Maplesoft announced that James (Jim) Cooper, its president and CEO, has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Waterloo (UW). The University presented Cooper with a Doctor of Engineering degree at a recent graduation ceremony held at the university. Cooper was recognized for his business and engineering leadership.
“Mr. Cooper has dedicated his career to improving the quality of university education and research through the development of software to perform symbolic mathematical calculations and engineering analyses and through continued support for our students, and our institution as a whole,” said Pearl Sullivan, Dean of Engineering at the University of Waterloo. “We have worked closely with Jim for many years and he embodies the hard work, dedication and values that we align ourselves with at the University of Waterloo. We are proud to present him with this honorary degree.”
Addressing the new graduates at the University of Waterloo, Cooper urged them to use their abilities to drive real innovation and progress, making technology act as a full partner in finding new, novel solutions to problems. “Make technology act as a full partner … make it what it promised to be, a helper, an advocate, an intelligence to glean with, and not an adversary for your attention”. He asked them to use their abilities to “clear a path to better” and reminded them of the importance of surrounding themselves with people who will motivate and energize them in this world of endless online distractions. “Remember, travelling far is better than travelling fast. So, climb into your flying car, built for two or more and travel far…”