Canada's Largest Engineering School

There’s a myth that if you want to build something great, you have to leave Canada.  

University of Waterloo alum Jeff Shiner (BMath ’92), executive chairman of the board at 1Password, and Chris Albinson, co-founder and managing director of True North Fund, make the case for why Waterloo students will do better to build their companies in Canada than in the United States (U.S.). 

Waterloo Engineering is mourning the loss of Dr. Sinnathamby Thambithurai (S.T.) Ariaratnam, one of the earliest members of the Department of Civil Engineering. He passed away on April 2, 2026. He was 92.

Ariaratnam joined the University of Waterloo in September 1962, recruited as one of the institution's first engineering professors when it was only a few years old. He taught in the department for nearly four decades until his retirement in 2001, and was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus in 2002.

A group of fourth-year mechanical engineering students on the Waterloo Rocketry team designed, built and tested a fully reusable rocket engine for their Capstone Design project.

Called Project Sisyphus, the engine will make test flying rockets significantly easier and more affordable for competitive rocketry teams.