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Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo will celebrate World Water Day on March 21. In 1993, the United Nations established World Water Day to increase global awareness of the importance of freshwater to the environment, agriculture, energy, health and trade. More than a decade later, there are still more than 750-million people who lack access to an adequate supply of freshwater.

A professor from the University of Waterloo who is an expert on the representation of disability in culture, policy and media is available to speak about the Paralympic Games.

Professor Jay Dolmage, from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo, believes that there are contradictions around disability and sponsorship at the Paralympics.

The way we secure digital transactions could soon change. An international team has demonstrated a form of quantum cryptography that can protect people doing business with others they may not know or trust – a situation encountered often on the internet and in everyday life, for example at a bank’s ATM.

University of Waterloo startup incubator Velocity unveiled today the ten finalists that will compete for their share of $100,000 in grant funding at the Velocity Fund Finals on Thursday, March 27.

The finalists will pitch their startup ideas for a chance to win one of four grants of $25,000 and a place as one of more than 30 startups operating at the Velocity Garage workspace in downtown Kitchener.

This week, the University of Waterloo will showcase fourth-year engineering student design projects in the annual Capstone Design Symposia.

Held during National Engineering Month, the symposia feature student innovation and design in 10 engineering disciplines ranging from chemical and geological engineering to mechatronics.

This year’s symposia highlights include:

Greg Westlake has already experienced the glory of winning an Olympic gold and he wants nothing less when he leads Canada’s National sledge hockey team in Sochi.

“Anything less than a gold medal will be disappointing,” says Westlake, who won a gold at the Paralympic Games in Torino in 2006. “We have the talent and drive to win a gold medal, so I know in my heart that if we don't get that, then we probably under-performed.”

High-caffeine energy drinks are designed to give you a boost, but a new study has found that teens prone to depression, and those who use drugs and alcohol, are more likely to consume them.

“While it remains unclear why these associations exist, the trend is a concern because of the high rate of consumption among teenagers,” said Sunday Azagba, a scientist with the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact at the University of Waterloo and lead author on the paper.

Waterloo Professor Rob de Loë is the new Canadian Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board, The International Joint Commission (IJC) announced on Monday.

Professor Rob de Loë

Everyone from parents to politicians have an opinion about improving education. But when it comes to great teachers, it seems students are the experts.

This year, Waterloo’s Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) asked local students: What makes a teacher a really GREAT teacher? The question is part of the centre’s annual Loving to Learn Day, an initiative that started in 2006 and has spread to other universities across Canada and as far as Australia.

Talk about a power meeting.

One day last spring, four University of Waterloo Students — Usman Chaudhry, Andrew George-Parkin, Ying Wu, and Helen Xiangxiang Zhang — joined a group of men and women who ordinarily speak of dollars in terms of millions or billions.