News

Past and present members of the Faculty of Science community are saddened by the news that William David Taylor passed away on January 24, 2022. Bill had a long and distinguished career of service inside and outside the University of Waterloo. He will be remembered with great affection by the many professionals that he trained as students, and by the many colleagues who had the pleasure to work with him in research and administration.

Southern Ontario wetlands provide $4.2 billion worth of sediment filtration and phosphorus removal services each year, keeping our drinking water sources clean and helping to mitigate harmful and nuisance algal blooms in our lakes and rivers.

A new study from the University of Waterloo uses economic valuation to help us understand the importance of Southern Ontario’s wetlands for water filtration – particularly as these sensitive ecosystems continue to be lost by conversion to agriculture or urban development.

The Earth Sciences Museum is excited to announce the launch of our newest project, a virtual tour of the museum!

On November 11, the University of Waterloo is honoured to take part in the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, UK.

From October 31 – November 12, 2021, more than 190 world leaders are expected to arrive in Scotland together with tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens for twelve days of talks aimed at accelerating action on climate change.

Professor Philippe Van Cappellen from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate in Ecohydrology, has been elected as an American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Fellow.

New research will help mining companies better understand the negative societal and environmental impacts of mine-waste disasters, known as tailings flows, and hopefully avoid them.

Researchers created a database as part of a study that presents the first global picture of the occurrence rates, behaviours and physical impacts of tailings flows, which are rapid downstream movements of mine waste following failures of tailings impoundments.

Congratulations to Keith Delaney from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences for receiving the 2021 Jane Lang Excellence in Earth and Environmental Sciences Teaching Award!

Establishing and supporting innovative research projects is an important priority for the University of Waterloo. The Canadian Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund has recognized four Faculty of Science researchers to embarking upon research or technology development that is innovative, high quality and meets international standards.

Last week, the Water Institute announced the results of their 2021 seed grant competition. Professor Andrea Brookfield from the Department of Earth and Environmental Science is leading one of the projects, which aims to develop a framework to make decisions about groundwater extraction in agricultural settings. 

This past week, Jen Parks, Instructor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, appeared on the cover of the Canadian Institute for Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Magazine’s June/July edition.