Talent

Laura Zizzo
Co-Founder and CEO, Manifest Climate

Laura Zizzo (BES ’04) is co-founder and CEO of Manifest Climate, which offers a software solution that utilizes artificial intelligence to assist organizations in understanding and preparing for climate-related risks by analyzing their climate strategies and comparing them with publicly available global standards and the practices of their peers.

With the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration well underway, one message is taking center stage – we need to restore biodiversity on our planet.

A new study, led by researchers in the Faculty of Environment, has uncovered details on Canada’s ecological restoration practices. By synthesizing insights from 50 years of Canadian academic research, they identified which ecosystems are being studied, and where.

Tony LaMantia (BA ’87) is the president and CEO of Waterloo EDC (Economic Development Corporation). His impressive 30-year career spans the public sector, IT, mining and investment industries and he attributes his professional trajectory to a transformative experience offered by the University of Waterloo's unique experiential and co-operative education.

The University of Waterloo’s Health Initiatives team designed the Graham Seed Fund (GSF) for researchers to submit their proposals for innovative health-care solutions that address the world’s most pressing challenges.  

The GSF seeks to leverage and build health system partnerships that extend beyond academia. Empowering interdisciplinary teams of Waterloo researchers to collaborate directly with a full range of health providers and clinicians to develop transformative health technologies that are made for real-world impact. 

With the rapid advancement and adoption of artificial intelligence, it’s crucial for policy leaders to have a high-level understanding of its impact to make informed decisions. To help the Canadian government navigate this technological disruption, WatSPEED has developed a new program, AI Adoption, Policy and Governance, enabling senior policymakers to lead through the opportunities and challenges that AI presents. 

Dr. Jennifer Harris is no stranger to the publishing industry as an agented author with three published picture books and a fourth on the way. Her third book, The Keeper of Stars(OwlKids), was just released and tells the story of Milo, a young boy who climbs out his window every night to help the Keeper of Stars clean up the sky.

For people who have been taking multiple medications for years, or those taking medication which can cause withdrawal or rebound symptoms, the notion of deprescribing can be scary, even if it may improve their health and well-being.

The Winter 2024 Velocity Pitch Competition saw a big turnout, attracting more than 100 student applications from campus. Narrowing down from a competitive initial pool, 26 teams emerged to compete in the semi-finals, leading to the final showdown of eight standout finalists.

Twelve senior student teams from the Faculty of Engineering competed in this year’s Norman Esch Entrepreneurship Awards for Capstone Design, pitching their startup ideas to a panel of judges who distributed more than $110,000 in investment funding for the projects.