Feature
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Spring 2022
Letter from the Editor
Building on an entrepreneurial tradition
The Faculty of Mathematics’ entrepreneurial prowess is no secret. We’re known in Canada and across the world as a hotbed for innovative new ventures. I like to think the entrepreneurial spirit is embedded in our institutional DNA and thus central to who we are and how we see the world. Our early visionaries—giants like Don Cowan and Wes Graham—were among the first to recognize the revolutionary potential of the computer. Unwavering in their conviction that computing would shape the future and that Waterloo could be one of its birthplaces, they worked tirelessly to bring an IBM 360/75 mainframe—the most powerful computer in Canada at the time—to the Davis Centre.
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Spring 2022
PureFacts CEO, Robert Madej: Dream big and go for it!
One family’s spirit and resilience led them to Waterloo – now they’re helping others
Robert Madej, CEO of PureFacts Financial Solutions Inc., was a young man with a plan. His dream was to study mathematics and start a business, and he was going to make it happen. But his high school guidance counselor had doubts and encouraged him to become a math teacher or an actuary instead, both lucrative professions with job security. Despite the counselor’s best efforts, there was no changing Madej’s mind.
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Spring 2022
Is there a formula for success?
Alex and Heather Hoff share how they’ve used the same approach to build two very different businesses
What does it take to become a successful entrepreneur? According to Alex Hoff, founder and chief product officer at Auvik, and his wife Heather Hoff, founder of Amarok IP law firm, there are some constants: good ideas, hard work, and commitment. But for this family, the optimized variable is balance.
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Spring 2022
How co-op alumni founders are shaping the future through innovation
The road to entrepreneurship begins with an idea. For Pooja Viswanathan (BMath ’06) and Joseph Lee (BMath ’99), their journeys began with ideas that sparked during their co-op student work term experiences. Viswanathan (she/her), CEO and founder of Braze Mobility, provides navigation solutions for wheelchair users. She has spent over a decade researching smart wheelchairs to make them safer and increase user independence.
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Spring 2022
From bars to the boardroom, building a startup at UWaterloo
Waterloo’s unique education helped Ronuk Raval (BMath ’15) become the successful founder of Encircle. Now he’s training the next generation of math entrepreneurs.
Ronuk Raval had a mix of hardware and software focus in high school and felt it was a tie between computer science and mechatronics when deciding what to study at university, but the flexibility of computer science really won him over. Ronuk specifically applied to Waterloo because the idea of trying out six different jobs through co-op in a short time frame was a unique experience and something you seldom get the chance to do in your professional career.
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Spring 2022
Innovation and entrepreneurship for a better world
Faculty of Mathematics student Jason Amri takes on global plastic waste with his company 3cycle
Jason Amri is an undergraduate student and Schulich Leader in the Faculty of Mathematics, currently working on a double degree in computer science and business administration. Along with taking classes and working 9 to 5 for a co-op employer, Amri is an entrepreneur and a shining example of Waterloo’s spirit of innovation. The star student is a natural leader and has tirelessly worked to create opportunities to make the world a better place.
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Spring 2022
Class notes
Find out what your former classmates are up to now!
Alumni on the move and getting noticed, kudos, what's happening in maths, newly named scholarships, and in memoriam.
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Spring 2022
Alumni Events
Join us for virtual and in-person events
Alumni events are a great way to stay connected to the Faculty of Mathematics and your fellow University of Waterloo alumni.
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Winter 2022
Letter from the Dean
Mathematics for a green future
Our climate is changing rapidly. And the impacts can be seen all around us, from uncontrollable wildfires to devastating floods to severe heat waves.
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Winter 2022
Eye in the Sky
Waterloo startup SkyWatch is using satellite imagery to protect the planet
When Hurricane Dorian battered the Bahamas in the Fall of 2019, Waterloo-based satellite imagery startup SkyWatchwas quick to assist the reeling nation.
