Mathematics is like a language.
Nowadays, it’s a language with the same symbols and meaning in every place it’s used. A multiplication sign is a multiplication sign everywhere, and everybody agrees on what a multiplication sign means.
But it wasn’t always so.
In the history of mathematics, Hypatia’s legend looms large. She was a woman mathematician in an era when women were not generally seen as academics. She has been called a martyr for truth and reason. And because of the context of her life and death, Hypatia continues to be one of the most enigmatic figures in mathematics.
Research conducted by recent computer science master’s graduate Iman Akbari received a Best Student Paper award at SIGMETRICS 2021, the flagship conference of the Association for Computing Machinery’s special interest group for the computer systems performance evaluation community.
2021 graduates Spencer Whitehead (BMath ’21) and Robert Cummings (BMath ’21) have been awarded the Alumni Gold Medal and Governor General’s Silver Medal, respectively.
Wherever Adina Goldberg goes, she leaves a trail of newly-created community events, academic initiatives and connection opportunities behind her. The Pure Mathematics PhD student and self-described “huge extrovert” carries the mantra: “Make things happen if they don’t exist – just build it yourself.”
Eight incoming master's students at the University of Waterloo have each been awarded a Vector Scholarship in Artificial Intelligence, valued at $17,500, from the Vector Institute.
Dr. Zack Cramer, a Lecturer in the Mathematics Undergraduate Group within the Faculty of Mathematics, receives the WUSA Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. This award is presented yearly by the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) to professors who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to undergraduate student learning.
When Chris Salahub learned he could explore his passion for data in a dedicated math faculty at Waterloo, the high schooler had an easy decision to make. Just two years after graduation, when he was on the verge of finishing a master’s degree in Switzerland, he decided to return for a second degree. “About halfway through my master’s, I realized I wanted to do a PhD,” he remembered. “It just made sense to go back to Waterloo because I had discovered such a supportive community there.”
Like many of her peers, Paige McDougall entered the Faculty of Mathematics with more enthusiasm than direction. “I knew early on that math was a strong subject for me, but I had no idea where I would actually excel,” she acknowledged. With every new class and co-op term, she has found her way through the fog.