Feature

Co-op education is critical to COVID-19 recovery in Canada

Waterloo helps build a resilient workforce

Waterloo will lead students and businesses out of the current crisis with research-based innovations in work-integrated learning

45 years later: The enduring legacy of Mike Moser

The 6’6” forward was Canada’s leading scorer. He seemed unstoppable during the 1974-75 men’s basketball season. Then the unimaginable happened.

No amount of talent could have prepared the Warriors for the tragedy they would face — but the team found a common purpose in the clouds of grief

Indigenous and homeless is more than being houseless

Home is about culture and connection not just buildings

Celebrated Indigenous author says COVID-19 crisis exposes flaw in Indigenous housing in Canada

Welcoming 100,000+ newcomers to Canada

Albert Wong (BSc ’80) is a citizenship judge who wants newcomers to feel at home from their very first moments as Canadians

Autonomous cleaning robots protect us during and after COVID-19

Pandemic increases demand for Waterloo alumni’s Neo robot

As institutions disinfect their facilities, Avidbots protects frontline cleaners from exposure

Can Canadian sports survive climate change and COVID-19?

Winter activities like skiing and skating bring us together as a country

COVID-19 and climate change will transform iconic Canadian sports and tourism

COVID-19 highlights importance of Waterloo blood startup

Engineering and scientific talent in Canada help scale R&D

Membio is developing technology to manufacture fully functioning blood, so our supply isn’t dependent on blood donors

Waterloo’s first virtual pitch competition awards Canadian startup

BeBlended is innovating for Black women in the beauty industry

A supportive community of clients and $5,000 from Velocity Concept helped Aileen Agada stabilize her beauty company during the pandemic

Buzz-worthy beauty

Boosh is a line of clean cosmetics made with beeswax from the apiary on a sustainable farm owned by Waterloo alumni

Sarah Vanderheyden (BES ’13) operates out of a renovated milking parlour, where she hand-makes her line of products

Climate hope: How the ‘artificial leaf’ made its way to Canada

Waterloo’s unique intellectual property policy and Canada’s inclusive environment create a culture for innovation

“My passion is not just doing science in the lab. I want to make an impact on society”

Company founded by Waterloo alumni connects people during COVID-19

Vidyard launches free video tool for teachers

Vidyard volunteers are helping health-care workers with everything from grocery pickup to dog walking, while teachers get free video tools for virtual classes

Family farm serves up meals, sanitizer and drive-thru spirits

Waterloo alumni, who transformed an ailing dairy acreage into a sustainable farm, distillery and restaurant, respond to COVID-19

How Jordan (BES ’13) and Nolan Vanderheyden (BASc ’16) serve their community during the pandemic

Fastest-growing tech company in Canada responds to COVID-19

ApplyBoard raises $100 million and doubles down on commitment to international students and co-op ed

“Student success and well-being are always at the centre of everything we do”

Pandemic impacts Indigenous businesses across Canada

Waterloo alumnus leads national Aboriginal council that supports Indigenous businesses adapting to the COVID-19 economy

Tabatha Bull (BASc ’00) talks about the impact COVID-19 is having on Indigenous communities across Canada

Gold medallist offers advice to Olympic athletes on hold

Heather Moyse (BSc ’00) says mental management will be key for Canadian athletes training for the postponed Olympic Games in 2021

EVERYDAY SUPERHUMANS

The future of human health imagined at Waterloo

Meet the incredible alumni expanding the limits of human health.

Exploring the genetic link to autism

Alumnus stands at the forefront of emerging genomic research

One man's degree in biology activated a ground-breaking career unlocking the healing potential of our DNA.

Their time to be heard

Using technology to empower children with disabilities

This alumnus dedicated his life to helping children with complex disabilities express themselves in new ways.

One small step for kids

Alumni design robotic exoskeleton to support children with mobility impairments

These Waterloo inventors built a robotic exoskeleton enabling children with disabilities to take their very first steps.

Eight inventions that could save your life

Superhuman technology

Humanity stands at the threshold of a new frontier of health. These alumni-powered HealthTech gadgets are taking us there faster than we can imagine.

A dose of reality

Using virtual populations to safely test and improve medication use

A researcher and her team of alumni are making one-size-fits-all medication a thing of the past.

A prescription for front-line care

Meet alumni delivering critical care in underserved Canadian communities

In every corner of the country you’ll find alumni working as pharmacists and optometrists with a duty to deliver critical care in underserved communities.

Everybody hurts

Two alumni discuss how to responsibly dispense opioids and marijuana for pain

Two alumni discuss how to responsibly manage opioids and marijuana for pain.

Fighting HIV with nanomedicine and 3D printing

Emmanuel Ho is developing an intra-vaginal ring to protect women from disease

Emmanuel Ho is developing a 3D-printed intra-vaginal ring that provides highly precise doses of medication to protect women from getting HIV – the virus that causes AIDS and kills one million people globally each year.

