A student team from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Waterloo has earned international recognition after taking first runner-up in the Hardware Design Award at the IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, Signal & Power Integrity (EMC+SIPI) in Texas. EMC+SIPI 2026 leads the industry in providing state-of-the-art education on EMC and Signal Integrity and Power Integrity techniques.
The achievement follows the team's selection as one of the Top 3 finalists in the IEEE EMC+SIPI Student Hardware Design Contest earlier this summer.
Supervised by ECE adjunct professor Dr. George Shaker, the team includes students at different stages of their Waterloo Engineering education. Jake Peters is a master's student, Amirbahador Mansoori is a PhD student, and Alanna Rudolph and Dhyey Bhatt are undergraduate research assistants in Shaker's Wireless Sensors & Devices Lab.
Their work evaluates power integrity as well as radiated and conducted emissions through a combination of circuit simulation, physical probing, and automated measurements. As electronic systems become increasingly compact and interconnected, understanding and controlling electromagnetic interference is essential to ensuring devices operate safely, reliably, and without disrupting surrounding technologies.
What sets their work apart is the team's innovative approach to EMI measurement. The students designed an automated bimanual robotic scanning system equipped with closed-loop vision to perform near-field EMI mapping. Using ArUco markers to achieve millimetre-level precision, the robotic platform identifies and maps the exact sources of radiated emissions across a custom-designed printed circuit board.
As active members of the IEEE EMC Society Student Branch Chapter, the team drew inspiration from a shared interest in the role EMC plays across modern technology. From protecting aircraft electronics to ensuring the safe operation of life-critical biomedical devices, electromagnetic compatibility remains a critical consideration in an increasingly crowded electronic environment.
Congratulations to the team on an outstanding achievement!