Welcome to Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo

The Department of Chemical Engineering’s Analytical Lab Facilities are helping advance research across the University of Waterloo and for external academic institutions, industry partners and emerging start-ups.

The Analytical Lab Facilities is a model of research infrastructure support, serving as a hub for materials characterization and chemical analysis, giving researchers access to technical expertise and specialized services, encouraging cross‑disciplinary innovation.

"Our goal is to lower the barriers to high-level research," says facility Director, Dr. Charles Dal Castel. "By providing access to advanced instrumentation and expert support, we can give researchers the tools they need to accelerate discovery."

The approach combines instruments centrally located in large communal laboratories with instruments in satellite locations (in laboratories managed by individual faculty). Much of the equipment has been acquired through grant funding, creating a shared resource that maximizes research impact.

Three chemical engineering graduate students won in the Academy of Research Commercialization (ARC) inaugural pitch competition.

ARC is a new program launched jointly between the Faculty of Engineering and the Conrad School of Business in collaboration with Velocity and WatCo (Waterloo Commercialization Office).

ARC provides programming such as fund preparation, and workshops for PhD students aiming to transform deep-tech research into for-profit ventures. 

Three entrepreneurially minded chemical engineering graduate students were winners of the competition.

Drew Davidson’s start-up ArcticEdge Technologies Inc. was one of the winners. Davidson, who is co-supervised by Professors Milad Kamkar and Valerie Ward, was inspired by his mother, Kelley Willemze who was a firefighter in Cambridge for over 30 years.

Professor Joshua Pulsipher is part of a team of researchers that have created a data-driven analysis system that could reveal how fires behave to better inform the building code, evacuation plans and advise first responders.

Fire behavior knowledge has not kept pace with today’s architecture and furnishing materials.Fabric and foam in modern furniture can produce toxic gases when on fire and the make-up and quantity of gases change during the evolution of a building fire. 

Historically, older buildings were highly ventilated. However, modern buildings are sealed for energy efficiency with a vapour barrier that blocks airflow from the outside, resulting in oxygen-starved conditions and fires leading to inefficient combustion, which creates more toxic gases along with smoke.