News

The University of Waterloo Robotics team came within a hair's breadth of successfully completing the Level 1 of the Sample Return Robot Challenge, a part of NASA's Centennial Challenges prize program.

The event, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute from June 5-7 in Worcester, Mass., drew robotics teams from the United States, Canada and Estonia to compete for a total of $1.5 million in NASA prize money.

Musa Chunge, who will convocate with a BASc in civil engineering next month, has been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which is one of the most prestigious international scholarships.   

Chunge was one of 51 recipients out of more than 3,500 applicants who were evaluated on criteria such as outstanding intellectual ability, leadership potential, commitment to improving the lives of others, and a good fit between the applicant's qualifications and aspirations and the postgraduate program at Cambridge for which the individual applied.

A team of undergraduate students comprised mainly of Waterloo Engineering students won an international microrobotics competition, and  did so in less than one second.

The Mobile Microrobotics Challenge took place at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Karlsruhe, Germany. The Waterloo team won the Autonomous Mobility Challenge, where the microrobots must autonomously navigate a track in the shape of a figure eight.

School of Architecture student Sam Vickars won the 2013 Best of the Year in the Branding Category of the Student Design Awards by D&AD Awards in London England. The annual awards are regarded as a major event in the world of design and advertising. 

Wayne Loucks, an electrical and computer engineering faculty member, has been reappointed as associate dean, undergraduate studies from July 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015.  Loucks has served as the associate dean for engineering undergraduate studies since 1998. 

"He continues to work in the interests of our growing number of undergraduates," says dean of engineering Pearl Sullivan in a memo to faculty and staff about Loucks' reappointment.  "I know that all the departments are grateful that he has agreed to continue leading this important portfolio for the Faculty."  

A ‘smart’ walker could become the intelligent solution for elderly and disabled people thanks to the grand prize its inventors won in this year’s LaunchPad $50K competition.

Chemical engineering professor Marc Aucoin has been appointed academic director for WatPD-Engineering.  Aucoin's appointment runs from May 1, 2013 until April 30, 2016.  He succeeds Gordon Stubley, who is a mechanical and mechatronics engineering professor and the associate dean of teaching for the Faculty.  Stubley served as the inaugural academic director for WatPD-Engineering over the past three years.   

Waterloo Engineering's new 1,400-kilogram payload crash sled was featured in action on a recent episode of Daily Planet. The crash sled provides vital information about the impact resistance and energy absorption capacity of light weight automotive structures. Interviewed on the program is Michael Worswick, a professor and Canada Research Chair in the University of Waterloo’s mechanical and mechatronics engineering department. Worswick is leading a research team that is working to develop lighter, safer automobiles.

Emily Peat, owner of EcoPlace Organics, took top honours at the Nicol Entrepreneurial Awards competition held in Ottawa March 27. This is the first time in six years that the University of Waterloo has taken the top prize at the national competition.

Peat, a current civil engineering undergraduate student and former University of Waterloo BET300 and E Co-op program participant, captured the award after winning first place in a campus-wide competition held in February at the Conrad Centre.

Jonathan Eyolfson, an electrical and computer engineering graduate student, is one of just four campus-wide recipients of the 2013 Amit & Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student.  Eyolfson, a teaching assistant and instructor for various courses for several years, is noted by his students as having a deep understanding of the material and dedication to teaching. He's described as “a knowledgeable and approachable teaching assistant who really understands our confusion.”