News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.