Research

WATERLOO, Ont. (Friday, May 3, 2013) – A nanotechnology research project to explore new battery chemistries that could lead to high-density energy storage received funding today from Natural Resources Canada’s ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative.

The research, led by Professor Linda Nazar of the Faculty of Science and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Waterloo, will examine completely new approaches to materials and chemical components of batteries that could result in more powerful, and longer-lasting batteries for hybrid electric or electric cars.

The maker revolution has resulted from the wide availability of low-cost digital media tools, with more and more people producing content for broad exposure. Glenn Stillar, associate professor and director of Waterloo’s digital arts communication program, examines the theory and practice of how we create new meaning with tools that produce highly visual and immediate communication. He suggests ‘visualacy’ is becoming equally important in society as literacy.

As a scholar of classical and medieval Studies, David Porreca examines the ‘thermodynamics of civilizations’ and how the fall of past societies may hold lessons for today’s globalized economy. His research exposes the problem of centralizing energy and resources, which contributed to the collapse of economic powers such as the Roman Empire. Porreca contends that if economy is a subset of our ecology, it stands to reason that the future is local.

Speech communication professor Jennifer Simpson asks an important question: So what? How can educators make issues of public good and social justice relevant to students? Higher education provides an environment for faculty and students to learn to deal with difference. Educators have an opportunity to make social issues real to students. In doing so, those students can leave university with an understanding of their role in society and ability to contribute to public justice.

The rhetoric surrounding environmental issues and sustainability is inevitably subjective. Science tells us that we are, and will continue to be, in an environmental crisis. Yet many cultural texts and discussions paint a more optimistic picture. There is a persistent societal need for hope. English professor Andrew McMurry examines how everyday habits of language and thought can either undermine or support sustainability. How can we mix the concepts of fear and hope to elicit action?

In today’s world, the goal is “one.” One language, one culture, one way of thinking. French Studies professor François Paré comes to the defense of plurality. With the globalizing trend toward monoculture, where minority languages are threatened with extinction, he proposes a worldwide ecology of cultures and languages. Through his scholarship and public consultation, Paré hopes a diversity of languages will remain relevant in a multicultural and multilingual society.

Mike Fich has bid farewell to a faithful colleague.

The Herschel Space Observatory, launched in May 2009 with technology from the University of Waterloo on board, has taken its last gulp of liquid helium. Helium super-cools instruments that enabled the telescope to send back incredible information as it viewed space in the far-infrared to submillimetre frequencies for the first time.

We live in a world in which unprecedented resources are dedicated to ensuring our security. Part of that process, says Lorne Dawson, is trying to understand how and why certain people in our own society become radicalized and potential terrorists intent on wreaking havoc on their fellow citizens. Lorne Dawson is a professor of sociology and co-director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society.

Since 9/11, international security has escalated dramatically, giving us the sense that terrorism may be imminent. While the probability of a terror attack is small, when it happens, the result is devastating. Political science professor Veronica Kitchen and her team research and analyze international security and counter-terrorism institutions, addressing the political and ethical implications for society and our civil liberties.

Waterloo, Ont. (Thursday, Apr. 25, 2013) – One of the world's leading authorities on water management will challenge the widespread belief that there is an impending global water crisis when he gives a free public lecture at the University of Waterloo next week.