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Laura Barkin notices a marked improvement in her mood and learning when she reads for classes on a stationary bike. But a typical stationary bike doesn’t allow her to write or use a computer – a big limitation for the average student.

That’s why Barkin is on a mission to bring FitDesks– kinetic desks that allow students to keep active while they study – to the University of Waterloo.

Investing in biomechanical assessments and revamping strength training programs is the best way to keep major league baseball pitchers off the disabled list, according to research out of the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.

Media are invited to attend the 5th Annual Canada Excellence Research Chairs Meeting at the University of Waterloo, next week.

The meeting brings together Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) holders from across Canada in Waterloo to share key developments and the latest discoveries in their respective research programs.

The two-day conference takes place next week. Media can meet these world-renowned researchers to get an overview of Canada's latest scientific achievements.

Sitting behind your desk all day is bad for your health and experts have long been advising people to stand at their workstations for about 15 minutes an hour. But a University of Waterloo professor says his research shows that people should be standing for at least 30 minutes per hour to get health benefits.

Using advanced ergonomic and health risk calculations, Jack Callaghan, a professor in Waterloo’s Department of Kinesiology, has found that the ideal sit-stand ratio lies somewhere between 1:1 and 1:3  – a vast departure from traditional wisdom. 

The maker movement — a global do-it-yourself culture of people who make things — has inspired a group of Waterloo Engineering students to create a soldering iron that’s safe and easy to use.

“We specifically designed the Solder Otter for the Maker Market,” said Vanessa Guido, a systems design engineering student and chief executive officer of Solder Otter. “We’ve had a lot of great feedback on our product.”

While fashion comes and goes your eyes are forever so one Waterloo researcher is cautioning people who wear contact lenses - but love the drama of heavy eye makeup - to consider wearing daily disposable lenses.

Alison Ng, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Contact Lens Research (CCLR), studied how eyeliner applied to the “waterline,” the inner part of the eyelash line, moves onto the tear film - the thin, wet layer that protects the eye.

Graduate students at the University of Waterloo who are researching everything from micro-scale 3D-printing of Graphene to the geometry of our universe will present their work at the annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition on Thursday, April 2.

Each of the students will have just one slide and three minutes to share their research.

Last year, Matthew Vonk, a graduate student in the kinesiology department of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, won for his presentation on the effects of a single session of weight training on mental health.

Three sustainability leaders from the University of Waterloo have been named to the annual Corporate Knights Top 30 under 30 list. The list honours young entrepreneurs, activists, corporate professionals and students making social and environmental change worldwide.

In a free public lecture next week, a visiting expert on economic theory will challenge the common view that intellectual property and patents are essential for thriving innovation and prosperity.

Professor David Levine of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy is the guest speaker at the 2^nd annual Waterloo Arts Distinguished Lecture in Economics taking place on Wednesday.

The University of Waterloo appointed two respected and accomplished professors as deans of two of its fastest-growing Faculties.

On July 1, Professor Jean Andrey will begin her tenure as the new dean of the Faculty of Environment and Professor James Rush will start his term as dean of the Faculty Applied Health Sciences (AHS). Both are five-year terms.