Celebrating Achievements and Innovation with our Science Alumni Award Recipients
Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient: Dr. Jake Reder, BSc ’97 (Chemistry)
By Elizabeth Kleisath
Communications Officer, Advancement
Alumni from the Faculty of Science are living proof of the transformative potential of scientific knowledge and innovation to influence and impact our world. Science alumni create a vast network around the globe with careers in diverse fields. Their collective impacts resonate with breakthroughs in research, leadership in industries, and transformations that have lasting effects on the health of both people and our vulnerable planet.
Each year, Science celebrates some of our brightest alumni through our Alumni Achievement Awards. These awards recognize some of our most exceptional alumni, and highlight the successes from Faculty of Science extending beyond the classroom to shape the future of science.
This year, we are pleased to recognize Dr. Jake Reder (BSc ’97, chemistry) as one of two recipients of the Faculty of Science Distinguished Alumni Award.
While he was a student at Waterloo, Jake didn’t think much about innovation. However, looking back on his career and his time at Waterloo, Jake recognizes that the unique culture and values of the University have shaped him and left a lasting impact. “Being at Waterloo, I couldn’t help but take on the culture there. At Waterloo, everyone quite simply expects to take on big problems, do new things, and have global impact. The thread of innovation has connected everything I’ve done since.”
“Being at Waterloo, I couldn’t help but take on the culture there. At Waterloo, everyone quite simply expects to take on big problems, do new things, and have global impact. The thread of innovation has connected everything I’ve done since.”
Since graduating from Waterloo with his undergraduate degree in chemistry, Jake has sought out ways to innovate and improve our world. Jake followed his interest in innovation to graduate studies in chemistry, inventing new ways to solve real world problems. He then turned to roles where he could advance innovation in the corporate, academic, and startup realms. “Being a chemist is a worldview,” Jake says, while explaining his path. “By seeing the world through this atomistic lens, we can make real world impacts in new areas.”
Jake is now an entrepreneur in the healthcare space, helping businesses grow and make meaningful impact on human health. He works with researchers in the medical field to get therapeutic advances out of the labs and into clinical development. Jake’s background in chemistry has allowed him to branch out into these new areas while applying his perspectives in chemistry and science to drive change and progress.
"What I love about innovation is there’s always something new and exciting. Founders are, by definition, optimistic. We like to see the potential in things. We chase that potential and try to make it real. Maybe I’d still be doing this if I hadn’t gone to Waterloo – we will never know – but I am fully convinced that Waterloo had a huge hand in my success and growth."
Jake has had a truly transformative career that is nothing short of inspiring. His accomplishments, alongside five other exceptional Waterloo Science alumni, will be celebrated by the Faculty of Science during the annual Science Alumni Achievement Award Reception. The event will be held on November 14, 2024, from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. Registration is open, please join us in congratulating our alumni recipients and celebrate their achievements together.