We all have different ways of giving back, whether giving our time and skills or making a charitable donation. However, the reason is often the same — you want to help make a difference.
Dr. Sara Konrath (BA ’02)
When I was in second-year engineering in Mexico, we had a course dedicated to the slide rule (there were no pocket calculators in those days). I had an innovative teacher, Dr. Leonardo Rapoport, who decided we needed to learn about computers. He managed to get machine time for us on an IBM 650, where I first learned about programming.
In the 1960s, the University of Waterloo was already gaining international attention for its Computer Science program. I first learned of the University in the pages of the Journal of the Association for Computing Machinery.
“Across sectors, whether you work in government, industry or academia, we need to rethink how we work,” said the University of Waterloo’s Chancellor Dominic Barton in his opening remarks at the Waterloo Innovation Summit on April 25.
The former head of McKinsey & Company elaborated that, “as I get older, I’m convinced that the changes we are seeing in the world today are truly historic.” Barton pointed to the economic power shifts playing out globally, as well as technological transformations and climate change that are fundamentally shaping the way we will live and work.
On April 18, Transformative Quantum Technologies (TQT) awarded six research teams and their design ideas for the Quantum for Environment (Q4Environment) Design Challenge, whose green-tech solutions address global environmental issues. Ideas included using quantum computing to improve medical devices, and sensors that can detect microplastics and toxic nanomaterials in our oceans.
Velocity, the University of Waterloo's largest entrepreneurship program, has released its first edition of Momentum. The publication showcases strong engagement from entrepreneurially minded students and the achievements of those students and other startup founders.
Laura Zizzo
Co-Founder and CEO, Manifest Climate
Laura Zizzo (BES ’04) is co-founder and CEO of Manifest Climate, which offers a software solution that utilizes artificial intelligence to assist organizations in understanding and preparing for climate-related risks by analyzing their climate strategies and comparing them with publicly available global standards and the practices of their peers.
Two co-op students from the Faculty of Science have made a big impact during a recent work term at the SickKids Research Institute. Murto Hilali and Kritika Grover are using AI as a tool to understand cerebral palsy — and their efforts have earned them recognition as contributing authors in an upcoming paper published in Nature Genetics.
With the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration well underway, one message is taking center stage – we need to restore biodiversity on our planet.
A new study, led by researchers in the Faculty of Environment, has uncovered details on Canada’s ecological restoration practices. By synthesizing insights from 50 years of Canadian academic research, they identified which ecosystems are being studied, and where.
Melanie Campbell
Professor, Faculty of Science
> Cross-appointed to the School of Optometry and to the Department of System Design Engineering
Tony LaMantia (BA ’87) is the president and CEO of Waterloo EDC (Economic Development Corporation). His impressive 30-year career spans the public sector, IT, mining and investment industries and he attributes his professional trajectory to a transformative experience offered by the University of Waterloo's unique experiential and co-operative education.