Awards, Honours and Rankings

Matt Rose figures he learned more in high school as a member of the prize-winning electric car team than he did in a lot of his academic classes.

But as he starts the mechatronics engineering program at the University of Waterloo this fall, the lasting lesson he brings with him has as much to do with repeated failure as it does with eventual success.

“Nothing works the first time,” said Rose, 17. “You’ve always got to figure out a solution to a problem that you didn’t see coming.”

Four incoming first-year students at the University of Waterloo are recipients of Schulich Leader Scholarships, which encourage high school graduates to embrace science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in their future careers. 

Scholarship winners are known as Schulich Leaders and receive between $60,000 and $80,000 towards their university education. The University of Waterloo has been home to 14 Schulich Leaders in the past five years.

When Jesse Thistle was battling addiction, he slept in shelters for homeless people, on friends’ couches and even the streets. At the time, he was angry at his parents for giving him up for adoption and confused about his aboriginal heritage.

After finally getting sober, Thistle went back to school, eventually making his way to the University of Waterloo to study history. Against all odds, Thistle, now a master’s student, has recently been awarded a prestigious Trudeau Doctoral Scholarship.

Before Fitsum Areguy completed his high-school diploma, he helped his parents earn theirs. As the first-born son of new immigrants, Areguy needed to be both translator and advocate for his family growing up. He spoke with government agencies, paid bills and navigated the complex healthcare system when his mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

The majority of the funding was awarded through a foundation grant which provides long-term support for innovative and high-impact research programs. Project grants are awarded to ideas with the greatest potential to advance health-related knowledge and research, as well as health care, systems, and outcomes.

A renowned Waterloo hydrogeology professor, who helped set global standards for safely disposing hazardous waste, received the 2016 Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize this week.

John Cherry, now a distinguished professor emeritus, is the first Canadian to receive the prestigious prize. Cherry, who spent his career dedicated to groundwater management and protection, received the honour in the company of water experts from around the world, including a Waterloo delegation, at Singapore International Water Week. The honour came with a prize of more than $280,000 CDN.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have been awarded a grant of $8.8 million from the U.S. National Cancer Institute to evaluate the public-health impact of government policies to regulate tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and other vaporized nicotine products.

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, announced 113 new appointments to the Order of Canada, which has three levels: Companion, Officer and Member.

John English, distinguished professor emeritus, was promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions as a historian, author and administrator whose contributions have increased our knowledge of Canada’s political heritage.

The Board of Governors has reappointed Feridun Hamdullahpur as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo for a second term, beginning July 1, 2017. He will serve in the role until June 30, 2021.

More than 5,400 students received degrees as part of the University of Waterloo's 112^th convocation, which took place this week. There were 4,467 undergraduate degrees and 966 graduate degrees handed out at ceremonies taking place over five days.