Research Stories

Below is a sample of the world-class research conducted by our faculty members. Most of these stories have appeared in our annual reports and on the University of Waterloo home page.

TITLE  RESEARCHER'S NAME RESEARCH AREA(S)
How much is too much information for the parents of young children? Anastasia Kuzminykh, Edward Lank Surveillance, childcare 
Waterloo researchers speed up blockchain to meet real-world needs Christian Gorenflo,  Srinivasan Keshav Blockchain
10 to 20 year stocks could be in investment sweet spot Tony Wirjanto, Danqiao Guo, Chengguo Weng Stocks
Study shows that charity may be a better motivation to work Keiko Katsuragawa, Edward Lank Computing systems
Timing of vaccinations can help with controlling disease outbreaks Kevin Church, Xinzhi Liu Healthcare
New technique developed to detect autism in children Mehrshad Sadria, Anita Layton Biology
Making AI more human is key to widespread acceptance  Moojan Ghafurian, Jesse Hoey Artificial intelligence
Wave goodbye to smart phones that don’t recognize gesture commands Edward Lank, Keiko Katsuragawa Smart devices
Safer testing possible with first computational kidney Anita Layton Healthcare 
New cybersecurity system offers better protection against hacking and censorship Raouf Boutaba Cybersecurity
Finding answers to some of life's most intriguing questions Lila Kari Machine learning, biology
Researchers help to bridge the gap between psychology and gamification Lennart Nacke Human-computer interaction
Making homes smart could become easier Omar Abari Smart homes, backscatter communication
Why people don't reply to your emails Bahareh Sarrafzadeh Statistics
Carbon emissions could start to dictate stock prices in as little as 10 years' time Mingyu Fang
Tony Wirjantoit
Ken Seng Tan
Statistics, climate change
New AI tool able to better identify bad data Ihab Ilyas Artificial intelligence

Machine learning the solution to networking problems 

Raouf Boutaba Computer science, machine learning

Measuring AI's ability to learn is difficult

Shai Ben-David Artificial intelligence and machine learning

App will protect confidential data when crossing borders

Erinn Atwater Computer science, cybersecurity and privacy

Battery-less smart devices closer to reality

Omid Abari, Ju Wang & Srinivasan Keshav Computer science, Internet of Things
The traveling salesman problem William Cook Combinatorics and optimization
Creating an emotional understanding in virtual humans Jesse Hoey AI interfaces and human interaction
Math can predict how cancer cells evolve Mohammad Kohandel & Siv Sivaloganathan  Applied mathematics
Blockchain for green energy Srinivasan Keshav Blockchain technology
Optimization techniques guide surgeons at SickKids David Qian, Ricardo Fukasawa & Jochen Koenemann Mathematical optimization
Efficient legal document review Maura Grossman Artificial intelligence
How fast was the Big Bang? Achim Kempf Mathematics and astrophysics
Friendship groups can influence strategic voting and electoral outcomes Kate Larson & Alan Tsang Mathematical simulation
Actuarial science Johnny Li Interactions
Actuarial science Mary Hardy Risk Management
Applied mathematics Sue Ann Campbell Mathematical biology
Approximation algorithms Jochen Koönemann Approximation algorithms
Biostatistical research Richard Cook Biostatistics
Breaking the fall: Smart walker will help prevent injuries Pascal Poupart Artificial intelligence
Bringing science fiction home Daniel Vogel  Human-computer & interaction
Carbon nanotubes Zoran Miskovic Nanotechnology
Characterizing classes of linear programs Bertrand Guenin Combinatorial optimization
Charting a course down an unknown road Tony Wirjanto Financial risk
Computational algorithms for optimization problems Yuying Li Scientific computing
Computational efficiency Ian Munro Efficient computation
Context-sensitive and location-based services Urs Hengartner Location-Based Services
Differential topology Doug Park Geometry
Elliptic curve cryptography in practice Alfred Menezes Cryptography
Exploring function fields Yu-Ru Liu Additive and probabilistic number theory
Genetic and clinical information converge Grace Yi Statistical methodology 
Harnessing quantum information Richard Cleve Quantum mechanical systems
L-functions Michael Rubinstein Analytic number theory
Machine learning: Inference under uncertainty Ali Ghodsi Statistical machine learning
Making life easier for those living with Alzheimers Jesse Hoey Artificial intelligence  
Managing health information Ian McKillop Information management
Math and music Anna Lubiw Algorithms & computational geometry
Math and water Kevin Lamb Mathematical modeling
Mathematics and medicine are powerful partners Siv Sivaloganathan Hydrocephalus
Medical researchers in 40 countries use Waterloo software Bin Ma Medical treatments
Mitigating risk Ken Seng Tan Risk management 
New graduate program: Computational mathematics Kevin Hare Computational Math
Non-commutative harmonic analysis Nico Spronk Homomorphisms analysis
Playing with fire Kate Larson Game theory
Quantum capacity Debbie Leung Quantum channels
Quantum sounds could reveal shape of the Universe Achim Kempf General relativity & quantum theory
Quantum theory: Foundations and applications Joseph Emerson Quantum theory
Quantum world may hold the key to keeping information secure Michele Mosca Cryptography & quantum science
Quasi-Monte Carlo for practical problems Christiane Lemieux Computational mathematics
RSVP: Responding to a need Ming Li Multiple-language voice interfaces
Saving the whales with mathematics Francis Poulin Understanding the current
Statistics Cecilia Cotton Theoretical health/medical research
Statistics Steve Drekic Queueing theory
Streamlining software development David Toman Global Positioning System
The art of math Cam Stewart Number theory
The joy of Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs): Guard dogs of the Internet Ian Goldberg Useful security and privacy

Retired faculty members

TITLE RESEARCHER'S NAME RESEARCH AREA(S)
Algebraic combinatorics David Jackson Algebraic geometry
Entangled states Dragomir Djokovic Lie Algebras
Intersection: Combinatorics and number theory Bruce Richmond Analysis of partitions of numbers
Quantization of analogue signals Stan Lipshitz Quantization error
Translating finance into mathematics Michael Best Finance and mathematics