Welcome to WAFAR

The Western Academy for Advanced Research (WAFAR) is Western University's hub for interdisciplinary research. Since 2020, WAFAR has brought together researchers across disciplines and borders to tackle complex global challenges, supporting five major research themes and dozens of partnerships worldwide. WAFAR is located in the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, alongside the Bone and Joint Institute, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration and the Western Institute for Neuroscience.

Our Story

WAFAR was founded under the leadership of its Founding Director, Dr. Fred Longstaffe, who led its first years, from 2020 to 2024. Inspired by institutes for advanced study such as CIFAR and UBC’s Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, Fred envisioned a pan-university academy where Western researchers and leading thinkers from around the world could come together around questions of broad public significance, and share what they learned with the public. The principles he set out in WAFAR’s founding document continue to guide our work today.

Mission

Seek solutions to the major challenges facing humanity.

WAFAR nurtures ambitious, interdisciplinary, and international research collaborations that bring together the full spectrum of scholarship and experience at Western with that of the world.

Mandate

Give focused teams the space, time and support to do their best work.

We select research collaborations and their participants, provide dedicated space and support for their collective work, facilitate seminar series and public-facing events, and ensure every collaboration's outcomes are documented and shared.

Aspiration

Make Western a global name in interdisciplinary research.

Through sustained contribution of new ideas that influence societal direction, WAFAR aims to elevate Western University's international reputation and contribute in substantive ways to the well-being of humanity.

Have an idea that crosses disciplines and borders? We're always looking for bold new collaborations and would love to hear from you. Reach out to us at WAFAR@uwo.ca.