News

A University of Waterloo press release

An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Waterloo is using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify microplastics faster and more accurately than ever before.

Microplastics are commonly found in food and are dangerous pollutants that cause severe environmental damage – finding them is the key to getting rid of them.

On November 30th, the University of Waterloo community came together to support eight finalist teams as they pitched their business ideas for their chance at a slice of more than $20,000 in grants.

Maricor Arlos, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, honoured with CWP Alumni Award

The Water Institute is pleased to announce the recipient of the inaugural Collaborative Water Program (CWP) Alumni Achievement Award.

The award, introduced this year at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Collaborative Water Program, recognizes outstanding alumni contributions in their professional careers  and in community service. This year’s winner is Maricor Arlos, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta.

The Water Institute is a proud participant in the University of Waterloo Green Office Initiative and has recently achieved Gold Certification.

The Green Office program challenges staff and faculty to make a tangible environmental impact on campus and in the home by implementing sustainable behaviors and practices. It recognizes departments for their achievements through a common scorecard, while allowing for new ideas, collaboration, and change.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. By Jovana Radosavljevic, Jiangyue Ju and Water Institute members David L Rudolph, Fereidoun Rezanezhad, Nancy Goucher and Philippe Van Cappellen.

As winter approaches, many communities in Canada and around the world arm themselves against icy roads and sidewalks with a time-honoured ally: road salt. For decades, applying road salt has been regarded as a simple but vital tool in countering the dangers of slippery road conditions, but the downsides of its use are apparent with implications that extend beyond the cold months.

Congratulations to four Water Institute members who have been named on the annual Highly Cited Researchers™ 2023 list from Clarivate.

Highly Cited Researchers™ are influential researchers at universities, research institutes and commercial organizations around the world who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research.

The evaluation and selection process draws on data from the Web of Science™ citation index, together with analysis performed by bibliometric experts and data scientists at the ISI at Clarivate™.

The University of Waterloo Department of Economics celebrated Professor Margaret Insley’s 21 years of service this month with a retirement celebration at the Huether Hotel in Waterloo. A Water Institute member and Professor of natural resource economics, Margaret also served as Chair of the Department of Economics from 2011 to 2019.

Dr. Bruce MacVicar, Director Emeritus, Collaborative Water Program, and professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, introducing the keynote speaker at the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Collaborative Water Program.

On November 3, 2023, the Water Institute celebrated a special milestone marking the 10th Anniversary of the University of Waterloo’s Collaborative Water Program (CWP)!

By Jenna Braun. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

Foodborne viruses are a worldwide health concern, with types, severity and impacts of illness changing over time and across communities and countries.

Water Institute member Dr. Shannon Majowicz, associate professor in the School of Public Health Sciences, joined  the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Rome, Italy last month for a Joint FAO/WHO Expert meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) of viruses in foods.

A University of Waterloo press release

A team of University of Waterloo researchers has created smart, advanced materials that will be the building blocks for a future generation of soft medical microrobots. 

These tiny robots have the potential to conduct medical procedures, such as biopsy, and cell and tissue transport, in a minimally invasive fashion. They can move through confined and flooded environments, like the human body, and deliver delicate and light cargo, such as cells or tissues, to a target position.