Canada's Largest Engineering School

Dr. Mary Wells received an appointment to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest civilian honour, in recognition of leadership that advanced education, research and access to engineering across the province.

Wells, dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo since 2020, was named among 30 appointees for 2025 by the Honourable Edith Dumont, lieutenant-governor of Ontario and chancellor of the Order of Ontario.

The Faculty of Engineering is mourning the loss of Dr. Brian Le Lievre, a professor emeritus in civil and environmental engineering. Le Lievre died on Jan. 2, 2026, at the age of 98.

Le Lievre was part of the University of Waterloo’s earliest generation of scholars in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, helping shape the department in its founding years. Across more than 25 years at Waterloo, he taught, mentored and led with a steady focus on students and the discipline.

Waterloo-based AgTech company Upside Robotics has secured USD $7.5 million in seed funding to accelerate the growth of its AI-powered agricultural robotics platform.

Co-founded in 2024 by Waterloo Engineering alum Sam Dugan (BASc ’22, mechatronics engineering) and Jana Tian, Upside Robotics is transforming agriculture through sustainable automation. The company’s lightweight, autonomous robots apply fertilizer precisely where crops need it, enabling farmers to remotely monitor fields, track crop health and deliver nutrients efficiently — without stepping foot on the soil.