News

Pearl Sullivan, Waterloo's former dean of engineering and the first woman to hold the position, died on November 28 after a 12-year battle with cancer.

Just the fourth woman across Canada to head a school of engineering, she was a dynamic force for Waterloo Engineering and the entire University.

Passionate about supporting students, she was dedicated to ensuring they had a full understanding of engineering principles as well as the tools and facilities they needed to succeed.   

A scrappy swamp dotted with reeds, mosses, insects and frogs might not look like anything of value, but to Water Institute member Professor Rebecca Rooney, these ecosystems are priceless.

Every year, flooding causes millions of dollars in property damage - what can be done to help mitigate this risk?  A new report from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation has laid out guidelines to do just that.

Launched in 2018, the Global Engagement Seminar Program is a capstone seminar, bringing together students from across the six faculties and the affiliated colleges to develop greater awareness of contemporary global issues, as well as to work collaboratively to think through creative solutions.

The Winter 2021 seminar (ARTS 490) theme is Pandemic. Third- and fourth-year students from any faculty are invited to enroll.

North of Long Tail is a documentary photography project that shows the human side of Lake Erie. It shares 20 stories of people living on the north side of the lake. One of the people featured is Water Institute member Nandita Basu. Her story is below.

All stories and images are by Colin Boyd Shafer.

Written by Thelma Zulfawu Abu, a Queen Elizabeth  Scholar, is a PhD Candidate in Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo (tzabu@uwaterloo.ca)

Water Institute member and professor in Geography and Environmental Management, Susan Elliott, brings awareness to the billions of people living without access to reliable sanitation facilities on the United NationsWorld Toilet Day.

Listen on CBC Radio.

Article written by Rebecca C. Rooney with contributors: Andrea Kirkwood and Nandita B. Basu

Driving through the Greater Toronto Area, you probably wouldn’t recognize the value of the wetlands you are passing. You might even consider them an eyesore. Sure, they have their warts. Invasive plants, scattered trash — urban development exerts stress on ecosystems.

If you have spent any time walking around (or in) rivers, you will see and feel little particles like gravel under your feet. What you might not realise is that larger phenomena, like climate change and urbanization, can significantly affect the balance of these particles in a river, causing environmental degradation that can lead to failures of infrastructure like bridges and pipelines.