Nanotechnology Engineering

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Why Nanotechnology Engineering?

Nanotechnology Engineering is a multi-disciplinary engineering field, which draws from and benefits areas such as materials science and engineering, chemistry, physics, biology and medicine.

Nanotechnology has helped the world combat the COVID-19 Pandemic through the development of lifesaving mRNA vaccines. It also allowed societies to continue to engage in crucial business, educational and social activities during the pandemic in the virtual world through advancements in integrated circuits.

In Canada’s leading Nanotechnology Engineering Program, you’ll use principles from biology, chemistry, electronics and quantum physics to create materials, biomedical devices and machines. You will work with materials far too small to see with the naked eye. During your time in Waterloo's Nanotechnology Engineering program, you will gain theoretical and practical knowledge and experience through labs, courses, and co-op positions.

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Courses in Nanotechnology Engineering

Sample first-year courses

This is a sample schedule. Courses are subject to change.

1A Term 1B Term

MATH117 - Calculus 1 for Engineering

NE100 - Introduction to Nanotechnology Engineering

NE109 - Societal and Environmental Impacts of Nanotechnology

NE111 - Introduction to Programming for Engineers

NE112 - Linear Algebra for Nanotechnology Engineers

NE121 - Chemical Principles

MATH119 - Calculus 2 for Engineering

NE110 - Introduction to Nanomaterials Health Risks

NE113 - Introduction to Computational Methods

NE125 - Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering

NE131 - Physics for Nanotechnology Engineering

NE140 - Linear Circuits

Upper year courses

For information about courses past your first year, check out the Undergraduate Academic Calendar.

Customize your degree with options and specializations

Options

Options are a way to provide you with a path to expand your degree and get a secondary emphasis in another subject or area. Students should decide if they are interested in taking options as they enter second year. Some available options are:

Specializations

A specialization is recognition of selected elective courses within your degree. Specialization offerings are unique to your engineering program and are listed on your diploma. Specializations that are available to Nanotechnology Engineering students include:

Co-op for Nanotechnology Engineering students

You’ll have an unrivalled opportunity to gain paid work experience before you even graduate. We’ll help you navigate job applications, résumés, and interviews; you’ll have the added benefit of trying out different roles and/or industries to find the one that fits you while building your work experience and reinforcing your in-class learning out in the real world. It all adds up to a competitive advantage after graduation.

Starting in first year, you'll normally alternate between school and work every four months, integrating your classroom learning with real-world experience. You can return to the same employer for a couple of work terms to gain greater knowledge and responsibility or work for different employers to get a broad range of experience.

Year September to December (Fall) January to April (Winter) May to August (Spring)
First Study Study Co-op
Second Study Co-op Study
Third Co-op Co-op Study
Fourth Study Co-op Co-op
Fifth Study Study -


Your first work term will be at the end of first year. Learn more about co-op.

Example co-op positions for Nanotechnology Engineering students

  • Battery materials intern
  • Nanofabrication assistant
  • Research assistant
  • Quality project coordinator
  • Material handler
  • Optical development engineering
  • Polymer engineering intern
  • Food technologist

Small tech, big impacts: Researching with nanotechnology to make the world a better place

Shawn Benedict, Nanotechnology Engineering Student 

Shawn Benedict (he/him) is a fourth-year Nanotechnology Engineering student who worked in a wide range of industries. He speaks about how co-op helped him solidify his career goals.

He shares, "In my first co-op, my favourite parts were working on the software and in my second co-op I found I really enjoyed working with firmware. Finding what I enjoy and where I would like to improve has been very helpful."

Shawn Benedict

Example careers for Nanotechnology Engineering graduates

  • Optoelectronic display engineer
  • Materials test engineer
  • Business technology analyst
  • Research and development engineer
  • Pharmacovigilance analyst
  • Scanning probe microscopy experimentalist
  • Nanoscale therapeutics development
  • Implantable device design

Capstone design projects in Nanotechnology Engineering

Capstone Design is the culmination of the engineering undergraduate student experience, creating a blueprint for innovation in engineering design.

Supported by numerous awards, Capstone Design provides Waterloo Engineering students with the unique opportunity to conceptualize and design a project related to their chosen discipline.

A requirement for completion of their degrees, Capstone Design challenges students teams to push their own boundaries, and apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom and on co-op work terms.  It reinforces the concepts of teamwork, project management, research and development. 

For a full list of previous capstone design projects, see our Capstone Design website.

