Meet our Graduate Students- Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering

MEET OUR MME FACULTY AND GRADUATE STUDENTS

What have our students accomplished?

autocate_founder_stefanie_bruinsma
Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Alum's startup boosts trust in auto repairs

AutoCate, a newly-launched membership-based platform geared toward women, aims to reduce fraud and discrimination in the auto repair industry.

Founded in 2020 by Waterloo Engineering alum Stefanie Bruinsma (BASc '15, mechanical engineering and MBET '21), the platform connects people in need of car repairs or advice with trusted experts and educators.

Alumni’s startup provides breakthrough treatment for stroke patients
Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Alumni’s startup provides breakthrough treatment for stroke patients

Using a tiny camera — just one-third of a millimetre in diameter — doctors at The Ottawa Hospital diagnosed and treated a patient suffering from multiple strokes.

Invented by Vena Medical, a company co-founded by two Waterloo Engineering alumni Michael Phillips and Phillip Cooper (both BASc ’17, mechanical engineering), the MicroAngioscope™ camera can pinpoint the cause of a stroke attack and treat the patient in just one hour. 

Researchers partner with industry to advance green tech
Thursday, February 15, 2024

Researchers partner with industry to advance green tech

In the quest to reach zero emissions by 2050, researchers are working with industry partners to develop more efficient, durable, cost-effective fuel cells.  

Waterloo engineering professor Dr. Xianguo Li and Dr. Samaneh Shahgaldi from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), with support from Niobay Metals and Mitacs, are working to refine the technology of metallic bipolar plates to improve the potential of hydrogen in decarbonization. 

Meet Thomas Parent (MEng)

Thomas Parent

Thomas Parent

Thomas Parent

Thomas has recently completed his M.Eng degree in Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo while working full-time at Liburdi Automation Inc. Thomas designed custom welding systems used in the aerospace industry. As a mechanical designer, he was drawn to the Advanced Design Engineering option offered, which kicked-off a series of collaborative projects between Liburdi and the program.

"The ability to work on meaningful, real-world projects while receiving one-on-one mentorship from experienced teaching staff was part of what attracted me to this stream. The advanced design concepts and techniques I was exposed to during my time in the program culminated into the design of Liburdi Automation’s new Friction Stir Welding system. A system capable of generating the high tool forces required for the processing of steels while using force and IR temperature feedback for closed-loop control; the first such system to be designed and built in Canada. This system is currently in use by Professor Adrian Gerlich and his research team at the Centre for Advanced Materials Joining (CAMJ) on campus".

machine

Meet Lucas Botelho (PhD)

Lucas Botelho

Lucas Botelho

Please meet Lucas Botelho, one of our Doctoral students in the Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering program, here at the University of Waterloo!

My research is aimed to improve monitoring of high temperature manufacturing processes, such as laser additive manufacturing, heat treatment, and welding with the aid of computer vision and machine learning. Combining visible light measurements and infrared light measurements allow for both the geometry and microstructure of the part to be predicted in real-time. These real-time measurements of the current state of the process can then be used to predict future states and minimize the error before it accumulates. Thus, allowing for higher quality products to be built through these manufacturing processes, with a lower rejection rate and minimized need for post-processing. The monitoring system developed in this research was used to create the sensor featured in the MOC system by Retinex Inc. (https://lnkd.in/d8Pbtt7K) 

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Meet Mujtaba Ahmad (MEng)

Mujtaba Ahmad

Mujtaba Ahmad

Meet Mujtaba Ahmad!
As an MEng student enrolled in the Design Engineering Graduate Diploma, with Professor Oscar Nespoli, he was able to avail the rare and wonderful opportunity to complete a co-op term during his master’s degree. Mujtaba joined Intellijoint Surgical Inc. – a medical devices company for hip and knee replacement surgeries – for a 4-month term that ended up becoming a year-long journey where he learned more than he could have imagined. With the primary role of designing new hardware products, Mujtaba was able to dive into the complex world of medical devices and biomechanical engineering. Having worked on 5 different projects to date, he has learned the nuances of creating new products from the initial concept sketches to prototyping, testing, production planning and lots of documentation! The best part was knowing that Mujtaba had taken part in an effort to help surgeons improve patients’ lives.

Meet Martine McGregor (PhD)

Martine McGregor: Woman in brown coat standing on a bridge in the sunset

Martine McGregor

Martine McGregor is pursuing a PhD degree in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo under the supervision of Dr. Stewart McLachlin, PhD, PEng.

Her research focuses on improving orthopaedic implant testing methods to better evaluate loosening at the bone-implant interface under multiaxial loading. This work has allowed for collaboration with both clinicians and manufacturing experts to design novel implants better able withstand multiaxial loading due to activities of daily living. Currently, she is working in collaboration with the Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Laboratory Group at the University of Waterloo to reconceptualize titanium orthopaedic implants to improve bone-ingrowth and implant fixation. Martine is funded by a doctoral level National Science and Engineering Research Council post-graduate scholarship.

Meet Ramin Chitsaz Dehaghani (MASc)

Man standing with arms crossed.

Ramin Chitsaz Dehaghani

Meet Ramin Chitsaz Dehaghani, a recent graduate of the MASc program in MME.

Ramin worked in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering as a graduate student at University of Waterloo. He did research on composite materials and adhesive bonding. His research involved in experimental and numerical study on adhesively bonded non-crimp fabric carbon fiber/epoxy composite joints with the support of industrial sponsors Honda R&D Americas, LLC, Hexion Inc., ZOLTEK Corporation, LAVAL International and 3M Canada.
He is currently working as a research associate in the department of Mechanical and Mechatronics at University of Waterloo. He is involved in research on manufacturing and experimental activities in the Composites Research Group, directed by Professor John Montesano, Ph.D., P.Eng., including fabricating composite materials, conducting material characterization tests, and conducting mechanical tests.

Meet Yashesh Dasari (MEng)

Man with a backpack standing on top of a hill.

Yashesh Dasari

Yashesh Dasari is a MASc student in the department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering. During a recent industry collaboration with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) for his final design project, Dasari was tasked to investigate the automotive coating process at TMMC's paint booth and conceptualize design refinements to improve the filtration efficiency.

Dasari used Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools to estimate the air flow patterns and applied his advanced design methods knowledge to conceptualize and propose an easy-to-implement, cost-effective design solution. The future cost benefit of this design project is estimated to be upwards of $500K per year in the form of Operation and Maintenance cost of the filtration unit.