University of Waterloo: Class Profile & Alumni

University of Waterloo Alumni

Notable Alumni Of The Waterloo University

Technology industry: Many graduates of Waterloo University have gone on to become successful entrepreneurs and innovators in the technology industry. Notable alumni include Mike Lazaridis, the co-founder of BlackBerry, and Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript.

Business leaders: Waterloo University graduates have also made a mark in the business world, with alumni holding prominent positions in companies such as Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and Deloitte.
Academia: Waterloo University alumni have also made significant contributions to the academic world, with many becoming renowned researchers and professors. Notable alumni include Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer in the field of deep learning, and Donna Strickland, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist.

Waterloo’s alumni network is packed with achievers—from Nobel Prize winners to tech entrepreneurs and cultural icons.

Alumni Name	Notable Achievement / Famous For	Degree(s)	Graduating Year
David Johnston	28th Governor General of Canada	N/A	N/A
Robert Mundell	Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (1999)	N/A	N/A
Donna Strickland	Nobel Prize in Physics (2018)	PhD	N/A
Chris Hadfield	Astronaut; first Canadian to walk in space; ISS commander	MEng (Mechanical Engineering)	1982
Mike Lazaridis	Founder of BlackBerry; co-founder of Quantum Valley; philanthropist	BASc (Electrical Engineering)	1984
Kevin O’Leary	Business personality (“Shark Tank”), investor, author	BA (Honours Arts)	1977
Chamath Palihapitiya	Founder & CEO of Social Capital; engineer and venture capitalist	BE (Electrical Engineering)	2000
Rupi Kaur	Poet and author (Milk and Honey)	N/A	N/A
Beckie Scott	Olympic gold medalist in cross-country skiing	N/A	N/A
David Cheriton	Co-founder of Arista Networks; tech investor	N/A	N/A
Prem Watsa	Chairman of Fairfax Financial; former Waterloo chancellor	N/A	N/A
Steven Woods	Co-founder of Quack.com & NeoEdge; former Google Canada engineering head	PhD, MMath	N/A
George Elliott Clarke	Poet, novelist, former Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate	N/A	N/A
Scott Vanstone	Cryptographer; co-founder of Certicom; ECC pioneer	PhD	1974
Ian Goldberg	Cryptographer; designer of Off-the-Record messaging	N/A	N/A
Raymond Laflamme	Quantum information physicist; founder of Institute for Quantum Computing	N/A	N/A
Heather Moyse	Two-time Olympic gold medalist (bobsleigh); multi-sport athlete	BSc (Kinesiology)	N/A
Jagdeep Singh Bachher	Chancellor of Waterloo (2024); university investment leader	BASc, MASc, PhD (Management Sciences)	1993, 1994, 2000
Doug Cutting	Creator of Apache Hadoop	N/A	N/A
Bryan Adams	Grammy-winning musician and photographer	BA (Environmental Studies)	N/A