This year's Capstone Design Symposia at the University of Waterloo showcased over 350 innovative student-led projects built to solve real-world problems. Many of the projects showed impressive entrepreneurial acumen and the potential for commercialization.
Thanks to invaluable support from donors and industry partners, 45 student teams won financial awards to help them develop their project designs, laying the groundwork for these students to take their business ideas even further.
Baylis Medical Capstone Design Awards
Six awards valued at up to $5,000 each, funded by Baylis Medical Company Inc. The winning student teams are:
Gradient by Morph (mechatronics engineering) for developing tech that makes breathable casts—reducing complications like skin issues and freeing health-care professionals to focus on higher-priority care.
PLAQCHEK (nanotechnology engineering) for developing an affordable, accessible device that uses a finger-prick blood sample to rapidly assess cardiovascular disease risk by measuring the heart disease biomarker Lp-PLA2, enabling earlier detection and intervention.
Ankle Device Aiding Physical Therapy (A.D.A.P.T) (mechatronics engineering) for its adjustable ankle brace with app connectivity that supports each stage of ligament injury recovery, offering customizable support, integrated exercises and real-time feedback to improve healing and prevent reinjury.
HemoTrek (biomedical engineering) for developing a compact, user-friendly blood viscometer that enables real-time, point-of-care diagnosis and monitoring of Hyperviscosity Syndrome, a serious medical condition characterized by abnormally viscous blood, which can lead to severe complications such as organ dysfunction and neurological impairments.
eyePad (interdisciplinary) for developing a graphical touch display that leverages educational content—such as graphs, diagrams, and math—to help overcome persistent academic barriers faced by visually impaired students.
LacrimaVas Microfluidic Tear Collection Device (nanotechnology engineering) for developing an alternative method for collecting tear samples using microfluidic channels in hydrogel contact lenses filled via capillary flow and pressure from eye blinking. This will allow tears to be easily collected for clinical research and diagnostics.
BGC Engineering Capstone Design Award
One award valued at $5,000 funded by BGC Engineering Inc.
Awarded to G&G Consulting (civil, environmental, geological and architectural engineering) for designing an end-of-pipe treatment system for Lead-Zinc tailings at a Yukon mine to reduce environmental risks from heavy metal contamination, addressing the growing threat of tailings failures due to climate change and permafrost melt.
Bhattacharya Capstone Design Award
One award valued at $3,000 funded by Dilip and Manjusha Bhattacharya.
Awarded to Real-Time Dosimetric Patch for Safer Radiation Therapy (chemical engineering) for improving radiation therapy accuracy by instantly revealing misaligned beams through a visible colour change, helping clinicians prevent healthy tissue damage and refine treatment in real time.
Bird Construction Capstone Design Award
One award valued at $5,000 funded by Bird Construction.
Awarded to H^3 Engineers (architectural engineering) for designing a scalable, mixed-use building that integrates sustainable waste management, improved sanitation and traditional Egyptian architecture to transform environmental and social conditions in Manshiyat Nasser, Cairo’s main recycling hub and a severely neglected informal settlement.
BRP Capstone Design Award
Two awards valued at $10,000 each, funded by BRP. The winning student teams are:
Thermalion (systems design engineering) for designing a battery-mounted heating system for Class 2 EVs in Canada that rapidly raises lithium-ion battery temperatures from -40°C to +5°C in 20 minutes, enhancing performance and supporting EV adoption in cold climates.
HydroHeat (mechanical engineering) for developing a compact, efficient, zero-emission thermomechanical device that utilizes the waste heat generated by hydrogen fuel cells in Hydrogen Powered Transportation Refrigeration Units (H2TRUs) to create a supplemental heating solution for transporting temperature-sensitive goods in extreme cold conditions.
Design Analysis Competition
Three awards valued at $2,000 (first place), $1,200 (second place) and $800 (third place) sponsored by ANSYS AIM.
1st place: Monopoly (mechanical engineering) for their design to reduce the risk of mechanical failure in spinal fusion surgeries. The design reinforces the screw and rod assembly used to stabilize fused vertebrae under high cyclic loading, while remaining compatible with existing surgical procedures.
2nd place: PivotPrint (mechanical engineering) for an open-source, affordable 5-axis retrofit kit for hobby-grade FDM 3D printers that enables advanced slicing to enhance surface quality, ensure uniform strength and eliminate supports, making high-performance 5-axis printing accessible to a wider community.
3rd place: Blazeguard (mechatronics engineering) for designing a payload system for swarms of heavy-lift UAVs to continuously collect and deliver water from shallow, remote sources—identified through national wildfire data—to fire fronts, offering a cost-effective, scalable solution that augments traditional firefighting methods in Canada, tied with ORchestrate (management engineering) for their data-driven optimization tool that improves surgical schedules to reduce elective surgery wait times.
Gregory Zhang e-Zinc Award for Capstone Design
One award valued at up to $3,000 provided by Li Zhang and e-Zinc.
Awarded to EV-TREx (mechatronics engineering) for developing a real-time battery monitoring and suppression system that uses optical fibre sensors and deep-learning diagnostics to detect early signs of thermal runaway in EVs, automatically extinguishing fires and alerting passengers before danger escalates.
Konrad Capstone Design Award
One award valued at $2,000 funded by the Konrad Group.
