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A team led by two Waterloo Engineering professors has developed a battery-free sensor with promising potential applications to expand the reach of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.

“The legacy approach to sensors relies on local gateways and batteries, limiting scalability, adding environmental burden and increasing maintenance overhead,” said Dr. George Shaker, a professor of electrical and computer engineering.

A former student at Waterloo Engineering is now getting traction in Silicon Valley as the founder and chief executive officer of a technology startup that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to do home appraisals via a mobile app.

Humza Ahmed was studying mechanical engineering when he was bitten by the business bug and inspired by the entrepreneurship ecosystem at Waterloo to put a new twist on an occupation with deep roots in his family.

A Waterloo Engineering researcher has been recognized with one of the water industry's highest honours for her contributions to municipal water research and the advancement of the water profession.

Dr. Monica Emelko, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has received the Norman J. Howard Award from the Ontario Water Works Association (OWWA), one of the association's highest honours. The award recognizes proficiency and leadership in key areas of municipal water supply and celebrates those who have made significant contributions to ensuring safe, reliable and sustainable water systems. 

A Waterloo Engineering professor has been elected to a senior leadership role with an international council that advances research, education and industrial applications in nanotechnology.

Dr. John T.W. Yeow, a professor in the Department of Systems Design Engineering, was elected president-elect of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Nanotechnology Technical Council (NTC) in early July 2026, at the council's annual meeting held in Nanjing, China. 

Researchers at Waterloo Engineering are using artificial intelligence (AI), data science and advanced mathematics to help save lives by predicting how fires behave in modern homes.

The new system tackles a growing challenge for fire researchers: modern furniture materials and increasingly airtight, energy-efficient homes can cause fires to behave differently than they did in the past. 

The Tang Family Foundation, a charitable fund within the Philantra Foundation, has invested $500,000 in the University of Waterloo’s Data and Artificial Intelligence Institute (Waterloo.AI) to support graduate research in embodied artificial intelligence (AI) through student scholarships.

The inaugural recipients, eight students from the faculties of Engineering and Math, have received $15,000 each to help them focus on their work in embodied intelligence — AI that senses and acts in real environments.

New insights into how chemical additives can dramatically improve water mist fire suppression have earned a University of Waterloo researcher one of the highest honours in combustion science.

Dr. Vinny Gupta, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering and director of Waterloo's Fire Research Laboratory, received the Silver Combustion Medal from The Combustion Institute for research that reveals how chemically enhanced water mist systems suppress large turbulent fires more effectively than water alone.

An autonomous aircraft company co-founded by an alumnus of Waterloo Engineering has grown from modest beginnings to the point where it has contracts and repeat sales with multiple agencies of the Canadian government.

Waterloo-based Ribbit, whose chief operating officer is alum Dr. Jeremy Wang (PhD ’23, mechanical and mechatronics engineering), is on a mission to bring efficient, reliable transportation to the world’s most remote locations.

Dr. Mary Wells, the dean of Waterloo Engineering, argued in a recent opinion piece published by The Hill Times that Canada should make its mark in the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution by producing leaders who understand the importance of responsibly embedding trust in the technology.

“For the past decade, Canada has rightly celebrated its role in inventing modern artificial intelligence (AI),” she wrote. “Canadian researchers helped lay the scientific foundations for today’s AI revolution, and those investments continue to pay dividends.

Simantic, a hardware simulation startup founded by two Waterloo Engineering students, has raised roughly $600,000 USD and won spots in both the Velocity incubator and Y Combinator's Fall 2026 cohort.

Seungmin Hong (BASc '26) launched Simantic in 2025 with Ahnaf Shahriar (BASc in progress) joining as a co-founder in 2026. The company builds simulation technology that lets engineers and AI systems build, test and validate firmware in virtual environments before physical hardware exists.