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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.

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.

“Gaining broad technical skills in artificial intelligence and data science isn’t actually that challenging,” recognized Jaskirat Bhatia. “You can find countless tutorials on Youtube that will teach you the basics. But they can’t tell you which tools to apply to which problems. They can’t guide your learning in any way.” That’s where the Master of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (MDSAI) comes in. 

Like many first-generation Canadians, Zahra Hirani (BMath’94) viewed higher education as a likely path to success after a rocky beginning. Born in Uganda to a family of Asian heritage, she and her parents and sister were forced to flee to Canada as refugees in 1974. “Growing up in Ottawa, it was really tough for us to get settled,” she remembered. Her parents emphasized education and she opted to study accounting at the Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics, in large part because its co-op program would provide financial support in addition to relevant work experience. 

During his tenure in the Department of Pure Mathematics, Dr. Brian Forrest has supervised 18 master’s students, 10 doctoral students, and 11 postdoctoral fellows who have gone on to build successful careers in academia and industry. It came as no surprise to any of them that Dr. Forrest received the 2020-21 Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision.