News

Congratulations to Tonya DelSontro, Rodney Smith, and Lyndon Jones, this year’s recipients of the Excellence in Science Research Awards.

Since 2021, the Excellence in Science Research Awards have recognized outstanding research accomplishments by Science faculty members. Each year, three researchers from across the Faculty of Science are celebrated: one tenure-track faculty, one mid-career tenured faculty (up to 10 years post-tenure), and one senior-career tenured faculty (more than 10 years post-tenure).  

These awards draw attention to the research area of each recipient, recognize excellence at Waterloo, and strengthen subsequent nominations for external research awards.

Dr. Alexa Hecht isn’t just another influencer – she’s an optometrist educating beauty product enthusiasts on eye health and safety.

Dr. Alex Müntz (PhD ’17), head of the Institute of Optometry at a Swiss university, has gone all over the world to deepen his understanding of the ocular surface.

This past November, Dr. Nadine Furtado and Waterloo optometry students Sophie Borho and Leah Cuscito participated along with several recent alumni in an Eye Health Institute volunteer trip to northwestern Jamaica. 

Gerry Leinweber is co-founder of international eye care charity Canadian Vision Care and optometry co-op Doctors Eyecare Network, now doing business as Eye Recommend. Learn how hockey in his youth led him into his life of service.

Dr. Afua Asare’s journey to where she is today has been anything but simple or easy. With four degrees under her belt, she is now employed at the University of Utah, working to improve vision care access for underprivileged children. 

Dr. Victor Spear has always believed in the power of investing in the future — and now, he’s leading by example. As a dedicated member of the Seeing Beyond 20/20 Campaign Steering Committee, Dr. Spear is stepping up with an incredible offer: for every dollar you donate, he will personally match it—up to $250,000!
 

Congratulations to Drs. Ben Thompson, Lisa Christian, and Marlee Spafford of the School of Optometry, along with Kerstin Dautenhahan of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. This team of interdisciplinary collaborators have been awarded $25k from the Graham Seed Fund for their vision robotics research.

Drug treatments only slow down the progression of the disease, but Waterloo scientists discovered they could train the brain to use the information it receives more efficiently.

Pediatric Vision Project partners with The Cowan Foundation and Lions Club of Canada

The School of Optometry & Vision Science (UWOVS) is partnering with The Cowan Foundation and the Lions Club of Canada to develop a coordinated vision plan for the Region of Waterloo Public Health to screen every child in senior kindergarten (SK). This plan is to meet the 2018 Ontario Public Health Standards set by the Ministry of Health.