Community

The public health study used data from 6,550 high school students in grades 9 to 12 in Ontario and British Columbia, collected from a mental-health component of a longitudinal national youth study called COMPASS. The findings suggest that marijuana prevention programs should focus on promoting mental wellbeing instead of abstinence.
 

Artificial Intelligence could help the world get ahead of the risks of climate change, according to three Canadian technology giants including the University of Waterloo, Microsoft Vancouver and SAP Labs Canada.

Thought leaders from across the country gathered in Microsoft’s Vancouver headquarters to discuss climate change and technology’s role in helping Canadians adapt.

The teams – each comprised of three undergraduate students from the university’s Faculty of Mathematics – secured first through fourth place, Waterloo’s best-ever result at the annual competition. The field included 130 other teams from the East Central North America region; universities from across Ontario, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan entered teams in the competition that challenges students to solve ten programming problems within a five-hour time limit. 
 

A story in celebration of National Philanthropy Day

Jamie Snider comes from a long line of community builders.

Alumnus and entrepreneur Bill Rickert (PhD ’68) is giving generously to the University of Waterloo to honour two professors who changed the course of his career, and to empower the next generation of scientists in biomedicine, biotechnology, and nanomedicine.

In this article:

• Bill is the founder of Labstat, the largest independent testing laboratory for nicotine products in the world.
• He is donating over $1 million to create his own fellowships and awards in science.
• He is creating two awards honouring the memory of Thammaiah Viswanatha and

The University of Waterloo has signed a Strategic University Partnership Institutional Agreement with the presidents of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).  The historic agreement will allow both universities to foster a closer partnership in education, research and entrepreneurship.

Donna Strickland

When extreme weather hits Canada you can count on several things appearing in the media. Images of swollen rivers, flooded homes, brave first-responders, and University of Waterloo researcher Blair Feltmate clearly and passionately articulating the very real threat our communities face from climate change.

Ajoa Mintah sent out an interesting social media request last spring: bring me your ripe bananas and I’ll reward you with a sweet treat.

The overwhelming response to Mintah’s ask provided one of the main ingredients for her tasty concoction – banana toffee ice cream. In return for the bananas, people received a small ice cream cone from Four All Ice Cream, Mintah’s startup.

The first 91 students in the newest undergraduate program at Waterloo Engineering didn’t waste any time before getting their hands dirty as the fall term began in September.

Instead of settling into seats for lectures, members of the inaugural architectural engineering class broke into small groups for a two-day project to design, build and test pieces of furniture made of cardboard.