2026 Science Alumni Achievement Awards celebrate curiosity, innovation and impact

The 2026 Faculty of Science Alumni Achievement Award ceremony returned to celebrate the outstanding impact of 8 accomplished Science alumni. Each year, the awards showcase the wide variety of paths our alumni take following their degree in Science, and reminded attendees of the potential for science to transform our world. Congratulations to all of our 2026 award recipients: Dr. Emily Pass (BSc ’19), Colleen Doyle (BSc ’10, MSc’14), Peter Lowe (BSc’88), Sam DiLoreto (BSc ’93), Brenda DiLoreto (BSc ’93), Joe Han (BSc’06), Dr. Robert Britton (BSc ’96) and Dr. Karen Maxwell (BSc ’95).

The 2026 Faculty of Science ceremony was held on Monday, October 5 in Federation Hall, with our award recipients and their supporters in attendance, alongside faculty and staff members from Science. This year’s ceremony celebrated and recognized the contributions each award recipient has made on their respective communities, the field of science and the reputation of the University of Waterloo.

“Thanks to Waterloo, I was an astronomer long before I graduated,” said Emily Pass, recipient of the Young Alumni Excellence Award. “That springboard has had a huge role to play in all the successes I've had in my career since then.”

This year’s awards celebrated science alumni spanning many decades of study, from our early alumni excellence awards which highlighted alumni whose student days were just a short time ago, to alumni who were students in the 80s and 90s, and remembered dancing the night away when Federation Hall was once the place to be and hear bands play. Through the decades though, there were some things that didn’t change between all the recipients: fond memories of Waterloo, the geese that took over campus and never left, and the impact of each professor in Science on their trajectory following the time each alumni spent here.

“When I graduated from Waterloo in 2006, I did not have a master plan. I had a curiosity. Your career does not have to make perfect sense in advance," said Joe Han, recipient of the Alumni Innovation Award. "Stay curious long enough, and one day the dots may connect behind you. What can science teach us? What can we turn an idea into something useful? That way of thinking began here in Waterloo for me.”

This year’s recipients embody the best qualities of science, leadership, scientific curiosity, and the advocacy for other humans and our planet. Recipients reflected on the memories they had at Waterloo, from clubs they were involved with and professors who made a difference, to nights with friends and the relationships that formed and solidified during their time as students. Each recipient has followed their own unique path since their time at Waterloo Science, ranging across careers in academia, growing startups to major companies, and humanitarian efforts as philanthropists and researchers. What was evident and consistent across each individual’s reflections and careers was a passion for their endeavours that started here at the University of Waterloo.

“Our Alumni Awards Ceremony is a wonderful showcase of the talent and impact that Waterloo Science alumni have around the world,” said Dr. Chris Houser, Dean of Science. “At the heart of science is curiosity and discovery, and it’s always encouraging to meet alumni who continue to represent Waterloo beyond their degrees and make an impact in their communities.”

Thank you to everyone who made the 2026 Alumni Achievement Awards a wonderful success! We look forward to celebrating each of our recipient’s achievements throughout the year.

Each year, the Faculty of Science recognizes extraordinary alumni in our annual alumni awards. If you, or an alum you know, has outstanding contributions to science or our world, and is a leader in their field, please help us celebrate their accomplishments.

Nominate a Science Alumni today!