Technological Futures

Spring 2024 Convocation ceremonies saw family, friends, staff and faculty come together to recognize students for their hard work and perseverance during some of the world’s most challenging circumstances. 

For five consecutive days, across 14 ceremonies, Waterloo’s campus was full of beaming pride and jubilation. The 128th convocation was made even more special with the University officially ushering its 250,000th graduate across the stage. This major milestone was achieved during the Faculty of Arts ceremony on Thursday, June 13.  

When Raven Sim receives her degree this June, it will mean the fulfilment of a long-held ambition. "I’ve known I wanted to be at Waterloo for computer engineering since Grade 4" Sim says. Her interest in the subject was ignited during an engineering summer camp and was later cemented when she learned about Waterloo’s co-op program.  

“In the tech industry, it’s so easy to lose track of the fact that we are humans designing things for other humans,” says Areena Akhter, who graduates with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science this month. “Whether we’re thinking about ethics or interfacing with diverse social systems, people need to be at the core of everything we do.”

Taking your temperature can often help a healthcare practitioner figure out if you’re sick. A new University of Waterloo spinoff company aims to do something similar with your eyes.

ThermOcular AI, a company started by Waterloo vision science and engineering researchers, aims to bring a patented thermal imaging system to market that can measure in detail the temperature of the cornea, the transparent part of the eye that domes over the iris and pupil. The novel device could be used to screen for dry eye and potentially other ocular diseases.

Imagine the moon as a hub of manufacturing, construction and even human life. It's no longer a far-fetched idea baked in science fiction lore — increased interest and investment in space exploration are pushing efforts to develop the technologies needed to make the moon a viable home for humans.

The University of Waterloo has officially opened its state-of-the-art Inert Atmosphere Fabrication Lab (IAFL) as part of the Quantum-Nano Fabrication and Characterization Facility (QNFCF).

Many materials used in quantum-nano fabrication can easily react with oxygen, so they must be assembled in a special, oxygen-free environment. This lab was carefully designed and built by the QNFCF team, with help from Angstrom Engineering and JEOL USA, to support the quantum research community at the University of Waterloo and beyond.

The journey to completing a PhD is not always smooth nor linear. Beyond the intellectual rigour of coursework and research papers, pursuing a PhD requires unconventional and, at times, interdisciplinary thinking.  

Through the years of pursuing a doctoral degree, candidates’ critical research helps to unlock conventional barriers by developing new and creative approaches to tackling complex problems.  

Waterloo PhD graduates undertake ground-breaking research projects that can often have global impact and lead to a healthier, more sustainable future.  

The University of Waterloo is pleased to award three graduate students with the prestigious Governor General Gold Medal at Spring 2024 Convocation.  

The Governor General’s Gold Medal is awarded to graduate students with outstanding academic performances and tremendous records of scholarship. Awardees represent our exceptionally gifted community of scholars who are creating knowledge and generating transformative research to the betterment of society. 

A team of researchers based at the University of Waterloo have created a new tool – nicknamed “RAGE” – that reveals where large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are getting their information and whether that information can be trusted.

The Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo is pleased to congratulate IQC Canada Inc. for receiving $18.4 million in funding over the next five years, from Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada’s  Strategic Science Fund (SSF).