Entrepreneurship

Originally built as a way to secure cryptocurrency transactions, blockchain is a digital platform that verifies and records exchanges. Blockchains are global networks that can have millions of users, each adding information/data which is secured through cryptography. This creates an indisputable history of these transactions that cannot be modified by a single user, eliminating opportunities for fraud, and it is this feature that has some heralding blockchain as a way of increasing cybersecurity.

Lauren Smith
Student, Faculty of Environment
> Co-founder, Polygone Technologies
> Alumnus, Collaborative Water Program (MES '17)
> Velocity Science
> Water Institute

When tossing in a load of laundry most of us have no idea that other people may unwittingly swallow tiny pieces of our yoga pants or bath towels.

I was almost an accountant.

Well, but for a few minor details. My complete incompetence with figures and the fact that I couldn’t stand my marketing course might have had a thing or two to do with my change of heart.

I started at the University of Waterloo with marketing and business in mind. Someone close to me had convinced me that a love of writing would never be enough to carve out a career. Business was reliable. Choose money, they said. Money leads to jobs, they said.

Megan Tong (MAcc ’09) is co-founder of Kanga, Toronto’s first Australian-style meat pie shop offering ready-to-go, hand-made flakey all-butter pastries with gravy fillings that Chatelaine magazine calls “comfort to go.”

Megan came up with the idea for Kanga during a KPMG work secondment to Australia, where she fell in love with the savoury delights. What started as an idea for a pop-up quickly grew into a successful chain of restaurants.

British and Canadian leaders met at the Canadian High Commission in London, England in February for the Waterloo Innovation Summit, which examined how deep research and commercialization are meeting challenges in the era of disruption. From political leaders to visionaries behind some of high-tech's most exciting startups, a number of key lessons emerged for those wondering where opportunity lies amid the relative chaos.

Leaders from the worlds of academia, business and politics are calling for a more rapid and expanded investment into fundamental science to ensure society capitalizes on the unexpected outcomes of deep research.

Waterloo alumni keep some impressive company.

The 2018 Alumni Awards honour proud graduates whose passion, creativity and courage are transforming the world. Join us as we celebrate remarkable alumni, including a leader in hospital patient safety, a pioneer in the study of black holes, a champion of mathematics education and a team of entrepreneurs who are helping families save on their weekly grocery bills.

Over the past years, there have been reports of cruise ships that failed to manoeuvre and stranded people at sea, or failed wind turbines that were unable to generate power. These applications, and many others, have one thing in common in their design: bearings!

Exceptional students were recognized along with accomplished graduates and a longtime corporate supporter when more than more 400 people gathered in November for the 2018 Waterloo Engineering Awards Dinner.

In addition to hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students cited for excelling in academic and extracurricular pursuits, the annual event at Federation Hall honoured alumni in four categories and a company with a long history of backing researchers and students.

Whether it’s creating a mural in a public space or building a tiny mobile home, two Waterloo School of Architecture alumni are fulfilling their artistic passions in unique ways.

Stephanie Boutari (BArch ’11 and MArch ’14) and Adam Schwartzentruber (BArch ’11) chose to study architecture not knowing where it would lead, but driven by a common desire to pursue a creative career.