More than 460 engineering and architecture students celebrated the end of their academic journey on Saturday, October 24, as they received their degrees from the University of Waterloo at Fall 2026 Convocation.
With family, friends and the Faculty of Engineering and School of Architecture community in attendance, 123 undergraduate, 290 master’s and 50 PhD graduates crossed the stage during the afternoon ceremony on campus.
“This day is yours. You’ve earned it through hard work, persistence and a remarkable amount of resilience,” said Dr. Mary Wells, Dean of Waterloo Engineering, in her address to graduates. “The world needs what you bring: your ambition, your ideas, your curiosity and your compassion.”
The ceremony was also Dr. Bill Rosehart’s first fall convocation as Waterloo’s eighth President and Vice-Chancellor. “Waterloo was founded on a bold idea. Learning is strengthened when it meets the real world,” Rosehart, a three-time Waterloo graduate, wrote in his convocation program message to graduates. “Through co-op, research, entrepreneurship and community, you have lived that idea. That is what sets a Waterloo graduate apart.”
This term’s doctoral graduates tackled challenges ranging from solid-state batteries to quantum optics, adding to the highly skilled workforce Canada needs to compete globally.
Valedictorian Nicholas Pellegrino (BASc ’19, MASc ’22, PhD ’26), who completed his PhD in systems design engineering, addressed the graduating class. In a Waterloo News profile of this term’s graduate valedictorians, Pellegrino encouraged students to pursue what fuels them, broaden their horizons, give back to their communities and learn new things. “Your degree and university experience is what you choose to make it,” he said.
Honorary degrees
Two Waterloo Engineering alumni who built one of Canada’s most successful medical technology companies received honorary Doctor of Engineering degrees at the ceremony.
Frank Baylis (BASc ’86) and Kris Shah (BASc ’86) were Waterloo classmates who joined Baylis Medical Company in 1989. The business had been founded by Baylis’s mother, Gloria. Together, they grew it into a global leader in cardiovascular technologies before Boston Scientific acquired it in 2022 for $1.75 billion USD. That same year, they launched Baylis Medical Technologies, where they serve as Co-Executive Chairmen and continue to develop innovative medical devices.
Baylis served as the Member of Parliament for Pierrefonds–Dollard from 2015 to 2019, where he co-founded the Parliamentary Black Caucus. He and his wife, Valerie, recently made a gift to the Faculty of Engineering to honour the late Dean, Dr. Pearl Sullivan, through the naming of the Pearl Sullivan Engineering Building.
Shah is named on more than 70 issued patents and co-founded OME Group, a consulting firm acquired by EY in 2011. Through the Shah Family Foundation, he and his wife, Neelam, support health-care initiatives including the Shah Family Hospital for Women and Children at Trillium Health Partners.
Go to Four honorary doctorates recognized at Fall 2026 Convocation for the full story.
Celebrating student excellence
Convocation also marked the recognition of a remarkable member of the Waterloo Engineering community.
University finalist for the Alumni Gold Medal (doctoral)
Recognizes outstanding academic performance in a doctoral program.
Dr. Fatemeh Keyvani (PhD ’26, electrical and computer engineering)
Keyvani’s research developed integrated biosensing platforms that move diagnostics beyond the lab, enabling point-of-care testing and continuous monitoring in blood, skin and the brain.
