Faculty of Science Update 2016-17

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Strategic Initiatives: Transformational Research

  • Canada Excellence Research Chairs Philippe Van Cappellen and David Cory received more than $90M in funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund for water and quantum research.
  • Chemist Linda Nazar developed a safe, high-capacity zinc- ion battery that costs half the price of current lithium-ion batteries, yet lasts twice as long.
  • Physicist Thomas Jennewein was the first to transmit a quantum key securely from a source on the ground to a receiver on an aircraft.
  • The School of Optometry and Vision Science opened a Brain Injury Clinic in fall 2016 and provides comprehensive care, assessment, and rehabilitation to all brain injury patients.
  • Optometrist and vision science doctoral student Emmanuel Alabi won the 2017 University of Waterloo Three Minute Thesis Competition. He is the third Science student to win the university level competition in five years.
  • Astrophysicist Mike Hudson captured the first composite image of a dark matter bridge that connects galaxies together.
  • An interdisciplinary team of biologists and earth scientists discovered Boreal Shield lakes are similar to oceans from the Archean Eon, a period more than 2.5 billion years ago.
  • Waterloo Science research has been featured by numerous international, national and regional media outlets including the New Scientist, Motherboard, WIRED Magazine, Forbes, Newsweek, The Guardian, Macleans, Globe & Mail, Quirks & Quarks, CBC, and CTV.
  • Several Science faculty received prestigious awards and honours this year:
    • chemist Linda Nazar was appointed University Professor for her career achievements in solid state materials and advanced battery research;
    • earth sciences Professor Emeritus John Cherry was the first Canadian to receive the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize; and
    • chemist Marcel Nooijen was elected into the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Sciences (IAQMS) for his work in theoretical chemistry.

Strategic Initiatives: Research Partnerships

  • Earth scientist David Blowes is leading a $5.5M five-year initiative under Toward Environmentally Responsible Resource Extraction Network (TERRE-NET) to develop sustainable strategies for managing hazardous mine waste.
  • Waterloo scientists partnered with the International Development Research Centre and six international research collaborations through the Water Joint Programming Initiative to tackle Legacies of Agriculture Pollutants (LEAP) on a global scale.
  • Qatar and United Arab Emirates partnered with Waterloo earth scientists to study groundwater pollution in arid regions.
  • Chemist Juewen Liu partnered with the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to develop DNA-based sensors to detect pathogens and contaminants in water.

Strategic Initatives: Industrial Partnerships and Commercialization

  • Chemist Scott Hopkins partnered with SCIEX and Pfizer to develop a new faster and cheaper method to help the pharmaceutical industry identify and test new drugs.
  • Biologist Brian Dixon collaborated with Cedarlane labs to produce and market 45 different antibodies last year.
  • Through their company Mediphage Bioceuticals, Professors Roderick Slavcev and Jonathan Blay are working with global companies to explore how bacteriophages can combat colon cancer.
  • The School of Pharmacy partnered with Apotex Inc. to provide support for graduate students, potential co-op placements and research projects of mutual interest.
  • Pharmacy Professor Jonathan Blay partnered with Algae Dynamics Corp to research cannabis oils and explore the development and treatment of various types of cancer.

Students dance in a group under science goggles sculpture.

Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan (in lab coat) learns the University of Waterloo secret science dance from a team of science orientation leaders.

Strategic Initiatives: Entrepreneurship

  • Two Velocity Science companies, Suncayr and Medella Health, won top prizes in the Unlock Your Big Idea Pitch Competition.
  • Medella Health won the National James Dyson Award and Velocity Science companies Arylla and Penta Medical were named Canadian runners-up.
  • Several Science students competed in the 2017 Hult Prize Challenge and Team Epoch won the London, England Regionals and will compete for $1M at the International competition.
  • Velocity Science companies and science entrepreneurs won $245K in funding at the Velocity Fund Final Competition this year.

Strategic Initiatives: Academic Programs

  • Through a partnership with Conestoga College, Honours Biology and Biomedical Sciences students are able to earn a one-year Biotechnology Technician Diploma during their third year of undergraduate study.
  • School of Pharmacy partnered with the Centre for Family Medicine Academic Health Team on the Health Sciences campus to offer the first primary care pharmacy residency in Canada that is not based in a hospital.
  • Waterloo partnered with Maplesoft to enrich Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Chemistry will be using Möbius in their first-year courses in fall 2017.

Strategic Initiatives: Experiential Learning and Teaching Excellence

  • School of Pharmacy partnered with the McMaster University School of Medicine to the develop TransEd, a free online educational module to assist health care students in learning how to deliver high-quality care to transgender patients.
  • Professor Michael Beazely and Lecturer Richard Epp each received the 2017 Excellence in Science Teaching Award.
  • Biologist Josh Neufeld used a variety of teaching strategies to make his new online Fundamentals of Microbiology course more interactive and personal for students.
  • The School of Pharmacy is piloting the use of ExamSoft for online examinations, which allows instructors to enrich test questions with videos and other unique elements.

Strategic Initiatives: Community Outreach and Global Engagement 

  • Pharmacy Professor Kelly Grindrod and graduate students partnered with local organizations to deliver e-health workshops to improve health literacy in seniors.
  • The School of Pharmacy hosted a public lecture to discuss opioid uses and misuse in the Waterloo Region.
  • The School of Pharmacy received the Best Community Outreach Initiative from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) for educating parents, first-responders and health care professionals about opioids and the value of naloxone for harm reduction.
  • In April, the School of Optometry and Vision Science partnered with the Canadian Paralympic Committee to offer out-of competition classification services for national para-sport athletes from across Canada.