University of Waterloo

Research support is strong

In 2007/08, our faculty, staff, and students attracted approximately $131 million in research funding from public and private sources. This money was used to support the work of researchers such as Gregor Weihs, physics and astronomy, who studies quantum cryptography in the search for more secure communications, and major collaborative ventures such as the Centre for Advanced Photovoltaic Devices and Systems, a Canada-wide group of researchers led by Siva Sivoththaman, electrical and computer engineering. Their research in photovoltaic devices and systems, in which semiconductor materials convert sunlight to electricity, aims to develop affordable, 'green' alternatives to fossil fuel-based technologies.

We put knowledge to work

From the beginning, Waterloo has been a leader in conducting research in partnership with the private sector and transferring new knowledge and advances in technology to society for the benefit of all. We have 13 currently active industrially sponsored NSERC research chairs, and our Intellectual Property Management Group helps researchers commercialize the results of their research.

The University of Waterloo has been allocated 58 Canada Research Chairs CRC), including the CRC in scientific computing awarded to Justin Wan, computer science. His work will lead to more advanced computer simulation technology and medical imaging, for better patient care. Researchers in all six faculties participate in five Ontario Centres of Excellence and 17 Networks of Centres of Excellence, including the UW-based Canadian Water Network, which studies the impact of climate change, declining water levels, and land use on Canada's water supply. Waterloo researchers have participated in 28 of the 35 NCEs founded so far and are involved in three of the five 2006 NCE New Initiatives.

We collaborate

Waterloo has established 35 formal centres and institutes on campus, most with an interdisciplinary focus, such as the Canadian Centre of Arts and Technology (right), which fosters research in digital design and communication. A highlight of CCAT is a comprehensive digital archive of images, sound, and video being assembled for creative production processes in the newest broadband environments.

Waterloo is involved in more than 300 international linkage agreements, collaborative activities, and education and research projects in 57 countries around the world. In one of the largest such projects — Ecoplan China — environment faculty members and students are working with Chinese partners to help local governments learn how to manage growth while protecting the environment and human health.

Closer to home, Waterloo researchers are actively involved in the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, a community of internationally renowned scientists dedicated to investigating fundamental issues in theoretical physics, and the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a group dedicated to supporting improvements in the system of multilateral governance.

Our students do research

At Waterloo our undergraduate research internship program gives students practical experience in conducting research early in their academic careers. At the graduate level our goal is to produce tomorrow's top scholars and teachers, people like Peyman Servati, PhD ’04, electrical and computer engineering, who received one of four national NSERC doctoral prizes awarded in 2005 for his work in thin-film electronics. Since 1991, nine NSERC doctoral prizes have gone to Waterloo graduate students.