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Winter 2022
Applied mathematicians using artificial intelligence to reveal climate-change tipping points
Researchers in the Faculty of Mathematics are developing artificial intelligence that could assess climate change tipping points.
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Winter 2022
Multiplying change -environmental organizations utilize math co-op students to make an impact
In the world of climate change, sustainability and environmental work, co-op students use math to help develop solutions for the future.
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Winter 2022
A Better Weather Forecast
Waterloo Applied Mathematics professor Michael Waite is helping weather forecasters and climatologists make more accurate and localized predictions
Climate change is making wild weather increasingly common—and raising the stakes for weather forecasters.
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Winter 2022
Alumni events
We are virtual and connecting globally!
We are virtual and connecting globally!
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Fall 2021
Letter from the Dean
Waterloo Mathies are trailblazers in the data revolution
Thanks to modern technology, we are amassing data at an incredible pace. This data is revolutionizing the way we see and interact with our world.
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Fall 2021
End the pandemic with half the number of vaccines? There’s an app for that
Researchers in applied mathematics are developing a program that could be added onto the COVID alert app used on smartphones to better target vaccination campaigns.
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Fall 2021
Cheriton School of Computer Science Professor Xi He coauthors book, Differential Privacy for Databases
Xi He is an Assistant Professor at the Cheriton School of Computer Science and a member of its Data Systems Group. Her research interests span privacy and security for big-data management and analysis.
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Fall 2021
The results are in: Data science is #1
It’s been five years since Forbes magazine declared that the world's hottest commodity is now data, the first time a commodity has surpassed oil in many, many years.
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Fall 2021
Math co-op students bring fresh perspective to AI and big data work
The growth of data is transforming our world. When collected, itcan drive insights to assist in making betterdecisions across industries.
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Fall 2021
University Professor Ian Munro’s Golden Jubilee—50 years at the University of Waterloo
Ian Munro joined the University of Waterloo as a faculty member 50 years ago this fall, just before defending his PhD thesis at the University of Toronto.
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Fall 2021
Class notes
Find out what your former classmates are up to now!
Find out what your former classmates are up to now!
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Spring 2021
A passion for programming: An interview with Professor Ondřej Lhoták
Ondřej Lhoták is an Associate Professor at the Cheriton School of Computer Science.
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Spring 2021
From problem of the week enthusiast to aspiring math teacher: Passion turns to profession
It all started at the International School of Manila in the Philippines.
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Spring 2021
Shaping the world through digital learning
When the education world shifted online due to the global pandemic, DigitalEd was ahead of the curve.
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Spring 2021
Math model helps major league sports safely welcome fans back
Waterloo grad’s startup analyzes the health risks of attending games in different venues during the pandemic
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Spring 2021
Class notes
Alumni on the move and getting noticed…
Alumni on the move and getting noticed…
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Spring 2021
Alumni events
We are virtual and connecting globally!
We are virtual and connecting globally!
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Winter 2021
Tech industry thought leader turned diversity ally
Facebook’s Rico Mariani (BMath ’88) is taking action on diversity and equity—and he hopes others will follow his example.
A recent gift from Waterloo alumnus Rico Mariani is creating a new scholarship for Black and Indigenous students in the Cheriton School of Computer Science. The gift extends Mariani’s commitment to diversity and equity. In 2015, he created similar scholarships to support female students in computer science.
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Winter 2021
Recruiting the brightest for the Faculty of Mathematics
For Pavak Vyas, the last twelve months have proved to be a year full of change, challenges and zoom meetings.
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Winter 2021
Coming full circle
Only a few years ago, KC Leong leveraged the skills he acquired from his actuarial science courses to land a co-op position at a leading professional services firm. Now, as a vice president of the company, he recruits co-op students from his alma mater.
KC Leong (BMath ’16) is modest about his six-year meteoric rise from co-op student to Vice President for Analytics at Aon, a professional services firm with a presence in 120 countries. “I’ve found that as long as you’re eager to contribute, there’s always an opportunity to advance at Aon,” he says.
