses in literature and the humanities at the University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University.

Dr. Huan He is an Assistant Professor of English at Vanderbilt University.

Recently, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan’s Digital Studies Institute. His research engages Asian/American literature and culture, digital studies, and critical game studies. Currently titled The Racial Interface, his book project examines the racial associations linking Asian Americans and information technologies. His research appears/is forthcoming in Configurations, College Literature: A Journal of Critical Literary Studies, Media-N and an anthology on Asian American game studies. He also writes poetry, which can be found in Poetry, Sewanee Review, A Public Space, Beloit Poetry Journal, and elsewhere.

Dr. Matthew Jungsuk Howard, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at Loyola University, Chicago's School of Communication. He writes "gyopo media histories" that explore the intertwinement of the "Korean Wave" of globalized circulation of South Korean popular culture and peninsular diasporas, particularly in North America. He is particularly interested in the media-cultural histories of race, ethnicity, and nationality. When he is not spoiling all of our favourite entertainment forms, Matt can be found chasing his step-pug Morty around the house, sneaking treats to his baby conure, Jennie, and withering under Goober the Cat's disdainful gaze.

Women in AI & Robotics and the RoboHub at the University of Waterloo have co-organized a fantastic networking and educational opportunity for the Robotics community.

This event brings together students, researchers, and industry professionals in the field of robotics to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Participants will engage in discussions, share research findings, and explore cutting-edge developments in robotics technology.

Our aim is to foster cross-sector networking, allowing students to learn from leading researchers and industry experts. The event will feature presentations by researchers and industry professionals, followed by a panel discussion on the transformative potential of robotics to benefit society and create a technologically advanced and sustainable future. More details about the speakers will be announced soon.

During the event, all participants can connect over lunch.

We'll also feature student spotlight talks.

While Women in AI & Robotics' focus is on increasing women-identifying representation, the event is open and free to attend for everyone, regardless of gender.

This event is supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ottawa.

Waterloo Engineering and Waterloo Wellington FIRST Robotics (WWFRO) are proud to host the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Qualifier on Saturday December 2nd , 2023. We will be hosting 18 teams of students aged 9-14 for the arts-inspired Masterpiece qualifying event.

Lights, camera, STEAM! In the past four months, FLL teams have been building and programming their LEGO robots to complete specific missions on a the Master Peice FLL mat.  FLL students have also been learning about the role science, technology, engineering and math play in arts and developing innovative ways to create and communicate art across the globe.

Come visit the event for a day of innovation and imagination.

We are excited to announce the 9th Annual Conference on Vision and Intelligent Systems (CVIS 2023), to be held on December 5-6th, where the goal is to bring together both academia and industry to share their joint expertise to promote the advancement and application of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and imaging technologies in various areas of academic and industrial interests. CVIS 2023 is free for all to attend and hosted at UW.

We are excited to announce the 9th Annual Conference on Vision and Intelligent Systems (CVIS 2023), to be held on December 5-6th, where the goal is to bring together both academia and industry to share their joint expertise to promote the advancement and application of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and imaging technologies in various areas of academic and industrial interests. CVIS 2023 is free for all to attend and hosted at UW.

This workshop hosted by Dallas Squire of Onkwehonwe Games offers participants the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of the people of the Six Nations (also called Haudenosaunee) through Traditional Games.

Interactive and hands-on, their approach to teaching is indigenous in its foundation. While learning about traditional games of the Six Nations of the Grand River, participants will simultaneously be learning about and experiencing local First Nations culture. In Kanyen'keha Onkwehonwe translates to ‘the original or first people’. The traditional way of many Onkwehonwe is to live in harmony with Mother Earth. Living in this good way requires a balance of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Games were and are still used as a way to stay healthy and connected to a person’s community. Six Nations traditional games are used to enhance individual and team skills, as well as create sportsmanship, connection and laughter.

This event is part of the “ADE for Game Communities: Enculturing Anti-Racism, Decolonization, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ADE) in Games Research and Creation” series from the ADE Committee of the Games Institute, University of Waterloo, and is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.