News

A lot has happened to Kristy Gao (BCS ’22) since graduating from the University of Waterloo, nearly three years ago.

She moved to San Francisco for her first post-graduation job. Started a book club to make friends. Got into an accident, where she, a Canadian, had to navigate the complexities of the American healthcare system. Quit her job to launch a health-tech startup, Cenote, with two people she met from her book club. Applied to Y Combinator (YC), the world’s largest and most competitive startup accelerator. Got accepted by YC and received $500,000 USD in seed funding. 

We connected with our alum about her unique entrepreneurship journey, her passion for diversity, equity and inclusive (DEI) initiatives, and her words to her younger self. 

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Peter Forsyth from the Cheriton School of Computer Science, Professor Emeritus Ken Vetzal from the School of Accounting and Finance, and Graham Westmacott, a portfolio manager at Richardson Wealth Limited, have been awarded the 2024 Chris Daykin Prize by the International Actuarial Association.

1Password’s global cybersecurity leadership protects more than 150,000 businesses and millions of consumers, enabling safe online experiences around the world

Why do films, especially ones with computer-generated visuals, need physics simulations?

For Christopher Batty, an Associate Professor at the Cheriton School of Computer Science whose group develops physics simulation tools for visual effects software, part of the goal is to “offload the physics onto the computer so the artists can really focus on their vision,” he said.

Professor Jo Atlee is an internationally renowned researcher in software engineering, who is a pioneer in automated analysis of software requirements. Recently, Virtualware featured her in a video of remarkable women researchers, alongside Marie Curie and Margaret Hamilton. She co-penned one of the classic software engineering textbooks, Software Engineering: Theory and Practice.

But over the years, she noticed there was something that held her and other women back: how they were socialized to be risk-averse.   

Three childhood friends from the University of Waterloo have secured $500,000 from the Y Combinator (YC) for GALE, an innovative immigration software. 

YC is one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious startup accelerators, with an average acceptance rate of one per cent. Every year, recipients receive $500,000 in seed funding and other resources like alumni talks and mentorship. With alumni including Airbnb, DoorDash, and Twitch, YC can help kickstart a young business. 

Ana Crisan joined the Cheriton School of Computer Science as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in August 2024.

What follows is a lightly edited transcript of a conversation with Professor Crisan, where she discusses her research, her advice for aspiring computer scientists, and what excites her about joining the Cheriton School of Computer Science.

Peptide identification is a core challenge in proteomics, the study of proteins, their structure and functions. Unlike genomics, which examines an organism’s genetic information, proteomics is far more complex. The proteome — the complete set of proteins produced or modified by a cell or system — varies not only across different cell types but also over time.

DeepSearch, a novel deep learning–based end-to-end database search method developed by PhD student Yonghan Yu and University Professor Ming Li brings new capabilities to protein identification.

Imagine asking AI to plan your trip itinerary, book and pay for all your flights, and arrange your airport transport — all within a single click. Fortunately, an international research team is making this vision a reality.  

Matt Brehmer joined the Cheriton School of Computer Science as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in August 2024.

What follows is a lightly edited transcript of a conversation with Professor Brehmer, where he discusses his research, his advice for aspiring computer scientists, and what excites him about joining the Cheriton School of Computer Science.