Current students

Hayley Reid almost attended another university. “I was leaning in a different direction, but Waterloo Math blew me away on Visitation Day,” she remembers. “There was a real sense of community, which was a key factor for me.” Hayley also had the opportunity to meet Dr. David McKinnon, her future PhD supervisor who introduced her to an area of research that blends geometry with number theory. “It was my first exposure to the field, and I was sold,” she says. She committed to a master’s degree in pure mathematics and never looked back.

Professor Jason Bell has been named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) for 2021. Bell (BMath ’97) was selected as one of the 46 mathematical scientists from around the world and the only one from a Canadian university.

The faculty is now the first Faculty of Mathematics to hold Sponsoring Institutional Membership of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM). 

AWM encourages women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and to promote equal opportunity and the equal treatment of women and girls in the mathematical sciences.

Alan Li headed west on the 401 from Markham, ON to start his postsecondary education in Waterloo. He chose the University of Waterloo because of its co-operative education program and the practical education of a computer science degree.

Since 2016, he has completed his degree, been an undergraduate teaching assistant, member of a couple of clubs, a Feds councillor and MathSoc President. Along the way, he learned a few things (beyond writing code or integrating a function).

Nicholas Richardson wanted to experience the full potential of his time at university. A well-rounded student in high school, Richardson performed in musicals, played soccer, and participated on the trivia team. It was important to him to get involved and engaged in a number of activities once he started his studies at the University of Waterloo.

“My life has always been intertwined with water in one way or another,” realized Lizz Webb, who recently completed her master’s degree in applied mathematics at the University of Waterloo. As the captain of the swim team in high school, Webb has always loved swimming and lifeguarding, but she never expected to build a career at the intersection of mathematics and ocean sciences.

On Friday, the Faculty of Mathematics will celebrate convocation and our graduating students will receive a personalized email from the University with video messages and there will be a live virtual convocation on Saturday morning. This week we will be featuring students from the faculty that will soon become a member of our alumni community. Today we share two stories thanks to the University Relations team:

Congratulations to Nashid Shahriar who received the 2020 Alumni Gold Medal for outstanding academic performance in a doctoral program and Ishan Bansal was named a University Finalist for the Alumni Gold Medal for a Master’s program.