Hacking the Future: Waterloo Innovation Summit 2017
Registration opens in May for the Waterloo Innovation Summit 2017, this September 13-15, 2017, where some of the world’s top influencers come together to explore the disruptive ideas and technologies — and the policies and supports — that enable innovation.
This year’s theme, Hacking the Future, will include dynamic discussions led by co-hosts Amanda Lang and Jordan Banks, and strategic curator and futurist Nikolas Badminton.
Follow the conversation on social at #WINS17, and watch for registration details and speaker updates on the Waterloo Innovation Summit website.
$32.6 million in federal funding for Engineering 7
Bardish Chagger, Canada’s Minister of Small Business and Tourism and Member of Parliament for Waterloo, visited campus in January to announce $32.6 million in funding for the Engineering 7 building. The federal funding is in addition to $10 million from the University and $36.5 million from private sector donors.
Housing cutting-edge research on machine intelligence, mobile robotics, autonomous vehicles and wearable biomedical devices, the seven-storey, 240,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in spring 2018.
Celebration 2017: Legacy Project for a milestone year
Waterloo student teams are invited to submit designs for an innovative and creative new campus space, in celebration of Waterloo’s 60th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. The deadline for submissions is June 15, with cash prizes for semi-finalists and finalists. The winning entry will be announced in the fall.
Find out more by visiting the 60 years of innovation website.
Birthday wishes for UWaterloo
Slide prepared by MIT professor Kate Darling for her future-focused robotics discussion at the Beyond 60 kickoff lecture January 9
The future is here: Autonomoose approved for testing on Ontario roads
Self-driving cars are increasingly becoming a reality thanks to a team at the Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research (WatCAR). Students and research engineers have been testing a 2015 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid dubbed “Autonomoose” equipped with sensors and powerful computers that allow it to detect and respond to other vehicles, stop signs and traffic lights. Autonomoose is among the first autonomous vehicles approved for testing on public roads by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
Read more about Autonomoose, and see Rick Mercer take it out for a spin.
#WeAreAllUWaterloo
On a snowy January day in the heart of the University of Waterloo campus, hundreds gathered to mourn the loss of those murdered in the terrorist act at the Grande Mosquée de Québec and to demonstrate against U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration ban.
The January 31 vigil took place on the Arts Quad, where faculty, students and members of the Waterloo community expressed messages of solidarity and compassion for the Muslim community and all those persecuted because of xenophobia.
Photo: Theresa Shim
Join us for a very special Canada Day Celebration
On Saturday, July 1, 2017, join us for the region’s largest Canada Day celebration. Hosted by the University of Waterloo and the Federation of Students — and featuring special guest Tom Cochrane — this year’s festival will be bigger than ever, as we celebrate 60 years of innovation and Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation.
The event will feature entertainment for all ages, including a range of family activities, delicious festival food and drinks, live performances and fireworks.
Find more 60th anniversary events and join the conversation with #UWaterloo60 and #UWCanadaDay.
Waterloop team looks forward to next round of SpaceX competition
After competing in the first instalment of Elon Musk’s Hyperloop commuter pod competition in Hawthorne, California in January, the Waterloop team is gearing up for Hyperloop Pod Competition II in Summer 2017.The only Canadian team to participate in the January competition, Waterloop was praised for their Goose 1’s lightweight and simple design.
“I really hope that we can build a winning pod, and make sure that in the end, this technology does see the light of day,” says Jake Malliaros, magnetic braking lead for the Waterloop team.
Assistant editor helped shape alumni magazine
Patricia Bow, who worked with the University from 1998 to 2011 as a communications officer in Communications and Public Affairs, passed away on January 7.
During her time at the University, Bow was assistant editor of Waterloo Magazine and contributed to the Daily Bulletin and the University’s website. Bow was also the author of more than 20 novels, notably The Bone Flute, which was a finalist for the Ontario Library Association Silver Birch Award.
Awards and honours
Recent recognition for University of Waterloo researchers and graduate students includes:
- Jo Atlee, (Cheriton School of Computer Science), Distinguished Member, Association for Computing Machinery
- Kankar Bhattacharya, (Engineering), Fellow of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Raouf Boutaba, (Cheriton School of Computer Science), Donald W. McLellan Meritorious Service Award and Technical Achievement Award, IEEE Communications Society
- Zhongwei Chen, (Engineering), Young Investigator Award from the International Automotive Lithium Battery Association
- Heather Douglas, (Philosophy), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Lora Giangregorio, (Kinesiology), Lindy Fraser Award 2016, from Osteoporosis Canada
- Michael Godfrey, (Cheriton School of Computer Science), Senior Member, Association for Computing Machinery
- Urs Hengartner, (Cheriton School of Computer Science), Senior Member, Association for Computing Machinery
- John Hirdes, (School of Public Health and Health Systems), 2016 Ingenious Award, Information Technology Association of Canada
- Ihab Ilyas, (Cheriton School of Computer Science), Research Chair in Data Cleaning from Theory to Practice, Thomson Reuters
- Amir Khandani, (Engineering), Fellow of IEEE
- Colin Macleod, (Psychology), Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
- Leia Minaker, (School of Planning), Career Development Award in Prevention, Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute
- Tamer Özsu, (Cheriton School of Computer Science), Fellow, Royal Society of Canada
- Gordon Stubley, (Engineering), National Teaching Fellowship, awarded by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and 3M Canada
- Mary Thompson, (Statistics and Actuarial Science), Honorary Doctorate, Vancouver Island University and Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Western University
- Andrew Trant, (School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability), W.S. Cooper Award, Ecological Society of America
- Mark Vuorinen, (Music, Conrad Grebel), 2016 Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting (Ontario Arts Council)
- Geoff Wall, (Department of Geography and Environmental Management), Ulysses Prize for Excellence in the Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge in Tourism, United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
- Karen Yeats, (Combinatorics and Optimization), Humboldt Research Fellowship