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Winter 2021
The legacy of Wes Graham
Wes Graham, the innovator and entrepreneur who helped chart Waterloo’s path to the future
As Canadians celebrated the country’s centennial in 1967 they looked to a future of hope and boundless possibilities.
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Winter 2021
Class notes
Alumni on the move and getting noticed…
Alumni on the move and getting noticed…
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Winter 2021
Alumni events
We are virtual and connecting globally!
This event featured an exclusive fireside update and conversation for our Hong Kong alumni community with the 12th Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics, Mark Giesbrecht, and special participants.
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Fall 2020
How math is revolutionizing medicine
Clinical trials in medicine are slow, expensive, and most fail. Can mathematical models help us find life-saving drugs faster and more efficiently?
Anita Layton is a Canada 150 Research Chair for her work in Mathematical Biology and Medicine and a member of the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Waterloo. Recently, she hosted a panel discussion on math in medicine as part of the University of Waterloo’s Alumni Black and Gold Day at Home celebrations. The following is an excerpt from her opening remarks. The full discussion can be viewed here.
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Fall 2020
Mathematics alumnus Alfred Simpson reflects on a life of rich learning
November is Indigenous Education Month—read on to learn about how the Faculty of Mathematics is supporting Indigenous students at Waterloo
Alfred Simpson is a lifelong learner. When the BMath (’70) grad looks back on his time at Waterloo, he recalls: “I wanted to excel at everything I did for its own sake.”
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Fall 2020
Launching the Waterloo Women’s Impact Network
On May 12, 2020 - International Women in Mathematics Day - Waterloo did something special to mark this occasion by launching the Waterloo Women’s Impact Network (WWIN).
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Fall 2020
Igniting the spirit of entrepreneurship in the Faculty of Mathematics
Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics is truly uncommon. At most universities, departmental branches of mathematics are typically housed within a faculty of science or a faculty of arts. But at Waterloo mathematics is a faculty. In fact, Waterloo is the only university in North America to have an entire faculty devoted to the study of mathematics and computer science.
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Fall 2020
Class notes
Alumni on the move and getting noticed…
Alumni on the move and getting noticed…
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Fall 2020
Recent alumni events
We are virtual and connecting globally!
We are virtual and connecting globally!
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Spring 2020
Letter from the Editor
My name is Keer Liu and I’m excited to be the guest editor of the Spring issue of Math e-Ties
My name is Keer Liu and I’m excited to be the guest editor of the Spring issue of Math e-Ties
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Spring 2020
Math alumni and faculty speak out against racism
In the wake of recent events in the US, we asked Nigel Henriques (BMath '83) and Interim Dean Kevin Hare (BMath '97) to share their thoughts on what the Faculty of Math family can do to combat racism on campus, in Canada and across the world.
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Spring 2020
Math alumni celebrate and inspire the class of 2020
As new graduates prepare to navigate a recession, math alumni shared stories and strategies as part of a day-long virtual event
As new graduates prepare to navigate a recession, math alumni shared stories and strategies as part of a day-long virtual event
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Spring 2020
Long-time Waterloo donor responds to call to support the Student Emergency Support Fund
Shanku Niyogi (BMath CS '94)
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Spring 2020
Researchers create a new system to protect users’ online data
Researchers have created a software-based system, called Mitigator, that helps Internet users ensure their online data is secure
Researchers have created a software-based system, called Mitigator, that helps Internet users ensure their online data is secure
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Spring 2020
Gamifying math to build skill and confidence
Supporting teachers and parents during COVID-19 and beyond
Supporting teachers and parents during COVID-19 and beyond
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Spring 2020
Women in math are not alone
Waterloo Women’s Impact Network celebrates women in math today, and everyday
Waterloo Women’s Impact Network celebrates women in math today, and everyday
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