In laboratories across the University of Waterloo campus, research into new fuels, smarter vehicles and lighter, safer materials is advancing the way we drive and what we drive.

Intelligent vehicles able to communicate with each other and the highways they travel could make driving safer and less stressful for those behind the wheel.

A chance encounter with the quantum realm took Michele Mosca's cryptography research in a very small but important direction. The University of Waterloo Faculty of Math graduate helped found Waterloo's cryptography centre and the Institute for Quantum Computing, and is a leader in the field of quantum information.

North House, the prefabricated solar-powered home that earned international accolades for the University of Waterloo, has found a permanent home on the Rare Charitable Research Reserve near Cambridge, Ontario. There, it will serve as a living laboratory for students and faculty researching cleaner, more sustainable energy.

While fully working quantum computers may be decades away, the world is already seeing remarkable advances in quantum communications, encryption and extremely sensitive quantum sensors. Raymond Laflamme, director of the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing, says Waterloo will continue to lead the way as the institute moves into the new Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre.