This past Saturday, the University of Waterloo science buildings were filled with laughter, smiles, and exclamations of discovery, as families from the Kitchener-Waterloo community gathered for a day of curiosity-driven exploration and experimentation. The annual Science Open House and Gem and Mineral Show drew large crowds to UWaterloo.
Walking the streets of Jerusalem, swimming in the Dead Sea, and visiting the Holocaust memorial museum Yad Vashem are not the typical types of experiences that come to mind when imagining an undergraduate business class. Yet these are some of the highlights of the new SCI 230 class offered through the Faculty of Science.
The University of Waterloo officially launched its astrophysics centre today.
The Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics (WCA) is being launched to build on the University’s record of success in astrophysics, which includes the creation of the theories tested by the first-ever image of a black hole to be taken. The centre also aims to advance human understanding of phenomena such as dark energy, dark matter and the nature of supermassive black holes.
Astrophysicists can mostly agree that something called dark energy is expanding our Universe at an accelerating rate. That discovery was groundbreaking, but that’s only half the puzzle. Two of the top astrophysicists in the game, Waterloo researchers Will Percival and Mike Hudson, have been chipping away at the question of just how fast it’s accelerating for much of their careers.
Eight University of Waterloo researchers have been named fellows of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) and members of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.
They are among 93 new fellows elected by their peers for outstanding scholarly, scientific, and artistic achievement and 46 new members of the College across Canada announced today.
Waterloo’s new RSC fellows and members are:
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
As its highest honour, the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) maybestow the title of “Honorary Fellow” on any individual who has made anoutstanding contribution to the profession of engineering in Canada, another country or globally. This honour is bestowed on an individual for contributions well above what is expected for a Fellow of the Academy. The Board of the CAE has recently awarded University of Waterloo Professor Donna Strickland with Honorary Fellowship in the CAE.
Vice-President, Academic & Provost Jim Rush has announced the recipients of the 2018 Outstanding Performance Award.
Effective May 1, 2005, in accordance with the 2003 Faculty Salary Settlement, the University of Waterloo established an Outstanding Performance Fund to reward faculty members for outstanding contribution in teaching and scholarship.
The winners from the Faculty of Science are:
Photo credit: Martin Lipman/NSERC
Congratulations to Anna Golubeva, graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, who has been awarded the NSERC Gilles Brassard Doctor Prize for Interdisciplinary Research. Read more about Golubeva's award on the University of Waterloo's Office of Research site.
Beyond a rewarding career as a physics teacher, John Caranci (BSc ’72) makes his mark through creative writing.