Research

Boxin Zhao reaches for a dispenser, tears off a strip of cellophane tape and sticks it to the top of his desk at the University of Waterloo, deliberately leaving a few centimetres of it flopping over the edge in front of him.

He grabs the overhanging tab of tape and forcefully yanks it towards himself. It doesn’t budge. Then he lifts the tape up and away from himself instead, slowly peeling the strip off the desk with no effort at all.

Mobile apps designed to help people quit- smoking miss the mark on young adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) according to a study at The University of Waterloo. Research from the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact (Propel) at Waterloo suggests targeted mobile apps designed specifically for this youth demographic could help reduce the high smoking rate.

The appointment was approved by the Board of Governors following approval by and on the recommendation of Senate.

You might call it the ultimate road trip. Professor William Cook, of the University of Waterloo, led an international team that has found the shortest-possible route to visit 49,603 of the sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the U.S.

Kinesiology Lab Days introduce teens to the science behind assessing, treating and preventing movement-related illness and injury.  Students will have hands-on opportunities such as handling human skulls, riding a cycle ergometer, and applying athletic tape to classmates in Waterloo’s state-of-the-art research and teaching laboratories.

If a partner’s past transgression feels like it happened yesterday, even if it didn’t, you are more likely to remember it during new, unrelated arguments, according to a new study.

A researcher at the University of Waterloo’s Department of Psychology co-authored the work with a colleague at Wilfrid Laurier University. The researchers found that even if no one mentions the transgressions during arguments, just thinking about them could be enough to have a detrimental effect on the relationship.

The Physixx: Girls Matter event is part of Waterloo’s HeForShe commitment to boost female student participation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs and build the pipeline of future female leaders in traditionally male dominated disciplines. Typically physics has the lowest percentage of female participation compared to any other science discipline. 

In this now-dry riverbed in the Wadi Faynan region of southern Jordan, Professor Russell Adams, from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Waterloo, and his colleagues found evidence of early pollution caused by the combustion of copper. Neolithic humans here may have been in the early stages of developing metallurgy by learning how to smelt.

How should citizens engage with technological innovation?  Professor Heather Douglas is dedicated to helping the public, scientists and policy makers work together for innovation that serves society.

Velocity is a comprehensive entrepreneurship program at Waterloo, and Velocity Garage is the largest free startup incubator in the world.

Ten companies will compete for four prizes of $25,000. Judges will present one winner with an additional $10,000 for the top hardware pitch. Another 10 early-stage startups will compete for one of three awards of $5,000.

Location: Great Hall, Student Life Centre, University of Waterloo

Date: Thursday, December 1, 2016