News

Ali Ghodsi, professor in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, has co-authored a new textbook, Elements of Deep Learning.

The book offers a comprehensive introduction to deep learning and neural networks, combining mathematical rigor with hands-on practice. Covering both foundational concepts and emerging topics, the text explores areas including convolutional neural networks, Transformers, large language models, diffusion models, graph neural networks, reinforcement learning, and more.

Ruodu Wang, Canada Research Chair in Quantitative Risk Management and professor in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, has received the 2026 Frontiers of Science Award (FSA) from the International Congress of Basic Sciences (ICBS), shared with his co-author Vladimir Vovk, professor at Royal Holloway, University of London, for the paper titled “E-values: Calibration, combination, and applications” published in the Annals of Statistics in 2021. (See the paper on arXiv or view the journal website.)

Ben Feng, Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science and Director of the Master of Actuarial Science program, has been named the University of Waterloo recipient of the 2025 Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) Teaching Award.

The Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science is pleased to congratulate the University of Waterloo team on their success at the 2026 Munich Re Cup. The Munich Re Cup is the premier actuarial science student case competition in North America, with a total of $20,000 of prize money handed out each year. The University of Waterloo team delivered an impressive performance, winning second place and $6,000 of prize money.

Out of 22 initial teams, the University of Waterloo team – consisting of actuarial science students Joanna Li, Adrian Lock, and Michelle Ng, and faculty advisors Emily Kozlowski and James Adcock – was one of six finalist teams that competed against teams coming from top-tier actuarial programs across North America at the two-day, in-person final round of the case competition in Toronto.

This year’s case topic was GenAI, and teams were tasked with creating a comprehensive AI-driven technology solution to transform the underwriting and claims processes at a medium-sized life insurer. The depth of the Waterloo team’s technical knowledge, cost-benefit analysis, and understanding of different stakeholders’ perspectives – along with their excellent handling of questions during the Q&A portion – were all praised by the judges at Munich Re. Congratulations to the team on this well-earned achievement!

The event was aimed at girls and students from underrepresented groups, but welcomed any students from Grades 10-12 across the Waterloo Region who were interested in exploring statistics and data science. 

“I expect my main role will be to help build up our reputation in AI-related research for the Math Faculty,” Zhu says. 

Full story on the Faculty of Mathematics site.

UWaterloo researcher Tony Wirjanto finds that investment strategies built on ESG principles deliver stronger, more resilient returns — even during times of economic stress. 

Read the full story on the School of Accounting and Finance website. 

In honour of Math 4, we’re looking back at the other buildings on Waterloo’s “Math Campus,” and how they came to be.

Read the full story on the Faculty of Mathematics site.

The University of Waterloo is proud to announce that Cindy Forbes was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Mathematics, one of the university’s highest honours, in recognition of her exceptional leadership, professional achievement, and profound service to both the university and broader society.

The honorary degree was awarded during the Faculty of Mathematics convocation ceremony on Friday, October 24, 2025, where the University community celebrated Forbes’s outstanding contributions to both her profession and society.

Created in 2005, the Outstanding Performance Awards recognize excellence in teaching and scholarship from faculty members across all of the University of Waterloo’s Faculties.