Sustainable Futures

The "Solving the crisis:" series explores the pressing challenges of our time, including climate change, biodiversity collapse, housing affordability and more. Each article highlights how Waterloo, a hub of research, innovation and creative thinking, is uniquely positioned to address these issues. Through this series, we highlight the dedication of researchers to tackling global crises and shaping a better future for all.

Imagine a coat that captures solar energy to keep you cozy on a chilly winter walk, or a shirt that can monitor your heart rate and temperature.Picture clothing athletes can wear to track their performance without the need for bulky battery packs.

University of Waterloo researchers have developed a smart fabric with these remarkable capabilities. The fabric has the potential for energy harvesting, health monitoring and movement tracking applications.

From working for a clean energy incubator in Uganda to analyzing sales data in Munich, and monitoring biodiversity in Germany’s Black Forest, Samantha Kremer's co-op experiences have been nothing short of extraordinary.

As leaders in innovation, University of Waterloo students approach challenges differently in pursuit of solutions for a complex future.  

Recently, a team of 11 undergraduate students at Waterloo participated in Canada’s first microgravity research competition for students, the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge (CAN-RGX), where they presented their research at the Canadian Space Agency headquarters in Longueuil, Quebec and won the Overall Excellence Award. 

Policy reform is urgently needed to assist older adults who live in southern U.S. cities and who experience higher-than-expected heat-related health issues if they don’t have adequate access to air conditioning, according to a new study by University of Waterloo researchers.  

The study’s findings lead the researchers to suggest policymakers mitigate extreme heat conditions and adverse health conditions for older adults by requiring air conditioning in all new residential home construction or by addressing the high costs of operating air conditioners.  

The University of Waterloo was founded to inspire and empower the next generation. With a commitment to bettering humanity and our planet, Waterloo is at the forefront of connecting the next generation of leaders to programs that will inspire the next gamut of solutions for us to thrive in a complex future. 

A group of international and local researchers gathered at the University of Waterloo for the 2024 NSERC CREATE Training Program for Graduate Students in Scalable 2D-Materials Architectures.  

Dubbed the “2D-MATURE summer school”, this interdisciplinary seminar led by Dr. Michael Pope, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, engaged 53 researchers in a collaborative program focused on leveraging 2D materials for advanced manufacturing applications.  

Some of the leading solutions that tackle pressing challenges in our society started with an idea. 

At the core of addressing gaps and challenges in Waterloo Region are University of Waterloo students, alumni and researchers, who are known for thinking unconventionally and working collaboratively for the betterment of humanity and our planet.

The wildfire season of 2023 was the most destructive ever recorded in Canada and a new study suggests the impact was unprecedented. It found that four of the year’s wildfires in mine-impacted areas around Yellowknife, Northwest Territories potentially contributed up to half of the arsenic that wildfires emit globally each year.

A University of Waterloo partnership with the Accelerator Centre (AC) will further advance our commitment to creating social change through innovation with the launch of the Global Impact Creator Program.