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These are uncertain times for industry, as it navigates survival with geopolitical changes looming, inflation, and supply chain issues.

Chemical Engineering researchers are developing innovative methods to harness machine learning (ML) for industrial applications, helping industries plan production more effectively in the face of unpredictable conditions.

A research group led by Professor Luis Ricardez-Sandoval is using ML methods to train “smart agents” to make production scheduling decisions in chemical and manufacturing systems where there is uncertainty.

The agents are trained through simulations of plant processes that include unexpected events, for example, equipment failure or a sudden change in production demands.

A research group led by Chemical Engineering Professor Milad Kamkar has developed a method to make it possible to have stable liquid droplets filled with different nanomaterials in another liquid.  

 This breakthrough research has created completely new categories of “programmable" droplet-based soft materials containing a range of nanomaterials. These droplets can be dried and turned into aerogel beads (highly porous materials) that can be deployed in many applications, such as carbon capture and wastewater treatment. 

 In complex environments, like wastewater streams with multiple contaminants, the aerogel beads can be layered or mixed to target specific pollutants.  

“Each bead can absorb a specific type of pollution,” says Kamkar. “Making the material not just multifunctional, but strategically programmable.” 

Winning a pitch competition is never easy, but it becomes even more challenging when there is no prototype or product ready for market. Despite these obstacles, Capstone Group 4 defied the odds and won $12,000 to advance their project!

The project, called Direct-Li, won the Norman Esch Entrepreneurship Award for Capstone Design. The group proposed a more efficient and eco-friendly process for lithium extraction.

Through engineering innovation, Group 4 developed a two-stage process called direct lithium extraction (DLE). Group members Rachel Kumara, Sophie Campbell, Maeve Seto and Louise Tayzon utilized nanofiltration and ion pump separation to extract 90 per cent more lithium per litre of water in half the time compared to industry standards.

“We were delighted that we were successful in conveying our idea in a way that made the judges see value in something that we do not actually have, a solid prototype. Our ideas are based on simulations and models. We were shocked to win! We were just happy to be there and to be challenging ourselves, especially since we were the only all-women group in the competition!”

Professor Valerie Ward is part of a new global coalition to revolutionize vaccine production with disruptive health technology. The technology is designed to enable local vaccine production, reducing production time from nine days to just one day. A breakthrough that has the potential to save millions of lives and significantly lower the cost of vaccine production.

A research coalition led by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) received $2.8 million from the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) to fund technology development to combat epidemics and pandemics. The aim is to make small transportable units to manufacture vaccines, making vaccines more accessible and better able to deal with local outbreaks.

Ward is working with researchers and industry partners in Brazil, the UK, and Canada to aid the world in responding more swiftly and equitably to future epidemics and pandemics. 

The grant focuses on developing technology to meet two specific goals. The first is rapid production of vaccines. The second is to decentralize manufacturing so it can be produced at different sites in smaller batches.

Professor Milad Kamkar’s research group has developed the first all-graphene water-based ink for 3D printing via direct ink writing. The ink promises to unlock new possibilities for addressing environmental challenges, such as eliminating invisible electromagnetic pollution from our surroundings.

The eco-friendly graphene ink enables groundbreaking applications in advanced fields, including electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, electronics, and environmental protection while providing a scalable solution for next-generation 3D-printed technologies.

Graphene is a material renowned for its remarkable strength, electrical conductivity, and thermal properties. One of the challenges to the widespread utilization of graphene is that it is typically produced in powder form, which is difficult to handle and limits its full application potential.

Researchers overcame this barrier by precisely engineering the nano-scale surface chemistry of graphene nanosheets to make them dispersible in water, creating a room-temperature printable, eco-friendly ink.

Chemical engineering graduate student Ananya Muralidharan took first place in this year’s GradFlix competition! Three other chemical engineering graduate students were finalists!

GRADflix is an annual competition that invites graduate students to present their complex research in a way that is accessible to a wider audience. Graduate students create presentations using a combination of live footage, slideshows, and animations to showcase their work. A panel of judges from various fields at the University of Waterloo selects the top four videos, which receive cash prizes. Additionally, there is a Finalist’s Choice Award determined by voting from fellow participants.

Launched in 2018 by the University of Waterloo’s Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA), GRADflix is funded by graduate students through the Graduate Studies Endowment Fund. Three other chemical engineering students were also finalists.

Imagine walking your dog in the middle of a blizzard or spending the day on a frigid ski hill and instead of wearing bulky layers, you have a winter coat that heats up autonomously!

New innovative cloth developed by a research group led by Professor Yuning Li requires no bulky batteries or manual controls, the warmth generated by the fabric comes entirely from solar energy, making it an environmentally friendly, self-sustaining solution for winter wear.

 Within 10 minutes of exposure to sunlight, the fabric’s temperature is able to rise by 30 degrees Celsius, keeping you cozy on a cold winter day.

Researchers have designed solar-powered smart fabric that not only warms up but also customizes its colour. A significant feature of this smart fabric fiber is its reversible colour-changing capability, which can monitor temperature fluctuations.

Professors Aiping Yu and Michael Fowler have been named on the Highly Cited Researchers™ list from Clarivate. Researchers on that list have publications that rank in the top one percent of citations globally and are deemed influential in their respective fields.

Yu’s research expertise is in utilizing graphene for energy storage in Zinc-ion and Na-ion batteries to increase their energy and power density using 2D materials. As Director of the Applied Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory, she is also focused on lithium battery recycling. Yu is also researching carbon dioxide conversion, using electrochemical cells to turn CO2 into small-chain chemicals like methane.

A research group from the Department of Chemical Engineering, led by Professor Yverick Rangom, has made a breakthrough in lithium-ion battery design to enable extremely fast charging. With this novel technology, the batteries can charge from zero to 80 percent in just 15 minutes, a significant improvement over the current industry standard.

Batteries fabricated using this new strategy were shown to undergo 800 extreme fast charging cycles, a feat not possible with current EV batteries which limit charging times to prevent degradation.

The novel technology addresses major hurdles in the mass adoption of EVs: charging speed and cost.

Professors Michael Tam and Yuning Li have designed a solar-powered desalination device capable of utilizing over 93% of solar energy to produce fresh water from the sea via a thermal evaporation process.

This rate is five times higher than that of current technologies, making it a highly efficient solar-driven desalination system. With a production capacity of approximately 20 litres of fresh water per square meter per day, this device offers a sustainable solution to global freshwater scarcity.

Desalination of water is critical for many coastal nations to produce water for consumption and agricultural activities. Rapid population growth and increasing global water consumption by industry contribute to water scarcity.