News

One of the 2019/2020 recipients of the Faculty of Mathematics Award for Distinction in Teaching was Kathryn Hare.

The award recognizes the teachers’ consistent demonstration of outstanding pedagogical skills and a deep commitment to their students’ education.

The faculty presents a maximum of two Faculty of Mathematics Award for Distinction in Teaching annually. Outstanding teachers at all levels, from first-year through to graduate studies, are eligible with recipients receiving a public citation along with a cash prize.

“While working as an instructional support assistant (ISA), I remember the first time a professor asked for a volunteer to teach a lecture while he was at a conference,” remembers Josué Kurke. “My hand shot up. I donned a professorial kind of jacket with the elbow patches and went all out. Over time, I’ve realized that I feel most at home in front of a classroom. I want to spend my career talking to people about math.”

Learn more about this student studying Pure Mathematics and Combinatorics & Optimization.

Pure Mathematics Professor William Slofstra has received a 2020 Faculty of Mathematics Golden Jubilee Research Excellence Award.

The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) has recognized Professor Kathryn Hare as part of the Third Inaugural Class of Fellows.

One of nine women named a CMS Fellow, Hare has been a faculty member in the Department of Pure Mathematics since 1988. Since that time, she has received several honours and awards including:

Congratulations to the researchers in the Department of Pure Mathematics who have been awarded a 2019 Outstanding Performance Award announced by Vice-President, Academic and Provost Jim Rush.

Associate Professor Matt Kennedy has been awarded the Israel Halperin Prize for 2020. The prize is awarded every five years for outstanding work in operator algebras or operator theory to members of the Canadian mathematical community who are within ten years of receipt of their doctorate.

Jun Yan is this year’s University of Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics recipient of the Alumni Gold Medal in recognition of his academic excellence. 

Yan, who graduated with a double major in Pure Mathematics and Combinatorics & Optimization and a minor in Psychology, earned the coveted award after achieving a 97.34 cumulative average and a 98.72 major average.

Alex Rutar has won the Pure Mathematics Undergraduate Research Prize for 2019/20. Alex worked with Pure Math professors Kathryn Hare and Kevin Hare on the study of self-similar sets and the associated self-similar measures supported on them, a fundamental problem in fractal geometry. This work has resulted in two papers, one currently in submission and the other -- solo-authored by Alex -- in the process of being written. Alex will be attending graduate school at St. Andrews University in Scotland in the fall. 

We are very pleased to announce the winners of the 2019/20 Pure Mathematics Silver Awards. Awarded for mathematical excellence to male and female students in Pure Math and Mathematical Finance, this year's recipients are:

• Jun Yan
• Spencer Whitehead
• Jose Avilez
• Wanchun Shen

Congratulations to the winners!

Early in his second year of medical school, Jose Luiz Avilez realized he wanted something different than medical school could offer. In his heart, he knew he wanted to study mathematics. It was a difficult decision, but by 2016 he was applying to universities.

“A friend of mine who studied at Waterloo told me about its program in Mathematical Finance and that it has a co-op program,” remembered Avilez. “I was sold.”

Learn more about Avilez's experience.