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As graduation approaches this June, Computer Engineering student Aung Khant Min is being recognized with two distinguished honours: the University of Waterloo President's Award of Excellence and the Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education (OPEFE) Gold Medal.

Min achieved the highest cumulative academic average (CAV) among Engineering students graduating this June. In recognition of this achievement, Min will receive the President's Award of Excellence, one of the University's highest student honours, as well as the OPEFE Gold Medal.

Four PhD students in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) have earned the NSERC Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS D), one of Canada's most prestigious and competitive awards for doctoral researchers.

The 2026 recipients are:

• Ahmed Metwally Hegazy
• Angeline Lafleur
• Andy (Andres) Schang
• Michael Ross Spinazze

Awarded through a national competition, the CGRS D recognizes exceptional PhD students whose academic excellence, research achievements and leadership potential position them among Canada's most promising emerging scholars.

Researchers at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo have demonstrated a nanoscale optical device that makes it easier to probe quantum systems with light to enable more efficient quantum sensors and solid-state quantum computing systems. The new device was demonstrated in diamond as a proof of principle. 

This optical device has the potential to make quantum sensors better at detecting weak magnetic fields, which could enhance technologies in biomedical imaging or navigation in GPS-denied environments. It could also advance solid-state quantum computing architectures by improving control and readout of individual quantum bits (qubits), and the transfer of quantum information between them. 

Dr. Xuemin (Sherman) Shen, University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Waterloo,  has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the IEEE Canada A.G.L. McNaughton Award, one of the organization’s most prestigious medal distinctions recognizing outstanding contributions to electrical and electronics engineering.

The award citation recognizes Dr. Shen:

“For contributions to wireless and ultra-band communication networks with substantial impact on accessibility, security, and user privacy protection.”

Electrical and computer engineering professor, Dr. Alfred Yu, has been named the 2026 recipient of the IEEE Canada Outstanding Engineer Award, one of the organization’s highest honours recognizing excellence and impact in electrical and electronics engineering.

The award citation recognizes Dr. Yu:

“For transformative innovations in next-generation ultrasound imaging technology that have advanced clinical scanners and enhanced cardiovascular diagnostics.”

Electrical and computer engineering PhD student Yu Cao, post-doctoral fellow Omid Bagheri, and MASc student Veronica Leong — all supervised by Dr. George Shaker, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo — are advancing the future of wireless sensing technology with a breakthrough approach that allows millimeter-wave radar to detect changes in soft, hydrated materials without direct electrical contact.

For their innovative work, the team has been named finalists in the inaugural IEEE AP-S Industry Application Pitch Competition. Their paper, Near-Field Millimeter-Wave Radar Sensing of a Slot-Loaded Dielectric Resonator, was selected among the top 10 submissions from 106 entries worldwide following an exceptionally rigorous review process. The researchers will now present their work live at the 2026 IEEE APS/URSI Symposium, where final winners will be chosen by an expert judging panel.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Waterloo is celebrating an exciting milestone as Dr. Weihua Zhuang has been named a double nominee for the 2026 Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Women of the Year Awards.

Recognized for both her lasting influence and continued innovation, Zhuang is nominated for the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) Award—a rare distinction that reflects the breadth of her impact, from mentoring generations of engineers to shaping the future of communication technologies.

A new startup spun out of research at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo is accelerating its push toward commercialization with $10.7 million in dilutive and non-dilutive funding and a public listing after launching just more than six months ago.

QuantumCorewas co-founded by Dr. Christopher Wilson, IQC faculty and Chief Technology Officer, and Eugene Profis, CEO. The company is developing an amplifier that boosts read-out signals produced by a superconducting quantum chip at near absolute zero temperatures and gets the signal into room temperature. This could solve one of the many hard engineering challenges in quantum computing.

“It’s a necessary product for quantum computing companies that are just a few years away from launching computers with thousands of qubits,” says Wilson, who is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

A team of researchers from the Wireless Sensors and Devices Lab (WSDL) in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo has been named a Top 10 Finalist in the 2026 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Industry Paper Competition for their paper, “A Digital Twin Baseline for Hybrid Quantum Machine Learning (QML) in WiFi Sensing.”

Led by Dr. George Shaker, adjunct professor in ECE, and Director of the Wireless Sensors and Devices Lab (WSDL), the research team includes lead author and PhD student Sebastian Ratto Valderrama, postdoctoral researcher Ahmed Sayed, and ECE alum Abdelrahman Elbadrawy, working in collaboration with industry partners Synopsys and EigenQ. Sebastian is co-supervised by ECE professor, Dr. Omar Ramahi, who is also a co-author on the paper.

From improving access to healthcare diagnostics to advancing human–computer interaction and reducing administrative burden for clinicians, this year’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) capstone projects demonstrate how thoughtful engineering can address meaningful real-world challenges. Working in teams, ECE students applied technical expertise in artificial intelligence, embedded systems, sensing technologies and software design to develop practical solutions that improve quality of life, increase efficiency and expand access to critical services.

The capstone experience represents the culmination of students’ undergraduate education, integrating knowledge gained through coursework, research and Waterloo’s co-op program. The projects highlight ECE’s strengths in combining strong technical foundations with human-centred design, enabling students to develop innovative technologies that respond to evolving needs in healthcare, industry and everyday life.