Electrical and computer engineers shape the future through innovation. They develop and improve systems that serve everyday needs of society spanning from high-voltage engineering and sustainable energy, to breakthroughs in wireless technology. Our faculty and students do everything from creating low-cost digital x-ray imagers to combat tuberculosis in developing countries, to building real-time embedded systems to advance the design and reliability of commercial products. ECE - the future is what we do.
Research
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is a dynamic and innovative hub of cutting-edge advancements in technology and engineering. Faculty members lead pioneering research in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, communications, embedded systems, and renewable energy, addressing real-world challenges and driving technological breakthroughs.
Resources
Events
MASc Thesis Examination: From Letters to Loonies: A User-Centric Approach to Designing a Robot Companion for Language and Cultural Learning
Candidate: Neil Fernandes
Date: July 27, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Hybrid (E5-4047)
Supervisor: Kerstin Dautenhahn
Co-Supervisor: Yue Hu
PhD Defence Notice: Secure and Efficient Computation Offloading in Mobile Edge Computing Networks
Candidate: Xue Qin
Date: July 28, 2026
Time: 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: EIT 3142
Supervisors: Shen, Sherman
MASc Thesis Examination: Multi-Objective Robot Planning Scalarized using Weighted Maximization
Candidate: Krishna Kalavadia
Date: July 28, 2026
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: Hybrid (EIT 3145)
Supervisor: Stephen L. Smith
Co-Supervisor: Yash Pant
News
Electrical and computer engineering research team earns third place at prestigious IEEE AP-S Industry Pitch Competition
A team of researchers from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) has earned third place at the 2026 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) Industry Application Pitch Competition, an international competition recognizing research with strong real-world commercialization potential.
The team—PhD student Yu Cao, post-doctoral fellow Omid Bagheri, and MASc student Veronica Leong, supervised by Dr. George Shaker, Adjunct Professor in ECE—received the award after presenting their research to a panel of industry leaders during the 2026 IEEE AP-S/URSI Symposium.
Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) adjunct professor honoured for service to global engineering community
An adjunct professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has been honoured by the world's largest technical professional organization for his service to the global engineering community.
Dr. George Shaker will receive the 2026 Service Award from the Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S), part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He was recognized for his leadership in strengthening the Society's global engagement, member and student support and industry participation.
Shaker, an adjunct professor in the department since 2014, directs the Wireless Sensors and Devices Lab (WSDL) at Waterloo and is also chief scientist at Spark Technology Laboratories. His research spans electromagnetics, antenna systems, intelligent radar and the Internet of Things, with a focus on technologies that support safer, healthier and more connected communities, from in-cabin child-presence detection to non-contact eldercare monitoring.
Electrical and computer engineering undergraduate student team named Top 3 Finalist in international IEEE hardware design competition
A team of undergraduate students from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) has been named a Top 3 Finalist in the prestigious IEEE EMC+SIPI Student Hardware Design Contest, earning international recognition for their innovative work in electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) engineering.
Competing under the name Team Watt-erloo, students Jake Peters, Alanna Rudolph, Amirbahador Mansoori, and Dhyey Bhatt advanced to the final round of the competition and will present their project at the IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, Signal & Power Integrity (EMC+SIPI) in Dallas, Texas.
Supervised by ECE adjunct professor, Dr. George Shaker, the team developed a project that characterizes the electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by an Arduino-based robotic vehicle and validates targeted mitigation techniques to improve system performance and reliability.
Electrical and computer engineering professor, Dr. Werner Dietl, receives Amazon Research Award
Dr. Werner Dietl, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Waterloo, has been selected as a Fall 2025 recipient of an Amazon Research Award for his proposal, Strata-Sphere: Expressive Type Systems and Language Formalizations.
The Amazon Research Awards program supports innovative academic research across a range of disciplines and recognizes researchers whose work is contributing to advances in science and technology. Dietl's award adds to a growing list of national and international recognitions earned by ECE faculty for research excellence.