The Mathematics 4 (M4) building is expected to be completed in fall 2027, along with the opening of bridge links between the math buildings. Construction began on Oct. 28, 2024.

The work is being undertaken by Gillam Group and Moriyama & Teshima Architects and is currently in the building envelope and rough-in stage. 

When asked if any part of the building is completed, Plant Operations replied, “There are no fully completed sections of the building at this time. However, we are working with the City of Waterloo and the construction manager [Gillam Group] to open the existing DC food court as early as possible.”

Despite ongoing construction, there are still alternative barrier-free routes around the construction area at certain campus entry points. 

Because of the math quad closure and the removal of its bridges, pedestrians are instead directed to sideways and at-grade pathways to move between buildings and access the interior trail network. The math road remains open and continues to be a main route for students entering campus from mass transit.

The project is planned to be a 120,000 square foot, five storey building connected to the three other math buildings on campus. The space will include a new math undergrad office and two registrar-funded student classrooms.

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend and Eyram Klu, a Black Protestant convert to Catholicism, who joins me to share his amazing conversion journey. 

Raised with some Catholic background, Eyram became a passionate Evangelical Christian, deeply involved in campus ministry as a young adult. It was an encounter with his future wife, a Catholic, on a secular dating app, that he was first found himself asking questions about Catholicism, digging deeper into the doctrine and dogma and the Early Church Fathers, and making some shocking discoveries!

He joins me to share these today on the show. 

For more from Eyram, follow the Afrociscan on all major social media platforms.

For more from Fr. Sammie Maletta visit St. John the Evangelist Parish to watch his homilies, find his activities, and buy his book Be Disciples, Make Disciples.

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On Wednesday, May 13, Canadian Olympian and founding spokesperson of Bell Let’s Talk, Clara Hughes, shared her story and mission with the UW community at the Humanities Theatre in Hagey Hall. Her lecture is the latest installment of the annual Hallman Lecture Series, which highlights the stories and ideas of speakers recognized for notable contributions to their respective fields.

Hughes is the only athlete in Olympic history to have won multiple medals in both summer and winter games. She represented Canada in the 1996, 2002, 2006, and 2010 Olympics, earning one gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in speed skating. Hughes also won two bronze medals in cycling. During her time spent training with her teams, learning from her coaches, and competing in tournaments, Hughes navigated part of what she calls her personal truth: living with depression and a mood disorder. With encouragement from some of her longtime coaches and opening up to the idea of vulnerability, Hughes worked to build her internal strength. After two years, she began vocalizing her mental health experience.

Clara Hughes speaks to the crowd at Hagey Hall. (Photo credit: Zoey Pearce)

As she presented her advocacy work at various institutions over the years, Hughes found that the most rewarding aspect was creating a space for audience members to open up to her about their own experiences. Before and after events, she schedules time to meet with people and actively listen to their stories. She believes that listening is one of the most powerful ways to be there for someone who is struggling. “We’re not taught to treat our mental health as something until it becomes a concern … and it’s something to really care for and hone and nurture through your entire life,” Hughes stressed.

She has also witnessed how many have difficulty addressing stigmas attached to depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders, because of the limited language and vocabulary surrounding these topics in society. Normalizing mental health and invisible disabilities as conversation topics is a major part of her mission, which is why she was eager to share her story with UW community members.

“Everybody getting involved and making mental health a priority is what I really like,” Hughes said. The advocate recognizes UW as a leading institution that prioritizes mental health as a top concern. “That activation and advocacy is really strong right now, and it’s coming not only from faculty, but from the student body itself, and I think that’s the most powerful place it can come from,” she stated.

In her advocacy work across Canada, Hughes often discusses the importance of equally prioritizing mental health and physical health, believing that both must be valued so that everyone can find their own healing journey. “Being sick is not being weak. Being vulnerable is not being weak,” Hughes emphasized. “Mental health is something that we are all born with, but we’re not taught to care for, … so I really hope to open up the conversation in a way that we can value our mental health to a greater degree before we lose it.”

To nurture her own healing journey surrounding childhood trauma, Hughes spends time living out her creative process as a visual artist by painting and drawing her inner world. She creates art using watercolours, acrylics, pastels, and alcohol markers on canvas to visualize the stories and shapes that form in her mind. In addition to using visual arts as creative self-expression, Hughes practices journaling and is a recreational athlete who engages in adventure travel. She enjoys the silence of nature while camping, long distance hiking, kayaking, bikepacking alone or accompanied by her husband, Peter.

