Departments

Two Waterloo Engineering professors have been appointed to senior university positions.  Flora Ng, a chemical engineering professor and a University Professor, became chair of the University Appointments Review Committee as of June 1, 2013.  Her appointment is for a three-year term.  Beth Jewkes, a management sciences professor and a past chair of the management sciences department, will become the university's associate provost, resources as of August 1, 2013.

Anik Islam grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a city of millions, with a mother whose fame meant every time they left their home, they were swarmed by her adoring fans. On June 15, it will be Islam’s turn to be on stage when he graduates on the dean's honour list from Waterloo's electrical engineering program. His number-one fan in the crowd will be his mother — renowned Bangladeshi film superstar, Babita.

Musa Chunge, who will convocate with a BASc in civil engineering next month, has been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which is one of the most prestigious international scholarships.   

Chunge was one of 51 recipients out of more than 3,500 applicants who were evaluated on criteria such as outstanding intellectual ability, leadership potential, commitment to improving the lives of others, and a good fit between the applicant's qualifications and aspirations and the postgraduate program at Cambridge for which the individual applied.

A team of undergraduate students comprised mainly of Waterloo Engineering students won an international microrobotics competition, and  did so in less than one second.

The Mobile Microrobotics Challenge took place at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Karlsruhe, Germany. The Waterloo team won the Autonomous Mobility Challenge, where the microrobots must autonomously navigate a track in the shape of a figure eight.

Wayne Loucks, an electrical and computer engineering faculty member, has been reappointed as associate dean, undergraduate studies from July 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015.  Loucks has served as the associate dean for engineering undergraduate studies since 1998. 

"He continues to work in the interests of our growing number of undergraduates," says dean of engineering Pearl Sullivan in a memo to faculty and staff about Loucks' reappointment.  "I know that all the departments are grateful that he has agreed to continue leading this important portfolio for the Faculty."  

Chemical engineering professor Marc Aucoin has been appointed academic director for WatPD-Engineering.  Aucoin's appointment runs from May 1, 2013 until April 30, 2016.  He succeeds Gordon Stubley, who is a mechanical and mechatronics engineering professor and the associate dean of teaching for the Faculty.  Stubley served as the inaugural academic director for WatPD-Engineering over the past three years.   

Waterloo Engineering's new 1,400-kilogram payload crash sled was featured in action on a recent episode of Daily Planet. The crash sled provides vital information about the impact resistance and energy absorption capacity of light weight automotive structures. Interviewed on the program is Michael Worswick, a professor and Canada Research Chair in the University of Waterloo’s mechanical and mechatronics engineering department. Worswick is leading a research team that is working to develop lighter, safer automobiles.

Engineering students dominated the University of Waterloo men’s curling team that earned national gold with a 7-5 victory over the University of Alberta Golden Bears in Kamloops, B.C.

Skip Jake Walker, a fourth-year electrical engineering student, second Jordan Moreau, a management engineering student, third Edward Cyr, a mechanical engineering master's student, and alternate Nathan Ransom, an undergraduate mechanical engineering student, and other members of the team, captured top spot in the 2013 Men’s Curling Championship in a rematch of last year's finals.