Global Futures

Though matters of climate change, biodiversity loss and Indigenous Peoples’ health and well-being are often considered separately, the three are linked in innumerable ways. 

While people worldwide are experiencing the impacts of climate change and biodiversity losses, Indigenous Peoples are most disproportionately and acutely affected. 

Recently reported ecosystem changes and impacts on biodiversity are described as extensive, severe and dramatically declining, including aquatic, atmospheric, terrestrial and most notably, cryospheric changes. 

Today the Government of Canada announced that the University of Waterloo Canadian Free Electron Laser project will be getting $10 million in funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to put towards the $50+ million facility to be built on the Waterloo Campus. 

A research team led by Dr. Richard Kelly, a professor in Geography and Environmental Management at Waterloo, uses a novel radar-based technology to provide more insight into snowpacks and their implications for climate change, water resource management and hazard prediction.

Snowpacks form in cold regions and high elevations, accumulating due to layers upon layers of snow. As they melt, snowpacks serve as vital water resources — feeding streams, rivers and reservoirs.

Dr. Nadine Ibrahim, a professor in the University of Waterloo’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Turkstra Chair in Urban Engineering, never misses a chance to inspire her students to think about how the application of their knowledge could create solutions that improve and sustain our humanity and prosperity.  

In the quest to reach zero emissions by 2050, Waterloo engineering researcher Dr. Xianguo Li and Dr. Samaneh Shahgaldi from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) are working with industry partners to develop more efficient, durable, cost-effective fuel cells.  

Waterloo-based deep tech startup AdHawk Microsystems recently launched MindLink Air™, everyday glasses that can read its wearer’s eye health and cognitive state using research-grade, camera-free eye-tracking technology. Its real-time insights help the wearer adjust their daily routine to improve productivity and avoid mental fatigue.  

Driven by its founders’ desire to help people, AdHawk is a local success story that exemplifies Waterloo’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Susan Roy is a University of Waterloo researcher and professor in the Department of History and at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Her research examines the history of Indigenous-non-Indigenous relationships with attention to land rights activism and cultural performance, along with resource and urban development disputes in Canada.

We asked Roy how fundamental research and collaborating with Indigenous partners help deepen our knowledge and understanding of the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Opinion by Susan Roy

Helen Huang (BSc ’17) 
Alum, Faculty of Science
> Co-founder, Co.Lab 

An industry serving a global audience should reflect global diversity. Yet diversity in tech, with people of different backgrounds bringing unique perspectives and lived experiences to the table, still feels a way off. 

At a time when we are experiencing the effects of floods, fires and heatwaves like never before, a new space mission aims to improve climate projection models to help us understand what future scenarios may be possible.

Dr. Christopher G. Fletcher
Professor, Faculty of Environment
> Waterloo Climate Institute
> Water Institute