As she embarked on adventure travel for weeks or months around the world, Hughes found that these types of physical activity are a positive outlet for her mental health. “I find that deep connection to nature a really healing place,” she said. Some of the locations she has visited include the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from the U.S.-Mexico border to the U.S.-Canada border, and the Appalachian Trail, located in Maine.

The most difficult aspect of Hughes’s job, she says, is how the healthcare system she calls attention to lacks the proper foundation to support individuals experiencing mental health crises. “I find it challenging to give someone any kind of advice that can solidly steer them towards something that’s publicly available in a decent and reasonable amount of time, [whether] for them or the person they’re asking about to get help,” she expressed. “The whole public healthcare system, when it comes to mental health support, is not even broken; it’s not even there enough to be broken.” She calls for the system to be rebuilt from its foundations in effective and accessible ways for everyone.

To UW community members, Hughes gives a reminder that they are a part of a large and interconnected community. “Choose connection. To reach out to that one person, to ask for help, to say, ‘Hey, I’m not okay’ … I think that is a bold, and beautiful, and very quiet thing that a person can do. This is a beautiful place with so much potential and it can be even better.”

So what’s next for Clara Hughes? Her second memoir, Learning to Breathe, will be released in Canada on October 13, 2026. “That’s a continuation of my advocacy to open up the conversation of common experiences many of us have that aren’t talked about enough,” she said. Hughes elaborated that the book details “healing through menopause, psychedelic-assisted therapy, and the topics of this season of life for women that are also understudied [and] underdiscussed.” Hughes will continue to advance her advocacy work, engaging with various organizations, businesses, and institutions around the world.

With files from Angela Li.

Small independent power producers face a unique set of challenges when it comes to regulatory compliance. The Bulk Electric System is moving towards stricter enforcement of cybersecurity standards, and small facilities often lack the massive IT teams or budgets of larger utilities. With the upcoming enforcement of CIP-003-9, the stakes have never been higher. A single violation can lead to significant fines. For the pragmatic plant manager, the goal is not just to check a box, but to build a resilient operation that maintains uptime while meeting every requirement of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

The new standard introduces critical sections regarding vendor electronic remote access security controls. Specifically, sections 6.1 and 6.2 require organisations to determine how vendors access systems and ensure that access is disabled immediately when no longer needed. Many small power sites still rely on legacy tools like virtual private networks or jump boxes. While these were once the industry standard, they are increasingly seen as a liability. They often lack the granular visibility required to prove compliance during an audit. If you cannot identify exactly who accessed a specific controller at 2:00 PM on a Tuesday, you are at risk.

Multi-factor authentication is one of the most impactful safeguards an independent power producer can implement. By requiring two or more forms of verification, such as a password and a physical token or biometric, you reduce the risk of credential theft significantly. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency notes that this simple step can prevent the vast majority of common cyber attacks. For low-impact assets, this is no longer just a suggestion. It is becoming a core part of the roadmap for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. Implementing a tool that enforces multi-factor authentication across all remote sessions is a pragmatic first step towards a more secure site.

Many legacy systems rely on shared vendor accounts. This makes it impossible to distinguish between different individuals from the same service provider. Single sign-on solves this by allowing vendors to use their own company credentials. When a vendor technician leaves their organisation, their access is automatically revoked. This provides a built-in kill switch that directly addresses the requirements of CIP-003-9 section 6.2. Without single sign-on, you are left managing a revolving door of passwords and hoping that your vendors inform you when an employee departs. This is not a sustainable or compliant way to operate a modern power facility.

The principle of least privilege ensures that a user only has access to the specific resources they need to perform their job. If a technician only needs to monitor a sensor, they should not have write access to the main controller. Zero trust architectures, like those provided by Agilicus, operate at the application layer rather than the network layer. This allows for incredibly granular audit logs. You can see who accessed what, when they did it, and what actions they took. This centralized data simplifies the evidence collection process for any compliance manager. Instead of hunting through disparate network logs, you have a single source of truth that is ready for any audit.

Relying on perimeter-based security is a strategy of the past. As we move into the era of Industry 4.0, small independent power producers must adopt tools that offer more than just a gate at the edge of the network. By implementing a zero trust platform, you ensure that every access request is authenticated and authorised individually. This not only meets the current requirements of NERC CIP-003-9 but also prepares your facility for future regulatory shifts. It is a pragmatic, cost-effective way to secure your assets and focus on what you do best: generating reliable power for the grid.