Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis pledge $21M to science and math at University of Waterloo

[H2OLOO]

WATERLOO, Ont. (Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012) - Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis continue to show their generous support of post-secondary education and world-class research with a gift of $21 million to the University of Waterloo’s faculties of science and mathematics.

“With their unparalleled generosity, the Lazaridis family enriches our capacity to attract exceptional individuals to join Waterloo as researchers and students,” said University of Waterloo president Feridun Hamdullahpur. “The problems of the world will keep getting more complex and interconnected, and we want to be the first port of call for people looking to solve intractable problems.”

“History has shown us that a relatively small investment in fundamental research in physics and in science today can lead to huge innovation tomorrow. Given the current challenges in the world, the need for such innovation is greater now than ever,” said Mike Lazaridis, founder and vice chair of the board of Research in Motion. “I believe that the University of Waterloo, this province and this country can play a leadership role in this regard, and we are pleased to support it.”

Half of the $20-million pledge to the Faculty of Science will contribute to funding two senior research chairs in science in the areas of condensed matter and astrophysics. Waterloo will conduct a global search for internationally recognized researchers in these areas. The remaining $10 million allocated to the faculty will help fund the construction of an expansion of the new science building, which will house teaching facilities including undergraduate laboratories, classrooms and student support areas.

“This marvelous donation meshes perfectly with the Faculty of Science’s vision of becoming an international magnet for talent. The infusion of $10 million for the construction of our new Science Learning Centre will allow us to create a facility that will aid in attracting the best and brightest students to thefaculty,” said professor Terrance McMahon, dean of science. “In addition, the funds toward the new research chairs will permit us to bring international superstars to the faculty, enhancing our already considerable research reputation.”

The Faculty of Mathematics will receive $1 million toward scholarships coveringfull university expenses for four years of study. To qualify, students must be medallists in either the International Olympiad in Informatics(IOI) or the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) before their final year of high school.

"Medallists in the IOI and IMO are among the best and brightest students, and are highly sought after by top universities all over the world. Scholarships covering full expenses will be vitally important to drawing IOI and IMO stars to the Faculty of Mathematics," said professor Ian Goulden, dean of mathematics.

With this gift, donations to the University of Waterloo from philanthropists Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis exceed $123 million, including $102.5 million to establish the Institute for Quantum Computing in the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum Nano Centre, scheduled to open in the fall of 2012.

Image: Mike Lazaridis, founder and vice chair of the board of Research in Motion.

About the University of Waterloo

In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's Technology Triangle, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 34,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow.

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[Knightcrawler]

good man. math and science are awesome.

[BB10FTW]

The Lazaridis family are pretty awesome! Just when you think they have gone and donated all their cash BOOM!!! More donations!
It's to bad most people don't take all these great things into account when purchasing a phone. For this reason and many others I will stay a loyal Crackberry Addict!

[sam_b77]

This is the only philanthropy I agree with. Donating 21 billion dollars to making homes for the homeless and giving food only diminishes the hardwork of those who grow food and earn their own houses.

Learning enables people. Charity makes a generation of freeloaders. The old saying is true still, Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to catch a fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

If they want to uplift then make their software (hint hint) cheaper to enable people to learn computers and not earn obscene profits but don't distribute your profits to losers who will take the money and make life more expensive to those who work for their living.

Making education cheap is the best enabler. Setup a school which provides cheap and quality education but don't give billions to Africa which will spend the money and be back for more with their hands spread out.

[bbpandy]

Originally Posted by BB10FTW

The Lazaridis family are pretty awesome! Just when you think they have gone and donated all their cash BOOM!!! More donations!
It's to bad most people don't take all these great things into account when purchasing a phone. For this reason and many others I will stay a loyal Crackberry Addict!

I agree. This is why I'm a proud BlackBerry Evangelist. It is also why I will never buy Apple. Even if BlackBerry ceased to exist, I would still not buy an iphone, because I don't want to have to wipe the blood off my hands every time I use my phone.

[Economist101]

Originally Posted by bbpandy

I agree. This is why I'm a proud BlackBerry Evangelist. It is also why I will never buy Apple. Even if BlackBerry ceased to exist, I would still not buy an iphone, because I don't want to have to wipe the blood off my hands every time I use my phone.

