Awards, Honours and Rankings

Three Awards of Excellence in Graduate Supervision were recently announced recognizing faculty members from the Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics.  

“As an institution, we are committed to creating environments in which graduate students are empowered and supported as they pursue their academic, professional and personal successes,” says Jeff Casello, associate vice-president, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs. 

The National Killam Program administered by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) announces Dr. Adam Wei Tsen as the recipient of the 2024 Dorothy Killam Fellowship. This prestigious honour provides $80,000 for up to two years in support for dedicated research time to scholars “whose superior, ground-breaking, best-in-class research stands to have significant impact on a national or global scale.” 

Most people don’t leave the cinema commenting on the picture’s colour contrast, saturation and brightness levels. Yet, the look of the movie can influence our enjoyment of it, and how well it does on the cinema circuit.  

University of Waterloo alum Mike Perkins (BASc, '90), a principal product developer at local audio-visual solutions company Christie, led the development of a digital projector that takes movie-watching to a whole new level — illuminating the theatre screen with darker darks, brighter brights and colours not seen before in the cinema.  

Dr. Nikolas Knowles, a researcher in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, has received a Stars Career Development Award from Arthritis Society Canada in recognition of his research on improving early detection and treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis (OA).

Before coming to the University of Waterloo, Christy Lee volunteered at hospitals and long-term care homes, working closely with patients and residents to help reduce the workload for staff. But Lee found that with the current communication call system, nurses and personal support workers do not know what types of requests the patients are making, and which patients need immediate help.  

Dr. John Hirdes, a professor in the School of Public Health Sciences, has been appointed a member of the Order of Canada

Navigating the world safely can be a major challenge for people with vision impairments. One award-winning new invention aims to change that, while another aims to diagnose a common eye disease earlier, potentially preventing vision loss in the first place. 

Two University of Waterloo departments earned recognition on the international stage last week in the United Arab Emirates.  

Both Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) and WatSPEED earned honours at the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Reimagine Education Conference Awards held in Abu Dhabi at Khalifa University.  

Known as the “Oscars of education”, the awards recognize innovative approaches that enhance student learning outcomes and employability.  Award categories include the future of learning, future of universities, future of work and sustainability education.   

Waterloo School of Public Health students won an international evaluation case competition with a plan that focused on a Clean Start Africa program called Circles of Healing

The University of Waterloo has been designated Research University of the Year in the comprehensive category by Research Infosource Inc. for the 16th consecutive year. Waterloo’s consistent ranking stands as a testament to the University being at the forefront of fostering the next generation of researchers and entrepreneurs.