M4 Update: Winter 2026

Progress on Mathematics 4–our first new Math building in over fifteen years–is moving fast and furious these days! Every time you pass the construction site, you spot some new and exciting addition. The structure is rising quickly, and many of M4’s signature spaces, like the Gradient Gallery event venue (see below), are now clearly recognizable in outline.

And with all this change, you can feel the excitement building on campus. Students, faculty, and staff crossing campus often pause at the Math quad, whether to watch a crane manoeuver a massive beam into place or to snap a selfie in front of Math’s future home.

Best of all, the building remains on track to open in 2027, in time for the Faculty’s 60^th anniversary. Start dusting off your pink ties: it’s shaping up to be a festive year!

Quantum information researchers solve “no cloning” problem

A team of researchers in the Faculty of Mathematics have made a breakthrough in quantum computing that elegantly bypasses the fundamental “no cloning” problem.  

“This breakthrough will enable quantum cloud storage, like a quantum Dropbox, a quantum Google Drive or a quantum STACKIT, that safely and securely stores the same quantum information on multiple servers, as a redundant and encrypted backup,” said Dr. Achim Kempf, the Dieter Schwarz Chair in the Physics of Information and AI in the Department of Applied Mathematics at Waterloo. “It’s an important step in enabling the buildup of quantum computing infrastructure.” 

Dr. Achim Kempf will have a lab space in the new M4 building, enabling him and his team to continue pushing the frontier of quantum computing. Congrats, Dr. Kempf and team!

New Green Room video

Did you know that M4 will help math researchers reduce the environmental footprint of computing?

In this new video, Dr. Martin Karsten, Professor in the Cheriton School of Computer Science, introduces the Green Room, an energy-efficient data center that will occupy the fifth floor of M4.

The Green Room will give researchers and students unprecedented visibility into the entire computing stack, allowing them to correlate power consumption and computation. The result? Practical guidance for improving energy efficiency that commercial service providers of all kinds can adopt. Progress in computing need not come at the expense of the planet! 

The bridges that connect us

When you were a student at Waterloo, did you have a favourite bridge or tunnel?

If so, you can likely relate to the Math students who were devastated when the DC-MC and MC-M3 bridges were demolished to make way for M4. These students were so distraught they even held a mock funeral for the bridges. This fun story explores the history of the University of Waterloo’s beloved network of pedestrian tunnels and bridges.

Fortunately, when M4 is complete, it will integrate with DC and restore the bridges to M3 and MC. Math students will once again be able to keep warm and dry on the walk between classes during the brutal winter months.

See M4 in Minecraft!

Mitchell Martyn-Jones, a fourth-year statistics student and Math Advancement co-op, recently recreated M4 in Minecraft. He took on the project as a way to “capitalize on the excitement around M4," and along the way was struck by just how much student space the new building will include.

(One small disclaimer: while the model is inspired by the real M4, the constraints of Minecraft’s building system mean it isn’t an exact replica. The finished building, for instance, will not feature hanging lanterns or iron ring pulls on the doors!)

Become an M4 builder!

It is thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends that Mathematics 4 is coming to life before our eyes, a place where we come together to do incredible things.

If you would like to play a role in shaping this next chapter for the Faculty of Mathematics, we invite you to become an M4 builder. Your support is helping ensure that today’s students have the spaces they need to learn, discover and lead.