News

It’s Spring Convocation again, and this year the Faculty of Science will grant over 850 students their hard-earned Bachelor of Science degree. But for Susan and James Hadden, both BSc ’90 biology alumni, there’s one graduate in particular who they’re most excited to welcome into the club: their daughter, Jocelyn, who has earned her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences.

At first glance, astrophysics may not seem to have much in common with tracking and predicting the spread of a global virus. But to Professor Niayesh Afshordi, the link was clear – even early last year as our collective reaction to COVID-19 played out in real time.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which started its main survey of the Universe on May 17 this year will allow researchers, including astrophysicists at the University of Waterloo, to study dark energy in ways that have not been possible before.

Plastics pollution is a global environmental hazard with potentially harmful impacts on wildlife, ecosystem services, and human health and wellbeing. Microplastics in particular are of great concern because of their ability to be transported over great distances and absorb and disperse contaminants widely.

To a scientist, trial and error is common in laboratories to refine new tests and methods, and look for potential problems on the small scale. But what happens when these techniques are meant for human tissues, such as for surgeries, medical tests, and treatments, where multiple different trials are not possible?

When the global pandemic forced Ontario into lockdown in mid- March 2020, the School of Optometry & Vision Science’s patient care Clinic staff were forced to take a step back and evaluate how they could safely continue offering care to the community.

A twenty-minute saliva-based COVID-19 test may be coming soon to a pharmacy near you, thanks to researchers at the University of Waterloo.

Alumni Profile: Andrew Cahill, BSc ’14

Water is essential for life as we know it – water makes up around 70% of the human body, covers about 70% of the planet Earth, has been found in the far reaches of our universe, and is at the centre of our search for habitable planets around other stars.

University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy and University of Toronto pharmacy students are partnering to deliver one of Canada’s first pharmacy and technology focused hackathons.

Health and technology are destined to work together. The pandemic has only accelerated the speed of this collaboration, with many health-care workers turning to technology-enabled means of delivering services.