It's a dangerous day in the neighbourhood

Alerting your family to the health threats in their everyday environment

This alumnus wants to alert you and your family to the often invisible health threats in our everyday environment.

Master any emotion in three helpful steps

One alumnus is helping people understand their mental health in a turbulent world

The science of emotion is in the midst of a revolution on a par with the discoveries of relativity in physics and natural selection in biology.

Take a number

Is math the antidote to waiting room uncertainty?

Can math be the antidote to the confusion and uncertainty of the waiting room?

Treating cancer with fewer side effects

Algorithms and quantum sensors give doctors a critical edge

Breakthroughs in quantum technologies and data science are changing the landscape of cancer treatments.

With a little help from my friends

Alumnus gets life-saving care and a sense of connection from fellow Waterloo alumni

In need of a double lung transplant to save his life, alumnus Eric Celentano, got the support he needed from two Waterloo alumni who followed their hearts to careers in health care.

A Tale of Three Cities

Urbanization is the next great disruption

Urbanization is the next great disruption.

The Mobile City:

Lanes, trains and autonomobiles

As our cities grow taller, our commutes are getting longer. Meet the Waterloo alumni solving our urban mobility crisis.

The Smart City:

The smartest street in the world

Meet the Waterloo minds using algorithms and AI to save time, lives and insurance claims at our busiest intersections.

The Resilient City:

Brewing renewal

Alumnus Callum Hay’s open-source recipe for better beer is helping revitalize a historic Toronto neighbourhood.

A subarctic commute by canoe

Turning down the urban grind to find love, opportunity and a commute by canoe

Waterloo alumni turned down the urban grind to find love, opportunity and a commute by canoe in Canada’s North

Are cities bad for your health?

VR can show how humans are adjusting to life in our concrete jungles

On a crowded urban street corner, a crush of people waits for a pedestrian crossing signal. Above them 20, 30, 60-story concrete and glass skyscrapers block out the sun. Cars made of steel, powered by gasoline, hurtle past. It’s enough to make anyone feel a little uneasy.

Battle for bike lanes

Alumnus Mike Boos is a fierce advocate for cycling and mobility in Waterloo Region

The crush of urbanization is rarely more apparent than on our streets, where greater numbers of single-occupant vehicles compete with buses, pedestrians and cyclists on the same asphalt arteries.

Bootcamp for carbon

Helping municipalities plot their own course to climate action

In the fight against climate change, cities across the planet aren’t waiting around for national governments to give them permission to reduce carbon emissions.

Brighter lights, bigger cities

How self-powered devices and blockchain will help satisfy the demand for sustainable energy

Waterloo researchers from Math, Environment and Engineering are fulfilling our climate promise and fueling a brighter energy future with nanogenerators, blockchain and a smart grid connected to smart appliances.

Definitely not SIMCITY

How Brent Toderian helped transform Vancouver into the world’s most livable city

The man who helped transform Vancouver into the world’s most livable city shares how he did it.

Folks vs Elites

Political polarization in the age of urbanization

Is a growing geographic and cultural divide between our cities, suburbs and exurbs impacting Canadian politics? J.P. Lewis (BA ’02) an Associate Professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick Saint John, weighs in at the digital.

Smaller expectations

The struggle with housing affordability

In a country with great wealth, opportunity and near-unlimited land, one alumnus struggles with housing affordability in her hometown.

Smart Cities engage people, not just technology

Helping municipalities engage their citizens with technology and urban planning initiatives

Beth Coleman and her team of graduate researchers are working to help cities implement smart technology design.

The homeowner’s guide to the gadgetry

The smartest homes of the future will mitigate and adapt to climate change

A truly smart home both mitigates and adapts to climate change. These Waterloo alumni share helpful tips and technologies that can easily transform your house into the house of the future, today.

White collars and green thumbs

How China is feeding its cities during the largest mass migration in history

In an effort to eat more sustainably, China’s ever-growing population of city dwellers are getting involved in projects that feed their communities, and reconnect them with rural traditions.

Unlocking the future of learning

Why lifelong learning is the new normal

Brain in a box

The commercialization of Waterloo’s artificial brain

Waterloo’s Applied Brain Research (ABR) was recognized by the World Economic Forum for its potential to change the world with neuromorphic software.

The future belongs to businesses that keep learning

Opinion

Dominic Barton is a Senior Partner and former global managing partner at McKinsey & Company and the University of Waterloo’s 11th chancellor.

How do we learn?

Looking beyond the classroom

Students facing an unknown future need to know how to create knowledge and apply it in different contexts to thrive in the 21st century.

Finding solutions through artificial intelligence

How artificial intelligence can keep you from driving distracted

Waterloo’s new AI institute will foster partnerships to find solutions to problems in such sectors as health care, education, finance and retail

Oscar-worthy education

Teaching the digital artists who create memorable Hollywood moments

SideFX, an Academy Award-winning 3D visual effects software company founded by Waterloo alumni, has a passion for educating its customers