For
Plinio
Morita,
a
doctoral
candidate
in
systems
design
engineering,
being
awarded
a
Vanier
Canada
Graduate
Scholarship
is
an
honour
that
will
help
support
his
research
in
how
technology
can
be
used
to
improve
trust
in
group
situations.
“A
multi-year
award
like
this
will
allow
me
to
accomplish
even
more
than
I
had
planned,”
he
says.
“It
is
a
privilege
to
receive
such
a
prestigious
award.”
The
scholarship,
valued
at
$50,000
annually
for
up
to
three
years,
was
awarded
to
Morita
through
the
Natural
Sciences
and
Engineering
Research
Council
of
Canada.
Morita’s
research
goals
integrate
different
pieces
of
information
and
create
the
tools
that
can
influence
the
level
of
trust
within
a
workplace
team.
He
is
specifically
looking
at
work
flow
among
pediatric
workers
in
intensive
care
units.
His
goal
is
to
determine
what
information
needs
to
be
conveyed
through
a
tablet
device
that
will
allow
a
physician
working
remotely
to
confidently
diagnose
a
patient
and
prescribe
a
course
of
action.
“Plinio’s
work
can
make
a
difference
to
Canada
and
the
world,”
says
Catherine
Burns,
professor
of
systems
design
engineering
and
Morita’s
graduate
supervisor.
Morita
earned
his
bachelor
of
engineering
degree
in
electrical
engineering
and
a
master
of
science
degree
in
Biomedical
Engineering/Clinical
Engineering
from
Universidade
Estadual
de
Campinas
(UNICAMP)
in
Brazil.
He
says
his
decision
to
come
to
Waterloo
in
2009
for
his
PhD
was
an
easy
choice.
“The
Human
Factors
Engineering
Research
Group
at
the
University
of
Waterloo
is
extremely
strong
and
known
in
the
research
community,”
he
says.
“A
common
colleague
connected
me
with
Professor
Burns
and
I
started
my
academic
journey
at
Waterloo.”
So
far,
his
academic
journey
has
included
going
above
and
beyond
working
on
his
doctoral
degree.
Since
early
2010,
he
has
worked
part-time
as
lab
manager
providing
support
to
the
Advanced
Interface
Design
Lab,
one
of
four
labs
in
the
Human
Factors
Research
Group.
He
is
a
graduate
instructional
developer
in
the
Centre
for
Teaching
Excellence
where
he
“TAs
the
TAs”.
He
is
president
of
the
Systems
Design
Engineering
Graduate
Student
Association,
vice
president
of
the
Human
Factors
and
Ergonomics
Society
Student
Chapter
at
the
university,
and
a
member
of
the
Graduate
Student
Planning
Committee
or
Vision
2015
in
the
Faculty
of
Engineering.
At
the
end
of
his
email
signature
Morita
uses
the
following
quote:
“The
only
impossible
things
are
the
ones
that
we
haven’t
tried
hard
enough,”
which
seems
to
sum
up
what
he’s
all
about.
“It
has
always
been
a
great
fit
to
my
personality
and
the
way
I
deal
with
challenges,”
he
says.
“It
is
a
reminder
that
every
challenge
in
your
life
is
attainable
and
that
with
enough
effort
and
passion
for
what
you
are
doing,
there
are
no
limits
to
how
far
you
can
go.”
Graduate Student, Systems Design Engineering