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Popular virtual assistant technology reinforces stereotyped and sexist expectations of gendered labour, according to a new study University of Waterloo professor and Canada Research Chair in Technology and Social Change Dr. Lai-Tze Fan analyzed hundreds of Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa's voice-driven skills.

Waterloo research team partners with BMO to turn pollution into renewable energy  By Nicola Kelly Faculty of Engineering An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Waterloo aims to tackle CO2 emissions in the value chain by transforming CO2 into valuable chemicals needed by industry. Supported by BMO, the research focuses on the use of green hydrogen to capture CO2 from power plants as well as the iron, steel, and cement industries, and convert it into useful gases via reverse water gas shift reaction.

AI breakthrough may lead to highly personalized medicine in the treatment of serious diseases Machine learning is now helping researchers analyze the makeup of unfamiliar cells, which could lead to more personalized medicine in the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. Researchers at the University of Waterloo developed GraphNovo, a new program that provides a more accurate understanding of the peptide sequences in cells.

Researcher from the School of Accounting and Finance explores how nonmonetary factors impact contestant behavior and effort levels By Kelsey Stoddart School of Accounting and Finance In today's data-driven world, holding data science competitions is a popular way to address real-world problems. Companies leverage these competitions to crowdsource solutions and strategically attract potential employees.

University of Waterloo engineers use AI to advance cancer treatment monitoring  Engineers from the University of Waterloo are harnessing artificial intelligence to help doctors better see and control a non-invasive cancer treatment and, in the process, save lives. Their imaging system will allow for the safer and more effective use of high-intensity, focused ultrasound to destroy a wide range of cancerous, often deadly, tumours.

Study has implications when planning the transition from pediatric to adult health services Faculty of Health The combination of physical and mental illness had a negative impact on self-perception among older adolescents, but not for younger ones, shows a new University of Waterloo study. Researchers found that compared to adolescents with a physical illness only, their self-concept - the image we have of ourselves - was lower, but that was not the case for younger adolescents.

ESA's Euclid space mission unveils stunning full-colour images of the cosmos, setting a new standard for astronomical imaging precision By Jordan Flemming University Relations Today, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Euclid space mission reveals five of its first full-color images of the cosmos. For the first time, Euclid has harnessed the power to capture razor-sharp astronomical images across a vast expanse of the sky, delving deep into the distant universe.

University of Waterloo scientists capture carbon and turn it into sustainable, clean fuel Scientists at the University of Waterloo have achieved a historic breakthrough in transforming the carbon dioxide emissions driving climate change into clean fuels. The process, which has been refined over a two-year period, could play a significant role to help decarbonize industrial emissions and boost both the environment and national economies.

Plant-based materials give life to tiny soft robots that can potentially conduct medical procedures 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.

Financial technology companies should move beyond ESG standards to embrace "Impact fintech" "Impact Fintech" is a new term coined by researchers at the University of Waterloo's School of Environment, Enterprise and Development which describes a new category of financial technology firm - one that moves beyond ESG standards and instead embraces the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Dr. Mahmood Gohari discusses upward trends in depression and anxiety among youth Mental health issues had been a concern before the pandemic, but they came into focus even more during this time. In a  recent study , Dr. Mahmood Gohari from the University of Waterloo's  School of Public Health Sciences  used survey data from almost 5,400 Canadian adolescents to examine changes in depression and anxiety from 2018 until 2021.

Waterloo Engineering researchers are developing new technologies to combat disinformation - a robust solution to fake news By John Roe Faculty of Engineering Cutting-edge technologies gave the world fake news, but researchers from the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering are developing even newer technology to stop it.

Researchers combining bioprinting with synthetic chips to understand tumours in 3D An international team of interdisciplinary researchers has successfully created a method for better 3D modelling of complex cancers. The University of Waterloo-based team combined cutting-edge bioprinting techniques with synthetic structures or microfluidic chips.

Waterloo Pharmacy researchers find an opportunity to improve vaccination uptake HPV, or human papillomavirus, is the most common sexually transmitted infection. It is also the leading cause of cervical cancer. Over 1,400 Canadian women are affected yearly, with almost 400 deaths, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Researchers studied a cohort of 400 children aged 9 to 10 in New Zealand who exhibited a full range of possible autism traits and conducted a variety of vision and visuomotor processing tests with them. Females are often underdiagnosed with being on the autism spectrum because they often mask their symptoms more successfully than males.

Researchers use AI to detect potential problems with satellites before they happen Rural and remote communities in Canada often rely on satellites to access the internet, but those connections are fraught - with many glitches and service interruptions because the technology can be unreliable. The inequity in internet access between these communities and those who live in cities is an ongoing problem with myriad consequences for Canada's economic productivity.

In a first-of-its-kind study, Waterloo researchers calculate the environmental footprint of hospitals Researchers from the University of Waterloo completed the first-ever assessment of a Canadian hospital to reveal its total environmental footprint and specific carbon emission hotspots. Studying a hospital in British Columbia during its 2019 fiscal year, the researchers identified energy and water use and purchasing of medical products as the hospital's primary hotspots, accounting for over half of the yearly footprint, totalling 3500-5000 tons of CO2 equivalent.

New research shows that team-based recognition can be effective in settings where performance is highly interdependent, and teamwork is essential to the company's success. Businesses are becoming increasingly competitive as they fight to recruit and retain top talent. Recognition programs are widespread across businesses and workplaces, and are used to improve employee engagement, while motivating employee effort and performance.

New research reveals half of our watersheds have a moderate to high potential for water risk Ontario may seem to be a water secure region, but new research out of the University of Waterloo challenges the myth of water abundance in the Great Lakes watershed. Using a first-of-its-kind risk analysis, researchers connected water quality, quantity, regulations and public concern to obtain a more comprehensive picture of water security at the local level.

Using laser light, researchers have developed the most robust method currently known to control individual qubits made of the chemical element barium. The ability to reliably control a qubit is an important achievement for realizing future functional quantum computers. This new method, developed at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), uses a small glass waveguide to separate laser beams and focus them four microns apart, about four-hundredths of the width of a single human hair.