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University of Waterloo students and alumni are proving they're among the best in the world as they prepare to battle for gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games.

“On behalf of the University of Waterloo, I want to wish the best of luck to all of our Olympians,” says Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo. “These exceptional alumni and students head to Sochi representing the bold and dynamic spirit of their alma mater, and we are incredibly proud of them.”

When Andrew Poje and Kaitlyn Weaver first put on their Team Canada jackets, the reality of what they were about to do sunk in.

“That was the aha moment,” said Poje's father, Bill. “That was a tear jerking moment.”

The University of Waterloo students — Poje is an undergraduate student in the Faculty of Science and Weaver is working towards an undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Arts — recently earned a spot on the Olympic ice dancing team after placing second at Canada's 2014 Canadian Tire Skating Championship.

A University of Waterloo professor is the recipient of an E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowship – the prestigious award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) – for his work in understanding how people view the quality of images and videos.

The University of Waterloo, Maplesoft, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada are the recipients of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Synergy Award for Innovation, which recognizes their success in collaborating on the model-based design and control of automotive systems that improve vehicle safety and comfort while reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

With more than half of the world's wetlands destroyed over the past century, Canada is home to about a quarter of what's left, and the University of Waterloo is leading the national conversation highlighting the vital economic and environmental role of wetlands.

The University of Waterloo is bringing together international scientists, economists and policy experts to discuss wetland conservation and sustainability on Friday, January 31. As water system experts, the Ecohydrology Research Group in the Faculty of Science at Waterloo is leading the discussion.

The following professors from the University of Waterloo are available to discuss the news that Ontario will raise the minimum wage to $11 per hour, effective June 1.

Professor Thomas Scott, director, School of Accounting and Finance

People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are less able to consider the perspective of their conversational partner, says research from the University of Waterloo. The findings may lead to new remediation that can improve the way individuals with the disorder interact and communicate with others.

The research appears in two published studies. One in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research is focused on children. The other addresses adults and appears in the Journal of Attention Disorders.

Researchers at the Centre for Contact Lens Research (CCLR) at the University of Waterloo are seeking participants to be part of a study to determine the effectiveness of contact lenses for people with high prescriptions.

"There are limited contact lens options for people with extremely high prescriptions," said Dr. Jill Woods, the lead investigator of the study and a manager of the centre’s clinical research studies. "This kind of study helps to develop more products in this category, which will ultimately enable more people to successfully wear contact lenses."

The University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering, Canada’s largest engineering school and a leader in green energy research, will launch a graduate diploma in green energy to provide professional development for working engineers through real-time online learning.

Local students who need to find volunteer jobs and keep track of their hours to graduate from high school will be getting help from a University of Waterloo startup.

Charity Republic has announced that an online tool, Hour Republic, will be rolled out to new high school students in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board this summer.