Thanks for clarifying. I was just thinking to myself "I wonder if bbpandy would be willing to wipe the blood off an iPhone" and there you go with an answer. Thank you.

The quoted comments reminds me of those McCain-Palin town hall meetings in '08, where a few crazy supporters made statements so incredibly ridiculous that Senator McCain had to cease taking questions.

[Brianflys]

Originally Posted by Economist101

...made statements so incredibly ridiculous that Senator McCain had to cease taking questions.

Such are your statements, ridiculing the concern we express about Apple allowing the continued human rights violations and incidents causing injury and loss of life at Foxconn. Apple gets richer, knowing full well that Foxconn workers suffer. What is ridiculous is your refusal to acknwledge that Apple is the chief underlying cause of this continued problem, doing nothing is as good as doing harm.

Meanwhile RIM owners make new donations that reinforce their philanthropy, and do not do business under such conditions or with such parties.

I choose RIM.

[NJPhilliesPhan]

I think it is great to support math and science education. But they should spread that money to USA universities also; they hold some of the greatest minds that could propel RIM in years to come.

[lotuslanderz]

Originally Posted by NJPhilliesPhan

I think it is great to support math and science education. But they should spread that money to USA universities also; they hold some of the greatest minds that could propel RIM in years to come.

Well those great minds could just come to U Waterloo! If you build it, they will come

It's actually quite impressive what Mike L is doing at his alma mater.

[world traveler and former ceo]

His contributions are just about unmatched in Canadian history ... Waterloo is the MIT of Canada .. tops in Computer Science and Engineering ... more tech spin-offs from Waterloo and Waterloo grads than all other areas in Canada by a wide margin ... great work Mike!!!

[Rootbrian]

This makes me feel proud!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com using Tapatalk

[mjs416]

Originally Posted by NJPhilliesPhan

I think it is great to support math and science education. But they should spread that money to USA universities also; they hold some of the greatest minds that could propel RIM in years to come.

I honestly am having difficulty thinking of a reason why a canadian citizen, who helped build a canadian business, HQ'd in waterloo would come to the US and drop 10's of millions on a university they have no vested interest in.

[Economist101]

Originally Posted by Brianflys

Such are your statements, ridiculing the concern we express about Apple allowing the continued human rights violations and incidents causing injury and loss of life at Foxconn. Apple gets richer, knowing full well that Foxconn workers suffer. What is ridiculous is your refusal to acknwledge that Apple is the chief underlying cause of this continued problem, doing nothing is as good as doing harm.

Meanwhile RIM owners make new donations that reinforce their philanthropy, and do not do business under such conditions or with such parties.

I choose RIM.

Choose whatever you like, but my comments on labor in China aren't mistaken for "ridicule" by rational people. I merely refuse to accept the kind of hypocrisy that's obvious when you ignore all the other companies benefitting from such labor. If you have a problem with that, I can't help it, and really don't care.

As for Apple being the "chief underlying cause," it's good to know that your hyperbole is something I can continue to rely upon; I didn't realize China's labor problems began in the late 90s (when Apple shifted production there), I'm curious; how were things before that?

Mike L.'s philanthropy really is a good thing. It's just too bad he seemed bent on turning RIM into a non-profit.

[i7guy]

Originally Posted by Economist101

Choose whatever you like, but my comments on labor in China aren't mistaken for "ridicule" by rational people. I merely refuse to accept the kind of hypocrisy that's obvious when you ignore all the other companies benefitting from such labor. If you have a problem with that, I can't help it, and really don't care.

As for Apple being the "chief underlying cause," it's good to know that your hyperbole is something I can continue to rely upon; I didn't realize China's labor problems began in the late 90s (when Apple shifted production there), I'm curious; how were things before that?

Mike L.'s philanthropy really is a good thing. It's just too bad he seemed bent on turning RIM into a non-profit.

I like the it's not them it's us philosophy. Nice diversion.

[mjs416]

Originally Posted by Economist101

As for Apple being the "chief underlying cause," it's good to know that your hyperbole is something I can continue to rely upon; I didn't realize China's labor problems began in the late 90s (when Apple shifted production there), I'm curious; how were things before that?

The 1990's are when China became more heavily industrialized with total agricultural labor dropping to less than a 1/3 of the work force. So... manufacturing labor issues with China actually do coincide with the time frame you stated.