News

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.

A research group led by Professor Tizazu Mekonnen has designed a lightweight, flexible polymer-based material that blocks X-ray radiation, offering a potential alternative to heavy lead aprons currently used.

X-rays are a necessary tool in medical diagnostics, industrial inspection, security screening, military applications and more. Exposure to radiation is a concern, highlighting the need for lightweight, lead-free shielding materials that protect against harmful radiation.

In a previous study investigations focused on using safer alternative elements to lead, which comes with its own health risks. Researchers experimented with using bismuth, tungsten, gadolinium, barium, and other heavy metals, as well as their compounds that were incorporated into a polymer matrix.

In the current work, the research group used tungsten because it has high density at the atomic level, which is effective in blocking x-ray radiation. The focus is on the polymer’s design architecture. The group discovered that when they added more tungsten nanoparticles, the material blocked X-ray radiation better but became stiff.

A student lead research team designs an easy method to generate programmed shape-change and movement in soft robots.

The team worked with hydrogels—soft, tissue‑like materials that are biocompatible. These materials are promising for developing microrobots to perform non-invasive biomedical tasks within biological media, like gastrointestinal or reproductive tracts. Their approach could pave the way to create motion in soft robots and other smart devices, opening the door to a new generation of soft medical devices.

This research was driven by student curiosity. PhD student Negin Bouzari was inspired by a review paper.

Her supervisor Hamed Shahsavan, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, hired four undergraduate co-op students from across faculties to assist with her research.

A research team on point with Waterloo’s commitment to bringing undergrads into the heart of cutting-edge research and fueling interdisciplinary collaboration.

Cole Fredericks is a master’s student in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Fredericks also did his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering (BASc '25) at the University of Waterloo.

Fredericks was the recipient of the Canada Student Merit Award by the Society of Chemical Industry, which is bestowed upon students who have attained the highest standing in their fourth year of a chemical engineering undergraduate degree.

For Fredericks, earning this distinction was the culmination of a mindset shaped by a lifelong love of learning and harmony in life both inside and outside the classroom.

“I have always been very curious and tried my best in everything that I did academically. My philosophy is that learning itself is a skill that must be practised, a muscle that must be exercised to better master what really interests you,” says Fredericks.

A research group led by Professor Michael Tam has developed a new water-based pesticide delivery formulation that dramatically improves how pesticides stick to plant leaves even in wind and rain.

Early field trials conducted with an industrial partner in Singapore demonstrated the potential of the technology. Cabbage plots were seeded with insect pests and the water-based formulation outperformed conventional pesticide systems, delivering better pest control using less active ingredients.

Current pesticide delivery systems rely on chemicals and solvents to help pesticide droplets stay on plant leaves and spread, which can be harmful to the environment.

 Standard practice is crops are protected by pesticides via liquid sprays using nozzles, mist sprays or from airplanes as a result, pesticides do not always reach their intended target, bouncing off plant leaves, drifting into the air or washing into soil and waterways leading to economic loss for farmers and environmental contamination.

Professor Boxin Zhao has been elected as a Fellow by the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE). CAE Fellows are nominated and elected by their peers in recognition of their outstanding achievements and lifelong contributions to the field of engineering.

“I’m honored to be elected as a CAE Fellow because this recognition goes beyond academia to engineering practice. I’m grateful that my work is acknowledged by engineers working in industry and across society,” says Zhao.

Zhao’s research centers on creating advanced functional materials aimed at addressing pressing industrial and environmental challenges, with a particular focus on understanding and engineering surface adhesion and interfacial interactions.

His research group has utilized polymer nanotechnology to create smart materials that interact with light, heat, and humidity, enabling novel applications in advanced manufacturing, including soft robotics and flexible electrical devices.

The Department of Chemical Engineering is proud to announce that Professor Milad Kamkar is one of the recipients of the 2026 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineering Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineering (SME).

This award recognizes early career engineers who have made exceptional contributions and accomplishments in the manufacturing industry.

“This award is deeply meaningful to me because my research group is focussed on fabricating advanced materials via novel manufacturing techniques. Manufacturing is the area where I hope my research will make a tangible real-life impact. Receiving this recognition from the most relevant society in the field affirms we are on the right track,” says Kamkar. “I was also humbled to be nominated by both my former supervisors, Professors Orlando Rojas and Uttandaraman Sundararaj.”

Kamkar’s group has developed several novel manufacturing techniques over the last several years. His research group has created the following novel manufacturing techniques:  droplet templating,  chaotic direct ink writing , Janus liquids/aerogels, liquid in liquid printing, and liquid streaming. In addition, his group also develops novel functional links for 3D printing.  

Each year, the Capstone Design Symposium stands as a defining milestone for our graduating students, marking the moment when years of study, experimentation, and hands‑on learning culminate in original engineering solutions.

This year’s graduating class identified meaningful problems, developed innovative approaches, and created their projects under the guidance of instructors, mentors, and industry partners.

Students tackled challenges as diverse as designing environmentally friendly glitter for cosmetics that avoids the microplastics found in most commercial products to developing early fault detection systems for lithium‑ion batteries to improve safety and reliability.

This year there were eight winning teams. Group 1 won the Bhattacharyya Capstone Design Award, valued at up to $3,000. This award is made possible through the generosity of Dr. Dilip and Mrs. Manjusha Bhattacharyya.

The Department of Chemical Engineering continues to advance its role as leader in sustainability, pioneering innovative solutions to reduce its carbon footprint.

Demonstrating a steadfast commitment to sustainablility teaching and practice, the Department of Chemical Engineering achieves Green Lab Gold Certification of its undergraduate teaching labs in the Douglas Wright Engineering Building (DWE).

The labs earned Green Lab Gold Certification for the second year in a row, with a higher score than last year!

It’s clear that sustainability is more than a buzzword for the department; the certification demonstrates the department’s focus on sustainability as an integral part of how experiential learning is designed and delivered.

“I am thrilled to see the work from Chemical Engineering to integrate sustainability into labs. Labs are areas of high resource intensity and environmental impact, and the team has identified meaningful activities for operational improvement,” says Mat Thijssen, Director of Sustainability at the University of Waterloo.

Professors Luis Ricardez-Sandoval and Pascal Poupart received $480K from the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and MITACS to design reinforcement learning tools for rare earth element (REE) recycling. The four-year interdisciplinary project between the Department of Chemical Engineering and Cheriton School of Computer Science will use reinforcement learning (RL) to design more efficient, sustainable recycling systems for REEs.

RREs are essential to global economies and used in a wide range of high-tech applications. They are used in the electronics, clean energy, aerospace, automotive, and defence industries to create products like cell phones, computers, batteries, MRI machines, jet craft, lasers, LEDs and more.

Canada is invested in being a global leader in critical‑mineral recycling and leveraging its resources to strengthen national security and promote economic growth. As demand for batteries, semiconductors, and clean‑energy technologies accelerates, Canada is looking beyond traditional mining.

“Eventually we’re going to run out of those mining resources, and we will need to recycle rare earth elements using advanced systems that can reduce waste, capital expenses and energy consumption,” says Ricardez-Sandoval, Director of the Chemical Process Optimization, Multiscale Modelling and Process Systems Group