Awarded to Compass: A Levelized Cost of Carbon Abatement (LCCA) Tool (management engineering) for its publicly accessible platform that simplifies the levelized cost of carbon abatement (LCCA) model. This enables users to compare chemical processes by cost per ton of emissions reduced through intuitive visuals, updated data and transparent logic—empowering informed policy, research and academic decisions for rapid climate action.
Magna E-Mobility Award
Two awards valued at $2,000 each, funded by Magna International Inc. The winning student teams are:
EV-TREx (mechatronics engineering) for developing a real-time battery monitoring and suppression system that uses optical fibre sensors and deep-learning diagnostics to detect early signs of thermal runaway in EVs, automatically extinguishing fires and alerting passengers before danger escalates.
Water Pump for Formula SAE Vehicle (mechanical engineering) for developing a custom centrifugal pump to manage heat dissipation in the University of Waterloo Formula Electric (UWFE) team's 80kW powertrain to achieve high hydraulic efficiency beyond the reach of standard commercial pumps, tied with DeCruise (mechatronics engineering) for building the world’s most advanced electric skateboard to maximize rider safety, comfort and control.
MTE Consultants Inc. Design Pitch Award for Capstone Design in Environmental and Geological Engineering / Civil and Architectural Engineering
One first-, second-, and third-place team from environmental and geological engineering awarded $3,000, $1,100, and $400 respectively, funded by MTE Consultants Inc.
1st Place: DADS Consulting for designing a safe, cost-effective portal at the Sable Kimberlite deposit in the Northwest Territories—critical as Burgundy Diamond Mines Ltd transitions from open-pit to underground mining.
2nd Place: BioWinners Consulting for partnering with Halton Region to design a site-specific nitrous oxide mitigation solution. They are using advanced modelling to optimize wastewater treatment processes and reduce emissions of this potent greenhouse gas, which accounts for ~60% of municipal plant footprints—positioning the region at the forefront of sustainable wastewater management.
3rd Place: Solutions TBD for proposing a combination of geohazard mitigation strategies to reduce landslide risks and their impacts on traffic and trails at the Robert Service Way in Whitehorse, Yukon, which runs alongside an unstable escarpment prone to shallow earth slides and mudflows during spring thaw.
One first-, second-, and third-place team from civil engineering awarded $3,000, $1,100, and $400 respectively, funded by MTE Consultants Inc.
1st place: Transit Unlimited Ltd for designing Canada’s first all-electric regional rail line, delivering sustainable and reliable transportation for Southwestern Ontario’s future transit needs.
2nd Place: ReΦtalize Consultants for proposing a world-class treatment and research facility at the University of Waterloo featuring reclaimed structural steel to reduce construction waste and an architectural design shaped by Elder Bill to meaningfully advance Indigenous reconciliation.
3rd Place: WE R A Consulting Group for proposing wharf and site designs for the Qikiqtarjuaq Deep Sea Port in Nunavut—advancing a decades-long community vision to strengthen northern marine trade corridors in support pf local economic development.
One first-, second-, and third-place team from architectural engineering awarded $3,000, $1,100, and $400 respectively, funded by MTE Consultants Inc.
1st Place: The HEALiX (Beyond Blox) for designing a modular, mobile healthcare clinic designed to rotate through underserved Northern Ontario communities every 3 to 6 months, delivering a broad range of critical services—including preventative care, women’s health, mental health, vaccines, and diagnostics—supported by on-site housing for medical staff.
2nd Place: The Modular Median (MidMod) for its scalable housing solution for the Missing Middle in the Greater Toronto Area, transforming former gas stations into sustainable, high-quality multi-unit residences using prefabricated modular design, with features like winter gardens, natural light, outdoor space and integrated parking to support urban densification on small brownfield sites.
3rd Place: New Museum of Architecture and Design (KUOSI) for developing the New Museum of Architecture and Design along Helsinki’s South Harbour, uniting the Design Museum Helsinki and the Architecture & Design Museum under one roof as part of a broader revitalization effort to establish a cultural landmark at the heart of the city.
Lotus Engineering (architectural engineering) won the MTE Symposium Award valued at $1000 for designing a cultural centre at Xincun Harbor in Hainan, China to preserve and celebrate the Tanka community’s aquaculture-based heritage while promoting tourism and economic growth, safeguarding traditions amid modernization and environmental challenges.
Yuen Family Foundation Awards for Healthy Aging
Three awards valued at $10,000 each, funded by the Yuen Family Foundation. The winning student teams are:
Cognify (biomedical engineering) for its accessible, at-home cognitive monitoring tool that combines language, memory and eye-tracking assessments for early detection of mild cognitive impairment in people under 65.
Pneumo Guide (biomedical engineering) for developing an augmented reality solution that guides inexperienced ultrasound technicians to achieve correct probe placement for lung exams.
Retin AI (mechatronics engineering) for integrating machine learning with advanced imaging in a kiosk-based system to non-invasively detect and diagnose ocular conditions—primarily glaucoma—enabling early intervention, improved treatment outcomes and accessible eye care for underserved communities.
The Norman Esch Entrepreneurship Awards for Capstone Design and the Adel Sedra Entrepreneurship Award for Capstone Design
Twelve student teams competed in a business pitch competition, funded by the Esch Foundation, for a share of over $100,000. One of the 12 teams received the additional Adel Sedra Award of $4,500.
Go to Bold ideas win big at the Esch pitch contest for the full story and list of projects that won the Norman Esch and Adel Sedra awards.