MicroSeize (Capstone 2024)

Microseize

Ryan Ellis, Helen Engelhardt, Alex Matos, Matthew Scarfo

In Canada, 89% of plastics end up in landfills or as litter, where they break down into microplastics, a concern for human, animal, and ecosystem health. Existing microplastic removal systems in wastewater treatment plants are only effective on microplastics larger than 20 um in size. MicroSeize aims to develop a scalable methodology to capture the microplastics that other methods leave behind using functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles which adsorb onto the plastics, allowing them to be trapped from the wastewater stream magnetically.

GelRx (Capstone 2024)

GelRX

Mariah De Torres, Erin Grant-Allen, Annabelle Wicentowich, Alyna Wong

Despite the best efforts of medical professionals, surgical site infections and invasive wound infections are leading causes of death for post-operative and burn patients, respectively. GelRx is a multifunctional hydrogel bandage that aims to improve the health outcomes of such patients. The bandage utilizes an integrated colorimetric pH sensor to signal infection to healthcare providers and addresses infection through antibacterial zinc oxide nanoparticles. The GelRx hydrogel inherently supports the healing of damaged tissue by preventing moisture from escaping, absorbing wound exudate, and reducing bacterial contact.

Student design teams

The Sedra Student Design Centre consists of over 20,000 square feet of space dedicated to design teams and student projects. There are more than two dozen design teams, all of which are student-led, and many of which represent Waterloo internationally.

Some examples include:

Formula Nano

formula nano

Formula Nano is dedicated to designing, building, and racing molecular machines at the nanoscale. We're working towards competing in the next international Nanocar Race where teams compete to race single molecules using a specialized scanning tunneling microscope.

UW Nano Research Group

UWNRG

UWNRG is a student-runned design team aiming to solve modern problems with nano solutions. Over the past few years, UWNRG has gone from competing in IEEE’s International ICRA competition to establishing its very own research group. Our current project involves designing and fabricating a FET sensor with graphene oxide gel for biosensing applications.

UW Silicon Integrated Optics (UWSiO)

UWSiO

UWSiO is a dynamic group of students focused on advancing and revolutionizing data storage through the use of silica systems. In an age of rapidly growing and often wasteful data production, we aim to develop solutions that are more efficient, durable, and scalable.

Nanotechnology Engineering alumni

Tina Dekker

Tina Dekker

Tina (class of 2017), "Nanotechnology Engineers from the University of Waterloo possess a unique set of skills and knowledge that enable them to connect ideas and leverage problem-solving tools from diverse disciplines. As a result, they are adept at addressing challenges in any industry or field".

Read more about Tina's time in Nanotechnology Engineering.

Mina Labib

123

Mina (class of 2013) sought a different path in engineering beyond the traditional roles he saw growing up in Kuwait. Drawn by Waterloo's strong reputation and the unique blend of disciplines in its nanotechnology program, he moved halfway across the world to study nanoscale technologies at the forefront of computer chip and microprocessing advancements.

Read more about Mina's time in Nanotechnology Engineering.

Farnaz Niroui

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Farnaz (class of 2011) chose nanotechnology due to her passion for science and the program's interdisciplinary approach. The collaborative curriculum integrates key aspects of chemical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and chemistry, aligning with her fascination for how materials at the nanoscale exhibit unique functionalities.

Read more about Farnaz's time in Nanotechnology Engineering.

Ryan Denomme

Ryan Denomme

Ryan (class of 2010), "It felt like nanotechnology would define the future of a lot of industries,” Ryan says. “I knew that I would be taking a risk, because nanotechnology wasn’t as established as the more traditional forms of engineering, but I was willing to take that risk to be part of something new.”

Read more about Ryan's time in Nanotechnology Engineering.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How is nanotechnology engineering applied in the world?

Nanotechnology's versatility and potential to revolutionize various fields make it a key area of research and development for the future. This field has a broad range of applications across various industries such as medicine and healthcare, electronics and computing, energy, the environment, materials science, agriculture and textiles and consumer products.

Here's just two examples of how nanotechnology engineering is used in the healthcare field to create the COVID mRNA vaccine and the electronics and computing field to design integrated circuits.

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What do the Nanotechnology Engineering teaching facilities and lab spaces look like?

Watch our tour video for a glimpse inside our Nanotechnology Engineering teaching facilities and lab spaces in the Quantum Nano Centre (QNC) and Davis Centre (DC) at the University of Waterloo.

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