In case you were wondering: This is a rendering of what the Needles Hall expansion currently under construction will look like when finished. The addition to the existing building, built in 1971, will be 38,000 gross square feet of office and meeting space with a 20-space below-grade parking area, for a total of 48,000 square feet. The third floor of the addition will contain a new and improved Board and Senate meeting room, plus related amenity spaces, while the first floor will be assigned to AccessAbility Services and the second floor to Counselling Services. Construction is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2015.

 

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Velocity startups raise more than $100M

a news release by the media relations team.

Companies in the University of Waterloo’s Velocity startup program have raised more than $100 million in funding in the five years since the incubator was launched.

Investment received by Velocity companies includes funding from venture capitalists, angel investors, government programs, and grants from the Velocity Fund, as well as from crowdfunding website, Kickstarter.

Startups such as Kik, Pebble and Thalmic Labs raised the most funding of all startups to come through Velocity. MappedIn, Palette and Weston Expressions are some of the more recent startups to successfully attract significant investment.

Pebble, the first Velocity team to crowdfund on Kickstarter, made headlines in 2012 when they raised more than $10 million with almost 70,000 pre-orders of the Pebble watch – beating their fundraising goal of $100,000. In January of this year, Palette raised more than $150,000 on Kickstarter for their freeform interface that offers hands-on controls for software.

The $100 million milestone does not include acquisitions, such as Google’s acquisition of BufferBox in 2012.

“The Velocity approach to supporting young entrepreneurs is making a noticeable impact – our startups have raised over $100 million in just five years,” said Mike Kirkup, director of Velocity. “We’re now in a great position to help attract the next $100 million.”

Velocity’s funding milestone coincides with the launch of the Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund announced last week by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne on a visit to Waterloo Region last week. The fund aims to drive private sector investment in Canadian companies in the early-to-middle stages of growth.

“What differentiates Velocity from other incubators is the positive and tangible impact it has achieved in a very short period of time. Their efforts have contributed to Waterloo becoming a well-known source of tech talent and emerging technology in Canada,” said Michael Mahon, director of strategic investments and initiatives at BDC Venture Capital. “We congratulate Velocity on achieving this important milestone and we look forward to working with them to support the vibrant startup ecosystem that exists in Waterloo.”

Velocity supports young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas by giving them free space, startup programming and mentorship to build their ideas into businesses. When the time is right, Velocity guides companies towards angel investors, venture capitalists and government grant programs. Startups are selected for the Velocity Garage workspace through an ongoing application process, or by winning Velocity Fund competitions.

Velocity has contributed more than $750,000 to the $100 million funding total with grants to emerging startups through Velocity Fund competitions. The competitions were first held in 2011 after a $1 million donation to Velocity from Ted Livingston, founder of Kik. The competitions take place three times a year. Previous fund winners include MappedIn, Planboard, BufferBox, Weston Expressions, Thalmic Labs, Kira Talent, Voltera, and Kite, among others. The most recent winners from the November competition, now operating at the Velocity Garage workspace, include PiinPoint, LightBot, MetricWire and uMentioned.

A complete list of past Velocity Fund winners and the list of the 35 startups currently operating at Velocity Garage are available on the Velocity website.

 

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Seeking input on the residence of tomorrow

The Department of Housing and Residences is planning the design for a new student residence proposal and is looking for opinions, thoughts, and ideas from the University of Waterloo community.

In the above video (here's the direct link), Director of Housing and Residences Glen Weppler encourages the community to engage in the conversation that is already happening over Twitter, and on the Housing blog.

Over the next few weeks, Housing will be looking for feedback on a number of different topics relating to a new residence. The aim is to have community members inform the final proposal, which would be sent to the Board of Governors at a future date.

Follow the discussion on the blog and on Twitter (the hashtag is #newUWrez).

 

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GreenHouse issues call for innovators

by Sean Campbell.

Being a student doesn’t mean you can’t take action on real-world problems. Ask our GreenHouse innovators, who have been busy pursuing innovative, enterprising solutions to complex social and environmental problems. Our students are working on providing medical kits to eastern African hospitals to prevent birth-related complications, on raising awareness about ethical investments or food sustainability, and on finding more effective ways to learn and study, among other things.

Are you an upper-year student with an idea that you would like to bring to reality? Bring your social justice or environmental ideas to life by joining our innovation community for Fall 2014. Apply by Saturday, February 15.

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Professor wins chemistry award

by Victoria Van Cappellen.

Assistant professor of Chemistry Dr. Juewen Liu (right) has been awarded the Canadian Society for Chemistry 2014 Fred Beamish Award for his contribution to innovative research in analytical chemistry with significant practical applications.

Liu’s research involves using DNA as a functional polymer and catalyst at the nano-scale. Liu has found DNA molecules can be programmed to help construct specialized nanoparticles and nanoclusters. He has also designed DNA-based biosensors for detecting mercury in the environment as well as substances in blood. He research interests also extend to designing targeted drug-delivery molecules using DNA-functionalized liposomes and nanoparticles.

He will present a lecture as part of the award ceremony during the 97th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition in Vancouver, B.C. in June. This award is presented by the Chemical Institute of Canada Analytical Chemistry Division.

 

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