News

Originally published on the Faculty of Engineering website.

Biomedical Engineering student Christy Lee’s experience volunteering at busy hospitals and long-term care homes inspired her startup venture PatientCompanion, a communication app meant to improve patient experience and help reduce workload and stress for nurses.

Originally published December 20, 2023 on CTV News Kitchener 

University of Waterloo researchers say they’ve developed a method to detect breast cancer in women early enough for them to receive lifesaving treatment.

The technology aims to be more accurate, cheaper and safer than common diagnostic tools used now, such as X-ray mammography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

“Mammography is not fully effective, especially for women with dense breasts,” said Omar Ramahi, lead researcher and a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering.

Ramahi has been looking at ways to enhance early detection since 2001. He’s noticed the gaps that exist in current practices. For starters, he says X-ray mammography can only be performed on a patient once a year or every other year.

Watch the full story.

Electrical and computer engineering professor and Assistant Vice-President, Research and International, Alfred Yu, has been elevated to Fellow of the IEEE for his contributions to ultrasound imaging technology and therapy.

Each year, Clarivate™, a global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics to accelerate the pace of innovation, identifies a small fraction of global research scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research. This select group contributes disproportionately to extending the frontiers of knowledge and gaining for society innovations that make the world healthier, more sustainable and more secure.

Electrical and computer engineering professor, Shesha Jayaram, received IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) Outstanding Achievement Award. This award honors an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the application of electricity to industry in accordance with the scope of the IEEE Industry Applications Society. This award was first presented in 1969. She is the first female to win this award in 54 years!

Having weathered the COVID-19 pandemic far from home, Waterloo Engineering alum and Muay Thai instructor, Qianshu Wang (BASc ‘19, Nanotechnology Engineering) is back in Waterloo figuring out his next move. 

Born in China, Wang and his family moved to the Waterloo Region when he was in Grade 7. After completing his degree, Wang spent three years working in Newfoundland as a process designer in next-generation holographic display development. That experience, as well as his recent travels in Thailand and Switzerland, helped him learn more about himself and who he wants to be. 

As he reboots for his next adventure (he’s interested in semi-conductor engineering in Germany or the Netherlands), Wang highlights his involvement with the Recent Engineering Alumni Council (REAC) for helping him through some challenging times over the past couple of years.  

Electrical and computer engineering professor, Hiren Patel, and his colleagues were awarded the Test of Time Award for their work "Predictable Programming on a Precision Timed Architecture" (CASES 2008) at Embedded Systems Week (ESWEEK).

Congratulations to PhD student and ECE GSA Treasurer & Health and Safety Committee Representative, Artem Klashtorny (supervised by Professor Hiren Patel), for winning an ACM SIGBED Student Research Competition (SRC) Award at Embedded Systems Week (ESWEEK) in Hamburg, Germany!

Electrical and computer engineering is pleased to welcome two new first-year students to its cohort, through the Schulich Leader Scholarships program. Awarded annually to 100 high school students across Canada, the Schulich Leader Scholarships are granted to exceptional students who show great entrepreneurial promise in the field of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) and its Members have elected this year’s new Fellows and named the incoming class of the RSC College.

One hundred and one new Fellows have been elected by their peers for their outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic achievement. Recognition by the RSC for career achievement is the highest honour an individual can achieve in the Arts, Social Sciences and Sciences. One of those newly elected Fellows is electrical and computer engineering professor, Kerstin Dautenhahn.